Racing resumes on roads in Kent
Sporting Events UK has returned to racing with their first two physical events taking place. The first of these was at the Smugglers 10k, at Minnis Bay, near Margate in Kent.
This took place on 2nd August and was one of the first events in the country to take place following the lifting of the suspension of racing under runbritain licenses. The second event was in Canterbury, The University of Kent Canterbury 10k on 16th August.
Owen Hind (handicap -5.1) was the fastest overall with an impressive winning time of 31:43
Fastest woman was Kirsten Hayes with 41:29.
The organisers had been working on the regulations and measures for some time prior to the date, and had engaged early with the Local Authority. Barry Hopkins, Director at Sporting Events UK, commented, “We have examined every part of our operation, from arrival at the event, the process moving through the event and the actual run itself. We had hugely positive feedback from the runners taking part with all saying how much they enjoyed the event, that they were glad to be back and how safe they felt. This was great to hear with all the work that had gone on behind the scenes.
One of the most well received parts was our waved starts, which were staggered and rolling, with a number of runners even saying they preferred this to the normal mass start. We had put in place lots of little measures too both with the Event HQ, including Hand Wash Stations, the use of masks, temperature checking our volunteers and staff and amendments to the route including a no overtaking zone on narrow sections. We are now looking forward to more events, with weekly events planned for September, October and November. The Local Authorities have been very supportive when they can see how much effort, time and though has gone into the safety and planning of a COVID secure event”.
University of Canterbury 10k Results
Other results from the weekend are on the following links: