First SAL post COVID, a national record, numerous wins and PBs

It was one of the busiest weekends of the year so far, with numerous results to report on, including two firsts since the start of the COVID pandemic - the first SAL fixture and a fixture abroad (the Madeira Masters).  In addition, we have fantastic news of a Heathsider being ranked first (yes, FIRST!) in his age category nationally, as well as achieving a national record in his age category. There were PBs, wins and great performances from different parts of the country, including Cornwall, the St Albans half marathon and events closer to London. So, switch your mobiles off, put your feet up and just enjoy reading about what your fellow Heathsiders have been up to last week. 

SAL, Lee Valley Park, Sunday 20th June, 2021

Mark Jefford and Jennifer Wing sent in the following report from a SAL event – the first since the start of the COVID pandemic::

 On Sunday June 20th we had the first SAL competition since September 2019.  This year the leagues are being kept local (we are in NE London with Orion, Barnet, Enfield & Harringay, Vic Park) and there is no promotion or relegation. So that takes the pressure off a little!

That said the team turned out in force: a mixture of seasoned experts keen to get back into racing and a healthy contingent of new comers, U17's and U20's coming through in numbers.  Overall 43 athletes turned up and competed 73 times across all the events – more than any other club in our match, including the host club!

Out of 35 events, Heathside had 10 first places and 11 second places. There were too many excellent results to call out any one individual, but below are the fantastic results from the team. Congratulations to all those who took part, particularly for the athletes who were competing in their very first track and field fixture.

A massive thank you goes out to everyone who officiated and helped out on the day including, Jonathon Litchfield, Tom Bedwell, Ivor Wiggett, Tony Killilea, Claudia Backhous, Jessica Vinluan, Noelle O’Regan, Rich Macaulay and Lily Woolcock- the event would not have been possible without you.

The next event, at the Mile End Track, is just over two weeks away now (on Sunday 11 July). You can sign up for it here.

SAL Round 1, Lee Valley, 20.6.21

1st London Heathside AC 280.2 pts

2nd Enfield & Haringey AC 246.9 pts, 3rd VP&TH 224.2 pts, 4th Orion Harriers 203.0 pts, 5th Barnet & District 173.4 pts

Women
100m
Taysia Thorbourne (U20) 13.27 A 3rd

Ave-Maria Oforma (U17) 13.97 B 4th PB by 4s
Jess Belgrave 14.12 ns
200m
Alice Kaye 25.72 A 3rd
Olivia Hunt 32.94 B 5th
400m
Alice Kaye 58:03 A 1st 
Katherina Bradshaw 71.70 B 3rd
800m
Brogan Wallace 2:17.14 A 1st PB by 3s 
Jennifer Wing 2:36.44 B 2nd 
Olivia Hunt 2:47.87 ns 
1500m
Brogan Wallace 4:46.63 A 1st PB by 4s
Lily Woolcock 4:53.84 B 1st
Eve Divetain 5:00.03 ns

Laura Hunt 5:20.21 ns
Jessica Vinluan 5:47.13
3000m
Eva Divetain 10:17.02 A 2nd PB
Shannon Sinclair (First claim club: Herne Hill Harrier) 11:33.45 ns 
100mH
Genevieve Weston 22.76 A 3rd PB
400mH
Genevieve Weston 1:23.53 A 2nd
Kim Butler 1:48.63 B 1st
2000m S/C
Genevieve Weston  8:09.50 A 1st PB

Jennifer Wing 8:35.11 B 1st PB by 61s
Long Jump
Cat Shin 4.87m A 2nd
Ave-Maria Oforma (U17) 3.93m B 1st
Triple Jump
No LH Competitors
High jump
Jennifer Wing 1.25m A 1st
Lily Woolcock 1.15m B 1st
Pole Vault
No LH Competitor
Hammer
Naya Longo (U17) 19.02m A 3rd

