FOR A few hours early on Saturday, Petersfield Heath was transformed into a five kilometre running track, as 90 runners aged between seven and 70 raced to raise a whopping £1,400 for the Stroke Association.

The race was organised by women’s running club runnyhoneys, whose aim is to encourage more women into running and 56 of the 80 adult runners were female.

The race was started by the new town mayor, James Deane. From the off, a fast pace was set at the front. Race leaders did the first 1.2km lap of the pond in well under four minutes.

The course took in most areas around the Heath, which meant the terrain kept changing and was challenging due to tree roots, sandy parts, boggy bits and slight undulations.

As the first runner approached the finish line, it was clear that a new course record had been set, as visiting runner, Chris Prior from Manchester, finished in a time of just under 17 minutes. The top five men all finished in under 20 minutes.

The women’s race also set a quicker pace, Beth Hughes finishing in just over 20 minutes, leaving behind a battle for second place between Susannah Jones and Sabina Tavinor. Although both were given the same time, line judge Holly awarded second place to Sabina.

The children’s race was also hard fought, with the same three boys from the 2015 race finishing in the top three, although in a different order to last year. Toby Field ran well to beat Jake Cleasby by five seconds at the line. Although Tristan Jooste came third again, he had improved his time by eight minutes.

The loudest cheer at the finish line went to a quartet of women, three of whom had just finished a runnyhoneys’ beginners course and taken on this five kilometre run as their next challenge. Their overwhelming joy at completing the race was evident for all to see.

The prize giving was performed by the mayor for the top three places in each category (men, women, children).

Men’s race: 1. Chris Prior, 16min 51secs; 2. Jake Pillans, 18.11; 3. Naseem Ahmed 19.32. Women’s race: 1. Beth Hughes 20.05; 2. Sabina Tavinor 23.50; 3. Susannah Jones 23.50. Children’s race: 1. Toby Field 24.00; 2. Jake Cleasby 24.05; 3. Tristan Jooste 24.15.

The £1,400 raised will be divided equally between the Stroke Association charity and its Petersfield branch.