Hastings AC aces fly to race successes

GB athlete Grace Baker made her debut in the London Vitality Half, her first half marathon, and stormed in at 79 minutes, 12th woman.

This was her first competitive race in the UK since returning from her sports scholarship in the USA 18 months ago, impressive stuff as she’d only been doing one training session per week.

A fantastic result in the same competition came for Jenna Levett who shaved four minutes off her PB at 1.31.

She said: “Every training run, track, grass and hill session has been so worth it for that four-minute PB although I had to dig deep for the last two miles.”

Also in London four members of the HAC youth team represented the club at the South of England u15/u17 track and field finals over two days.

In heats on day one Nate Cahill and Reus Brown both ran in an incredibly fast 800m, with Cahill gaining a notable PB (2.16). Cahill is going from strength to strength in every event. His sister Talia also had a PB in the 400m.

Rae Le Fay succeeded in her heat of the 1500m to gain a PB (4.51) and to qualify for the finals the next day.

Sunday’s race was exceptionally fast and a tough one for an athlete so young racing at that level on two consecutive days but she placed 10th overall over the South of England which was great work.

It was another great day and as always a brilliant atmosphere at the third SAL match of the 2021 season, this time at home in Hastings, with many athletes trying out new events. The host club came second.

There was yet another PB in 200m and new V50 club record for Jo Body.

There was PB and first place for Josephine Edmonds in the 800m and first place in the 100 and 200m for Delicia Pascall.

Club records were broken again by Charlotte Wynne-Pennels in the pole vault, and Martyn Reynolds in the 400m, his time placing him No1 in the country at V40 by over one second and 15th fastest all time.

There was a notable SAL debut for Talia Cahill running her 400m and gaining a PB.

There was a first place for the women’s 4x400m relay team, who worked together exceptionally well to produce a strong performance.

Training continues throughout the summer holidays but as the new term approaches, if you’re interested in training or competitions, feel free to take advantage of four free trail sessions before signing up.

Sessions are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday morning and membership is extremely good value. Please look at the website or social media for more information – www.hastingsathleticclub.co.uk