Whilst the Midland 7 took place in Romsley, a group of Halesowen runners shunned the wet and muddy delights of High Harcourt Farm for a weekend of sun, fun and run(ning!) in the Costa Blanca.
15 Halesowen athletes joined over 4,000 Brits and 9,132 athletes in total for the Benidorm 10k and Half Marathon races.
Most of the Halesowen crew were in situ by Thursday afternoon.
Opening days haunts included the Tiki Town Beach Club and the Daytona Rock Bar.
The evening then saw the first moves of the weekend busted at The Red Lion, on what in the grand scheme of things was a fairly tame “entertainment-free” night!
Friday began with the group seeking out one of the dozens of cheap breakfasts on offer followed by a visit to the race village to pick up numbers for Saturday’s 10k.
Celebrations for Adrian Dale’s birthday then kicked in and the famous Neptunes Bar, featured on ITV’s Benidorm, was one of the first stops.
As the sun went down the partying hit full swing at the Western Saloon bar with the group donning face masks and tatoos of the birthday boy!
With a few sore heads in evidence, more breakfasts were sought on Saturday morning before a relaxed day ahead of the Benidorm 10k race which began at 5.00 pm.
The first half of the course featured a few inclines before heading down to the seafront and up again for a sunset finish at the Town Hall square.
Leading the way for Halesowen was Peter Dear, whose fourteenth place finish in 33:25 saw him come home as second Brit and bag himself a PB of just over a minute.
“I started off with the leading pack and thought I was a bit out of my comfort zone, ” Peter told Radio Halesowen Town.
“I managed to just about keep them within touching distance and used them to pull me along when it got tough right at the end.
“There was quite a nasty sting in the tail coming through the old town in Benidorm and there were a few points where I wanted to throw the towel in but I’m pleased I didn’t.”
Ethan Jordan was second junior athlete in 42nd in 35:21 and Michelle Dale was first Halesowen lady in 297th in 43:37.
She was fifth W45 and second Brit in the age category.
And there was a PB for Steve Horton, who was 505th in 46:29.
Here’s the full results for all the Halesowen runners:
14th Peter Dear 33:25
42nd Ethan Jordan 35:21
293rd Michelle Dale 43:37
343rd Andrew Price 44:16
505th Steve Horton 46:29
581st Heather Bills 47:29
885th Matt Allen 50:44
983rd Keith Taylor 51:27
1089th Jamie Sircom 52:39
1919th Gavin Fereday 57:55
1920th Zoe Fereday 57:55
2734th Hayley Evans 1:04:02
2867th Adrian Dale 1:06:08
3091st Marianne Allen 1:07:44
3092nd Karen Rostill 1:07:44
4,133 runners took part in the race.
Full results are on the link below:
https://www.tiempoabatir.com/files/clasificaciones/pdfs/1763839015_G91_93B9S7.pdf
After a shower and a bite to eat, it was back to the Western Saloon for post-race partying until 3am!
It was an easy Sunday morning for most after the excesses of the night before, although Peter Dear clearly didn’t get the memo as he embarked on a hilly 15 mile run.
Meanwhile Matt, Marianne and Jamie watched CF Benidorm beat Torriejieva 2-0 in a top of the table clash in the fifth tier of Spanish football.
Everyone else enjoyed a few more drinks at seafront bars before the final night out culminating in a return visit to the Red Lion for a special “star” performance,
Nothing more can, or should be said, but is best summed up by the following photo of Zoe and Hayley!
Photo caption suggestions are more than welcome!
Plans are already being made for a return next year with Steve Horton booking his 2026 hotel whilst still in Benidorm!
The race date is confirmed as Saturday 21st November 2026.
Thanks go to everyone from the club for such a fun and enjoyable weekend, and do speak to any of the class of Benidorm 2025 if you are interested in joining in next year.
The next Halesowen weekend away is at Ty Careg in Wales from Friday 27th February to Sunday 1st March 2026.
Spaces are limited but if you do want to go then get in touch with Peter Dear ASAP.
FInally, here are a few of the more suitable photos from Benidorm 2025!
#upOwen!
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