For Club and County
Some of the Club's young sprinters with fellow competitor Dwain Chambers at the Lee Valley December Open meeting.
A record ten HW athletes represent Surrey in the South of England Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships in Oxford today. Lauren Armitage is competing in the Girls U13 Championship; Georgie Clarke and Ellen Weir in the U15 Girls Championship and Selma Hegvold, Johanna Tofte and Rebekah Riches in the U17 Women's event. Elena Dauster runs in the Women’s Under 20 Championship while the trio of Claire Grima, Gina Galbraith and Eileen Toomer compete in the Senior Championship.
A cluster of the Club's sprinters were in action in the Lee Valley December Open Meeting last Sunday. In his first competition since July, Freddie Arkell gained an impressive hat-trick, winning his two U15 60m races in 7.42 and 7.44 and the 300m in 38.10. Kyra Stone also posted a personal best, winning her U15 Girls 60m race in 8.84, Kaura Lopez made an impressive debut, finishing second in her U15 Girls 60m race in 8.80, while U17W Dhanisha Banee, competing over 300m for the first time in addition to racing over 60m, clocked 43.78 to win her Senior Women’s race in 43.78.
Meanwhile a handful of the Clubs U13 and U15 Boys took part in Match 2 of the Epsom Downs League, with Morgan Rennie top scorer, finishing fifth in the U15 race (over approx 3km) in 11:18.
On the previous day (Saturday 1 December) Jonny Earl (above) defied the unpleasant conditions to win the Sri Chinmoy Grizzly Bear 10km road race in Battersea Park in a personal best time of 31:52 to chop a hefty 46 seconds off his previous best set in Norwich at the end of October. In heading home the 158-strong field Earl posted his fifth pb over 10km this year.
Tom Cheetham was first M50 finisher in 41:22 ahead of Gary Forde (second M50 in 42:07). Richard Steed was second M55 finisher in 48:49, while Mick Leigh celebrated his 75th birthday by also winning his age group. Cheetham had a busy weekend as the following day, in rather better weather, he was second M50 finisher in the Mornington Chasers 10km road race in Regents Park in 40:57.
Results
Saturday 1 December: Sri Chinmoy 10km, Battersea Park Full results
Saturday 1 December: Epsom Downs League U13 results U15 results
Sunday 2 December: Lee Valley December Open Full results
Parkrun
Fifteen HW athletes were in action in the Richmond Park 5km parkrun in last Saturday’s wind and rain. M55 Knut Hegvold posted the top age-graded performance, finishing 11th of the 288 runners in 19:27. Lulu Weisz, who just missed out on making the Surrey team for Oxford, posted the top female age-graded effort of the day, finishing 19th, and second in the women’s race, in 20:12. Lauren Armitage was fifth female in 20:52, two seconds ahead of Millie Thorpe, with Millie Doyle eighth in 21:31, Ore Adewale ninth in 21:43 and Niamh Thompson, the 10th female finisher, in 21:44, 10 seconds ahead of Bailey O’Leary, who was 12th.
Gina Galbraith warmed up for Oxford by racing through the rain to take the women’s honours in the Wimbledon Common parkrun in 19:46. Once again, Adam Harwood was the first of 13 HW runners finishing fourth out off the 226-strong field in 18:22. Richard Evans was top M55 finisher in 20:56.
Justin Reid was third out of 697 runners in Bushy Park in 17:39 with David Grima fifth in 17:50. Stuart Fraser posted the top age-graded performance in the Fulham Palace event where he was top M50 finisher, taking sixth place out of 241 runners in 18:05.