The End of Season Supper will be on the 8th April, last orders by 31st March at the latest. Further details can be found on the Forum.
The races were held over a 1 mile course on Farthing Downs and attracted 175 runners, the largest turnout for many years. As well as local schools there were competitors from Guildford, Woking and Sutton braving the cold wind on the course.
The Girls race was won by Eleanor Riordan who led Park Hill Junior School to the team prize.73 girls finished the race.
The Boys event was won by Stephen Knuckley of Woking with Park Hill again winning the team prize. 102 boys finished.
Results are as usual on the Results Page.
The annual Schools Races were held on Saturday 4th. March over Farthing Downs and Happy Valley. Almost 150 boys took part in the races for the U/14, U/16 and O/16 age groups. Unfortunately the bus from Brighton College broke down en route but 12 other schools were represented.
The Hampshire Cup for U/14s was won by Judd School, the individual winner being Dominic Steiert from Oxted who covered the course in 11min 51sec.
The second race of 2.5 miles for the U/16s was won by Daniel Sellman of Wilsons School (also a South London Harrier). The Lemon Norris team cup was won by Judd.
The Densham Cup for O/16s was won by Judd , the individual winner being Van Deventer from Charterhouse.
The Primary Schools races are on 11th. March at 10.30am for the Girls and 10.45am for the Boys. Results are as usual on the Results Page.
Senior Ladies 1 E Hall Herts Phoenix AC 32:12 60 E Bright South London Harriers 36:59 94 R Hutton South London Harriers 38:12 141 S McDonald South London Harriers 40:05 154 V Mitchell South London Harriers 40:36 175 J Craig South London Harriers 41:22 265 K Southall South London Harriers 44:51 307 Z Simek South London Harriers 46:38 332 P Iannella South London Harriers 47:38 378 M Martins South London Harriers 50:05 1 Charnwood AC 68 7 Ranelagh Harriers 230 15 Belgrave Harriers 427 17 South London Harriers 445 19 Serpentine RC 546 21 Blackheath & Bromley Harriers 563 22 Dulwich Runners 621 37 The Stragglers 1194 45 Dorking & Mole Valley AC 1410 Senior Men 1 P Riley Leigh H & AC 38:53 83 S Major Newham & Essex Beagles AC 42:46 197 T Jenkins South London Harriers 45:30 308 C Phelan South London Harriers 47:29 402 D Baker South London Harriers 49:12 438 A Aitken South London Harriers 49:49 482 P Mitchell South London Harriers 50:36 488 A Martins South London Harriers 50:40 516 M Burtwell South London Harriers 51:04 528 Phil Scarles South London Harriers 51:21 590 F Upcott South London Harriers 52:32 786 R Crozier South London Harriers 55:43 793 W Corr South London Harriers 55:46 876 R Davis South London Harriers 57:22 916 T Ward South London Harriers 58:05 1163 S Southall South London Harriers 1:04:16 1266 J Clausen-F South London Harriers 1:11:44 1 Leeds City AC 234 7 Belgrave Harriers 437 12 Newham & Essex Beagles AC 555 18 Thames Hare & Hounds 1271 20 Serpentine RC 1432 22 Herne Hill Harriers 1641 33 Ranelagh Harriers 2244 34 Halesowen A & CC 2255 35 South London Harriers 2291 36 Stubbington Green Runners 2370 39 Dulwich Runners 2524 47 Dorking & Mole Valley AC 2888
Quite few of us met at east Croydon Station and travelled by train to Kentish Town.
Paul Mitchell bought a ticket to Gospel Oak station, as he remembered that as being the nearest to the venue. Although it probably had been valid, we were not sure whether it would let him out at Kentish Town. Tickets can be changed for a short time after purchase and this was quickly done and the travel card posed no problems.
We found Francis was already in the train, but he detrained and got back in and finished virtually at the same place. We found Darren at London Bridge and David Baker was our guide from Kentish Town.
