It's a Half of Two Halves!
Bradley defends and Gaunt sets new record in hilly Tonbridge Half Marathon
There were 548 finishers and a Tonbridge AC double victory to celebrate in the 11th annual Tonbridge Half Marathon on Sunday 9th October 2022. With enthusiastic home club support on the rural route through the undulating Kent countryside Dan Bradley successfully defended his title and Helen Gaunt took nearly three minutes off club mate Maria Heslop's female course record – despite running a club record 2:39:10 in the London Marathon last week.
The Tonbridge Half Marathon is based at The Judd School, Brook Street, Tonbridge and is well known for its challenging hills and stunning scenery. It really is a half of two halves, with a deceptively quick opening 10K through Leigh village, Stocks Green, and Wickhurst. Passing Leigh Green in the reverse direction and heading for Haysden Country Park there are some testing kickers, particularly after Ensfield Bridge at 10 miles.
Dan Bradley (M35, 1:15:18) knows his way around this course better than most and used his local knowledge to help prise a 12-second victory margin over Matt Jones (Kent AC, 1:15:30). Third place went to Oliver Waymark (Tunbridge Wells Harriers, 1:16:43).
It was one-way traffic on the traffic-free course for Helen Gaunt (W40, 1:19:42) who set a new record in the women's race. Gaunt was 10 minutes clear of Sophie Tomaszczyk (West4 Harriers, 1:29:44) and last year's runner-up W35 Lianne Leakey (Hailsham Harriers, 1:30:41) completed the podium.
Tonbridge Half Marathon was first organised in 2011 by the Rotary Club of Tonbridge and Tonbridge Lions Club and is now owned by the Tonbridge Half Marathon CIO charity, with representatives of both clubs on the board. Charity remains a key element of the race and an estimated £50,000 has been raised over the years for charitable causes.
Generous cash prizes were awarded to the winning teams and individuals and the race has been awarded the BARR Gold Standard for excellence. The Sussex-based Nice Work team is now responsible for race management.
Previous results and reports at runABC South race listing here
Image courtesy Tonbridge Half Marathon
