Far from coasting along on the back of the success of their enormously popular Richmond RUNFEST, the team led by Race Director Tom Bedford are heading for the Sussex coast next year to take over the management of the Worthing Running Festival Half Marathon and 10K, which will be held on Sunday 24 April and known simply as Worthing RUNFEST.

Interest in the new event is already high following two years of cancellations due to extreme weather and Covid restrictions. The last winners of Worthing Half Marathon in 2019 were Alex Milne (Hercules Wimbledon, 1:06:43) and Emily Proto (Arena 80, 1:21:31). The 10K champions were Steve Gallienne (Bideford, 32:59) and Kristina Hine (Arena 80, 46:59).

The historic Worthing seafront is a popular venue for races with its pancake flat course and guaranteed stunning sea views. Worthing RUNFEST races will both start and finish at The Worthing Lido Family Entertainment Centre. Course highlights include Worthing's 2019 'Pier of the Year', an Art Deco masterpiece (pictured above) first opened to the public on 12 April 1862 – so 160 years old next year.

All participants in Worthing RUNFEST will be provided with a traffic-free course with obvious PB potential and will be rewarded with a tech T-shirt (male or female cut) and a bespoke medal. There are already plans for a bigger event in 2023 that will include an after-party with live music, similar to the Richmond RUNFEST event. 

Race Director Tom Bedford said: "The first thing on my to-do list is to change the event's luck after two postponements in a row. Once we solve that, we can focus on bringing a fun, community after-party to the event. Our team cannot wait to meet the local running community and also take part in the Worthing parkrun"! 

Cllr Kevin Jenkins, Leader of Worthing Borough Council said: "It's great to welcome back this event that was founded in 2016. The Worthing Running Festival is a great event that promotes healthy active lifestyles. It is hugely beneficial to both physical and mental wellbeing and therefore it is important that we have events like this that are accessible to all".

For more information on either Richmond RUNFEST or Worthing RUNFEST and to sign up click here

Image: Worthing Pier by Ukance via Wikipedia Commons