From this moment numerous tales were told about the horrors of the venue. Locals would come to witness everybody fall over whilst crossing the stream. And if that did not happen they would trip them up! Soon after we arrived the senior ladies race started and whilst it was going on the loudspeaker system kept asking for representatives to urgently report in various places. Which became even more scary when some of the Serpentine ladies stopped next to their officials reporting that one of their runners had fallen just round the corner and was complaining that her ribs were hurting and if they could haste themselves to sort this out! . . . What sort of place had I come to? What spirits were ruling here? It all became rather sinister . . .
Francis had already asked me why I had shaven off my beard - followed by "I thought you did it to run in the ladies race so that you could beat Marketa"!! (this was left out of the after dinner speech at the specific request of Marketa)
So with all and every trepidation I joined the others at the start and all and every gloomiest forecast became true. Apart from the fact that I could not find "the stream". I have been told that it should have been where there was some ten yards of over the ankle mud, where you had no idea how far you were going to sink and if when you pulled your feet up you would actually still have you shoes on . . .
Apart from that there was lots of lovely very sticky heavy clay mud, a cow would have sunk at least half a metre into it, lots of hills and when you were going next to the runners going the other way their patch always looked better . . .
I started my second lap around 36 minutes and was thus within hearing range of the loudspeakers to hear the winner come in - at least he did not lap me! Ruth, Marketa, Zoe & Pam encouraged me at this stage. It seemed that Richard was everywhere as during each lap I would see him at least three times. About a mile away from the finish when I passed Richard he shouted at me ALG is in sight you must keep going at a good pace. Miraculously I thought that was what I did, especially as the last section was mainly on the top ridge with reasonable paths and the latter section was advantages to me as it was down hill.
At the bottom of a very large beech tree, there they were drinking their soup! It was encouraging to see, and they shouted do your usual trick Jake and pass them on the down hill. I looked ahead the nearest runner was some 80 yds ahead, ok lets see what happens and accelerated rapidly and another came in sight - the first one was passed before the bend into the last straight, as it levelled off my speed dropped and I thought I heard somebody just behind me - ah well if the runner I just passed has found some strength it is his good right to overtake me here, however . . .
Total disaster struck ALG passed me at 100mph for his final sprint and although I tried to increase my momentum, it was a total lost cause - beaten by 50 yds = 26 secs
So Parliament Hill kept up its tales and myths I don't think there are any good one's to be told . . . I lost my credit card as well . . . But perhaps or should I not say this; my watch said my run was 73 minutes exactly; ssh . . .
The evening meal at the club house later was most excellent. (I had calculated that I still could get to Horsham but would have needed to travel back on the same train on its return journey. Which would have given me 15 minutes, if it was on time, to get home and back - for an average time of 8 minutes one way, it did not give a realistic chance of changing into anything else - but the mud was halfway up to my calves.. So Paul was as the last time extremely kind and looked after me so that I could arrive suitably smarted up)
Our juniors deserve our praise for attempting this horrendous course and some of them did finish in quite good times - I apologise for not having all their times available here. They received their deserved applause.
The highlight of the evening was Pamie's speech which is now made available on the email system . . . (I just wonder why there were no apologies to me? - It's alright Pam I don't mind and quite pleased that you know that I don't mind)
There was one other highlight which until the Boxing day handicap will sort all problems out - if a certain unnamed gentleman suggests that he is the best and will beat everybody - just say "Honey" - just an eleven year old . . . . . .
7.5 Mile Cross Country Race it would be interesting to know what the panel thinks is the more difficult course? Our Farthing Hill 7.5mile mob match course The Lloyds Park 7.5mile course or The Parliament Hill course
The timings for most runners do not actually differ a lot.
Running clogs
Blackheath Mob Match Results, by individual and by team now in the Results Section. A Good set of Photos were taken by the opposition and can be found on their website.
The day dawned cold, grey and dry, with a promise of rain late afternoon - perfect conditions for cross-country running and even more so for the Blackheath Mob Match. The course was soft, slippery and squelchy thanks to midweek rain. Steve announced mid-morning that he wasn't feeling very well, just in case there was the remotest chance that I would beat him and he would have his excuse ready for the post match deliberations that evening. Gran had been enlisted to look after Oliver and Troy so that we both could run.
