Fields of Gold

Andrew Penney won the SEAA London Cross Country Championships on Parliament Hill on 16 November, with the men's team (completed by Rhys Boorman, Tom Maloney and Joe Clark) finishing in third – a  good omen ahead of the National Championships which return to Hampstead Heath in 2025 – and all the more impressive in that many athletes were absent due to commitments to 10K races the following day. 'We have such a deep squad, it is great that we can medal in these races even with a relatively small team turning out', said Andrew. 'I hope as many of us as possible do the Surrey Championships in January as a stepping stone to the SEAA Championships in February and then the Nationals, as I really think we could be in with a shout of medals for the first time in decades'.

As for his own race, he says, 'I am really happy with that. I haven’t won a cross country race for as long as I can remember! Historically I have always been much better on the road and track, and I have never really run well on Parliament Hill.  

'I was conscious that in my previous few races, including the Surrey League match at Beckenham Place Park, I was tiring towards the end, so this time I tried to relax and work off the other front runners for the first couple of laps. I felt really strong in the last lap and was able to pull away so it was great to have that energy and strength at the end.' 

In the London Youth Games, which took place on Parliament Hill on the same day, there were silver medals for U15s Isabella Harrison and Theo Creed and for Anna Wait in the U13 Girls race. Other Club athletes competing for their Boroughs were Freia Harper-Tee (seventh in the U15 Girls race), Jessica Wood, just missing out on the U13 Girls podium in fourth, and Thomas Hennigan, who was eighth in the U13 Boys race. In the U17 Women’s event Ava McAndie and Lara Delport finished in seventh and ninth respectively. 

The following day saw a handful of Club athletes take on the inaugural RunThrough Fulham 10K, which started and finished at Eel Brook Common, passing by Stamford Bridge, Fulham and Parsons Green. At the spearhead, marathon and ultra specialist Alex Milne went under 30 minutes for the first time, cementing his position in fourth in the Club’s all-time list, as he finished seventh in 29:45. Charlie Wyllie, better known for his fast times from 1500m to 5K was ninth, taking 12 seconds off his own best to move into the HW top ten with 30:38. Tom Drayton in 32:12 and Sam Todd 32:24 both clocked big PBs and were rewarded with 33rd and 37th places on the all-time list.

It was a great 10K debut for U20 Jack Hobden, who broke Liam White’s 13-year old Club record for the age group as he finished in 32:42, with dad Greg (M50) also clocking a PB of 39.31 (right).

Meanwhile in the Brighton 10K, following her impressive sixth place in the Surrey Cross Country League match the weekend before, Ruby Carter (U23) broke Claire Grima's eight-year old 10K record in Brighton, with a time of 34:44 and followed it up with the fastest female parkrun time in the UK by 13 seconds on 30 November, another Club all-time record.

It was a headline-grabbing November for HW athletes over the newly created parkrun in Battersea, which has long been the home of fast road-racing. On the 9th it was U15 Isabella Harrison who was being feted as the fastest female parkrunner anywhere in the UK, with a brilliant time of 16:59 which shot her straight to the top of the Club's all-time Women’s rankings. That is until Ruby topped that with 16:38 over the same flat Battersea course

Her 10K time she says, 'definitely exceeded my expectations. My goal was sub-36 so I shocked myself! I went for the same strategy again, quick over the first 200m then just settled in and wound it up in the second 5K. I was actually quicker with each kilometre, and ran my fastest mile distance at the end, too!'

Remarkably for one so talented, she insists: 'I lack confidence in racing, so I really want to compete as much as I can for the Club and learn how to race better.' Next stop on that mission is to return to Battersea for the Friday Night Under the Lights 5-Miles on 20 December and the New Year's Eve Podium 5K, before it is back to the ups and downs and relative unknowns of racing cross country.

Below (top): the inaugural London 10K gets off to a great start; and below Alex Milne finishing in a PB of 29:45
 

Surrey League Part 2

Unusally the Junior races in the Surrey Cross Country League were deferred to the end of November in Nonsuch Park, after Kent AC were only able to stage the senior races at Beckenham Place Park.

Once again the  U13 Boys delivered a win, with Max Harrison coming home in second in the race and Alex Derian in fourth. Thomas Hennigan and Alex's twin, Ivan, finished in seventh and eighth respectively. After two matches the boys have a narrow lead over Herne Hill Harriers at the top of the table, with Max and Thomas currently in first and third position in the individual rankings. The U13 Girls were second, which was enough to see them top their table by one point. 

U15 Isabella Harrison won the combined U15/17 race, with Freia Harper-Tee (also U15) fourth. The U15 team were first and the U17s second, enough to see both age groups top their respective tables.

Theo Creed already making his mark in his first season as an U15 was second in the combined U15 Boys/U17 Men's trace, with U17 Pancho Panchev fourth.The team finished in second, which moves them into second in the table overall. 'All to play for in the remaining two matches in the new year!' promises coach Andrew Davies.

Above: the U13s, and below, the U15s and U17s