Meet Hastings’ very own world champion

The OCR (obstacle course racing) World Championships took place in Vermont USA.

Established in 2014, this is the original independent obstacle course Racing World Championships.

The 15km route included 40-plus obstacles spread across rough, mountainous terrain. The best athletes from around the world gathered to take it on, among them, the HY OCR contingent comprising Buchanan, Jason Wright, Ollie Garsed-Bennet and Chris Shipley.

Barry put in a tremendous effort placing first in his age category in a time of 2:00:29, making him a world champion.

He admitted he was a bit lost for words, saying: “I’ve only gone and done it, I’m world champion.”

Coach Terry Skelton spread the exciting news among the rest of the club simply saying: “Barry Buchanan, World OCR Champion, amazing result.”

It prompted a wave of well deserved congratulatory messages.

Garsed-Bennet, Shipley and Wright also held their own across the pond clocking 2:09:02, 2:21:45 and 2:30:13 respectively.Elsewhere, the Berlin Marathon returned last Sunday and took participants through five inner city districts of Berlin.

Honoary HY member and British Paralympic wheelchair athlete David Weir competed in the men’s wheelchair race securing third place in:29:02.

Also in Berlin was Stewart Ide who had faced a tough training schedule, often putting in the long miles at 4am during the heat of the summer.

Raising funds for the British Heart Foundation, he found the race just as tough – suffering from sickness at mile nine. As a result, he made the decision to withdraw from the race.

However, his grit and determination shone through and saw him complete the remaining 17.2 miles, clocking 5:06:12 for the most challenging run of his life.

Stewart’s Justgiving page is still live, and anyone wishing to donate to the BHF can do so by visiting www.justgiving.com and searching Stewart Ide.