This was the 110th anniversary of the first holding of this match and before yesterday the score was 49 victories to SLH, 44 to Blackheath, Blackheath having only won the fixture once since the Centenary Match in 1996 when they drew level with SLH on 43 wins each. For weeks beforehand Andy Collins had been doing his best to rally the troops and on the day he was not disappointed as 47 irrepressibles walked through the doors of Blackheath Clubhouse.
For some, it was their first Blackheath Mob Match not knowing what to expect; for others who had run it many times the feeling was just the same - many of us had forgotten the long woodland drag up to Layham's Farm, most of us had remembered the first stile and forgotten all the rest and if you're like me all you'd remembered was the long downhill home and the welcoming party at the finish. The memory works in strange ways.
At the start, Blackheath tried to intimidate us with their rallying war cry, whilst SLH insisted that their smaller field of 47 runners to Blackheath's 72 or so, was of superior quality. And so it was to be. Stuart Major, despite having been awake for most of the previous night with baby Samuel, ran superbly to win in 45.47. We also had first lady in Eleanor Baker who reached the finish line in an impressive 49.27, followed by Ruth Hutton (2nd Lady) in 56.12. Pippa was SLH's third lady home in 61.46 and she'd got even less sleep than Stuart the previous night (thanks again to Samuel, who slept beautifully through the announcement of our victory). In fact, there was almost a stunned silence and an intake of breath as the results were announced - on our part as we couldn't quite believe we'd pulled it off and on Blackheath's because they were swarming around us at the start. Victory was by the smallest of margins 1950 pts to 1989 pts, a mere 39 points. Well done to Pam Iannella who, in her first Blackheath Mob Match, was our final scorer in a time of 71.02. When I asked her afterwards if she'd enjoyed it, she responded with a resounding 'No'. I'm sure she's changed her mind today.
So that's it until next year when the rivalry will no doubt surface again. Until then we lead Blackheath 50 victories to 44. I hope I've got it right and if I haven't I'm sure someone will correct me.
Kathleen
Results are in the Results Section for the Men, Results for the Women's Match can be found on Ranelagh Harriers Site. Well done to everyone who competed in these two matches.
I woke at 07:00 to a cold, grey morning, but I was a woman with a plan! Having seen off Jake and Marketa on my last two races, my next target was my running buddy Zoe. She'd beaten me by 27 seconds in our last race two weeks' ago, so I thought, it'll be hard - but not impossible. I tucked into my Jordan's Luxury Muesli topped for good measure with giant blueberries and felt optimistic.
I was due to collect my target, Zoe, at 10:45, we'd been sharing the journey to our last three matches, as well as our soup and our bad taste in after race wear. Peter Emery described us as looking like two bag ladies! Things didn't go to plan with my setting off time but we reached Richmond Park by about 12:10, which was pushing it a bit to do the usual: find a parking place, visit the loo, get our numbers and warm up. The car park was full, cars were queuing up waiting for spaces. Unease crept over me. I didn't have a nippy, little Smart car that could be squeezed into tiny spaces. We did another circuit of the car park and spotted a sort of space. It was a space with a tree in the middle surrounded by an iron fence. It would have to do. Zoe and I did some quick mathematical calculations and decided it would fit. It did.
Next stop the loo. Ahh! a queue, no time to queue, it would have to be the gents next door, "Hello, we're coming in", we yelled. A couple of guys on their way out - no time to explain!
Mission accomplished. We then used our time getting to the start as our warm-up.
There was a very big turn out. Lots of thoroughbreds warming up, including our own SLH superstars - you know who you are!
Suddenly we were off. Being a shortish race, the start was a fast one with no time to get comfortable. Never mind - just get on with it I thought. After a few minutes target Z drew along side me and with a nifty side step she overtook me. She's not getting any soup I decided! Just stay behind her I thought - don't let her know you're there. Bit difficult with my breathing! Easier said than done. Very soon target was out of sight. I spotted Alison Collin's head bobbing up and down, but she was too far ahead of me. I'll plod on and hope to catch sight of Z later on.
