Sara sets new club record in Berlin

This week’s bumper round up includes the results from one of the last track sessions of the season, the latest results from the World Masters Championships in Malaga, a new club record set in Berlin, PBs in half marathons in Harrow and Reigate, as well as trail runs, fell runs and extreme events around the country.

Highgate Open Track meeting

Several Heathsiders rounded off the track season at the Highgate Open meeting last Wednesday.  Sion Lewis was delighted to set a new pb at 5000m of 16:27. Simon Baker comments: “I only stayed for the U11 events at a slightly cold and windy Parliament Hill.  The Highlight of the U11’s was Benjy achieving a PB in the 600m and his first run under 1:52 although he was pushed all the way by Sophia Sahai, a young Herne Hill Harrier.  Elsewhere it looks like there were a good number of Heathsiders ending the track season with personal or season bests.”

World Masters Championships in Malaga

A few Heathsiders participated in the World Masters Championships in Malaga last week.  Sue Rust had a great run, finishing in the silver medal winning team for cross-country.  Following on from her success at reaching the final in the 800m last week, Ulla Cartwright-Finch also reached the final at the 1500m in the V35 category, finishing 14th in 4:48:50.  Liam Hazelton and Andy Barnes ran in the half marathon, with Liam commenting: “Was tough conditions at the World Masters half marathon this morning, Andy and I coming in around 1:19 and 1:32 respectively, finishing in 25 degree heat at Málaga stadium. Definitely not a PB day, but personally pretty happy!”  Adrian Essex provides a great description of the 100m and 400m relay events:

“We had the same M65 team down for both, Simon Barrett, Wally Franklyn, me and Steve Peters, but Wally had a bad run in the 4 x 100 and we came second, so Wally pulled out of the 400. Up stepped Graham Webster , not a 400m specialist, who'd already run a half marathon in the morning, to take Wally's place. Huge respect and thanks to him for making up the team. The video starts with me standing forlornly waiting to take over the baton as we bring up the rear at 600m, but Simon overtakes the Pole and I set off after the Australians, and damn near catch the Spanish as well. Steve Peters on the last leg already had gold medals in 100, 200 and 400 metres and made short work of bringing home the bronze. Regrettably the USA and Germany were well away. “

Berlin marathon

At least 6 Heathsiders ran in the Berlin marathon last Sunday, made historic for the record-breaking performance at the front of field.  James Connell led team Heathside home in 3:10:33 and special congratulations are due to Sara Black, who  finished in 3:13:20 and shattered the women’s Heathside V45 marathon club record by 10 minutes.  Bas Vlaming, one of our Heathsiders  based abroad,  had a great run to finish in 3:40, followed not long after by the remaining Heathsiders.

Harrow half marathon

A few Heathsiders ran in the Harrow half marathon, which also made history this year by being the first road race in England to ban plastic bottles from the course.  Instead, runners receive water in an “Ooho”, a ball-shaped edible sachet made of seedweed, which decomposes after 6 weeks.  We’re still awaiting feedback about the whole Ooho experience, which suggests that it was positive.  Lixx Dias was delighted to set a half marathon PB (1:41:38) a few weeks before his marathon in Chicago, showing that his hard training is paying off.  He was soon followed by Stuart Amblin (1:42:31), Felipe Cardoso (1:43:23) and Craig Hudson  (1:46:59).

Reigate half marathon

Peter Ward revisited the Reigate half marathon this weekend, two years after pacing it, aiming to achieve the sub 90-minute goal he’d set himself when joining Heathside a few years ago.  He picks up the story: “…having recently gone sub 20 twice on track 5ks (19:08) at the Club 5k Champs recently, felt on form. Settled into 6:40s pace after the first few miles, feeling good decided to hold this pace going through 6 miles in 41:03. I pushed on in the second half, running a negative split, gaining 45 places in the last 7 miles with a 6:19 last mile finish, assisted by the descent from a short sharp hill at the end.  Absolutely delighted with my best ever race performance and looking forward to targeting sub 1:25 next, and a good stepping stone to my sub3 marathon goal in the future.”  Good luck Peter!

