West Sussex Fun Run League


Calling new members – and old members too – why not try out one or two of these lovely Sussex runs?

Hickstead WSFRL 2016 Hickstead Gallop (part of the WSFRL) 2016

The countryside and coastline of Sussex offer a variety of bridleways and paths for runners of all abilities, and the eighteen races which constitute the West Sussex Fun Run League (WSFRL) embrace the varying terrain of our beautiful county. Each club in the WSFRL undertakes to organise one event per calendar year, with distances ranging from 5 to10 kilometres (approx. 3 to 6 miles). Our event is the Hickstead Gallop held in October. The races follow the four seasons from the first event on New Year’s Day near Cissbury Ring in January, which is organised by Goring Road Runners, to an autumnal fun run on the South Downs organised by Lancing Eagles. However, the majority of the fun runs are held when the weather is milder, between May and September, on the seashore or on chalk, clay or even Greensand, with only a fleeting glimpse of tarmac.

 

The WSFRL deliberately keeps the cost of entering the fun runs to a minimum. For members of Haywards Heath Harriers, entry to the senior and junior races in the WSFRL is paid for by the club. This is a saving to members of £3 for adults and £1 for juniors for each event. You can obtain a free entry by letting the club’s WSFRL representative, Julian Boyer, know your intention to participate via the club’s notice board or by e-mail. E-mail reminders and Facebook messages of forthcoming fixtures in the WSFRL are distributed and posted before each race. Members’ entries to each fun run are also confirmed by e-mail – allowing arrangements for car sharing to be planned in advance.

Full details of the WSFRL calendar year may be seen at the WSFRL website http://westsussexfunrunleague.org.uk/ or the Sussex Races website http://www.sussexraces.co.uk/.

Points are awarded for each finisher in the WSFRL events, points inevitably mean prizes (silverware), which are keenly contested by the more active clubs in the league as the year progresses. Participation in Haywards Heath Harriers’ own fun run in the WSFRL at Hickstead in October, which also incorporates the club’s Open Cross Country Meeting, benefits from the build-up to the eventual winner of the trophy for the winner of the WSFRL. However, the essential aims of the WSFRL from its inception in 1982 are the enjoyment, participation and sociability of running with friends in different parts of the Sussex countryside – races times and positions are a secondary consideration.

The club is hoping that more members – especially newer members – will take part in the WSFRL. Recommended are the 10k fun run at Lewes held on Easter Monday each year, Chichester Runners’ 10k on the downland near East Lavant in May and a fun run through Tilgate Forest, organised by Saints & Sinners in August or September. But each event in the WSFRL offers its challenges plus the satisfaction of running in a variety of locations in Sussex.