Maria Fiorella Brancato (V40) 12.94m B 2nd

Helene Kehoe (V55) 14.42m ns  
Shot
Cat Shin 8.35m A 2nd
Helene Kehoe (V55) 6.53m B 2nd New Club VW55 Record

Taysia Thorbourne* (U20) 6.29m ns
Maria Fiorella Brancato (V40) 5.61m ns

Javelin
Naya Longo (U17) 13.50m A 2nd
Discus
Maria Fiorella Brancato (V40) 14.74m A 3rd

Helene Kehoe 14.10m B 3rd

Naya Longo (U17) 14.87m A 5th

4x100m relay
London Heathside (Oforma, Longo, Thorbourne, Shin) 53.51 A 3rd
4x400m relay
London Heathside (Woolcock, Hunt, Wing, Wallace) 4:41.41 A 3rd

Men
100m
Cian O'Donnell 10.86 A 2nd 
Leon Seale (U20) 10.97 B 1st PB by 0.4s
Dennis Jelia 11.55 ns
Josh Ndionyemma (U20) 11.72 ns

Glenford Hughes 11.79 ns  
Frankie Frost (U20) 12.41 ns
200m
Cian O'Donnell 21.85 A 2nd PB by 0.5s

Ahsa Osei 22.84 ns
Josh Ndionyemma (U20) 23.38 ns  

 Vlad Woodham-Smith 23.90 ns
Glenford Hughes 24.10 ns

400m
Charlie Scates 53.04 A 4th
800m
James Wooldridge 2:01.68 A 3rd
Arthur Reed (U17) 2:17.24 ns 
1500m

Seyfu Jamaal (U23) 3:59.40 A 2nd PB by 10s
James Wooldridge 4:14.95 B 1st 
Roni Kizilkaya (U17) 4:20.90 ns PB by 4s
5000m
Jem O'Flaherty (U23) 15:29.72 A 1st
George Gurney 15:32.62 B 1st
Bill Cochrane (U23) (2nd claim Bristol & West AC) 16:41.46 ns
William Griffiths (U23) 16:51.60 ns
110m H
Israel Nworgu 17.41 A 1st 
400m H
Israel Nworgu 67.95 A 1st
2000m SC
Matt Field  7:00.86 A 3rd

Tony Killilea 7:52.11 B 3rd 
Long Jump
Carlos Mingoes 6.14m A 1st
Mark Lawrence (V50) 5.70m B 1st New Club V50 Record
High Jump

No LH Competitor
Triple jump

Mark Lawrence (V50) 11.37 A 1st New Club V50 record
Justin Paul (U20) (2nd Claim Newham & Essex Beagles) 12.22m ns
Pole Vault
No LH Competitor
Hammer
Joel Hawes 27.14m A 2nd
Shot

Mark Lawrence (V50) 9.28m A 3rd

Joel Hawes 7.67m B 2nd 
Javelin
Seyfu Jamaal (U23) 37.73m A 2nd 

Joel Hawes 31.20m B 1st
Mark Lawrence 31.31m ns PB by 19 cm New Club V50 Record

Discus
Mark Lawrence 30.18m A 3rd New Club V50 Record

Joel Hawes 29.86m A 1st

4x100m
London Heathside (Seale, O'Donnell, Osei, Mingoes) 43.17 A 1st
4x400m
London Heathside (Scates, Cochraine, Woodham-Smith, Wooldridge) 3:44.43 B 2nd 

Chelmsford AC Open, Chelmsford 16.6.21

Paul Frost and Simon Baker sent in the following report from Chelmford::

3 races 3 BP's and a club records not bad for an evenings work by Suraya Frost who travelled to the Chelmsford Open. She came 1st in the  U13 100m with a time of 13.51, which was a big improvement on her previous time of 13.85. She also slightly improved her hurdles time with 11.72 and her long jump at 4.43. All good practise for the next MYAL meet.  Suraya is now ranked 5th U13G nationally at the 70mH and 9th at the U13G Long Jump.