Richmond Half Marathon

Several Heathsiders ran in the Richmond half marathon last Sunday, which was part of a pirate-themed weekend running festival.  Laura Boothman sets the scene:

“We ran around the beautiful Kew Gardens before heading down to river to finish in Richmond Old Deer Park. I was disguised  - not as a pirate, but as my allotment neighbour who couldn’t run. Fantastic race with loads to see - Autumn crocuses, newly renovated palm houses and pagoda, lots of rowers on the river. “ 

Peter Gould had a great run to finish as first Heathsider (1:21:27), followed by Tom Bedwell, who added a new PB (1:29:07) to his rapidly expanding collection of PBs set this year.  Gwyneth Harrison-Shermoen was delighted to set a new PB (1:59:55) and to break the 2-hour half marathon barrier, and she was followed by Laura in 2:21.

Harvest quarter marathon and half marathon, Royston

Eight Heathsiders travelled to Royston on Sunday to run in the Harvest Trail quarter marathon or half marathon.   The two races start together, before separating after 3 miles and include the unforgettable hills used in cross-country races in the area, besides many others.  The strong headwind made a tough course particularly challenging.  Becky Sandford and Anne Woulfe finished the quarter marathon comfortably in around 1 hour, with Becky enjoying the scenery so much that she almost missed the turn-off for the quarter marathon.    

The half marathon was eventful. A week after completing the Vilnius marathon, Phil Hogg had a great run leading Heathsiders home in the half marathon, coming 15th overall, despite getting lost.  He was disappointed to have lost a few places after he spent some time trying to work out how to cross a type of a stile that he’d never seen before and risking getting impaled on some barbed wire nearby in doing so.  Louisa Pointon had a phenomenal run, finishing second woman in 1:41, despite tripping over some sugar beets. Alice Hosking followed 15 minutes later, followed by Emilia, with both falling over at some point during the course.  Rebecca Marshall had a steady run to finish in 2:12, whilst, when seen last, Rachel Scott Halls hadn’t yet regretted her last-minute decision to switch from the quarter marathon to the half marathon, despite minimal training.

Overall, despite the bruises, tough hills and strong headwind, everyone enjoyed this unforgettable race, with the jelly babies handed out during the run and the tea and cakes (included in the entry fee) adding a special touch.

Isle of Wight fell races

Andy Owen had a successful run as the lone Heathside representative in the South of England Fell Championships in the Isle of Wight, coming home with a silver medal in the M50 category. He reports: “Spread over 3 races in two days on the Isle of Wight, it started on Saturday morning with a short sharp 2.5 miles from the sea front up to the radio mast (over 800ft of climb) and most of the way back down. As 4th v50 in 21.26 I was pleased but not expecting much more than an enjoyable weekend of sun, scenery and hard training. After a dip in the sea and some lunch it was soon time for the 7.5 mile Ventnor Horseshoe with double the climbing. It was a tough run, trading places with Cambridge Harrier Clem Dixon but I was pleased to push on after the final climb to break clear and take 2nd place in my category. 

I didn't know that until just before the final race on Sunday morning - the 21km Wroxall Round with over 2,000 ft of climb and tired legs. This time I almost caught my two closest rivals on the final climb but couldn't quite close the gap. Luckily my advantage from Saturday was enough to hold off Clem and a couple of others from LFR and Ryde Harriers for 2nd. Christian Poulton of Cambridge Harriers was comfortable winner of all 3 races in the category but not entirely beyond reach, next time!   I really encourage anyone to have a go. Even the v70 category was well contested and it's a lovely place to visit. No need to do all 3 races.”

Ring of Steall Skyrace

Lenny Martin took part in the Ring of Steall Skyrace last Saturday, taking trail racing to a different level and making the Harvest trail and fell running races seem like walks in the park.  Lenny reports: “On Saturday I raced the Ring of Steall Skyrace, which doubled up as the Skyrunning World Championships. It's a 29km race around the mountain ridge in the Scottish Highlands, with 2500m of climbing and some scrambling and super-technical terrain thrown in for good measure.  I didn't have a very good day, nursing some injury and illness, but just about managed to finish, and finish in 6h26 for 310th place out of just over 500 finishers in the men's race.” 

Anyone keen to know about Lenny’s interpretation of “super-technical terrain” might like the following description of the course on the race website: “The route goes along two lofty ridges within the Mamores, including the Devil’s Ridge, which provides a thrilling and airy traverse with Glen Nevis visible ahead and as a yawning drop far below, and Ben Nevis beyond and towering above.” 

Parkruns

Many Heathsiders ran in parkruns this weekend.  Congratulations for first place finishes go to Sue Rust (Finsbury Park, 20:50), Andrew Brooker (Nonsuch, 15:40), Annabel Litchfield (Ally Pally, 20:42), Jessica Vinluan (Maidenhead, 23:00).  The full results can be found here.

