It was unseasonally warm as records fell at the 35th Lambert & Foster Paddock Wood Half Marathon on Sunday 9th March 2025. The inclusion of the British Masters Half Marathon Championships boosted the field to a record 2,400 finishers from an entry of just under 3,000.

The pace was hot at the front as the temperature rose towards 20C. In these conditions it's best to finish early and that's clearly what Cole Gibbens (Tonbridge AC) and Lucy Jones (Herne Hill Harriers) had in mind.

Gibbens hacked two and a half minutes off his previous best to win in 1:04:59 – the second fastest time ever on the gently undulating Paddock Wood course through the Kent hopfields. Only Alexander Leprêtre's 2022 course record (1:04:38) stands ahead of the Tonbridge man's time on the winners list.

Lucy Jones (#1012 above) set a terrific new women's record (1:12:25) on her half marathon debut to take a minute off Tish Jones' 2014 previous mark (1:13:25). Fourth in the English National Cross Country at Parliament Hill and a fast 15:48 in the Friday Night Under The Lights 5K at Battersea Park in the previous two weeks hinted at something special!

Max Milarvie (Dulwich Runners, 1:05:19 PB) and Ben Tyler (Medway & Maidstone AC, 1:09:01 PB) completed the men's podium. The women's top three included Rebecca Weston (Invicta East Kent AC, 1:16:55 PB) and Chelsea Baker (Bristol & West AC, 1:17:38). Weston took an astonishing 10 minutes off her previous best 1:26:30 set at Herne Bay last year.

The British Masters Championships added 223 competitors and the winners were:

M35 Ben Tyler (Medway & Maidstone AC) 1:09:01
W35 Sara Ellen (Brichfield Harriers) 1:51:45 
M40 Nick Impey (Dulwich Runners) 1:11:19
W40 Lisa da Silva (Thames Valley Harriers) 1:25:06
M45 Sebastian Hoenig (Southampton AC) 1:11:34
W45 Mary James (South London Harriers) 1:23:10
M50 Will Green (Serpentine) 1:10:55
W50 Samantha Lamb (Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets) 1:28:57 
M55 Joseph Gonzales-Armas (26.2 RRC) 1:18:42
W55 Alice Riddell-Webster (Fulham) 1:27:34
M60 Ben Reynolds (Thames Hare & Hounds) 1:21:18
W60 Sarah Gee (Reading RR) 1:25:05
M65 Ifan Lloyd (Swansea) 1:21:57
W65 Maxine Minchella (South Shields) 1:40:29
M70 Neville Critoph (Veterans AC) 1:40:15
W70 Sue Haslam (Scarborough) 1:38:12
M75 Michael Mann (Dulwich Runners) 1:52:53
W75 Sue Garner (Lingfield) 2:12:57

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

Photo of Lucy Jones mid-race courtesy of Mark Hookway (Tonbridge AC)