The Hastings 5 Miler is pretty much pancake flat. The main issue will be the wind with the majority of the route taking place on the seafront. So be sure to check the forecast before setting yourself a target time.

I’ve ran this race many times before, some better than others. One year I was beaten by a bloke in a full tracksuit, bear in mind we run this race in the summer!!

2025 was my best performance to date, check out the Race Vlog above. 32:15, for a big PB and an average pace of 4:00 per km. I’ve learned a lot in the process.

In terms of pacing, if the wind isn’t too strong, you should be running this slightly faster than your 10k pace. I made the mistake one year of going off at 5k PB pace and realised when three fellow Hastings Runners (Paul, Kieran & Martin), all much faster than me, cruised past me at the mile marker, safe to say that did not end well.

I was lucky to have a pacer last year. If you call paying for their entry fee lucky. But it really helped. It’s easy to get caught up in the pack in that first section from the Town Hall to the Pier. This is the key part of the race in my opinion. Make sure you dial into your pace straight away. Don’t worry what the others are doing, let them tear off like lunatics, you’ll catch them up later.

Whilst I felt strong being paced by Steve, the one time in the race I doubted if I could keep up that pace, was the first 500 metres. I was well warmed up, but it was just a little shock to the system. So my advice is don’t panic early doors. If your pace feels quick, give yourself a km or a mile to settle down, trust your targets and keep going.

I found this approach worked really well and once we got onto the prom and the field opened up I was able to relax and get into a better rhythm.

The other mistake I would have made were it not for Steve pacing was just after the turnaround, when we then had the wind behind, I was eager to kick on, but Steve slowed me down, we stuck to the pace agreed and this allowed me to finish strongly.

If you want coaching advice on any race or a bespoke training plan for the Hastings Runners 5 Mile Race then get in touch.