Sun, sand, marathon debuts and PBs in Brighton, Rotterdam and Watford
It was a great week for Heathsiders. There were exceptional performances by Phoebe Crockford and Adam Kirk-Smith, who set PBs in 1500m and 3000m, promising marathon debuts in Paris and fantastic performances under warm conditions in the Brighton marathon. In the latter, Henry Hamilton-Gould shattered his PB, despite minimal training. James Lynch also set a new PB, finishing the Rotterdam marathon in under 3 hours. We even have results from the epic Marathon des Sables, where Claire Morrissey put in a super-human performance in the Sahara desert.
Detailed reports on these are provided below, followed by the results.
Track meetings
Pete and Phoebe Cockford raced 1500m at the Watford Open meeting. Phoebe ran an impressive PB of 5:36.86, less than 17 seconds slower than Pete (5:20.31). Pete reports, “After 18 months out with groin injury, and then nursing it through XC season this was a nervy step up for me, and it seemed to cope, though a bit sore next day. Nice for Phoebe to start track season with a PB so early.”
Following his exceptional performances last week, Adam Kirk-Smith set a new PB at the same meeting, running 3000m in 8:50.7.
Several competed in the Lee Valley open meeting, with the most notable performance coming from Leon Seale, who set a PB (according to Power of Ten) of 13.84s in the 100m.
Marathons
Rotterdam marathon, 12th April 2015
James Lynch and Michael Stocks ran fantastic times in the Rotterdam marathon. James set a new PB, finishing just inside the coveted 3 hour time (2:59:42). He was 15 minutes behind Mike Stocks, who finished in 2:44:30.
Brighton marathon, 12th April 2015
Eight Heathsiders, Edward Adams, Mark Derry, Philip Hogg, Henry Hamilton Gould, Nick de Sausmarez, Carl Heap, Alex Britton and Rosaire Gray completed the Brighton marathon. Philip reports that it was “brilliant running weather sunny but cool. Race is super organised now”.
Edward Adams was the first Heathsider over the line, narrowly missing the elusive 3 hour time (3:01:35), followed by Mark (03:07:05) and Philip (3:08:03 ) who achieved a PB by about 40 seconds. Congratulations go to Henry, who finished in 3:17:02 and who was overjoyed and shocked to have smashed his PB by 7 minutes. Nick (3:40:26), Carl (3:45:10) and Alex (3:51:40) followed shortly thereafter, followed by Rosaire (4:55:13).
Here is Henry‘s post-race analysis, which may be particularly inspirational for anyone worried about running their marathon with sub-optimal training:
“As I entered the start pen alongside 9000 others I found myself alongside Heathsiders Edward Adams and Carl Heap and with Phil Hogg running too, there were plenty of opportunities to cheer each on as we looped back and along the seafront. With the sun shining, bands playing, and the crowd in good voice, conditions were perfect for this marathon on the south coast but I was weary too that my training hadn't gone as planned (no more than 16 miles this year plus a stag do in Amsterdam 2 weeks earlier and running with a cold) so I was genuinely shocked when I crossed the line in 3hrs 17mins (7 mins quicker than my previous PB).
For those that want to enter this in 2016 (& I highly recommend it) then entries are open now & close on7th June!”
Paris marathon, 12th April 2015
Four Heathsiders (Oli Brook, Alice Lighton, Tom Hosking and Rebecca Taylor) ran their first marathons in Paris, where conditions were either “boiling hot” (Ollie) or “warm and sunny” (Alice). All did well to complete, with Oli being the first Heathsider (3:50:28), followed soon after by Alice (3:58:00), Tom (4:16:18) and Rebecca (4:22:05).
Alice goes on to say “It was a beautiful route and we think we enjoyed it. Also very much appreciated the (unexpected) Heathside support throughout the race.” Despite missing her target time, Rebecca was happy for several reasons: “I was injured in late February, which resulted in two weeks of no running followed by one week of easing back in to marathon training, I was pretty pleased with my result. I also raised over £800 for my chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Support and didn't get any blisters : )”.
Canberra marathon, 11th April 2015
On the other side of the world, Ursula Wilson (still a Heathside member, despite moving to Australia) completed the Canberra marathon in 3:24:35, coming 13th woman and 7th in her age category.
Half marathons
Joanne Liddell (1:36:51) and Jas Bolla (1:40:57) finished first and second respectively in their age categories in the Putney & Fulham Riverside Half Marathon. Meanwhile, Oliver and Victoria Pound had a great morning in the Vienna half marathon. Oliver reports:
“Injury nearly behind me, woefully underprepared and not the sort of person to let a flight / hotel reservation go to waste - off we went to Vienna to join in with 40 odd thousand people for a quick dash round the city. The race is incredibly well organised, and takes you on a lovely route round the city, all with brilliant local support on the route. I had absolutely no expectations for the race, and just wanted to get round in one piece. Me and Mrs P crossed the line together in 2hrs *ahem**cough* ... A new pw for me by a good 9 mins. Have to say though it's one of the most enjoyable races I've done in ages. Not one to do if you want a PB, it's flat but jam packed.”
