Strong Vital statistics for HW teams

Some 29 Hercules Wimbledon runners took part in the Bank Holiday Monday Vitality London 10km road race from The Mall to Constitution Hill, which takes in some of the Capital’s most iconic sites. Team results (only three to score) are still to be ratified, but early thoughts are that the men's team finished fifth, with the possibility of a fantastic fourth place for the women's team. First home for the men was Jonny Cornish who was 26th in 31:06, with Ben Toomer 38th in 31:18, bettering his previous best of 31:53 set in August last year. Richard McDowell also improved massively on his previous best of 33:08 set in 2016 in finishing 45th in 31:32, with Andrew Penney 51st in 31:37, also setting a new PB ahead of his time of 32:10 set in 2013. Jonny Earl finished 110th in 32:54, a big improvement on his best of 33:39 set in Battersea Park in April last year. Five days before competing in the Central London road race, Earl posted a lifetime best 5000 metres track time in a British Milers Club event in Sutcliffe Park, Eltham, of 15:36.26, slicing more than 12 seconds off his previous best time for the distance set in Wimbledon Park last August. He also clocked a personal best of 16:13 in winning the Wimbledon Common 5km parkrun on May 19th in 16:13, improving by 27 seconds on his previous best set in October 2015.

Top scorers for the women's team were Claire Grima, who was 38th and third in the W40 category in 36:53, with Gina Galbraith 91st and seventh in 39:10, a big improvement on her previous best of 41:27 set in 2015. Third scorer was Lucy Wertheim in 19:39.

Fourth HW woman home, Lisa Thomas, was completing her second run of the weekend, having taken part along with more than 8,000 runners in the Vitality Westminster Mile the previous day. Recognised as the biggest ever timed mile event in the world this year's race was billed as a tribute to the late Roger Bannister and was studded with international athletes. Lisa (V50) won the silver medal in the British Masters Mile with Anna Garnier (V60 second claim) taking the bronze in their respective age categories. The race also constituted the Vets AC One Mile Championship in which Lisa gained another silver, with Anna winning gold in their age categories. Kieran White (V40) and Peter Giles (V70) also took silver medals in their age categories in the Westminster Mile, with Peter taking Gold in the Vets AC Championship. 

In the Junior race, U17 Sam Barker finished 27th overall and 13th in his age group in 04:39, with Henry Silverstein 51st in 04: 57. Georgina Hanley was the 17th U17 woman home in 06:41.

At the Watford BMC Grand Prix on Saturday (26 May) two of the Club's other leading middle distance men tested themselves over the 1500m distance, with Alex Robinson finishing fifth in the E race in 3:56.19, just ahead of Freddie Slemeck who was sixth in 3:56.57. 

Andrew Penney also had a busy week. Two days before the Vitality 10km he made a record-breaking debut in the Highbury Fields 5km parkrun. Penney, 26, headed home the 317-strong field in the North London parkrun event to cross the finishing line in 15 minutes 19 seconds to shave three seconds off the course record set in 2014. He finished well clear of the second runner who was 39 seconds behind. It was his first race since helping the Club in the English 12-stage Road Relay Championship at Sutton Park, Birmingham, last month where he posted the fastest short leg time.

HW athletes provided both the men’s and women’s winners in last Saturday’s Wimbledon Common 5km parkrun. Adam Harwood headed home the 428-strong field in 17:46 to post his first win in the event since January. Teenager Joseph Brien was fourth in 18:18, 68 seconds faster than his previous best set in June last year and 14-year-old Morgan Rennie seventh in 19:13, a 61 second improvement on his previous best set last September. Alex Binley was 10th and first woman in 19:25 with 12-year-old Lulu Weisz second female finisher in 20:30, the top age-graded performance of the day. She also improved on her previous best set three weeks earlier by 35 seconds.

