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Updated 29-12-2009
Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club - NEWS
28/12/09 - NEW YEAR OPENER OVER SHORTER COURSE Hercules Wimbledon runners will lose little time in starting their 2010 racing programme when they compete in the Lauriston Runners' Club five miles multi-terrain race on Wimbledon Common tomorrow (Saturday). The event was first run in 1990 over seven miles after a replacing a previously run 10km event which had to be abandoned due to the building of the Asda superstore on the A3, Roehampton Vale. This year, traffic conditions have once again forced organisers to reduce the distance of the course to five miles to avoid the narrow Camp Road approach to the junction of The Causeway, Westside and West Place. Entry for the event which starts on The Causeway, near the Fox and Grapespub, is free and all are welcome. Runners from other local clubs have all been invited to take part. The event is staged over a very flat two lap course on Wimbledon Common. Hercules Wimbledon runners were in action around the Christmas period. More than a dozen took part in the annual Christmas Day Lauriston Runners' Club 30-minute paarlauf which was being staged for the 55th time. Ahmed Hussein was a member of the winning pair linking up with Aldershot's Kevin Quinn to cover a total of five miles 1349 yards. Nada Hassan and teenager Joe Clark were second with 5-925 just 23 yards further than another Hercules Wimbledon pairing of Joe Toomey and Dave Betts. Martin Miller linked up with Thames Hare & Hounds' Andy Robinson to finish fifth covering 5-880 with Steve Sinnott linking up with Striders of Croydon's Barry White to take sixth place with 5-667. Several Hercules Wimbledon runners were in action in the final Wimbledon
Common parkrun on Saturday with Kieran White and Madena Knespl taking the men's
and women's honours in 16 minutes 40 seconds and 21:18, respectively. Joe
Toomey, taking part in his second race in as many days, was fourth in the men's
race in 18:35 with veteran Frank Wood 13th in 20:49. Michaela Knespl was second
woman in 21:27 with a third member of the Knespl family, Deyan, 23rdoverall in
21:45. Hercules Wimbledon's Chris Coles finished eighth out of more than 150 runners in the Ronhill Surrey Classic 10km road race in Horton Country Park in 35:27, just over two minutes behind the race winner. The event was reduced to just under six miles for safety reasons due to icy patches on part of the course. Midweek evening training at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium which was suspended over the Christmas and New Year period will resume next Tuesday evening (January 5), starting at 6.30pm.
21/12/09 - WARM-UP RACE FOR CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES Hercules Wimbledon runners get the chance to built up their Xmas day appetites when they compete in the annual Lauriston Runners' Club paarlauf on Christmas Day. The event, which is being staged for the 55th time, starts on Wimbledon Common opposite the entrance to Lauriston Cottage which is at the junction of Southside and Lauriston Road. The event starts at 11am and pairs of runners will endeavour to cover as much distance within 30 minutes. At the end of the time period, the pair that have covered the furthest distance are the winners. After the event there will be the usual festive fare of mulled wine and mince pies. Runners wishing to take part in the event need to report to Lauriston Cottage by 10.30am enable pairings of strong and weak runners. There is a £1 entry fee to cover the cost of refreshments. Hercules Wimbledon's Alex Bruce-Littlewood found himself running on Wimbledon Common somewhat unexpectedly last Saturday. He was due to compete in a Euro cross event in Brussels but the problems with Eurostar meant there was no way he could get to the Belgian capital so he ran in the South of the Thames 7.5 miles championship instead finishing a good 13th out og almost 200 runners in 43 minutes 2 seconds. Veteran Peter Lee was 53rd and fourth in the over 40 category in 47:15, Rory McMahon 67th in 48:56, Jamie Helmer 68th in 49:04, Hugh Saxby 69th and second over 50 veteran in 49:05, Matthew Sharp 86th in 50:55, David Grima 120th in 54:02 and veteran Frank Wood 133rd in 55:55. Kate Mellor was fifth in the women's championship in 52:50 with Anna Garnier winning the veterans over 55 medal finishing 11th in 56:49, Marilena de Luca 22nd in 1:03:01 and Rowena Hornshaw 34th in 1:08:01. Rory McMahon completed a busy weekend when he finished 13th in the Holly Run six miles cross country race at Reigate on Sunday in 35:23. Two of Hercules Wimbledon's youngsters, Ed Saywell and Joe Clark were 15th and 19th, respectively, in the young athletes there miles race in 15:37 and 15:45. Back home for Christmas from her studies across the Atlantic in Boston, USA, Medena Knespl lost little time finding her running feet when she finished second in the women's event in the Wimbledon Common parkrun on Saturday in 19:59. It was her first appearance in the event since August 2008, the last time she competed on home soil. Her teenage sister Michaela was third in the women's race in 20:39 with Zoe Phillips fourth and first over 40 veteran in 20:46 with 14-year-old Rebecca Stone, one of the youngest runners in the event, 15th in 23:28. Charles Lawrie was 38th and second over 60 veteran in the men's race in 21:18 with Mark Bohan 44th in 21:44. Over 50 veteran Martin O'Halloran posted the top age-graded performance in the Roundshaw Downs parkrun in finishing 12th of the 55 runners in 21:35. Midweek evening training at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium has been suspended over the Christmas and New Year period. The Tuesday and Thursday evening sessions will resume on Tuesday, January 5.
