About cycling & running in HastingsHastings Training Notes
Running: Locals run the seafront first, because Hastings parkrun gives you a flat 100% tarmac and concrete out-and-back with Bottle Alley, the Pier, and sometimes a headwind on the return leg. The course uses the upper promenade when the lower promenade is covered in shingle. The course has 9m of ascent. Hastings Runners has about 500 members, Monday track at William Parker from 18:15 to 19:30, and Tuesday and Wednesday runs from Horntye Park at 18:30. The Hastings Runners 5 Mile Race is the anchor event.
Cycling: Hastings and St.Leonards Cycling Club carries the local riding scene, and the club was formed on 12th October 1876. The Saturday morning Bacon Butty Ride suits new members, while summer weekly races over short distances keep the legs honest. National Cycling Network routes 2 and 21 run through 1066 Country, and locals use them for Z2, base miles, and steady coastal spins. The 1066 Circular links the coastline with the woods of the Weald, and it gives riders 43 miles with almost 900m of climbing. The climbs bite around East Hill, West Hill, Senlac Hill, Castle Hill, and Firehills.
Season: July is the best month, and Hastings has proper coastal light when summer lands. Hastings tied with Eastbourne for 384 hours of sunshine in July 1911, so long rides, seafront intervals, and evening club runs feel natural then. Tuesday off road runs with Hastings Runners run from mid-April until mid-September, and the cycling club’s weekly short-distance races sit in summer too. Winter stays mild by local standards, but locals shift the rhythm toward the promenade, steady Z2, and club structure. The beach stays mainly shingle, and sand shows at low tide.
