Tom wins big in Battersea

Relatively slim pickings this week, what with summer holidays and all, but pride of place goes, once again, Tom Aldred who won the Civil Service 10k last Wednesday by a massive margin in 32 minutes – a time made even more impressive by the baking heat.

There were also strong performances from Tony Killlilea in the same race, Ryan McCrickerd in the Self-Transcendence 5k on Monday and Martin Potter in the Deal Dinosaur 10k on Sunday, while Tammela Platt went home to Rochester, New York to run a 5k and Elinor East did exceptionally well in her debut triathlon in Eton Dorney last Sunday. And there was our usual strong turnout in Parkruns on Saturday, with Tom, Andrew Brooker and John Driscoll winning their events.

A strong reminder that racing returns in earnest this weekend, beginning with the SAL track and field event at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, starting at 12-noon. We need to do well to secure promotion to the next division – two to score in each event, but it boosts morale if a fair brace of non-scorers come along.

Self Transcendence 5k, Battersea Park, July 28

Tim Marshall reports that it was a relief to find the thermometer had dropped to a ‘pleasantly cool 20c’ for this race, the last of the summer 5k series, which saw 210 runners at the starting line. The steadily-improving 25-year-old Ryan McCrickerd was the first Heathsider home in 20th position in 16.55 (only nine seconds off his PB). Philip Freeman Bentley was just nine seconds behind him, running a PB, and there were also PBs from Aas Cusack and Tim Marshall.

Results:

20th Ryan McCrickerd – 16:55

24th Philip Freeman Bentley – 17:04 (PB)

50th Asa Cusack - 18:12 (PB)

59th Tim Marshall – 18:34 (PB)

Deal Dinosaur 10k, July 27

Martin Potter, Jackie Wastell and Howard Gold make a weekend of it in Deal, Kent, running the local 10 (Martin and Jackie in Deal Tri colours). Howard describes it as ‘having a hilly first half with the last 4k into the wind along the sea front’.

Results:

6th Martin Potter – 36:29

25th Howard Gold 38.47

128th Jackie Wastell 46.41

ROC Women’s 5k, Rochester, New York, July 27

Tamella Platt did well to come fourth out of 410 finishers in this all-women event on her home patch of Rochester, New York, cruising in at a time of 22:00. ‘Not my fastest,’ she reports, ‘but given low running volume and inconsistent speedwork (sorry, Jacob & Kabir -- I'll get back to the track soon), plus 85% humidity on race morning, I was pleased. I also got to be in the "lead pack" for a brief minute in the first mile -- don't think that'll ever happen again.

Result:

4th Tamella Plat – 22:00

Civil Service 10k, Battersea Park, July 23

Tom Aldred’s victory on the hottest day of the year (out of 209 runners) made him the first V35 as well as being the overall winner – astonishing to discover that our Tom is in his late-30s. (By the way, Tom also won the Finsbury Parkrun on Saturday). Tony Killilea put in yet another impressive super-vet performance, taking the prize for the first V50. He modestly reports: ‘While I did my best to prove that it is impossible to run well in furnace-like conditions, Tom showed he can run superbly regardless of the weather, winning the race by a margin of well over two minutes.’

Results:

1st Tom Aldred – 32:05 (also 1st V35)

27th Tony Killilea – 38:49 (1st V50)

Gatorade Eton Dorney Triathlon, July 20

Elinor East made her triathlon debut (Olympic distance) at this event on the Eton Dorney lake, which she described as a ‘perfect setting for beginners’. Although she said her transitions were ‘pretty slow’, she was the forth woman in a very promising time of 2:30.05, which included a 29 minute swim (not bad for a runner).

Result:49th Elinor East – 2:30.05 (swim – 29:04; cycle – 01:14.14; run – 42:45)

Parkruns, July 26

At least 27 of our runners took part in the 5k Parkruns around the country on Saturday. There were several impressive performances, including three first places: Tom Aldred in Finsbury Park (15:27), Andrew Brooker in Walthamstow (16:47) and John Driscoll in Aberystwyth (17:35).

Results:

Click on this link: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2017