The first lap was over quite quickly and I spied my soup flask as we passed the start point again. I could almost taste the tomato and basil, so I pushed on. As we got round the bend though, we were diverted in a different direction for our second lap. A long down hill bit followed, but that could only mean one thing, a long up hill bit to follow. We seem to be getting further and further away, so I thought that perhaps the finish line was in a different place to the start. But no, round the corner I could see the pack snaking off to the right. My brain was telling my legs to go faster, but my legs didn't want to, so I plodded on wondering how much further it was. I was huffing and puffing and muttering to myself when...who should appear at my side? That pesky Marketa!! Where had she come from! This was not in the plan. Marketa was on a roll. Not only did she overtake me but several others too. Was she on drugs? had she had a blood transfusion last night? I felt like Dick Dastardly in Wacky Races, I wanted to reach for my marbles or set up a diversion sign to put her off. The words of Richard Carter loomed into my head, 'stay with her', but my legs would not accelerate. The finish was now in sight and I mustered what energy I had left to cross the line to see target Z and Alison chatting away like they'd been there for ages. Drat. But.......................I'll be back .
Well, I suppose you're all wondering how the rest of them did? How do I know! I was too far back to see. But I've made enquires:
Emily Bright was the first SLH lady home, followed by Nicky McGarry , Sue McDondald, Viv Mitchell and Michelle Jenkins. (The Scorers) I did interviewed Pippa after the race . Pippa had done very well, but not well enough by Pippa's standards to get the points she wanted. She told me she had the stamina, but not enough speed, well, she's a Ferrari compared to me - a mere Morris Traveller!
Emily Bright 21.58 Nicky McGarry 22.18 Sue McDonald 23.15 Viv Mitchell 23.34 Michelle Jenkins 23.35 Clare Settle 24.00 Pippa Major 24.09 Kath Southall 25.34 Sue Ashley 25.48 Alison Collins 26.00 Zoe Simek 26.38 Marketa Martins 27.50 Pam Iannella 28.06 Jane Luxton 28.33 Jennie Burdett 30.36
Pamie Plodder
This year we had a first placed women's team at the perch. The team was Viv Mitchell 61st overall, Jo Quantrill 129th and Jane Luxton 255th. A race which began in the year 2000 and is 2000 perch long, equivilent to 10.05km. We also had a ninth placed men's team. For more details of The Perch click the link.
I think there is a saying "I came, I saw, I conquered". Well in the case of Saturday's Southern, for me it was more of a case of "I ran, I'm sore, and bonkers".
I ran this course in Exeter 3 years ago when I was fit, and the course was significantly shorter. So I wasn't looking forward to running it in my current state of fitness, together with the fact that the organisers had added another loop and a hill for good measure to make up the distance. It was a tough race - 2 laps which were quite hilly, plus the ground was very uneven, so that even on the downhill's it was hard to go too fast for fear of falling over.
Only Nicky and I were brave enough (or foolish enough?) to take part. Looks like Nicky had another brilliant race, and continues to show what you can achieve with hard training. I can't confess to seeing her after the top of the first hill, as she was so far ahead of me. I plodded round somewhere near the middle, I think my first lap was OK, as I was quite close to 2 Belgrave girls who at the moment are usually miles ahead of me in the League matches, but I paid the price for my early enthusiasm and faded a bit on the 2nd lap. I find it quite hard to push myself when I don't recognise any of the runners around me. Thank goodness for John Mattison who kept popping up and kept me going. How does John do it? He manages to appear all over the course - I reckon I saw him at least 4 times each lap.
Apologies to Ruth for recording a slow time for you - but John and I reckoned you wouldn't be too offended.
Looked like the men ran well. I watched them for 3 of their laps, but then it got too cold, so had to retire to the car with a hungry baby.
Stuart had another good race, and helped by the fact they had the overall winner (Dave Mitchinson) brought home silver medals for Newham.
Pippa Major
We were well represented yesterday. Senior Mens team came 18th with 1018, behind 1st position Bedford & County, Stuart Major's Newham & Essex Beagles in 2nd and Herne Hill in 3rd. Well done to all those runners who turned out to run. And thanks to anyone who supported our runners. Warning: The following results may be subject to change and may be different to those on the official site.
