Marathons, trail runs, NWLYA XC, Last Friday of the Month 5K, Regents Park 10K and much much more

It's now officially autumn, and with it come cooler days, some longer races and of course cross country. The first proper xc event of the season was the very well attended NWLYAL held in Perivale on saturday, where despite the rain, spirits were not in the least dampened. Other weekend events included marathons, half marathons, trail runs, a 10K obstacle race, the Regents Park 10k, Hyde Park 5k and more....

North West London Youth Athletes League XC, Perivale, 02.10.16

This first cross country of the season took place in Perivale with a largish (24) and enthusiastic (despite the rain) group. Elliot Reed wrote this extensive report:

LONDON HEATHSIDE UNDER 17 BOYS WIN ****RUAIRI STORMS TO VICTORY IN U13s****JEM O’FLAHERTY PIPPED AT THE POST

The first cross country fixture of the season for London’s Heathside’s young athletes took place this weekend. It was a rainy opening day of the North West London League but this did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of our athletes who put on a dazzling display. Huge thanks to Ruth, Russell, Kabir and the parents for their support on a day when the team came together, not only under the LH flag, but also under a Team London Heathside gazebo (a first!) - even if we ended up sharing it with Team Hillingdon, who thought it was the Race HQ tent.

It was great turn-out in the rain from London Heathside. No fewer than 24 young athletes competed and there were some superb performances.

Starting with the U11s, for the first time in years, we didn’t have a male competitor, but we did get the chance to enjoy one of our regulars put on a stunning performance. Star runner, Hattie Munday, finished in an incredible 9th position with a time of 6 mins 39. Let’s not forget that Hattie is still only 9 years old so this was a fine performance from one of our youngest talents, a girl who we have watched develop over the last year or two, and who has a bright future ahead in this season, next, and in many to come. Well done Hattie.

We also had the pleasure of watching a newcomer compete. Nine year old Eloise Dark made her London Heathside debut, as her parents who are both LH cross country regulars themselves cheered her on. Eloise absolutely loved the race. And, she put in a fantastic first race performance, finishing 24th with a time of 7 mins 20. We look forward to seeing Eloise run every week.

We had ten U13 runners turn out at Perivale, which was super impressive. Firstly, to the new comers, I’d like to say a big thank you and well done to boys, Avery Dietrich, Jack Davis-Black and Lucas Maher, and to Zuzanna Staghura, for representing London Heathside for the first time. I hope you enjoyed your first cross country run for LH and we look forward to seeing you all race again.

In the girls’ race, regular Matilda Heath was first home finishing in12th place in 7 mins 44 s and Rose Garrett was two places behind in 14th place in 7 min 47 s. With Fabienne Weston finishing 38th, the London Heathside U13 girls team finished 7th overall out of 14 teams who competed.

In the boys’ race, Oliver O’Connor ran his ‘best cross country race ever’ finishing 26th/55 in 11 mins 46. Having noticed Oliver’s commitment to training both for the track and cross country, we have watched him improve over the last 12 months so this result was a fitting start to what we hope is an even more successful season ahead. Arthur Reed finished in 34th place in 12.18 and hopes to bounce back in his next race on Saturday.

But yet again individual performance of the day must go to Ruairi McGonagle who won the U13 boys race in fine style but pipping the leader in the final 25 yards to snatch victory in an exciting finale to a thrilling battle between the top three finishers. Ruairi never ceases to amaze us with his efforts, and it must be noted that he almost didn’t run, having been injured in rugby and racing with bruised ribs!

In the U15 races, though a disappointing turn out and an age group where we need to work on getting more runners interested and available, the LH competitors did the club proud. In the girls race, Ella Conlon ran a much stronger race and will be able to take confidence from this. Ella finished 17th in 12.52. Welcome to first timer Juliet Kaplan who finished 27th in her first cross country race for Heathside. Well done to Stan Brown and Laurie Draper for turning out for the Heathside boys.