14/12/09 - WOMEN CROSS RUNNERS SET FOR PROMOTION Hercules Wimbledon's senior women's cross country team gave themselves an early Christmas present with an outstanding performance in the third of this season's Surrey Ladies League meetings in Richmond Park on Saturday. They finished runners-up in the Division Two team competition and with one match remaining are second in the overall table with the top three guaranteed promotion to Division One. Hercules Wimbledon have never competed in the top division. Making her debut for Hercules Wimbledon Zoe Phillips led the squad home taking 13th place out of more than 130 runners and covering the 8.1km course in 35 minutes 9 seconds. She finished just ahead of marathon runner Claire Grima who was 14th in 35:35 and expecting a baby next June. Teenager Jennifer Fernando who was 16th in 35:48 was also second in the under 20 category with Debbie Noel 21st in 36:14 and Rosemary's twin sister Jennifer finishing 36th in 37:32 and third in the under 20 event to complete the scoring team. Other Hercules Wimbledon finishers were Chantelle Toussaint 46th in 38:57, Marline a De Luca 58th in 40:25 and Rowena Hornshaw 75th in 42:37. Maire Gilmartin finished 13th in the girls under 13 4.57 km race in 20:16 with Chloe Knight also making her debut for Hercules Wimbledon 34th in the girls under 13 3.28km race in 17:21. Despite the absence of their top runner, Liam White, who opted to run in the senior race, Hercules Wimbledon's youngsters continued to dominate the under 15 and under 17 category of the Sweatshop Surrey cross country league at the third meeting of the season which was also staged in Richmond Park. Ed Saywell, who last month celebrated his 16th birthday, has suddenly got a taste for winning. He won the intermediate boys race running for Surrey schools in an inter-counties match in Stoke-on-Trwent last month, his first-ever cross country success and followed that triumph up by heading the field home in the youngsters race in Richmond Park on Saturday. His win came after finishing fifth and seventh in the opening two matches of the winter at Reigate and Coulsdon. He dominated the Richmond Park to cover the 2.84 miles in 15:23 to win by five seconds. His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Geordie Logan was third in 15:33 and with Joe Clark seventh and top under 15 runner in 16:33, Ben Palmer 12th and third under 15 in 17:49 and Augustin Mallon 15th in 18:08 and Daniel Haigh 19th in 19:02, Hercules Wimbledon took the team honours to strengthen their overall lead. Three youngsters making their Hercules Wimbledon debut performed well in the under 13 race where Hercules Wimbledon's Cassian Hyde, who was second and third in the opening two races, led the club squad home by finishing fourth in 16:52. Elliott Laville (20:34) and Josh Lambert (21:59), making their debuts for Hercules Wimbledon, were 13th and 14th with Joel Atkin, Carl Reed and a third newcomer Zach Lambert 15th, 16th and 17th. Dave Clarke, who won the English senior men's cross country title three times two decades ago in 1982, 1987 and 1988, and is now in his 50's, turned out to boost the senior men's team and finished 74th out of more than 160 runners in 32:54. First Hercules Wimbledon finisher was Alex Bruce-Littlewood who was top junior in the 160-plus strong field in finishing eighth covering the 5.65 miles in 29:33. Liam White, who was too young to score in the race, finished a strong 20th in 30:12 with Adam Przedrzymirski (30:40), Gervase King (31:03), Phil Glynn (31:22) and Mike Halman (31:45) finishing 26th, 29th, 38th and 47th. Another Hercules Wimbledon teenager Alex Robinson was 53rd and third under 20 finisher in 32:01 with James Hogg, also making his Hercules Wimbledon debut, 65th in 32:31, Deon Coetzee 69th in 32:46, veteran Peter Lee 78th in 33:08, Rory McMahon 89th in 33:39 and over 50 veteran Hugh Saxby 99th in 34:23. This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are in action in the South of the Thames seven miles cross country championship on Wimbledon Common on Saturday, starting at 2pm.