Senior Men| 21 | Stuart Major | Newham & Essex Beagles AC | 51:50 |
| 141 | Chris Phelan | South London Harriers | 58:14 |
| 147 | Andrew Aitken | South London Harriers | 58:30 |
| 160 | Paul Mitchell | South London Harriers | 58:55 |
| 184 | Barry Attwell | South London Harriers | 59:59 |
| 187 | Andy Collins | South London Harriers | 1:00:03 |
| 202 | Julian Gevers | South London Harriers | 1:00:27 |
| 42 | Nicky McGarry | South London Harriers | 33:23 |
| 117 | Pippa Major | South London Harriers | 37:41 |
| 31 | Helen Wilson | South London Harriers | 12:24 |
| 100 | Hannah Field | South London harriers | 13:56 |
Click for Full Results.
Herne Hill Harriers Website is now back online in the usual place.
There is now a full race report by the legendary Running Clogs.
Results in finishing order are now available in the usual place. Well done to Thames for turning up, and well done to all the SLH runners and supporters who turned up and won. We missed you Herne Hill. Results by Competitor and Results by Team.
This year we're having a National Supper in place of the usual Southern Supper, taking place on Saturday the 25th of February. Further details click National Supper.
As the Noticeboard is rarely used, it is being disbanded. The link on the menu now point to the General area of the Forum which covers the same topics. Please post any offers or social events there. Any important events etc, please bring to the attention of the webmaster and they may get a link from the home page.
After being a member for nearly 17 years and doing the same courses year after year, it was a nice change to run somewhere we hadn't been before. Saying that though, I changed my opinion halfway through the race when we hit the hardest, longest hill I can remember doing in a surrey league.
Newlands Corner is a place I know well, as it's a regular tea stop while out on a Sunday bike ride and has great views over the Surrey Downs on a nice day. Today though wasn't a nice day, the whether was damp, cold and grey.
Despite getting to the race over an hour before the start, time seemed to race by and in no time we were off. We started on a camber and ran a few hundred meters out before turning steep right up a short hill and entering some woods. It was then through a muddy section and on to a long fast downhill. It was obvious we were going to have to climb back up again, and soon enough we turned sharply left up a very long narrow ascent with very few passing places. By the top of the hill Nicky, was just ahead of me and my initial fast start did not seem such a good idea.
At least this week unlike last, I didn't have a hangover when racing. That's not a usual thing for me, but it had been Danny's birthday the day before Lloyd Park. I remember doing the same thing 4 years ago for Danny's 40th and racing, but being 4 years older now my recovery wasn't so good.
Today, the suffering was purely down to trying to keep my breathing under control up the hill without sounding like a Steve Southall steam train. (He's quite fit and light at the moment, so I haven't really noticed it this season) We then had a few minutes respite before repeating the first lap all over again. The second time around even some of the runners in front of me were walking up the hill by the top, which I've never seen in a league match. I was very relieved to reach the top, and then it was just a case of hanging on until the long finish stretch, feeling happy that we weren't doing the longer men's course. I did however hear that they didn't go up the same hill as us, which was a bit of a let down.
The turnout, as always for South London Harriers was good, as was the support on the course, which was great, and Emma was there to cheer me on loudly on each lap.
The scorers were:
Nicky McGarry
Ruth Hutton
Sue McDonald
Viv Mitchell
Christine Costiff
This was closely followed by Pippa Major who I am sure on current progress will score in the final league match.
I'm not sure yet of our overall position, but will let you know when I hear.
Ruth Hutton
There is now a Provision Fixture List for the Summer 2006 Track & Field Season on the website. Anyone knowing anymore detail or spotting any errors, please write to webmaster@southlondonharriers.org.
There was a good turn out of SLH at this event, both competitors and supporters, evidence is in the photos. Photos by both Brian Gardner and Richard Carter, and a report by "Running Clogs". Full results on the Surrey Website.
It's that time of the year again, and the London Marathon is looming in just a few months time so once again, Peter Emery is providing a series of training runs and suggested races in the run up to the London Marathon. More details are available here. List of Long Runs.
Once again, as if by coincidence, the Boxing Day Handicap fell on the 26th December, and once again we had weather. . . more.
