Hat trick of silver medals
The Senior Men's team secured the silver medals in the Surrey Road Relay Championships for the second successive year, despite missing two key athletes, Fred Slemeck and Ben Toomer, who were both abroad. In fact, the squad showed impressive strength in depth as only one member of last year’s sextet, Andrew Penney, featured in this year’s team. Thanks to the Mens V40 and V50s teams, the Club bagged a hat trick of silver medals, however the Senior Women's team just missed out, finishing 4th of the 17 teams.
In the Men's race at the end of the first lap Howell Craske (14:29), running for the B team, and Will Russell (14:49) for the A team were at the forefront of the race. Kieran White (15:35) and Finn Johnson (14:36) kept the A team in contention before Andrew Penney ran a storming fourth leg. He clocked 14:08, the fastest time of the day by a HW runner, repeating his 2017 achievement when he was also the fastest member of the team. His was also the second fastest individual time of the day. Scot Ross Matheson (14:51) and Tom Jervis (14:20) brought the team home in silver medal position. HW were the first club to close in a second team, with the B team finishing a strong fifth of the 19 teams – Howell Craske was followed by Rob Tuer (15:50), David Lewin (15:30), Neil Fraser (15:40), Keith Scofield (18:43) and Joe Clarke (15:20).
Supervet Paul Williams marked his return to racing after a gap of almost 30 years in the silver medal-winning V50 team. Stuart Fraser (16:27) got the team off to a good start handing over 19 seconds clear. Pete Clarke (16:27) held the lead on the second leg before Williams, running in his first competition since 1989, posted a respectable 18:15. Peter Lee (17:27) clinched the medals on the anchor leg.
The V40 team also made a strong start with Justin Reid (16:08) handing over 13 seconds ahead. Andrew Davies (17:24) slipped to fourth before Matt de Freitas (15:57) brought the team back into silver medal contention with the fastest time of the quartet and the day’s fourth best V40 time. Peter Collins (16:49) secured the medals on the anchor leg.
In the Women's team Claire Grima was the fastest member of the quartet running the opening leg in 16:45, the fourth fastest time of the day, and handing over in third place. Fran Clarke (19:27), Estle Viljoen (19:38) and Alex Binley (18:24) completed the team.
Berlin Best for Belal
Meanwhile in Berlin Belal Ahmed smashed his marathon pb by more than a minute in the historic Berlin Marathon, which was won by Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge in a world record breaking 2:01:39. Finishing 37th of more than 20,000 runners over the famous flat and fast course Belal clocked 2:23:11, the 9th fastest time in the UK this year.
Masters medal for Mark
In Malaga, in the final event of the World Masters Championships Mark White and training group partner Glenn Gray (in the cap) clinched bronze medals for GB and Northern Ireland in the 4 x 400m relay, having narrowly missed out on a medal in the 4 x 100m relay earlier.
Mighty McDowell
Richard McDowell led from the front to clock 31:54.74 and win the 10,000m trophy in the Vets AC Championships at Battersea Park on Wednesday evening, hot on the heels of his runaway victory in the Surrey Bacchus Marathon in Dorking, Oh and for good measure he clocked a personal best time for pushing his son Wilfred round in a buggy when he finished second of 474 runners in the Clapham Common 15km parkrun on Saturday in 17:08, bettering his previous best of 17:42 on Tooting Common in July and just 20 seconds behind the winner.
Gina Galbraith surprised herself by bagging the bronze medal in the Richmond Park Half Duathlon (and silver in her age group) despite having 'only been on my bike twice since last November'.
Elsewhere Fred Slemeck took time out from honeymooning in South Africa to win the Atholl 5km parkrun by almost two-and-a-half minutes in 17:32, heading home a 207-strong field. Elena Dauster was second woman finisher at Fulham Palace in 19:41 and Alison Purnell was third woman on Wimbledon Common in 21:54, one of 13 Hercules Wimbledon runners taking part.