The revised format for Run Gatwick was a hit with more than 1,100 runners on Sunday 21 May 2023. There were 1,069 finishers in the second annual Run Series organised Run Gatwick 10K and a further 19 pairs shared the workload in the first Run Gatwick 5K Charity Relay.

The new race route takes runners closer than ever to the excitement of huge planes taking off and landing right beside the runners. Both races start and finish outside the Gatwick Aviation Museum and follow traffic-free inner airport perimeter roads alongside the live runway, thanks to special permission from Gatwick Airport.

The 10K follows Lowfield Heath Road and Charlwood Road before swinging left along Perimeter Road South to the halfway turn, where the 5K Charity Relay handover station is positioned. The 10K and second leg of the 5K then retrace the route back to Gatwick Aviation Museum for a spectacular finish and an appropriately-themed aircraft medal.

The 10K winner was Ben Short (Crawley AC, 34:07) from the wheelchair racer Martyna Snopek (Weir Archer Academy, 34:27). The men's runners-up were Dan Evans (Dorking & Mole Valley AC, 35:57) and Adam King (Stubbington Green, 36:01).

W50 master Elspeth Turner (Horsham Blue Star Harriers, 37:41) took the honours in the women's race from Laura Vowles (unattached, 39:03) and Agnieszka Wilk (unattached, 39:25) – the Polish athlete being the 26th of 31 runners inside 40 minutes on this fast course.

The top pair in the Run Gatwick 5K Charity Relay were Kevin and Nick McNally running as Team Vaporflyers – no prizes for guessing their footwear of choice – who finished in 39:24. Like most of the competitors, Kevin and Nick were raising vital funds for The Magic Breakfast charity, helping to provide healthy school meals to children at risk of hunger in disadvantaged areas of Crawley and West Sussex.

All the results and previous reports are available on this runABC South featured event here.

Image of men's podium courtesy Run Gatwick on Facebook