RAYNET - Hastings Half Marathon on Oct 5th 2025

25/10/2025 | 2E0YRE - Tony Klinakis Radio Website

The Hastings Half Marathon was a disaster in terms of signals. Hastings has a difficult topography and there wasn’t a single location the repeater could be placed that covers the entire race area. I found 2-3 spots that sort-of worked, but I still had to relay a message multiple times for the Controller to hear me.

I used two Baofengs for this event, one serving as the main radio and one for backup.

All in all I take this as a positive because signal conditions aren’t always great, and having some experience in bad signal conditions is only positive - if annoying at the time.

I was a little bit unhappy with the Marshalls leaving their posts before the race was over. There were plenty of runenrs (most of them “walkers” by this point) still on, and I did hear on the radio about an older lady who collapsed and needed the emergency services dispatched at her location.

I stayed at my post until the tail markers arrived. My location was on the pier, next to two coffee shops, so I wasn’t entirely miserable.

The one new bit of kit I had with me was the radio sling, which goes over your shoulder and holds the radio close to your head. I’ll be using those again.