In the U17 Men’s race, Jem O’Flaherty almost claimed victory in a tight and tense race which saw the leading group of five runners close together for most of the distance until the last 1000m or so. Unfortunately Jem was pipped on the line and finished second. Liam Garrett was not far behind at all, finishing in 5th place.

Congratulation to all the U17 boys who took part, including Luke Gray, Antanas Weston and Kenneth Boulton. The U17 Boys team finished in 1st place. Incredible result. They can easily win this league if they continue to turn out.

And finally, it was great to see Phoebe Crockford back in the U17 Women’s race. She finished in an impressive 9th place in 16.53 after injury has kept her away for a while.

Heart of England Forest Marathon, Warwickshire, 02.10,16
Further north Dan took part in the Heart of England Forest Marathon - where as far as I can gather, for every runner a new tree (or hopefully two) is planted to increase the size of the Heart of England Forest! Dan wrote: "I did the scenic, hilly and decidedly damp Heart of England Forest Marathon in Warwickshire on Saturday, squelching round the route in 3:57. All runners and walkers were advised to bring their own mugs for drinks stations and I'm pretty happy I took my SatNav too, otherwise I'd probably still be out there".

Cologne Marathon, Cologne, 02.10.16
Paul Beale must have been delighted to slip under the 3 hour mark at the Cologne Marathon this weekend in a excellent time of 2.57.59.

Major Series, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, 10k, 01.10.16

Dave Hellard sent this rather minimalist report in, and I wasn't much wiser when I checked out the website: "I came fifth in the Major Series at the weekend, a 10k obstacle race. Not a great result by itself (56.33), but does move me up to fourth in the UK Obstacle Course League with a good shot of climbing to top 3 before the end of the season".

Cardiff University/Cardiff Half Marathon, Cardiff, 02.10.16

On Sunday 6 Heathsiders ran in the Cardiff Half,  a huge event with 16,873 finishers.  There were some excellent times amongst them, especially the lead man, newcomer to the club Sergio Gonzalez with his PB of 1.16.42.Jonathan Litchfield and Jessica Vinlua also achieved PBs.

Coastal Trail Series: North York Moors, 01.10.16 
Satu headed up north to run a half marathon in the Coastal Trail Series.  This is her report: "I ran the 14.8 mile "half marathon" with 1,700 feet ascent around the beautiful Robin Hood Bay in North Yorkshire. It was like running 4 back to back XC races with much bigger hills... Hard work but good fun. Varied course of rocks/grass/beach/moor/tarmac and even a bit of mud. I came in at 2hrs 25 (5th woman out of 48 female finishers and 28th out of total 127)."

Regents Park Winter Race Series 10k 02.10.16
Tammela Platt and Tony Chinn both ran in the first of the Regents Park Winter series, and Tamm wrote this piece about the morning: “ I ran the first of the Mornington Chasers' Regent's Park 10k 'winter' series on a sunny, brisk-but-perfect-for-running Sunday morning. The 323-runner crowd consisted of lots of 'normal' runners with some club runners sprinkled throughout: there was just one other Heathsider in attendance, a good number of Mornington Chasers, and a few Serpentine runners, from what I could see. The course followed the usual three laps through the park, past ducks, dogs, and dromedaries. Despite a crowded start, the pack thinned out quickly and we were cheered on by enthusiastic marshals, monkeys from the zoo, and even Cookie Monster! It's a lovely run -- and there's one every month! While not close to a PB, I was pleased to run a faster time than my previous two 10ks as I gradually return to form."

South West Coast Path Challenge, 02.10.16

Henry Hamilton took on the South West Coast Path Challenge on Sunday organised by the Trail Events Company. This is his report "And what a challenge it was - over 3000 feet of elevation, sheer rock faces, mud, sand, gates, cows, and what seemed the equivalent of Mount Everest for the last 3 mile ascent! It made every marathon I've ever run seem a piece of cake! Averaging over 10 minutes a mile (although I did stop to take the occasional photo!) Billed as 17.5 miles - it turned out to be 19 so just crossing the finish line in one piece was a huge achievement (not everyone did). I'm pleased to see I finished 14th out of almost 200 starters! I recommend everyone tries the SW Coast Path at some point (there's 630 miles of it!) for guaranteed stunning scenery and brutal elevation!"