Well done to Eleanor Baker and Natalie Harvey who both did well at this event and have been selected for the European Cross. The Top Ten results were as follows.
| Pos | Race No. | Name | Time | Club |
| 1 | 90 | Liz Yelling | 22:16 | Bedford & County AC |
| 2 | 21 | Lisa Dobriskey | 22:32 | Ashford/Loughborough St |
| 3 | 168 | Lucy Elliott | 22:42 | Winchester & Dist |
| 4 | 2 | Eleanor Baker | 22:43 | South London Harriers |
| 5 | 33 | Natalie Harvey | 22:48 | South London Harriers |
| 6 | 105 | Susan Partridge | 23:04 | Glasgow AC |
| 7 | 19 | Hatti Dean | 23:13 | Hallamshire Harriers |
| 8 | 62 | Kate Ramsey | 23:16 | Charnwood AC |
| 9 | 57 | Gemma Phillips | 23:25 | Kendal AAC |
| 10 | 60 | Pauline Powell | 23:27 | Blackburn Harriers |
A very good selection from SLH (14 out of 25 finishers) braved the very cold winds, especially on top of the South Downs, to run in the Lancing 5 mile race. Only runners from Lancing, SLH, John Fisher were taking part.
The race starts on the top of Lancing Hill 81m above sea level in the middle of a field in the stubble, and does afford beautiful views across the Channel and towards the North Downs which could be appreciate on a more clement day!
Once off this field one is amongst very high tufted grass and a very narrow path on which the runners would not fit in a long line. As a result the juniors (doing the short run - but had the same course for the first half mile) especially did not manage this too well and a fair few of them tumbled into the high grass.
This was followed with a climb to the summit of the downs at this location at 109m. A delightful sticky chalk path was our track for the next mile or so straight into the wind. At this stage I was not sure anymore which parts of my body were still functioning let alone whether my legs were performing.
At this stage Marketa passed me at a good pace, saying cheerfully "well done Jake" (I thought the end of the world had happened)
After a sharp right hand turn there was a better path on a falling gradient and soon I was right behind Marketa again and this situation was retained right to the sports fields of the College.
I had hoped that a further down hill section would have given me the desired opportunity to pass Marketa, but alas it was so steep and short at about a 1in 2 gradient that breaking one's neck was the only thought remaining at that point.
At least the friendly face of John at the gate gave the impression that one had returned to the living world. A good section on the road was followed by several stiles (our summer Tuesday night training was effective)and a few very muddy fields next to the river Adur at just 3m above sea level brought us back to the campus of the College, which was up hill all the way to the finish.
It is probably not surprising to the reader that I finished last in exactly 50 minutes - all SLH results below - my apologies if I have not all names right as the hand writing on the sheet is atrocious.
I have measured the length of the course on the OS map and I think it is more likely to be between 5.2 and 5.4 miles than the nominal 5m. I guess there are not too many other courses of 5m which have also a level difference of 100m.
Stuart got to one minute to the course record!
Results for SLH
| 1 | Stuart Major | 33:48 |
| 2 | Barry Atwell | 36:18 |
| 3 | Andrew Aitken | 36:48 |
| 4 | Andy Davis | 37:10 |
| 5 | Paul Mitchell | 38:06 |
| 6 | Antonio Martin | 38:20 |
| 8 | Paul Mongan | 39:10 |
| 9 | Billy Corr | 39:56 |
| 11 | Ruth Hutton | 40:45 |
| 17 | M Long | 43:33 |
| 18 | Serena Long | 43:34 |
| 20 | Steve Southall | 44:36 |
| 24 | Marketa Martins | 48:27 |
| 25 | Jake Clausen | 50:00 |
also (for John Fisher)
| 12 | Francis Upcott | 40:52 |
I think we are now all well prepared for the Pirie!!
Jake.
Priory Park opened a huge welcome to all taking part in this second Surrey League Div 1 fixture which saw the Senior Men hold their own again finishing fourth. First team today was Herne Hill H, followed by Thames Hare & Hounds and Belgrave H in third. Overall winner was Phil Wicks of Belgrave Harriers.
