Bagful of Masters Medals

Club athletes won seven medals last weekend at the British Masters Indoor Championships at Lee Valley. Anna Garnier took the W60 1500 metres title in 5:48.79, winning by more than half-a-minute. She had also intended to compete in the 800m and 3000m but was unfortunately forced to withdraw due to injury.

There was better news for Dominic Bokor-Ingram, who has been out for the last six months with a knee injury, but came away with two silver medals. He was taking part in his first competition since the World Masters Championships in Malaga last September when he reached the 800m final despite the injury. In the M45 400m final on Saturday he finished second in 54.55, after having been the fastest of the qualifiers, taking his heat in 57.34. Then on Sunday, he again took silver in the 800m in 2:07.15.

Lisa Thomas also achieved a silver medal double in the W50 400m on Saturday, in 65.58, and the 800m on Sunday in 2:33.88. Alison Murray took silver in the W50 pole vault, clearing 2.81m while Justin Reid snatched bronze in the M45 3000m in 9:49.14, beating the fourth finisher by just four-hundredths of a second.

Jonny Cornish was the top HW finisher in the UK Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships at Prestwold Hall, Loughborough, on Saturday. He led the Oxfordshire team home, finishing 62nd of the 293 runners in the Senior Men’s 10km Championship in 35:25, while Fred Slemeck and Finn Johnson, competing for Surrey, were 120th in 36:44 and 135th in 37:09 respectively.

Henry Silverstein was the second Surrey finisher in the U20 Men’s 8km Championship taking 75th place in 32:36 with Zac Purnell 91st, and third Surrey runner over the line, in 33:03. Claire Grima was fourth Surrey finisher in the Senior Women’s 10km race, finishing 80th of the 266 runners in 42:58, and helping the Surrey team to sixth place.

In windy conditions on Sunday Dimos Evangelidis was first home of the dozen HW athletes taking part in the Vitality Big Half over 13.1 miles from Greenwich to the Cutty Sark. He finished 93rd of 17,000 runners in 72:46. The race was won by Sir Mo Farah, who out-sprinted Bashir Abdi of Belgium and Kenya's Daniel Wanjiru to defend his title as part of his preparation for the Virgin Money London Marathon.

Also on Sunday, Tom Cheetham completed his 75th marathon, notching up yet another race in his bid to complete a century of races over the testing 26 miles 385 yards distance. He finished 14th in the Thames Meander Marathon along the Thames towpath from Kingston to Barnes and back. Aiming for 3:15, he clocked 3:17 in the challenging conditions. “It was very tough, battling against strong winds all the way along the route,” said Cheetham, who will be running in two more marathons next month: Brighton on April 14th and the Virgin Money London Marathon a fortnight later.

Five of the Club's young athletes will be in action today in the English Schools Cross Country Championships in Temple Newsam Park, Leeds. Zac Purnell, who was runner-up in the London Schools Championships at Wormwood Scrubs, runs in the Senior Boys Championship, while, also for London, Georgie Clarke, winner of the Surrey Ladies League U15 title, goes in the Intermediate Girls race, with Millie Doyle in the Junior Girls race. Georgia Hanley is a reserve for the Senior Girls London team. Ellen Weir, who was runner up to Georgie Clarke in the final fixture of the Ladies Surrey League, goes for Surrey in the Intermediate Girls race and Lauren Armitage, first U13 home in the same fixture, will be representing Surrey in the Junior Girls Race.