Results

Highgate Open Meeting, Wednesday 12th Sptember 2019

75m (U11)

Benjy Bediako                   11.33

Elkie Baker                          12.67

Max Wassermann           13.48

100m

Adriano Barbera               12.25 SB

David Fallon                        13.39 PB

Michael Bense                  13.43

Thomas Wassermann    14.85

Helene Kehoe                   16.34 SB

400m

Michael Bense                  61.30

600m (U11)

Benjy Bediako                   1:51.16 PB

Elkie Baker                          2:22.60

1500m

Lemi Mideksa                    4:25.66 PB

Bethany Scott                    4:35.12

Kelly Thorneycroft           4:42.38

Alex Sweet                         4:48.96 PB

David Fallon                        4:55.17 SB

5000m

Sion Lewis                           16:27.54 PB

Jonathan Litchfield          18:06.26 SB

Mark Jefford                      18:17.55 PB

Leigh James                        19:22.12 SB

Jacob Howe                        20:03.87 SB

Long Jump (U11)

Benjy Bediako                   3.85 m

Elkie Baker                          3.12 m PB

Long Jump

Etienne Munday              4.46 m

Gokce Baydar                    4.31 m

Nick Condon                      4.20 m PB

Thomas Wasserman       4.12 m PB

Shot Put (3kg)

Helene Kehoe                   6.42 m

Discus Throw (2kg)

Amirreza Zarei                   33.54 m

Malaga World Masters Championships, 4th-16th September 2018

1500M

7  Ulla Cartwright-Finch    4:48.50

4x100m

2 GREAT BRITAIN AND N.I.  [including Adrian Essex]

4x400M 

3 GREAT BRITAIN AND N.I.  4:30.42  [including Adrian Essex]

Cross-country, 8km

2 GREAT BRITAIN AND N.I.  [including Sue Rust]

13  Sue Rust   33:32

Half marathon

17  Andy Barnes  1:19:30

41  Liam Hazelton 1:32:40

Harrow half marathon, 16th September 2018

114 Lixx Dias  1:41:38  (PB)

123  Stuart Amblin   1:42:31

142   Felipe Cardoso 1:43:23

170  Craig Hudson  1:46:59

Reigate half marathon 16th September 2018

46/1435      Peter Ward 86:36 (PB by 5:51)

Richmond half marathon, 16th September 2018

9 Peter Gould 1:21:27

52 Tom Bedwell 1:29:07 (PB)

422 Jack Hardy 1:45:20 (pacing)

655 Tom Bryant 1:50:59

1118 Gwyneth Harrison-Shermoen 1:59:55 (PB)

1997 Laura Boothman 2:21:11

Isle of Wight Fell Race series & South of England Fell Championships

Andy Owen:

Race 1: 0:21:26  (55th)

Race 2: 1:06:33  (53rd)

Race 3: 1:43:58  (50th)

Silver medallist in the M50 category.

Salomon Ring of Steall Skyrace - Saturday 15 September 2018

389  Lenny Martin 6:26:22

Berlin marathon, 16th September 2018

2609 James Connell 3:10:33

268  Sara Black   3:13:20  [new club v45 record]

8145 Bas Vlaming 3:40:14

9901 Lee Reynolds  3:47:31

16604 James McBride 4:15:04

19410  Conor Forbes 4:29:23

Harvest Trail quarter marathon, 16th September 2018

35 Becky Sandford       1:00:41

36 Ann Woulfe              1:00:54

Harvest Trail half marathon, 16th September 2018

15 Philip Hogg                      1:36:42

23  Louisa Pointon                1:42:04  (2nd F)

48   Alice Hosking               1:55:02

70   Emilia Vynnycky          2:01:28

89  Rebecca Marshall        2:12:57

97 Rachel Scott-Halls        2:27:58

Hampstead Race for Life 10K, 15th September 2018

2   Sion Lewis    35:26

Compiled by Emilie with thanks to Simon Baker, Sion Lewis, Laura Boothman, Tom Bedwell, Filipe Cardoso, Lenny Martin, Gwyneth Harrison-Shermoen, Andy Owen, Lixx Dias

Facebook posts (Liam Hazelton, Tony Killilea, Adrian Essex)

Photos: Liam Hazelton, Lixx Dias, Louisa Pointon