Chipping's Chipper At Tunbridge Wells
Chip timing couldn't separate leaders in the 40th anniversary half marathon
The 40th anniversary of the Hendy Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon was celebrated on Sunday 19 February with 1,319 finishing the undulating (runner code for hilly) course in 3:53:30.
And what a humdinger it was at the front with a rare dead heat in a 13.1-mile race. Just as well club stalwart 'Cheekie' Alan Cheek had deployed those speed bump warnings or we could have had the unwanted thrill of a spill in the final sprint finish at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre!
The finish judges eventually awarded victory to the unattached runner Matthew Chipping – who may have influenced the verdict by sporting bib #1 as the fastest athlete entered – from home town favourite Dillon Hobbs (Tunbridge Wells Harriers) as both athletes recorded 1:11:07. This was a big step forward for Hobbs who was the first junior under-20 in this race last year in 1:17:55 and whose personal best was 1:13:48 prior to Sunday.
Chipping is an interesting athlete who mainly runs parkruns in the Yorkshire and London areas with best times of 15:55 at Bushy Park and 16:00 at York – plus an exceptional 16:12 on the hilly Roundhay parkrun in Leeds, just five weeks before his victory at Tunbridge Wells. Prior to the pandemic, he was a regular at Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon, improving annually from 18th in 2016 to 3rd in 2020.
Not far behind the battle for top honours was a trio of Tonbridge AC runners securing the men's team prize: Dan Bradley (1:11:21), Sean Molloy (1:11:53) and first M40 master Neil McClements (1:11:58).
The women's race saw the spoils shared around more widely as W35 Hannah Roberts (Dartford Harriers, 1:22:58) took the top spot from Lucy Lavender (Lewes AC, 1:26:34) and Charlotte Johnson (Maidstone Harriers, 1:27:14). The host club Tunbridge Wells Harriers took the team prize.
Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon was promoted by Tunbridge Wells Harriers and assisted by Nice Work race management. Results and previous event reports are at runABC South race listing here.
Image courtesy Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon gallery