100m wind +2.3m/s

3rd Suraya Frost 13.51s PB

70mH wind +1.0m/s

1st Suraya Frost 11.72 PB by 0.12s  New Club U13G Record

Long Jump

Suraya Frost 4.43m PB by 4 cm

Madeira Masters, 9th-20th June, 2021

Congratulations are due to Adrian Essex, who has now reached the top of his age group (M70) nationally in six events and is the British record-holder in 300H in his age group.  Adrian is also perhaps the only Heathsider to have competed abread this year, having a much-envied trip to Madeira last week-end.  As a true athlete, he didn’t comment or seem distracted with the problems of getting there and back and reports just on the athletics:

Another lovely weekend playing with some old friends and quite a few new ones at the Sports Centre in Ribeira  Brava, Madeira. The meeting was wonderfully well run, everything on time and all the electronic stuff working well and with the minimum of fuss.

Only fair to warn though that the track was by a long way the hardest I've ever run on.

My results

100    14.35

200     31.09

400     66.71

HJ       1.28

80.m hurdles    15.37

LJ       4.45

Pending any more results to come in from the weekend, when these results go on Pof10 , I will be number 1 M70 for 100, 200, 400, 300H (British record now ratified), HJ, LJ.

BMC Regional Races, Lee Valley, 16.6.21

Mia Manttan ran again at the BMC Regional races at Lee Valley on Wednesday night in a race won by Highgates Hanner Viner.

BMC Regional Races, Lee Valley, 16.6.21

Race D

9th Mia Manttan 2:28.8 

St Albans Half marathon, 13th June 2021

Julia Kelk sent in the following report from a very warm St Albans over a week ago.  In case anyone misses this in the report, it was hilly too:

On Sunday June 13th, I ran the St Albans Half Marathon, along with Nick Hodges-Gibson, Alex Sweet, and Cathy Jeremiah.

It was an extremely hot and sunny day and the race didn't start until 10am, in full sunshine.  It was the first real race I've done since lockdown, complete with a mass start, and it had a good buzz despite the heat!

The course is relentlessly hilly and goes up and down the country lanes around St. Albans.  Thankfully they were handing out sport-top water bottles to run with and they had a misting station too. 

I finished in 1:33:05 with a very dramatic wipe-out half a mile from the finish, which cost me a chunk of time, a twisted ankle and a bloodied knee (completely my own fault).  I was 8th woman overall and 3rd F40-49 (83rd overall).

Nick was 28th overall in 1:23:53 and Alex was 30th overall in 1:24:15.  Cathy ran 1:49:11, continuing to come back after her recent 2nd child.

Did I mention it was hot and hilly?

Results

28        Nick Hodges-Gibson    01:23:53         

30        Alex Sweet       01:24:15         

83        Julia Kelk         01:33:05          (3rd F)

408      Cathy Jeremiah            01:49:11         

Lee Valley 50km, 19th June 2021

Fairly close to home, congratulations are due to Chris Holmes, who finished first last Saturday in the 50km race in Lee Valley in an amazing time of 3:14.20.  He was followed by Neil Emery (4:30.53) and Philip McDermott (4.57). 

1st Chris Holmes 3:14.20
49th Neil Emery 4:30.53
71st Philip McDermott 4:57.08

Sri Chimnoy 5k, Battersea Park, Monday June 14.

Gavin Evans sent in the following report from Battersea:

Seyfu Jamaal won this two-lap 5k on a hot Monday night, and did so in style, finishing in 14:46, 19 seconds ahead of the second placed runner. He led the way throughout the race - one of 10 Heathsiders to make their way to the flat Battersea course, for most of them their first road race since Covid arrived. We ran in five waves, with no water along the way for Covid reasons – thirsty work by the end.

Sarah Swinhoe was the first Heathside woman home and also the first V50 woman, 1 minute and 45 seconds ahead of the V50 woman in second place. She also broke the club age group record by nearly two minutes.