7/12/09 - TEENAGERS WHITE AND SAYWELL HEAD HW RUNNERS The club's two youngest runners in the annual Ellis Trophy 5.5 miles cross country race in Richmond Park on Saturday led the Hercules Wimbledon contingent over the finishing line. Making a rare appearance in a senior cross country event 17-year-old Liam White ran strongly to finish fifth out of more than 100 runners in 30 minutes 53 seconds with fellow teenager Ed Saywell 12th in 32:25. Their strong runs augur well for next month's Surrey cross country championships where they will be aiming to clinch places in the county teams to compete in the UK Inter-Counties Championships at Cofton Park, Birmingham. Next Hercules Wimbledon finisher in Richmond Park was Stuart Fraser who was the top over 40 veteran in taking 18th place in 33:09 with Rory McMahon, back from running in the Marabana half-marathon in the Cuban capital, Havana, 23rd in 33:41. With Jamie Helmer 29th in 34:19, Matthew Sharp 35th in 35:14, Stuart Bond 42nd and second veteran over 40 42nd in 36:03, Frank Wood 51st and third over 45 in 36:37 and Peter Giles 61st and first veteran over 65 in 38:05 and Dave Betts 68th and first veteran over 60 in 38:49, Hercules Wimbledon finished strong runners-up in the 10-to-score team event. Other Hercules Wimbledon finishers were Craig Howard, making his first appearance for the club, 88th in 43:01, Marilena De Luca, 90th in 43:39 and Fred Green, third over 60 finisher, who was 92nd in 44:3. Teenanger Michaela Knespl led the Hercules Wimbledon team home in the women's Dysart Cup 4.12 miles race. She was seventh in 28:05 with over 50 veteran Mel Jones 28th in 32:27, 14-year-old Maire Gilmartin, the youngest runner in the event, 30th in 33:00, Rowena Hornshaw 34th in 34:41 and over 45 veteran Fenella Willis 35th in 35:08. Mike Halman was the first Hercules Wimbledon finisher in the Marabana half-marathon in Cuba taking 22nd place out of mroe than 1000 runners in 1:16:37 with Rory McMahon 79th in 88:04, Sean Crummy 108th in 1:31:07 and over 60 veteran Maurice Sharp 197th in 1:39:27. Hercules Wimbledon's Neil Aitken headed home a 130-strong field to win the Richmond Park parkrun on Saturday in 17:43. It was his third win in four appearances in the event. Another Hercules Wimbledon runner in Stephen McDuell was 21st in 20:28. Over 50 veteran Martin O'Halloran posted a personal best time in finishing eighth out of more than 50 runners in the Roundshaw Downs parkrun in 20:12. It took 16 seconds off his previous best time set in finishing 10th in the event in November. Stuart Fraser, who later in the day was first veteran in the Ellis cross country trophy race in Richmond Park, warmed up for the afternoon event by finishing third in the Wimbledon Common parkrun in 17:37, just six seconds behind the winner. Andrew Davies was 10th in 21:39, Mark Bohan 28th in 21:53 and Charles Lawrie 40th in 22:41. Teenager Becky Stone was 52nd and second woman in 23:23 with over 40 veteran Patrick Stone 61st in 24:04. Hercules Wimbledon's cross country runners will be in action in Richmond Park for the second successive weekend on Saturday. The club's senior women's team which are chasing promotion in the Surrey Ladies League will be in action first with their race over 8.1km starting at 12noon. It will be followed by a race at 1pm for under 15 and under 17 runners over 4.57km and one at 1.30pm for under 13 runners over 3.28km. Because of the shorter days, the Sweatshop Surrey cross country league races are taking place half-an-hour earlier than usual. The young athletes race over 2.84 miles starts at 2pm with the seniors over 5.65 miles due off at 2.30pm. The races start and finish near the Pembroke Lodge car park.
30/11/09 - SUDDEN DEATH OF POLE VAULTER JEFF FENGE Older members of Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club have been shocked to hear of the sudden death of former international pole vaulter Jeff Fenge. He was 63. He suffered a heart attack during one of his regular rifle shooting sessions
at Bisley. He felt unwell and walked back into the office there where he
collapsed. An air ambulance was called but paramedics were unable to resuscitate
him. Fenge was born at St Helier Hospital, Carshalton, in October 1946. At the time of his death he lived in Raynes Park with his wife. He had two grown-up children and two grandchildren. His funeral took place at the North East Surrey Crematorium, Morden. Fenge joined the Army when he was 15 on leaving the former Hillcroft Secondary School, Tooting and it was there he began pole vaulting. He won the AAA Junior title at Crystal Palace in 1964 clearing 3.96m. He improved his personal best to 4.26m at a meeting at Carshalton Arena the following year. He was Surrey senior champion in 1968 and was runner-up in in both 1967 and 1969. He again improved his pole vault best to 4.42m at a meeting at Crystal Palace in September 1969 which ranked him fifth in the UK. He also had a crack at the decathlon in 1969 and took the silver medal in the Surrey championship which was held at Tooting Bec. He won the Southern senior pole vault title at Motspur Park in 1970 with a 4.26m clearance. In 1971 he improved his personal best to 4.45m and was ranked eighth equal in the UK that year. He was a regular member of Hercules Wimbledon's British Athletics League teams in 1971 and 1972 and in 1972 improved his pole vault best to 4.61m which ranked him seventh in the UK that year. He was ranked fourth in the UK in 1974 as a result of winning a pole vault event at Woking in September with 4.71m. Fenge's best year was 1975 when he represented Britain four times - in the British International Games in May where he was third equal with 4.50m, against France in Dieppe where he was also fourth with 4.70m, in the Philips Golden International Games at Crystal Palace in July where he was fourth equal with 4.60m and in a match against the Soviet Union at Crystal Palace in August when he was fourth with 4.60m. He was also runner-up for Surrey in the Inter-Counties championships which were staged at Crystal Palace that year. At the end of the season he again improved his lifetime best in winning a competition at Woking with 4.80m which still stands as the Hercules Wimbledon club record. Fenge, who was also a competent sprint hurdler and long and triple jumper, enjoyed only two more seasons in athletics retiring at the end of the 1977 summer. Brother John said: " Once Jeff found he was not improving he could not carry on performing at a lower level." After he left the army he worked initially for his father's building company and then as an engineer for BT taking early retired a few years ago. During his time in the army, Jeff Fenge was a member of the high successful 21 Signal Regiment team which won the Army team championship a record nine consecutive years. Fenge was one of three pole vault internationals Hercules Wimbledon boasted 40 years ago. The others were Martin Higdon who won the inter-counties title four times from 1967 to 1970 and Peter Lyons. Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be in action in the Ellis Men's Trophy and Dysart Women's Cup cross country races in Richmond Park on Saturday.