The SLH banner striding across the gazebo was a great welcome to our 21 athletes and suppoters. With all our athletes registered in good time (thanks again to Richard for managing the Team) and glorious clear skies the conditions were perfect for this difficult 2 lap 5 mile course. The course takes you on the Park's ridge with dramatic views before tackling the narrow twisty downhill section into the field and repeating it for the second lap.
We had real quality athletes at the front end with Stuart, Jason and Robbie collecting excellent positions providing the foundations for the team. Followed soon after by Tom and Lee who are in great shape. David B and Francis tooked in next with strong runs. Chris, David O and Andy C completed the scoring team.
Competition to score is immense and is pushing the standard of our team higher and higher. It was a real pleasure to see our Captain, rightfully in the scoring team and to welcome Kevin Tilley back into the squad returning from injury.
If I was to pick a star performer today (outside of our front runners) it would be Tom Jenkins. Tom is a talented track athlete and has proven to be a real asset to the cross country team yet again showing the value of our Crystal Palace training group. Well done.
Finishing fourth for the second time is huge reward for the team's efforts. Could I say well done to everyone. Thank you for the support on the course which makes a real difference.
I'm looking forward to the third fixture at Merrow, Guildford on 14 January 2006 already.
The individual and team results are not known but will be circulated as soon as they are available.
Cheers
The Bantam (Vice Captain)
The South London Harriers Forum is now officially launched. There is a link to it from the menu on the left. Please browse the topics, and choose the most appropriate for what ever it is you want to discuss or announce. I hope you find the forum fun and useful, but remember the forum is only as fun as you make it. Sign up for an account, and have fun.
South London Harriers had 4 mens teams and 4 womens teams competing in the Reigate Relays held on this 2.5 mile 'up and down' course in Priory Park at Reigate.
It was a great atmosphere as our collective teams met around the huge SLH banner that is another great addition to our club.
The women had a great day finishing 3rd team led by Eleanor Baker, returning the fastest time of the day in 14m 30sec. Christina Meyer and Nicky McGarry completed our first ladies home. Belgrave had a very strong team, but Crawley AC picked up the overall women's team winners today.
The mens 'A' team finished in fourth scoring position. We had excellent runs from Stuart Major and Lee Morgan who are having a great season. Strong runs from David Baker, Barry Atwell and Chris Phelan held the team in contention for the medals. Unfortunately one of our strongest runners Mike Airey encountered a heart problem on the final leg. He finished ok and there seems to be no ill effects so we wish Mike well.
We had some great runs from the junior team - Daniel Altendorff had the most spectacular run of the day for the club outperforming almost everyone with a magnificant time of 14m 17 secs proving that the Crystal Palace training team are again doing the club proud.
At the time of preparing this report the full results were not available and will be available on the Reigate Priory website: www.prioryrelays.com/.
Many thanks to everyone who ran and supported the club today. Yet another good effort to our fantastic season.
The "Gibb" which was made an open event this year for the first time was won by Stuart Major in a time of 27:29. Stuart was followed in by Lee Morgan and Tom Jenkins in second and third places with very strong efforts.
Sophie Cowper was first lady home in 35:37. Sophie was running for the Redhill and Surrey Beagles today but is a regular at the club's thursday speed sessions often seen pushing along the pace.
Well done to all who put together a most enjoyable day. Full Results.
SLH were proudly represented at the Sussex County Half Marathon Championships at Barns Green on Sunday. The SLH finishers are listed below:
The Men won the Championship team prize. It was a close victory with 22 seconds seperating us from second place Crawley. The first three team times were (3 to score):
Special mention should be made for Robbie James who not only came 4th but was awarded runner up in the Sussex County Championship. Clare Settle continued her great form with a strong Performance finishing 12th lady overall. Well done to all. Full results of the Barns Green Half are on the website www.barnsgreen-half.org.uk
The men and women had a great afternoon in Richmond Park. SLH men took team gold medals in each of the V40, V50 and V60 categories. SLH women took silver medals in the V35 and V45 categories.
A number of individual successes were achieved to add to the team performance:
A magnificent day. Well done to all. Full Men's and Team results and Full Women's and Team results.