LFOTM 5k, Hyde Park, London 30.09.16
Six Heathsiders took part in this very popular, flat, fast 5k at lunchtime on the last Friday of the month in Hyde Park. Mark Jefford led the group home, coming first V50 in 18.32, closely followed by Rob Schulman 2nd V50 and Caroline was 1st FV55. Most impressive though was Cathy Jeremiah running the distance at week 39 of her pregnancy. She finished looking fresh as a daisy – and as soon as she isn’t running for two, she is going to be even more of a force to be reckoned with than she was before her pregnancy!

Parkruns
Parkruns were well attended around the country, with special mention to Sue Rust who was 1st lady at Finsbury Park, and to Rebecca Bunting, 1st lady at Cassiobury Park and good to see Claire Sliwerski out running again after injury has kept her. A link to all Heathsiders results can be found here: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2017&eventdate=2016-10-01.

FULL RESULTS

Heart of England Forest Marathon, 01.10.16
Dan McKeown 3.57

Cologne Marathon, Cologne, 02.10.16
99th Paul Beale  2.57.59

Major Series, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, 10k Obstacle race, 011016

5th David Hellard 56.33

Regents Park Winter Race Series 10k, Regents Park, 02.10.16
94th  00:47:07 Anthony Chin
118th  00:48:03 Tammela Platt

South West Coast Path Challenge, 02.10.16

14th Henry Hamilton 3.22.01

Last Friday of the Month 5k,  Hyde Park, London. 30.09.2106
31st Mark Jefford 18:32 (1st V50)
41st Rob Shulman 18:56 (2nd V50)
150th Alun Nash 22:01
172nd Caroline White 22:39 (1st FV55)       
179th Gabrielle Johnson 23:01 
263rd Cathy Jeremiah 28:23 

Cardiff University/Cardiff Half Marathon, Cardiff, 02.10.16
(72nd (64th male) Sergio Gonzalez Manzaneque 1:16.42 (PB)
223rd (213th male) Jonathan Litchfield 1:23.17 (PB)
363rd (339th male) Jim Connell 1:26.39
2023rd (196th female) Jessica Vinluan 1:41.32 (PB)
6542nd (4678th male) Jason Bredhauer 1:59.56
8398th (1889th female) Frances Powrie 2:07.33

Coastal Trail Series: North York Moors, 01.10.16 

28th Satu Heitanen 2.25 (5th woman out of 48, 28th finisher out of 127)

North West London Young Athletics League, Perivale, 02.10.16

U11 GIRLS
9th Hattie Munday 6.39
24th Eloise Dark 7.20

TEAM 8TH

U13 GIRLS
12th Matilda Heath 7.44
14th Rose Garrett 7.47
36th Zuzanna Staghura 9.26
38th Fabienne Weston 9.42

TEAM: 7TH

U13 BOYS
1st Ruairi McGonagle 10.32
26th Oliver O’Connor 11.46
34th Arthur Reed 12.18
37th Jack Davis-Black 12.29
38th Lucas Maher 12.36
48th Avery Dietrich 13.28

TEAM: 7TH

U15 GIRLS
17th Ella Conlon 12.52
27th Juliet Kaplan 15.30

TEAM: 10TH

U15 BOYS
23rd Stan Brown 15.05
24th Laurie Draper 15.07

TEAM: 8TH

U17 WOMEN
9th Phoebe Crockford 16.53
14th Anna McAllister 17.54
16th Phoebe Adugna 20.09

TEAM: 6TH

U17 MEN
2nd Jem O Flaherty 15.00
5th Liam Garrett 15.20
10th Luke Gray 16.33
14th Antanas Weston 16.56
18th Kenneth Boulton 17.18

TEAM : 1ST