Matt Beard ran an impressive PB of 18:58, making him the second Heathsider, followed by Ed Samuel who is returning from a long injury-induced layoff in 19:01, me in 19:06, Tony Kililiea in 19:09, Danny Olive in 19:25 (running barefoot) and Mark Jefford in 20:06. He was followed by Jessica Vinluan, who finished in an excellent PB of 20:55. The last Heathsider home was Michael Gray in 23:23.

Results (152 finishers)

1.    Seyfu Jamaal – 14:46

76. Matt Beard – 18:58 (PB)

77. Ed Samuel – 19:01

79. Gavin Evans – 19:06 (1st V60)

81. Tony Kililea - - 19:09

85. Danny Olive – 19:25

91. Sarah Swinhoe – 19:35 (1st V50 woman and new club V50 record)

99. Mark Jefford – 20:06

107. Jessica Vinluan – 20:55 (PB)

135. Michael Gray – 23:23

5000m Fest, Lee Valley 16.6.21

Gareth Marshall sent the following report from Lee Valley:

Fresh(ish) from last night's Lee Valley 5000 Fest, not the quickest time by long stretch but a fun, well organised event and was just nice to do a first track race in 3 years. Mercifully dropped a few degrees by the time the races started and hopefully all good prep for our meet at Finsbury Park next month.

Results

SX2 9th Gareth Marshall 19:34.3 

Puretrail Tsunami,

Two Heathsiders – Dominic Jones and Rebecca Bunting - independently travelled to Cornwall and found themselves on the same course but doing different races.  In true Heathisde fashion, they kept each other going as long as they could. 

Here’s what Dominic said:

I took the opportunity while on holiday to enter one of the Puretrail Tsunami races - 16 miles of the South West Coast Path from Hartland Quay to Bude. It was about as good as trail running gets; perfect weather, stunning views and a challenging course. The run started and ended with some moderate inclines and long smooth descents but included a barrage of valleys in the middle with steep single track paths down to sea level and hard, hands on knees ascents back up. 

Midway through the race I realised I was running behind fellow Heathsider Rebecca Bunting, and we ended up sharing some miles on the way to her winning the marathon distance of the same event. I also enjoyed the entirely unfamiliar experience of racing for place, starting with a small pack at the front and ultimately finishing in 2nd place. 

Meanwhile, here’s Rebecca’s report on the marathon, which she won (well done Rebecca!):

I hadn't had enough of the south west coastal path recently so I found myself on the start line in Clovelly for a 26.2 mile run along the Hartland Heritage coast to Bude passing spectacular ravines, coves and granite cliffs along the way. I bumped into Dom Jones at about 18 miles who had just started the 16 mile race. Dom was on fire and I foolishly tried to keep up before realising this was a bad plan.

There were huge ups and downs with rewarding views. It was a hot day and I've never drunk so much coke during a race before (it's great!) Total ascent for the marathon was 6500 feet. There were also 7, 37 and 75 mile races to complement the marathon and the 16 mile events. 

Marathon

2nd Rebecca Bunting 4.34.25 (1st F)

16 mile race

2nd Dom Jones 2.35.01

Victoria Park 10km, Victoria Park, 20.6.21
SB:

1st T Johnson (Shrewsbury) 33:13
8th Daniel Johns (V40) 36:24
43rd Fabian Theo’s (V40) 44:52

Armagh AC Steeplechase & Hurdles Meet, Belfast, 13.6.21

3000mSC

1st Adam Kirk-Smith 9:34.43

Inverness Harriers Together Apart Jumps and Throws Series, Inverness, 16.5.21

Discus

2nd Amirreza Zarei 36.29m

Compiled by Emilia with huge thanks to Simon Baker, Mark Jefford, Jennifer Wing Paul Frost, Simon Baker, Gavin Evans, Gareth Marshall, Julia Kelk, Adrian Essex, Dominic Jones, Rebecca Bunting, Philip McDermott and Matthew Cockerill (via FB)