23/11/09 -HW YOUNGSTERS WIN IN STOKE AND LONDON Youngsters from Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club were in winning form in both
North London and Stoke-on-Trent over the weekend. His victory boosted his hopes of running for Surrey in next year's English schools cross country championships in Manchester. Another Hercules Wimbledon runner in action for Surrey at Stoke was Joe Clark who was 47th in the intermediate boys race in 23:32. Meanwhile, fellow teenager Liam White made a winning start to his winter cross country programme when he won the London men's under 17 title at Parliament Hill Fields. White was a comfortable winner of the title covering the undulating five kilometres race in 17:07, 15 seconds clear of the runner-up. White achieved his gold medal-winning performance despite feeling under the weather. "I felt awful, I'm just not fit at all. I had tonsillitis two weeks ago and I was wheezing all the way round the course," said White. The South of England inter-counties cross country championships were decided in conjunction with the London championships and White was 12th in the inter-county race and the fourth member of the Surrey team which took the silver medals in the men's under 17 event. Another Hercules Wimbledon runner representing Surrey was Joe Toomey who finished 53rd in 18:44. Toomey was also eighth in the London championship. Another Hercules Wimbledon medallist at Parliament Hill was teenager Alex Robinson who took the bronze medal in the junior men's championship covering the 10km in 35:52. He also led the Hercules Wimbledon team home in the senior men's championship finishing 20th out of more than 260 runners. Phil Glynn was 33rd in 36:53, Justin Kelly 37th in 37:04 and Deon Coetzee 58th in 38:08 to complete the scoring team. Also in the senior men's race was veteran Frank Wood who was 179th in 44:08. Wood completed a busy weekend by running in the John Cock Epsom 10 miles road race at Epsom Downs on Sunday. He was 41st out of more than 230 runners in a personal best of 1:08:03. His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Keith Hylands was 79th and second veteran over 60 in 1:13:49. Hercules Wimbledon's over 50 veteran gave an improved showing in the weekly
Roundshaw Park parkrun on Saturday where he finished 11th in 21:13. Over in
Richmond Park, Stephen McDuell was 32nd in 21:20. Hercules Wimbledon's Adam Przedrzymirski finished sixth out of more than 850 runners in the Saab Solomon Turbo X trail race in Bordon, Hampshire, on Sunday, covering the 10-plus miles of sand, mud, hills and bogs in 1:10:03. His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Martin Miller was the first veteran over 60 in 1:34:54. This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are competing in the South of the Thames five miles cross country race at Sparrow's Den, West Wickham on Saturday, starting at 2pm. The club's youngsters are in action in the second of this season's Surrey Sportshall meetings at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre on Sunday starting at 1pm.
16/11/09 - TEENAGER WHITE OFF TO A WINNING START The duo will be competing for Surrey in the men's under 17 race on Saturday. In the absence of White, Toomey took the honours in the opening league race at Reigate but with White back in action after taking a month out to recover from his hectic summer, Toomey was forced to give way to his more talented clubmate. White had control of the race from soon after the start and battle through blustery conditions to win the two-and-a-half miles race in 15 minutes 30 seconds with Toomey 21 seconds down and the pair leading Hercules Wimbledon to a comfortable team triumph. It was their second race of the day as, in the morning, they competed in the Lord Mayor's mile in the City which was part of the Lord Mayor's Parade celebrations. Other Hercules Wimbledon runners in the youngsters' race were Ed Saywell (seventh in 16:48) and Ben Palmer (15th in 18:41). Cassian Hyde was just pipped in the under 13 race where he was runner-up in 16:40. Despite missing some of the top members of the team who were on the club trip to Cuba, Hercules Wimbledon gave an improved showing in the senior men's race. Kieran White led the Hercules Wimbledon contingent home covering the five miles in 30:11 to finish 10th out of more than 150 runners. Teenager Alex Robinson was second Hercules Wimbledon finisher in 41st place in 31:52 and used it as a warm-up for the tough Hell Raiser event through mud and water in Longmoor, Hampshire, on Sunday where he had a superb run beating a 3000-plus strong field to win in 1:04:52 despite, at 18, being the youngest runners in the field. Phil Glynn, who missed the start in the opening Surrey League race at Reigate, bounced back by finishing 47th at Coulsdon in 32:14 and was the third Hercules Wimbledon scorer. Other Hercules Wimbledon runners in the senior men's race were Justin Kelly (50th in 32:21), Richard Xerri (53rd in 32:29), veteran Peter Lee (73rd inn 33:40), Deon Coetzee (76th in 33:51), Matthew Sharp (86th in 34:29), Adam Sikora (91st in 34:46) and over 55 veteran Hugh Saxby (101st in 35:23) completing the scoring team of 10. Hercules Wimbledon's senior women gave another good showing in their Surrey Ladies League race, staged in pouring rain and high winds at Dorking last Saturday. Marathon runner Claire Grima led the contingent in finishing sixth in 26:25 with Debbie Noel 32nd in 28:39, Jennifer Fernando 34th in 28:51, her twin sister Rosemary 37th in 29:08, Chantel Toussaint 41st in 29:36, Amy Dolan 51st in 29:56, Fenella Willis 77th in 32:29 and Rowena Hornshaw 85th in 33:21. Hercules Wimbledon's Jamies Garnier showed useful track form in the Freshers Varsity match at Wilberforce Road, Cambridge, where he won the 400m in 51.6 and was also runner-up in the 400m hurdles in 60.2, his first attempt at the event. He also competed in the high hurdles and anchored Oxford to victory in the 4x400m relay. Another Hercules Wimbledon athlete in the match was teenager Henry Husband who helped Cambridge to a comfortable team victory by finishing third in the 200m and running the third leg for the winning sprint relay quartet. Meanwhile, over 50 veteran Martin O'Halloran and Andrew Davies were fifth in their respective parkruns at Roundhsaw Downs and Wimbledon Common in 21:23 and 19:03, respectively. This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are competing in the London cross country championships, which are being staged in conjunction with the South of England inter-counties championships, at Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday.Hercules Wimbledon teenagers Liam White and Joe Toomey warmed up for this coming weekend's South of England inter-counties cross country championships at North London's Parliament Hill Fields by heading the field home in the second of this season's Sweatshop Surrey League races at Farthing Downs, Coulsdon, last Saturday. November 16th 2009.
