England Calling

Congratulations to Jonny Cornish, who has been called up to run for England, not once, but twice – first, on 20 August, as part of the four-man team competing in the Asics Home Nations 5K in Bute Park, Cardiff and then again, barely a week later on 28 August, he will be part of a different quartet competing in the Antrim Coast Half Marathon. The World Athletics Elite Label race takes place over the coast road between Larne and Ballygally and boasts that it has attracted some of the world’s best distance runners over the last two years. Past winners include Sir Mo Farah in 2020 and Ethiopian record holder Jemal Yimer in 2021.

Announcing the men's team for Antrim, England Athletics noted that Jonny was selected following an excellent year of racing, notably a 10K PB of 29:22 at Beachley in January, which has been been topped up over the recent weeks with PBs over 1500m, the mile and 3000m at Wimbledon Park. He also won the bronze medal in the England Athletics 10,000m Championships in Walthamstow in June.

'I was quite surprised to get both call-ups, but couldn't turn down the opportunity!' says Jonny. 'It will be good to see how we fare against the other home nations in Cardiff as well as club teams that are being pulled together. I've never run in Bute Park before, but I've seen a video of the course and I'm told it is flat – it seems a bit like Battersea in that we will be running laps of a nice park and the road looks quite wide, so hopefully it won't be too congested'.

He is however familiar with the Antrim course, having entered last year's race as an individual. 'It offers a good opportunity for quick times. The race attracts a strong field, and it is a fast course starting in the port town of Larne and meandering along the coast with spectacular views of the jagged cliffs', he says.

'There are slight undulations but it is predominantly flat with gradual ups and downs which help keep you focused. The wind can be a factor', he cautions, 'but if you run into it in one direction it should hopefully be behind you on the other, as it is an out and back loop, although it starts and finishes at different locations in Larne'.

Before he reports for international duty he is hoping for another PB on the track at the HW 5000m Festival at Wimbledon Park on Saturday 6 August – which will bring the curtain down on the Club's hugely popular series of Open meetings for 2022.

Masters Champs Again

Having been crowned overall Men's and Women's winners of the Vets AC Cross Country Championships and Masters Open on Wimbledon Common back in January, the double act of Richard McDowell and Gina Galbraith reigned supreme again at the Veterans AC 5000m Championships at Wimbledon Park on 27 July.

M40 Richard clocked a season's best to take the Men's title in 15:44.54, while W45 Gina was the fastest woman on the night with a PB of 18:17.52. Only a week earlier she posted a PB at the Dave Clarke mile Meeting, building on yet another best time set back in June at the HW 1500m Night. So what does she put this run of form down to? ''Pure grit and determination!'

For Club and County

A handful of the Club's youngsters helped Surrey to clinch both the Boys and Girls team titles at the Derek Crookes Under-13 Inter-County Meeting at Kingston on 24 July, in which they were up against teams selected from Berkshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Oxfordshire and Suffolk.

Thomas Whorton took the gold medal in the 800m in 2:19.99 to add to the London Indoor, Surrey County and Southern titles already achieved this year over the same distance, and there was gold too for Marly Taylor who cleared 1.45m in the high jump. Marly (below right) who has a PB of 1.50m, is currently ranked joint third in the UK for her age group this year. Isabella Harrison (pictured left with Thomas Whorton) clinched the silver medal in the 1500m in 4:54.10, and Oliver Mealor leapt 4.71m in the long jump to add another silver medal to the one achieved at the County Championships in May.