Weekly Update - 17th June 2026

Southern Counties Veterans League (Kent), Dartford (Fri. 12th June)

At the halfway stage of the Southern Counties Veterans League (Kent Division) season, both the men's and women's teams are in fourth place in their respective leagues, with three matches remaining.

Despite several key athletes being unavailable due to injury and other commitments, the men's team delivered a strong performance, recording four first-place finishes and one second-place finish.

Notable performances included: Chris Loudon winning the M40 1500m comfortably in 4:06.8. Ed Adigwe taking victory in the M50 1500m with a strong sprint finish, recording 4:38.8. Alan Porter continuing his excellent form by winning both the M50 shot put (12.60m) and M50 javelin (41.95m), reinforcing his status as one of the division's standout competitors. Paris Hunt demonstrating his versatility by finishing second in the M60 javelin.

For the women, the only victory of the evening came from Christine Bond (W60), who won the W50 high jump. Katie Sanders produced a strong performance in the 1500m, finishing third against tough opposition. There were also third-place finishes for Natalie Mann (W40) in the W35 shot put and javelin, Joanna Parkes (W45) in the W35 high jump, Julie Backley in the W50 javelin, and Christine Bond in the W50 long jump.

Centurion South Downs Way 100 Mile (Sat. 13th June)

The South Downs Way 100 is a 100-mile non-stop ultramarathon from Winchester to Eastbourne, widely regarded as one of the UK's most scenic and demanding trail races.

Hugh Tibbs (No 1021) produced a fantastic performance to finish third overall in an outstanding time of 13:46:16, improving on his 2025 result by an impressive 27 minutes.

The club's other finisher was John O'Mahoney, who showed great determination to complete the challenging course in 20:49:11, securing 48th place overall.

Centurion South Downs Way 50km (Sat. 13th June)

The Centurion South Downs Way 50km is a point-to-point ultramarathon that held its second annual edition on Saturday, writes Christian Poulton.

Part of the international World Trail Majors Short Series, the stunning 31-mile course features 1,200 metres (4,000 feet) of elevation gain across the chalk paths and rolling hills of the South Downs National Park.

Roughly 400 runners set off from the iconic Saxon-era amphitheatre of Matterley Bowl near Winchester and traced the historic ridge-line eastward, tackling a "screaming fast" final descent off Butser Hill to cross the finish line at Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

Elite runners dominated the fast-paced day, with Antonio Martínez Pérez winning the men's division in an impressive 3:12:36, while Rebecca Bunting claimed the women's title, finishing 6th overall with a time of 3:49:37. I finished in 5:55:04, placing 126th and 3rd in the V60 age category.