Published on: Thursday 08 Mar 2018 at 10:18
Wheelchair racers to come to St Clare race event
Members of Harlow Wheelchair Racing Squad are set to take part in St Clare Hospice’s annual 10k race on Sunday 8th April 2018. The popular annual 10k sporting event has been a fixture in local athletics calendars for over twenty years.
The Harlow Wheelchair Racing Squad is coached by Great British Paralympian Richard Chisassaro (36 years from Harlow) which he formed in 2014 and includes four athletes who are ranked in the top 4 in the UK in their classification.
Richard Chisassaro is a T54 Great British wheelchair racer from Harlow who competed at the Rio 2016 Paralympics and is the current bronze medal holder for the T54 400m which he won at the World Championships held in London in 2017.
Richard Chisassaro has competed in the St Clare 10k on a number of occasions and in 2017 he finished the course in a time of 23 minutes 23 seconds. Richard will not be racing in the St Clare 10k 2018 due to training commitments in Australia but members of his Harlow Wheelchair Racing Squad will be attending the race. Commenting on the St Clare 10k, Richard said:
“I have competed in the St Clare 10k with my Squad for a number of years and it is a great event – well organised and with lots of supporters at the Hospice. The course is all on road and there are some good downhills where you can really build up a lot of speed. I got up to about 46km/hr on the course last year. I took part with three other members of my squad last year, but this year I unfortunately can’t compete as I will be overseas training. A number of my Squad will be competing on the day though. It is a great course for youngsters to get out on, and have a go at competing for the first time. It is also chip-timed and run under UK Athletics rules so it is a good course to use to get a new Personal Best.”
Commenting on the care that St Clare Hospice provides, Richard Chisassaro said:
“St Clare is a great local charity, and it is a household name all across Harlow and West Essex. You never expect to need the support of a hospice, but when you do, St Clare is there for you. Whenever you speak about St Clare locally, you realise that it has touched the lives of almost every family in our area. Everyone always speaks so highly of all the staff, nurses, doctors and volunteers – they really are a superb charity which deserves our support. It is great that the 10k raises funds for the Hospice and I hope that the event smashes the £8,000 target this year.”
Join the St Clare 10k
The St Clare 10k is a road race and is UK Athletics affiliated and chip-timed with trophies up for grabs in the following categories: male, female, seniors, juniors and wheelchair athletes. Medals will be awarded to all runners.
Advanced registration costs £12 or £15 on the day (£10 or £13 for affiliated runners). The deadline for advanced sign-ups is 3 April. The registration desk will be open at 9:30am on the day, with the race starting at 10:30am. The event is open to people aged 15 and above.
For more information, or to register, click here.
Alternatively, please call the St Clare Challenge and Events Team on 01279 773754.
The race starts and finishes at St Clare Hospice, Hastingwood Road, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 9JX.