9/11/09 - WALKER VILJOEN AIMS AT COMMONWEALTH GAMES Hercules Wimbledon's top race walker Estle Viljoen is targeting the Commonwealth Games in India next summer. The former all-African race walking champion is hopeful she can make the English team for the event after reverting to race walking in earnest in the past few months. In August, representing Surrey, she won the women's 3000m walk at the South of England senior inter-counties match at Chelmsford in 14 minutes 27.24 seconds. In September, the 39-year-old Mitcham schoolteacher won the British Masters 10km road walking championship at Leicester in 54:11 and also finished runner-up in the UK senior championship decided in conjunction with the event. Representing the South of England in the inter-area match at Doncaster, she won the 5km walk by more than a minute in 26:50. Much earlier in the year she won two titles at the European Veterans Championships in Denmark in May. She took the 10km event in 55:43 and the 20km gold medal in 1:59:12. Viljoen's ability to compete in walking events has been hampered by a series of injury problems. However, she said: "It is a great feeling to realize that I am gaining confidence again after a long period of constant injuries. I can race again with a competitive spirit." Viljoen, who teaches at Haslemere Primary school, added: "I am so thankful to the Nuffield gym in Wimbledon who have been supporting me in my training. Competing in the 2010 Commonwealth Games has been a dream for me but I would like to make the dream come true or at least give it my best shot." Her next walking competition is likely to be in the Belgrave open seven miles event in Wimbledon on November 28. She won the women’s event last year in just outside the hour. Hercules Wimbledon's Mike Halman warmed up for a half-marathon in Cuba this weekend by taking second place out of more than 1500 competitors in the HellRunner multi-terrain 12 miles race in Cheshire. It was a pretty tough experience for Halman who is among a party of Hercules Wimbledon athletes in action in the Cuban capital, Havana, on Sunday. Organisers of the Cheshire event warned those taking part to expect to get very wet - it is nature at its toughest - as the course included a variety of surfaces from running tracks to water-filled trails. Clubmate Rory McMahon, who is also in the Cuban party, finished 32nd. Hercules Wimbledon athletes were in action in an inter-club match seven miles cross country match in Richmond Park on Saturday. They were led home by Chris Coles who finished third in 40:48 with Hugh Saxby first veteran over 55 10th in 43:13 and David Grima 12th in 44:13. Another veteran, Frank Wood was 15th in 46:31m and Fred Green 24th and first veteran over 60 in 54:00. Over 50 veteran Martin O'Halloran competed in the Roundshaw parkrun where he was 10th out of 49 finishers in 20:28. His time chopped 38 seconds off his previous best for the course. Clubmate Stephen McDuell was in action in the Richmond Park event where he was eighth out of almost 200 finishers in 19:37. Hercules Wimbledon's John Querstret was 20th out of more than 500 runners in the Bushy Park race in 18:42 with Andrew Davies sixth out of more than 150 competitors in the Wimbledon Common parkrun in 18:57. This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon's runners are in action in the second of this season's Sweatshop Surrey cross country league meetings on Farthing Downs, Coulsdon, on Saturday. The young athletes' race starts at 2.30pm with the seniors due off half-an-hour later.