Lucy Wertheim was first woman finisher on Clapham Common in 18:48 while Hercules Wimbledon’s Georgie Clarke, 14, was second female finisher in Bishops Park, Fulham in 18:43, where she also posted the top age-graded performance of the day. Robbie Hynes was second out of 347 runners in 16:27 on his debut appearance in Burgess Park, finishing eight seconds behind the winner.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon’s vets will be in action in the Surrey Masters Track and Field Championships at Ewell Court on Sunday, and next Wednesday (June 6th) Hercules Wimbledon host the third of this season’s Rosenheim League Eastern Division matches at Wimbledon Park, starting at 6.30pm. After two matches, Hercules Wimbledon top the women’s section.
 

Results

May 30: Chase the Sun Wimbledon Common 10km: Ben Revill V45 (41st overall and 3rd in age category)
May 30: Chase the Sun Wimbledon Common 5km: Hector Revill U17 (4th overall and 1st in age category)
May 20: SAL Wimbledon Park  Full results
Match result: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 191; 2 East Grinstead 164; 3 Holland Sports/Dorking & Mole Valley/Reigate Priory Composite 138; 4 London City Runners 68. 
27 May: Vitality Westminster Mile Results
28 May: Vitality London 10,000m Results
26 May: BMC Grand Prix Watford Results

parkrun 5km results May 26
 
Highbury Fields, Islington, N5
1 Andrew Penney 15:19 (course record); 2 Tom Aldred (London Heathside) 15:58 (317 finishers)
Note: previous course record: Paul Martelletti 15:22
 
Wimbledon Common
1 Adam Harwood (HW) 17:46; 2 Matt Gallagher (Wimbledon Windmilers) 17:59 Other HW: 4 Joseph Brien 18:18; 7 Morgan Rennie 19:13; 10 Alex Binley (1st F) 19:25; 15 Simon Woodley 19:58; 20 Lulu Weisz (U13G- 2nd F) 20:30; 46 Shaun Overy 21:10; 44 Adam Fenton 21:23; 46 Ben Revill 21:27; 47 Charles Hampden-Smith 21:31; 52 Simon Bodle 21:47; 54 Emilie Bokor-Ingram 21:50; 71 Tor-Ivar Guttulsrod 22:35; 85 Matthew Rockwell-Wolf 23:12; 118 David Lanfranchi 23:55; 153 Fenella Willis 24:59; 157 Alastair Brown 25:06; 159 Charles Lawrie 25:10; 170 Katarina Scrimshaw 25:33; 171 David Scrimshaw 25:33; 205 Peter Metcalf 26:30; 359 Alice Marshall 31:59 (428 finishers) 
 
Clapham Common, SW4
1 Ollie Garrod (Epsom & Ewell) 16:12 HW: 14 Lucy Wertheim (HW – 1st F) 18:48; 42 Keith Scofield 20:06 (437 finishers)
 
Burgess Park, Walworth, SE17
1 Gareth Anderson (Unattached) 16:19; 2 Robbie Hynes (HW) 16:27 (347 finishers) 
 
Bishops Park, Fulham, SW6
1 Alex Milne (Enfield) 16:12 HW: 10 Andrew Davies 18:43; 11 Georgina Clarke (U15G-2nd F) 18:43; 437 finishers)
 
Bushy Park, Teddington
1 Conor-Kissane-Wood (Thames Valley H) 16:03 HW: 22 James Greene 18:04; 155 Barry King 22:03; 565 Andrew Balcerkiewicz 26:59; 706 Florence England 28:38 (1201 finishers)
 
Nonsuch Park, Cheam
1 Adam Hudson (Good Shepherd R) 18:04 HW: 24 Tom Cheetham 20:04 (640 finishers)
 
 Roundshaw Downs, Croydon
1 Tom Higgs (South London H) 16:48 HW: 27 Martin O’Halloran 22:53 (146 fininishers)
 
Exmouth, Devon
1 Tim Pratt (Teinbridge T) 16:33 HW:  95 Maurice Sharp 24:07 (337 finishers)  
 
Inverness, Scotland
1 Lucas Cairns (Inverness) 18:55 HW: 101 Kate Driskell 29:48 (160 finishers)  
 
Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, SE24
1 Andrew Inglis (Cambridge H) 16:34 HW: 39 Peter Small 21:34 (297 finishers)
 
Lanelli, Wales, SA15
1 Aled Anderson (Arena 80) 17:14 HW: 54 Matthew Wehrle 24:27 (180 finishers)