Last weekend, 14th - 17th October, there was a training weekend in Devon. Approximately 25 south londoners made the journey down to Croyde Bay for a weekend of torture, early mornings and a never ending supply of training sessions.
The sessions, not in orders, were three easy runs, one long run with a tempo run along the beach at Woolocombe Bay, two dune sessions and a fartlek session on a sloped field.
My personal opinion: The dune session on the Saturday, which consisted of two courses, one short with a big dune climb, and one long with shorter climbs. Each course was run for six minutes each, then four minutes each, and finally two minutes each. In my humble opinion, that was the hardest session. The Dune session on the Sunday, which took the form of a relay around a course in teams of three was the most fun.
I think I represent the Majority in saying that we had a good time, I certainly did. Therefore thanks must go to Jo for organising the trip, and to Mick for the training sessions.
Photos kindly sent in by Steve Southall and Antonio Martins. Please let me know who's in which page, and I'll update the album after the weekend.
There is a link to the Album on the Photo Gallery page. Keep the photos coming in. There are more photos yet to go up, so watch this space.
The Emery's are running a Pub Quiz in November, click the link for more details.
The Young Athletes performed very well at Brockwell Park. The U/17 Team of Daniel Altendorf, Nick Farrell and Daniel Sellman came 1st. 2nd. and 3rd. whilst Samuel Honey was 2nd in the U/13 race. Good performances also from Lee Humphries, Ben McDaniel and Adam Atkins. This first result augurs well for the Surrey League and the County Champs. Keep it up boys.
Well done to those running at Wimbledon Common at the weekend. Your results are finally here on the website, with a link to full results on the results page.
Although not running myself it was great top see 20 SLH members toeing the line for the start of the first Surrey League Division 1 match at Brockwell Park earlier this afternoon. Even though we were short of a few regular 'scorers', our team still looked strong especially with the inclusion of our super, summer, second claim signing of Jermainne Mays. Richard Carter did a sterling job as Team Manager and chief supporter, thank you for that Richard.
The field charged off at a cracking pace and soon there was a breakaway group of about 7 runners, within which we had both Stuart and Jermainne. After one lap this group dropped to 5 with Stuart holding the 7th place. Soon the leading group was down to 3, Jermainne and 2 of the Belgrave runners. Jermainne was tucked in 3rd and with about 800m to go made a charge for the front. One of the Belgrave boys put up a great fight but, Jermainne proved to be stronger on the finishing straight up the hill and finished in a time of 23.05. It was so uplifting to see an SLH vest taking the first place with Belgrave left in his wake.
Stuart ran strongly to finish a creditable 7th, Jason (it was also so good to see him back running in the Surrey League) with a mild chest infection finished 15th. Lee Morgan ran superbly to come home 26th, our next runner in was another summer signing, David Baker in 58th, then Mike Airey in 59th, what an asset he will be for the club, closely followed by the evergreen Chris Phelan in 62nd. Showing some form next was Dave Ogden in 72nd, then an ever improving Mark Burtwell and our 10th scorer was a happy looking Karl Harvey. That was happy compared to Paul Mitchell, who just got pipped by karl for the last scoring place.
Other runners included Billy Corr, Glen Quarton, Andrew Aitken Al Morton, Andy Davis, Peter Emery, Rob Crozier, Anthony Hogarth and Antonnio. Provisionally I believe we finished in a safe 4th place. This is not a bad start to the season but I know we can do better just look at the last race last year, when we finished a super 2nd team at farthing downs.
As previously mentioned we had several runners absent today and it really brought it home to me how competitive we can be if we were to get our strongest team out.
Bye for now
Andy
With the Cross country season barely a few weeks old I have already witnessed two far outstanding performances by SLH athletes. I want to share these achievements with you and for the runners to be recognized.
Firstly at the Surrey Road relays, DAVID BAKER put in a superb leg and was rightly part of the Surrey Gold medal SLH relay winning team.
Today at Brockwell Park LEE MORGAN had a storming run to finish 26th in a time of 25.14, he really is going from strength to strength. Long may it continue.
Will it be your performance being acknowledged next week?