2/11/09 - ATHLETES TO COMPETE IN TOP CUBAN RACES A party of Hercules Wimbledon athletes are flying out to Cuba next week to take part in the annual Marabana international road races in Havana. It will be the fourth time that club official Maurice Sharp has taken a group of club runners to the Cuban capital and is the latest in a series of international sporting exchanges involving Hercules Wimbledon athletes. Other exchanges have involved athletes from France, Norway, Poland, the Czech Republic and Holland. Although he has previously run in the full marathon which last year attracted runners from more than 25 countries, Sharp will be competing in the half-marathon on Sunday, November 15, this time along with clubmates Mike Halman and Rory McMahon. A total of eight athletes will be making the trip and others in the party will be competing in the five kilometres road race. Back in 1999, Hercules Wimbledon's Colin Parrack won the half-marathon in Havana. The main object behind the trip is to cement the long-standing exchange
between Hercules Wimbledon and athletes of school age in Havana. Hercules
Wimbledon hosted a visit by a group of young Cuban athletes to London in
February. Hercules Wimbledon's Eleanor Hahn-Smith made a winning start to her Sportshall programme when she took the girls under 13 event in the opening Surrey contest at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre. She won the six-lap and speedbounce events. Rebecca Dinsdale and Imogen Willis both competed in the two lap event and standing long jump while Alex Butterworth took part in the four-lap race and speedbounce. Maire Gilmartin competed in the four lap race and standing long jump in the girls under 15 competition while Spenser Felix-Otoo was a good seventh in the both under 15 contest after sharing the honours in the four lap race where he was the joint winner. He was also fifth in the standing long jump. Devonce Gabozy Hayford competed in the two-lap race, standing long jump and speed bounce event. Best Hercules Wimbledon competitor in the under 13 contest was Thomas Sorrell who was equal ninth. He was joint second at speedbounce and also contested the four-lap race. David Landoul was fifth in the six-lap race and Luke McIntosh seventh and ninth in the standing long jump and two-lap race. They also helped Hercules Wimbledon to fifth place in the four lap paarlauf. Other Hercules Wimbledon athletes in the under 15 event were Carl Reiz, Jonathan Dench, Max Wilkinsn and Belmar Costa. Hercules Wimbledon's Cassian Hyde made a winning debut in the East Surrey League when he won the boys under 13 two miles race in Lloyd Park, Croydon, on Saturday in13 minutes 16 seconds. Three Hercules Wimbledon athletes also received their awards for the 2008/2009 season with teenager Liam White winning the under 17 plaque, Hugh Saxby taking the veteran men's over 50 title and Dennis Williams the men's over 60 award. White also took the under 17 team trophy. Saxby made a winning start to the defence of his title as he was the top over 55 veteran in the men's five miles race in 34:32. Maurice Sharp was first over 60 veteran in 39:47. In the absence of Liam White, who is taking a break from racing, Ed Saywell led the Hercules Wimbledon team home in the young athletes race where he was second under 15 finisher in 12:35. Phil Glynn was top Hercules Wimbledon finisher in the senior race where he was 11th out of 118 runners in 31:18 with Adam Sikora 19th in 32:34, Chris Coles 23rd in 33:05 and Matthew Sharp 28th in 34:18. This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are in action in an inter-club seven miles cross country race in Richmond Park on Saturday. The start is at Sheen cross roads, on the edge of the polo field, at 2pm.
26/10/09 - SUPER ROAD RACE WIN FOR TEENAGER ROBINSON Hercules Wimbledon teenager Alex Robinson followed up his fine run in the opening Sweatshop Surrey cross country league race of the season with a superb win in the Ron Hill Surrey Classic 10km road race at Oxshott on Sunday. Robinson, 19, one of the youngest runners in the near 200-strong field, shot to the front from the start and was well clear after the small opening one kilometre lap and continued to pull away to win by well over a minute in 34 minutes 18 seconds. He finished around 350m ahead of the second runner. It confirmed Robinson's impressive form in the opening Surrey League race where he led the Hercules Wimbledon team home. It also marked a rare win for Robinson. His only other success this year came when he won a Wimbledon Common parkrun event in April. The only other Hercules Wimbledon runner in action at Oxshott was Chris Coles who finished seventh in 36:45. Hercules Wimbledon runners turned out in force in Saturday's Wimbledon Common parkrun. The 11-strong contingent was led home by Phil Glynn who finished third, one place higher than he managed the previous weekend, in 17:15. Graeme Buscke was third in 17:47, Adam Sikora fifth in 18:06, slicing 15 seconds off his previous best, Andrew Davies ninth in 19:00 and veteran Frank Wood 19th in 19:51. Michaela Knespl was third woman in 21:21. Hercules Wimbledon runners were in action in two other parkruns over the weekend. Stephen McDuell was 25th out of 164 finishers in the Richmond Park event in 20:34. He was also the eighth veteran over 40 finisher. Martin O'Halloran was 11th out of more than 50 runners and fourth veteran over 50 finisher in the Rounshaw Downs race in 21:20. Hercules Wimbledon's Peter Lee was fourth over 40 veteran in the BUPA Great South Run 10 miles road race in Portsmouth on Sunday in 59:49. Zoe Pike was 26th in the women's race in 1:09:27 while Matt Fell finished 204th in the men's race in 1:06:57. Meanwhile, Hercules Wimbledon's Amandine King had a fine run in the Carreira Popular Tito Margaride A Pontenova road race in Spain. She was runner-up in the women's event in 34:09, just eight seconds behind the winner. Hercules Wimbledon’s husband-and-wife marathon team Dave and Francesca Clarke were among more than 10000 runners in the Royal Parks half-marathon in Hyde Park. They finished together in 1:34:24 and Franesca's time was the third fastest ever recorded by a Hercules Wimbledon woman veteran for the distance. Dave, now in his 50's, was one of Britain's top cross country runners in his younger days, winning the English national title three times. This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are competing in the opening East Surrey League meeting of the season at Lloyd Park, Croydon, on Saturday. The young athletes two miles race starts at 2.30pm with the seniors race over 5 miles due off at 3pm. The start of the two races is near the Lloyd Park tramlink stop.
