100 years ago, on a cold 14th December 1908, 51 runners took part in the first

Hastings marathon. On the very same date in 2008 Running Free’s Julia Buckley

went along to do the same. Well, it was the same, but different…

Contrasting Fields

we elected a new Prime Minister, Herbert

Henry Asquith (amid protests from women

who were beginning to demand the right

to vote) and for six months throughout the

summer we’d hosted the Olympic games - the

marathon being the most talked about event.

So it was, with marathon fever in full swing that

Hastings, on the 16th of December 1908

hosted a 25 mile race through the town and

surrounding villages.

51 athletes, all men, took part. Shoulders

were covered and drawers were knee-length.

They gathered at the start line by the Central

Cricket Ground and the locals came out in

droves to cheer them off.

December 2008 history repeated itself when a

marathon took place over an almost identical

course. There were a few differences however…

Perhaps the fact that several hundred female

runners, of which I was one, took part was

the most striking change, it would certainly

have been unthinkable for a woman to run

in the 1908 event. Equally unimaginable

would have been my race number, 1171.

The organisers of the 2008 run had at first

thought interest would only amount to a

few hundred runners, but the event captured

the imagination of many more and in the

end they capped the numbers at 1908 – a

massive 1867 runners more than in 1908.

We lined up to start at the same spot as the

1908 runners, however the Central Cricket

Ground has been replaced by a shopping

centre. As before though, supporters were in

abundance and seemed as excited about the

event as their predecessors.

The Off

starting pistol and the runners were off, each

was accompanied by a cyclist, whilst a number

of motor cars supervised the race.

The first mile consisted of three laps of the

cricket ground and an early lead was taken by

Billy Clarke of Sefton Harriers. As the first British

runner to finish the Olympic marathon earlier in

the year, this was no big surprise. The runners

then veered off onto Queens Road and up the

first of the many hills along the course, which

drew them inland, away from the coast.

By the time he reached the crowds at The

Harrow pub, shortly before the 5 mile mark,

Clarke had a lead of some 400 yards.

of runners waiting for the off when

Michael Foster, today’s MP for Hastings,

fired the pistol. A whoop went up from

the runners around me and then - as usual

for a 5 hour marathon runner - nothing

happened. A couple of minutes later

though the crowd in front of me began to

disperse and I trotted over the start line.

We ran a couple of laps of the town

centre and, about half way up that first hill,

I began to find my pace and felt like my

marathon had really started. Supporters

were dotted alongside the route, many

with banners wishing their loved ones well,

ordinary folks up for the challenge and

out to put their all into the miles ahead.

We passed the Harrow pub and, just a bit

further along, came upon the welcome sight of

the Lucozade drinks station.

Stimulating Company

stations. Instead, OXO, the event’s sponsor,

had vans accompanying the runners carrying

OXO, rice pudding, raisins, bananas, soda,

milk, stimulants(!), and ‘Eau de Cologne’ with

sponges in case of collapse. I guess it’s always

good to smell nice when you’re out cold.

After eight miles they reached Battle and

found the entire town out to cheer them on,

even the inmates of the workhouse had been

allowed out to watch the spectacle and had

hung out flags. In these pre-television days,

they’d never seen anything like it. (Remarkably,

the starting and finishing point was actually at

the birthplace of TV, opposite where John Logie

Baird broadcast the first pictures in 1925.) Now

the runners dispersed into two separate groups

with an ever widening gap between the top 20

and the rest.

could hardly believe we’d

already covered eight miles. I

felt much better than I done

in my training runs and

started to think maybe I

could manage a 4hr 30min

time. The route was

interesting and pretty, which

probably helped, and the

company of the other

runners certainly did. I

covered a couple of miles

chatting to Paul Garner, who

had useful advice on pacing the route as he’d

already ran it once that day! Paul was in

training for the 150 mile Marathon des Sables in

the Sahara Desert in March and had set off at

4.30am for his first lap of the course, before

joining a friend at the start line to do the whole

thing all over again with the rest of us. I also

chatted to a blind runner who’d racked up over

a hundred marathons, and many other runners

whose achievements and anecdotes from races

they’d completed over the years reminded me

how pleased I was to have taken up running and

how fortunate I am to participate in such events.

Chilly Finish

greeted by more cheering crowds which

erupted into a roar as they passed. Clarke’s lead

was diminishing, as the eager spectators at the

start/finish line were informed by pigeon post.

The other runners continued to gain ground

on him across the final six seafront miles but

none were able to pass. Clarke crossed the line

in a spectacular time of 2hrs 37mins 16secs

and immediately tucked in to a warming cup of

OXO which, to the promoters delight, he gave

a ringing endorsement to the drink that had

helped him achieve his win.

in 2hrs 36mins. As for me, I had a thoroughly

enjoyable run and was on track to achieve my

hardly-dared-dream-of 4hr 30min time up until

about mile twenty. Runners today have access

to brilliant gear that ought to help us complete

long distances in relative comfort. However,

it’s useless if you forget to bring it and, by mile

21, as I began the long final seafront leg of

the marathon, I realised what a big mistake

forgetting my baselayer and running in just a

t-shirt had been. I have never been so cold.

My legs stiffened, my face stung, and my

hands swelled and went completely numb.

When they took on a blue colour I actually

started to worry about frostbite and decided to

stop running and walk with my hands thrust

down the sides my tights. Probably not the

most ladylike thing I’ve ever done in public,

and very likely the sort of thing I could’ve

been arrested for in 1908 – so yet another

reason I was glad to be in the 2008 race!

In this way I ran-walked the final few miles

and crossed the line at 4hrs 44mins. All things

considered, I’m very proud of what I did that

day. RF

1908 Finishers times (25 miles):

1st: William T Clarke, Sefton Harriers - 2:37:16.82

2nd: Fred T Lord, Wibsey Park AC - 2:38:13.23

3rd: Harry F Barrett, Polytechnic Harriers - 2:38:39.44

4th: Edmund Catt, Eastbourne AC - 2:38:58.85

5th: Jack Price, Small Heath Harriers - 2:40:33.06

6th: George White, Eastbourne AC - 2:50:09.8

2008 Finishers times (26.2 miles):

1st - Julian Rendall, Tonbridge A.C. 2:36:51

2nd - Daniel Anderson, Hastings A.C.

3rd - Henry Mountcastle, Hastings A.C.

1st Annabelle Stearns, Gravesend 3:04:40

2nd - Fiona Powell, B & H.A.C.

3rd - Sandra Bowers, Winchester

Going the distance

Paul Garner - Lap 1: 3:58 Lap 2: 4:14

Final finisher: Patricia Lelliott from Bexhill, who ran in memory

of her grandaughter, Chloe: 7:35

There were 1178 finishers, with no reports of bad injuries. (A

group of runners who pulled out at the 16 mile point at Sidley,

were later discovered still in their running kit at the New Inn

pub where they’d been all afternoon.)