10Ks
There are some belated results from the Easter 10K in Regents Park, which Josie Hinton completed in 42:29. More recently, Ryan McKrickered came an impressive seventh in the Hyde Park 10K, finishing in 37:00.
Loughrigg fell races, 8th April 2015
Edward Garrett sent in the following report from Loughrigg:
“In what is becoming an annual tradition, the Garrett family took to the fells of the Lake District on 8 April. A lovely sunny evening in Ambleside kicked off with the juniors' races at 6 pm. Rose ran strongly, finishing as the 6th U12G in 12:18. Liam ran a bit further, up to Todd Crag and back, his 15:21 finish winning him third U14B and a delightful Mars egg/bar. Proving perhaps that some things get better with age, Edward bagged a PB in the adult race (6.4 km/330m), coming through in 31:43 in his third year racing. The more likely cause is that Edward has finally learned that while climbing, it's useful to conserve some energy for the mad dash downhill. Declaring that she is very happy to be returning to sprinting, but that fell running is most definitely not for her, thank you very much, Katia performed admirably as the family's designated photographer.
Looking through the results from this race on fellrunner.org.uk, Edward notes that London clubs were severely underrepresented. He hopes to run more fell races in future. If anyone else is enthusiastic, please get in touch with him.”
“The toughest footrace on Earth” (Marathon des Sables), 3rd-13th April 2015
Finally, the report would be incomplete without mentioning Claire Morrissey, who used to run with Heathside. Claire put in a super-human performance, running for the second time in the Marathon des Sables and finishing 5th female and 101st overall in 31 hours, 47 minutes and 4 seconds. This is all the more impressive considering that there were over 1200 finishers, including a former London marathon champion, who came second.
Known as the “toughest footrace on Earth”, this race makes the national cross-country championships on Parliament Hill seem like a gentle Sunday afternoon stroll. It comprises 5 stages (6 including the charity stage) covering a total distance of 249km through the Sahara desert. Temperatures typically exceed 50 degrees Centigrade and runners carry their own mandatory supplies, including venom remover and compass. Perhaps a race to be considered by those who find cross-country too easy…?!
RESULTS
Watford Open meeting, 8th April 2015
3000m
1 Adam Kirk-Smith 8:50.7 (PB)
1500m
3 Pete Crockford 5:20.3
9 Phoebe Crockford 5:26.9
Lee Valley Open meeting, 11th April 2015
100 SM 5
4 Jeffrey Rice 11.71 SEN SB
100 SM 7
5 Darnell Plummer 12.03 U17 SB
100 SM 8
7 Michael Bense 13 V40 SB
100 SM 11
5 Leon Seale 13.84 U13 PB
100 SW 4
5 Alishia Abodunde 13.96 SEN SB
200 SM 5
4 Jeffrey Rice 24.5 SEN
200 SM 6
3 Darnell Plummer 24.65 U17 SB
200 SM 7
7 Leon Seale 30.95 U13
200 SW 4
4 Alishia Abodunde 29.37 SEN SB
Brighton Marathon, 12th April, 2015
119 Edward Adams 03:01:35
198 Mark Derry 03:07:05
210 Philip Hogg 3:08:03
399 Henry Hamilton-Gould 03:17:02
1381 Nick De Sausmarez 03:40:26
1716 Carl Heap 03:45:10
2208 Alex Britton 03:51:24
6782 Rosaire Gray 04:55:13
Rotterdam marathon, 12th April, 2015
174 Mike Stocks 2:44:30
584 James Lynch 2:59:42
Paris Marathon, 12th April, 2015
40172 finishers
12734 Oli Brook 3:50:28
15815 Alice Lighton 03:58:00
22770 Tom Hosking 04:16:18
24744 Rebecca Taylor 04:22:05
Canberra marathon, 11th April 2015
143 Ursula Wilson 3:24:35 (13th F, 7th F40)
Putney & Fulham Riverside Half Marathon, 12th April 2015
99 Joanne Liddle 01:36:51 6th F 1st F40
131 Jas Bolla 01:40:57 9th F 2nd F40
Vienna half marathon, 12th April 2015
8610 Pound Oliver 02:09:49
8611 Victoria Pound 02:09:49
Regents Park Easter 10K, 6th April 2015
30 Josie Hinton 42:03
Hyde Park 10K, 12th April 2015
7 Ryan McKrickered 37:00
Loughrigg fell races, 8th April 2015
Junior race (excl Todd Crag)
6th U12G Rose Garrett 12:18
Junior race (incl. Todd Crag)
3rd U14B Liam Garrett 15:21
Adult race (6.4km/330m):
35 Edward Garrett 31:43 (PB)
Marathon des Sables, 3rd-13th April 2015
Claire Morrissey's results:
Stage Distance Overall posn Female posn Time
1 36.2km 110 9 04:32:03
2 31.1km 134 11 04:17:50
3 36.7km 176 10 04:58:13
4 91.7km 68 4 13:00:28
5 42.2km 174 10 04:58:28
Cumulative 237.9km 101 5 31:47:04
6 ("charity stage") 11.5km 745 02:40:56
Parkruns:
http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2017&eventdate=2015-04-11