Hellingly 10k

Race Description

Now well into its fourth decade, the John Faulds Hellingly 10k is organised by Hailsham Harriers, one of Sussex's longer-established running clubs, and has become one of the more respected fixtures on the county's autumn road-racing calendar. Runners gather at Roebuck Park Cricket Ground before heading out onto the undulating lanes around Hellingly, a village a few miles north of Hailsham near the Pevensey Levels. The course is UK Athletics licensed and accurately measured, which matters to the serious club runners it attracts as part of the Sussex Grand Prix series, but it's far from a flat time-trial: an early downhill start gives way to rolling countryside lanes before a genuinely testing climb in the final kilometres catches out anyone who has banked time too early.

With around 104 metres of climbing, it sits at the more moderate end of the area's hilly 10ks - tough enough to demand respect, but not as brutal as some of its Wealden neighbours. What distinguishes it locally is its longevity and its name: run in memory of a figure long associated with the race and Hailsham Harriers, it carries a sense of continuity that newer events can't match, and strong recent turnouts suggest its reputation is still growing rather than fading. It suits competitive club runners looking to test themselves against a strong Grand Prix field, as well as regulars who simply enjoy the tradition of a race that has been part of the local calendar since the late 1980s.