There is a tradition attached to the Benfleet 15 – it's always muddy! James Attenborough (Witham RC, 2:52:00) was impressed with the support but less enamoured with the underfoot conditions, posting: "For a predominantly trail event, the support was phenomenal...now if you could kindly get them out with some kind of mud drying technology before the day, that'd be grand!"

The 35th-anniversary edition of this perennially sold-out, multi-terrain mud-fest was no different, as 769 runners slipped and slithered their way round the 15-mile route that includes part of the 2012 Olympic Mountain Bike course, running alongside the Canvey Island sea wall, a scenic stretch beside Hadleigh Ray waters, and some tough climbs over Hadleigh Downs.

The latest Benfleet 15, on Sunday 18 January 2026, was again organised by Benfleet Running Club, with race management support and chip timing provided by Nice Work. Another tradition maintained was the colour-coded medals – gold for the first 25 men and women; silver for the next 50, and bronze for the remainder.

First back to Race HQ at Hadleigh Country Park was unattached athlete Ben Felton (1:31:52), pictured above #3911. Ben had a minute in hand over Sam Norris (Southend on Sea AC, 1:1:32:54), with Tom Oliver (Winchester Running Club, 1:35:07) completing the top three men.

Stacey Ormerod (W40 St Albans Striders, 1:44:08) was a clear winner of the women's race from Charlotte Brooks (East Essex Tri Club, 1:46:27) and the 2024 champion Rebecca O'Kill (W40 City of Southend AC, 1:51:45).

Around 70 runners completed the course in under two hours, while the final dozen finishers took over four hours. Those highly regarded marshals and supporters needed some staying power and flasks of hot drinks as they cheered every finisher home.

All the results and previous reports are available at the runABC South race listing here.

Photos courtesy of Liam Winters at LW Photography for Benfleet Running Club