19/10/09 - WORK STARTS ON NEW COMMUNITY CLUBHOUSE Work began this week on the construction of a new community clubhouse for Hercules Wimbledon Athletic club at Wimbledon Park athletics track. The new clubhouse, which is costing around £190,000, will replace the green portacabin which has stood near the finishing line since 1990. It is due to be completed in February and will be formally opened later in 2010. Apart from providing a brand new base for Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club it will also be available for use by the local community including schools and residents’ groups in both Wandsworth and Merton. Schools and residents' groups in both boroughs supported the proposal to build a new environmentally friendly clubhouse which will have a grass roof. With their support the London Marathon Charitable Trust and Sport England both made significant grant contributions to the project. The London Borough of Merton and the Hercules Wimbledon Club are the other funding contributors. Hercules Wimbledon's chairman Fred Green said:" It is great news that work on this new community clubhouse has started after around four years of hard work by several key members of our club. The Wimbledon Park track is a fine facility for the training and development of athletics and we are confident this new clubhouse, which will be widely available, will provide a significant addition to the location." He added:" Our hope is that with this new community clubhouse the club will face a secure and successful future at Wimbledon Park." Green, 63, showed medal-winning form in the annual Surrey Veterans cross country championships in Richmond Park on Saturday. He was a member of the Hercules Wimbledon trio which took the silver medals in the over 60 category. The squad was led in by Martin Miller who just missed out on a medal finishing fourth in 43 minutes with schoolteacher Maurice Sharp seventh in 44:17 and Green 11th in 47:20. Pete Giles won the over 65 title in 41:58 while Alan Turner who was sixth in 47:28. Hercules Wimbledon's Hugh Saxby took the silver medal in the over 55 category in 38:55 with Tom Morris 14th in the over 50 category in 43:23. The club's veterans cross country secretary Peter Lee also finished just outside the medals taking fourth spot in the over 40 category in 36:28. Steve Sinnott was 14th in the over 45 section in 39:42 with Frank Wood 15th in 40:58. Hercules Wimbledon's Anna Garnier was first over 55 finisher in the women's championship in 25:51, retaining the title she won last year. Masumi Dobson was seventh in the over 40 race in 25:52 and Annmarie Seymour 11th in the over 35 race in 30:29. Hercules Wimbledon's Adam Vandenberg headed home a 136-plus field to win the Wimbledon Common parkrun on Saturday in 16:45 with Phil Glynn third in 17:08 and David Grima ninth i9n 18:40. Michaela Knespl was first woman in 20:39. Hercules Wimbledon's James Trapmore and Adam Przedrzymirski had a private battle in the Cabbage Patch 10 miles road race at Twickenham on Sunday where they clocked the same time of 54:33 but Trapmore just got the verdict finishing 11th out of more than 1500 runners. Chris Coles was the first Hercules Wimbledon runner in the Wimbledon Audi 10km road race, also on Sunday, leading Hercules Wimbledon to second team place. He was seventh out of more than 750 runners in 36:18 with veteran Stuart Fraser eighth in 36:23 and Mark Bohan 91st in 43:51. This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon youngsters are in action in the opening Surrey Sportshall meeting at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre on Sunday, starting at 1pm.
12/10/09 - ENCOURAGING START TO LEAGUE PROGRAMME Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's women's team made a promising start to their Surrey Ladies League programme which was staged in unseasonably warm sunshine at Reigate's Priory Park on Saturday. Marathon runner Claire Grima finished a strong third in 25 minutes 41 seconds to lead the senior women's team to fourth place. She was supported by Kate Mellor who was 10th in 26:55, Masumi Dobson 16th in 28:05, Rosemary Fernando 31st in 29:33, Amy Dolan 55th in 31:35 and Rowena Hornshaw 87th in34:23. The team finished just outside the frame in fourth spot. Another Hercules Wimbledon runner in action in the women’s races at Reigate was Rebecca Stone who finished a good seventh in the under 13 race in 13:55. The women's races were followed by the opening contests in this season's Sweatshop Surrey Men's League Division One programme. In the absence of top Hercules Wimbledon youngster Liam White, who was taking a break from racing after a hectic summer during which he took the bronze medal in the English schools intermediate boys 1500m championship, fellow teenager Joe Toomey took the opportunity to grab the spotlight and win the young athletes two-and-a-half miles race in 14:24. It was his first-ever Surrey League triumph. Clubmate Ed Saywell was fifth in 14:48, Joe Clark 13th and third under 15 finisher in 15:56 and Augustin Mallon 20th in 17:20. Cassian Hyde was third in the under 13 race in 16:01 with Luke McIntosh (18:07) ninth, Alex Bond (18:57) 12th and Carl Reitz (21:40) 17th. Heavy traffic delayed the arrival of several Hercules Wimbledon runners for the senior five miles race. Mike Halman, Adam Przedrzymirski, Benjamin Le Grand, Adam Sikora and Rory