Cole Gibbens completes hat trick of wins while Rebecca Weston is ladies victor at the 2025 Furley Page Canterbury 10 Mile Road Race.
1500 runners enjoyed the sell-out 2025 Furley Page Canterbury 10 Mile Road Race in dry but breezy conditions on Sunday 26th January. The organisers, Canterbury based Invicta East Kent Athletics Club were pleased to see so many entries with runners travelling from all over the UK to take part.
Popular local athlete Cole Gibbens ran 51min 10sec to take his third consecutive win, which was a new personal best over the 10 mile distance. He ran away from the field being chased for a long period by Marshall Smith (Ashford AC) who came home second in 52min 08sec. In third place was former Invicta athlete Dylan Rigby who now competes for Bristol & West AC, he ran a huge personal best in 53min 46sec. Just missing out on a podium place and finishing in fourth place was last year’s runner-up and first V40 athlete Barry Stephenson (Dartford Harriers).
The ladies’ race was won by Rebecca Weston from local club Invicta East Kent. Fresh from her win in the recent Kent Cross Country Championships she proved too strong in the latter stages for previous two time winner Chelsea Baker (Bristol & West AC). Both of them set personal bests over the distance with Weston running 57min 17sec and Baker 57min 45sec. Third was Hythe resident Zoe Tracey in 63min 37sec.
There was a good atmosphere and a sense of excitement about the race from the start of registrations until the finish of the final few runners. The runners were urged on by family, friends and local residents who lined the route. They enjoyed the spectacle of Lord Mayor of Canterbury Jean Butcher and Lady Mayoress Di Baldock being there to start the race and also to be at the finish to congratulate runners and hand out medals. The race was supported by new sponsors, local solicitors Furley Page, who had a team of runners taking part and who it is hoped will continue their association in future years. The sub sponsor, repeating previous support, was Canterbury based sports shop “The Running Outlet”.
Canterbury Christ Church University aided once again the running community by providing their excellent Sports Centre as race HQ, plus a team of physiotherapy students who provided a much appreciated free massage service.
The Event Charity for the fourth year was Kent based Demelza Hospice Care for Children. They helped the event with the provision of marshals and received a donation from the organisers.
There were various other age group winners as follows :
Men V40 Barry Stephenson (Dartford Harriers) 53min 59sec
Men V50 Steve Wright (Paddock Wood AC) 62min 18sec
Men V60 Stuart Mills (Uckfield Runners) 64min 27sec
Men V70 John Tolhurst (Paddock Wood AC) 77min 44sec
Ladies V35 Manda Gurung (Folkestone Running & AC) 67min 47sec
Ladies V45 Abbie Kirkham (Deal Tri Club) 66min 36sec
Ladies V55 Mary Lloyd (Brentwood RC) 72min 15sec
Ladies V65 Margaret Connolly (South Kent AC) 89min 05sec
In the Men’s Team race, Tonbridge AC (Cole Gibbens, Dan Bradley, Nathan Chapman and Mason Willis) were clear winners, followed home by Petts Wood Runners n second with a hard working Thanet Roadrunners AC third. In the Ladies’ Team race, Petts Wood Runners were out in force with their top three (Melody Kane, Emma Stevens and Elly Phillips) giving them the victory, Tunbridge Wells Harriers came close behind in second and Canterbury Harriers were also close behind in third.
Race Director Glenn Mousley said : “A very competitive race and great to sell out once again. We are really pleased with the race this year and the many personal bests in ideal conditions for distance running. There was a great energy around race HQ and in the race itself, with positivity all around. A good turn out from both club runners and those not affiliated gave a real feeling of inclusiveness. I would like to thank all of the runners for participating and also our sponsors. We are very grateful to the many volunteers and organisers who give up their time, early on a Sunday morning to work on the race. We hope to be back next January.”
