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Lewes, East Sussex AC wins gold at Sussex AA road relays in Preston Park
Lewes Athletic Club celebrated two Sussex titles and a string of podium finishes at the Sussex AA Road Relay Championships at Preston Park, Brighton, on Sunday.
Seven senior and masters teams represented Lewes AC at the annual county championships, with the club’s senior men and women’s V70 team both crowned Sussex champions.
The senior men produced a landmark performance, winning their three-leg race in a combined time of 28:38.
Josh Burgess, Patrick Wilding and Tom Niner delivered a superb performance around the flat Preston Park circuit, recording legs of 9:16, 9:42 and 9:39 respectively to take the Sussex title.
The result is the biggest achievement in the history of Lewes AC’s senior men’s team.
WV70 Team | Fiona, Caroline & Anita | 2026 Sussex AA Road Relay Championships
The women’s V70 team also struck gold, completing their three legs in 56:19. Fiona Wright, Caroline Darton and Anita Amies combined to secure the county championship.
Lewes women also delivered strong performances, with the senior team, featuring Emma Gibbs, Liv Wise and Darja Knotkova-Hanley, finishing an impressive fourth in 36:37. They produced three consistently fast legs of 12:21, 12:06 and 12:09.
The men’s V40 team, featuring Toby Meanwell, Jez Davidson and Phill Stephenson claimed silver, finishing just 13 seconds behind the winners in 31:50.
Both Lewes V60 teams also won bronze medals. Karin
MV60 Team | Ian, Jonathan & Nick | 2026 Sussex AA Road Relay Championships
Divall, Larissa Purdie and Julie Deakin took third place in the women’s V60 race in 52:34, while Nick Williams, Jonathan Burrell and Ian Fines also finished third in the men’s V60 category in 37:38.
The women’s V40 team featuring Becky Trotman, Charlotte Bennett and Maria Barrow finished sixth in its category in 40:44, completing the club’s impressive set of results.
The Sussex AA Road Relays feature competitive teams from clubs across the county. Senior and masters athletes run two-mile legs made up of two laps of the one-mile Preston Park circuit, handing over a chip-timed baton to their teammate at the end of each leg.
Lewes AC Chair Philip Westbury said: “Great results across the junior and adult sections today at the Sussex AA road relays in Preston Park. Lewes AC returned from Preston Park with two Sussex titles, one silver medal and two bronze medals. The senior men’s performance is the biggest in the club’s history and a key target in our club’s endurance strategy. Well done to everybody who took part; it was a great event with strong performances all round for the club.”
Want to Improve Your Running Performance with Lewes AC?
Lewes AC offers various training sessions to help boost your performance at road and trail running events:
- Strength and Conditioning: Join our coaches on Monday nights to improve core strength and stability. Sign up here.
- Track Sessions: Fine-tune your technique, pacing, and endurance on with distance based track sessions Thursday evenings, or time based track sessions on Saturday mornings. Sign up here.