McMahon all arrived with just minutes to spare and without time for a proper warm-up. They finished 38th (30:09), 40th (30:18), 58th (31:13), 87th (32:50) and 94th (33:00), respectively. Teenager Alex Robinson enjoyed his best-ever league performance to head the Hercules Wimbledon team finishing 18th in 29:31. He was also the top junior in the 150-strong field. Justin Kelly was 56th in 31:09, Richard Xerri 66th in 31:34, veteran Peter Lee 71st in 31:45, Jamie Helmer 84th in 32:40, Matthew Sharp 98th in 33:19 and over 50 veteran Hugh Saxby 99th in 33:33. Other Hercules Wimbledon runners in action were Steve Sinnott 101st in 33:44, Andy Waites 112th in 35:02, Frank Wood 119th in 35:50 and Phil Glynn 128th in 36:12 after starting five minutes late. Teenagers Liam White and Ella Dobson won their respective Kensington and Chelsea London mini-marathon trials races in Holland Park. White took the boys 15-17 race and Dobson the girls 13-14 event. Two Hercules Wimbledon runners have been in action abroad. Darren Meredith finished 20th in the Budapest marathon in 2:47:21 and Gervase King 19th in the Hasselbyloppet 10km road race in Sweden in 34:28. Meanwhile, over 50 veteran Stu Littlewood won the Crystal Palace Canter three miles road race in 20:42 while Stephen McDuell was 23rd out of almost 200 runners in the Richmond Park parkrun in 20:15 and Mark Bohan 44th in the Wimbledonb Common parkrun in 22:00. This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes are in action in the annual Surrey Veterans cross country championships in Richmond Park on Saturday. Estle Viljoen is due to defend her women's over 35 title.
5/10/09 - WHITE MAKES FLYING START TO AUTUMN RACING Hercules Wimbledon teenager Liam White made a superb start to his autumn racing programme when he posted the fastest lap time of the day in the Surrey men's under 17 cross country relay at Stoke Park, Guildford, on Sunday. But, the 16-year-old just failed in his bit to secure the gold team medals for his club. White took over more than 100 metres behind the leader and battled hard to pull back the 19 second advantage. By the time he had completed his leg in 6:47 the gap had been reduced to just two seconds the margin by which the Hercules Wimbledon team missed out on gold. For White, it was a confidence-boosting performance for this winter's cross country programme. Not only was his lap time the fastest of the day but it was 31 seconds faster than White clocked last year when he was the second best of the day and considerable faster than last year's fastest lap time of 7:02. First leg runner Joe Toomey also showed improved form bringing the Hercules Wimbledon team home six seconds clear in 7:05, the fourth fastest time of the day and 26 seconds faster than Toomey clocked in 2008. Ed Saywell, second leg runner, was handicapped by the affect of a cold but got round in a useful 7:29. This weekend, White, Toomey and Saywell will be in action in the opening Sweatshop Surrey cross country league Division One race at Reigate Priory on Saturday. The senior men will be aiming to consolidate on their third place achieved last season. A week after helping his club win the South of England six-stage road relay title, Ben Moreau from Aldershot, Farnham and District gained an impressive win in the annual Geoff Moulden road race organised by Hercules Wimbledon at Wimbledon Park on Sunday. This year the distance was reduced from 10 miles to 10km and Moreau set an impressive inaugural course record of 31:10. Tom Bedford, son of London marathon director, Dave, made a fast start and took the £20 prize for the first runner to reach the 400m point. He then dropped back and it was Moreau and Grzegorz Sobcyk who went to the front of the field with Moreau racing away in the final 800m to win by eight seconds in 31:10. Early leader Bedford was fifth in 33:40. First Hercules Wimbledon runner was Mike Halman, who was eighth in 34:38 with teenager Alex Robinson first junior finisher crossing the line 10th in 34:59. Less than 24 hours after running in the Surrey young athletes cross country relays, Joe Toomey was in action again. He was the youngest runner in the race and finished 15th in 38:22, the third member of the winning Hercules Wimbledon team. Adam Sikora was 17th in 38:41, over 50 veteran Hugh Saxby 19th and second in his age category in 38:51, Matthew Sharp 20th in 38:59, Steve Sinnott 21st and second over 40 veteran in 39:12 and Stewart Bond 22nd and fourth over 40 veteran in 39:32, just five seconds ahead of Alex Urban. Hercules Wimbledon's Clare Grima won the women's race in 39:53 beating husband David by 15 seconds. She also led Hercules Wimbledon to a team win with Deborah Noel fifth in 44:28 and Rowena Hornshaw 10th in 51:54, completing the winning trio. Hercules Wimbledon's Adam Przedrzymirski was runner-up out of more than 130 runners in the For Goodm#ness Shakes X-Terrain Festival 10km off road race at Hawley Lake, Camberley, in 35:45. He was just five seconds behind the winner. James Garnier was fourth out of more than 150 runners in the Wimbledon Common parkrun in 18:17, just ahead of Adam Sikora who was fifth in 18:21, improving on his previous best by 16 seconds. Michaela Knespl was fourth in the women's race in 21:09. Maurice Sharp posted the top age-graded performance as first over 60 veteran in 21:19.
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