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SLH are pleased to support the Schools Cross Country races at Farthing Downs on Saturday 3 March 2007.
The times of the races are:
The Hampshire Cup (start 2:30 pm) 2 mile race U14
The Lemon-Norris Cup (start 2:40 pm) 2.5 mile race U16
The Densham Cup (start 2:50 pm) 3.5 mile race 16+
Well done the men and the ladies. Fantastic turnout, fantastic result. Men's Results. Ladies Results.
Andy
With over 100 entries for this race, including solid teams from Striders, Herne Hill and Crystal Palace Tri, we set off on the 2 lap course in bright winter sunshine. The good conditions above were not matched by those underfoot - the course presenting its usual challenging mix of mud and flints. Rob Kahn had a healthy lead to win the race and also Herne Hill's club championship. Three more runners broke the hour, with Carl Plumpton showing veteran strength to gain silver, just ahead of SLH's Pawel Bal and Francis Staunton. Andy Collins collected yet another bronze in our Club Championships.
The first lady home, Belgrave's Chrissie Wellington, stormed through in 13th place (overtaking me up through the woods in the process), a good 5 minutes in front of Emma Smith, and Pippa Major, who battled it out in a sprint to the line for second and third. We had 90 finishers, which is a record for the race, including 16 from SLH. Well done to all who ran.
Pirie 10 Results available from the results section, or here.
Paul Mitchell
A terrific performance by Jason Simpson so him lift the Gibb Cup in 26:17.
Jason was followed in by Tom Jenkins collecting a silver medal in the club championhships with a time of 27:53. Closing Tom down was Cross Country Captain Andy Collins in 28:28 with a well deserved bronze medal.A quality performance by Clare Pauzers, Herne Hill Harriers in 32:03 so her take the ladies competition.
Second home was Pippa Major in 32:53 who continues to improve with every race collecting the ladies club champion title, beating a very strong field by holding off Ruth Hutton in 33:17 and Carol Evans in 33:24 who picked up silver and bronze medals in the club championships.
David Baker collected the Vet 40 prize finishing 4th overall in 28:35.
John Quaintance was first in the Vet 50 category in a time of 31:40.
Dave Newlands picked up the V65 prize in 33:40.
Carol Evans was also the ladies V35 winner with Pam Iannella collecting the V45 prize in a time of 39:11.
Well done to everyone. Results here.
Chris Phelan
Ian Kitching took another crown at the Maidstone Half marathon. Finishing first vet overall and capturing the V50 title. Came 7th overall. Fantastic effort in about 78mins on a hilly course.
Magnificent efforts from Natalie and Ray at Croydon today. Both sub 34. SLH flying at the event securing 3rd and 4th places. Must have secured the team and several individual titles.
Huge volume of SLH took part. Well done to all.
Chris Phelan
Senior Men
In an absolutely fantastic performance Jermaine Mays was the winner of the first Surrey League fixture at Brockwell Park.
It is a huge acheivement and a brilliant feeling to be a member of the team with the overall winner.
Everyone at South London Harriers wishes to congratulate Jermaine on this effort. To put it into perspective the front end of the race contained a huge array of international runners representing the country at a variety of distances. But none of these guys were a match for Jermaine.
With such huge talent on show it is a proud moment to see all the other clubs look enviously at SLH.
The full results of the race can be seen Ranelagh Harriers Website.
Overall SLH finished 5th out of 9 and the team results are shown below:
1. Herne Hill - 157 pts 2. Belgrave - 314 pts 3. Ranelagh - 378 pts 4. Thames Hare & Hounds - 395 pts 5. South London Harriers - 452 pts 6. Stragglers - 499 pts 7. Guildford & Godalming - 604 pts 8. Reigate Priory - 607 pts 9. Dulwich Runners - 689 pts
Congratulations to Herne Hill who put out a fantastic team performance closing in with their 10th scorer in 36th position.
Well done to all our runners. Keep up the training for our next fixture on 12 November.
Under 17 Boys
Daniel Sellman made a huge effort to blow away the tough opposition in the under 17 boys fixture at Brockwell Park. Daniel was so strong that he gained an astonishing lead early in the race and continued to open up the gap to the finish to beat his nearest rival from Guildford by over a minute.
A superb acheivement. Well done Daniel on capturing the Surrey League title. We are all very proud of you.
The work of the club with our youth section proved to be a huge success for this fixture with SLH being one of only two teams that managed to field complete teams.
Herne Hill took the honours on the day, well done, with SLH coming in a commendable second place.
The full results of the race can be seen on Ranelagh Harriers Website.
Under 13 Boys
Adam Atkins was the only SLH athlete in this section of the race finishing in a creditable 8th position.
Chris
The Cross Country Season will shortly be upon us, you can find a link on the menu for the Cross Country fixture list.
Any young athletes who wish to take part in the Surrey Young Athletes Cross Country Relay Championships on Sunday 1st October, contact Anne Roden as soon as possible. Entries must be in this weekend.
Well done to the M40 and M50 who came first in their categories and congratulations to Ray Marriott, Chris Phelan and Barry Attwell who were all in the top three fastest for their age group.
Well, as you may be aware, we had to pull out all the stops in our final match at Hastings. Unfortunately, team orders were outranked by injuries, holidays and weddings (what is in the air this summer?). So with a strong, but not optimum squad, we headed down to the sea-side on a warm sunny Saturday - with only a few thousand cars for company! Some last minute arm-twisting got volunteers to fill the missing slots in pole-vault and 400 hurdles, giving us the fullest declaration sheet of the season. Full Report.
SLH Young athletes have taken part in many Track & Field Championships this Summer. There is a summary of their achievements in a Report here.
The third and final Near as Damn It 10k race of the summer was run on Thursday 27th. July over Farthing Downs and Happy Valley, Coulsdon.
Unfortunately the 3 leaders went off course in the woods before the 2k mark and although 2 of them, Bal Pawel of Striders and Mark Humphrey of Belgrave, retraced their steps and rejoined the race, they were unable to make up the ground on the eventual winner, Jim Burdett of South London Harriers. The winning time was 37'47', second was David Ogden in 38'34' (1st MV40), and third was Ian Kitching (1st. MV50) in 38'44. First MV60 was Dave Newlands in 45'06'.
Ruth Hutton of SLH won the ladies race in 42'08 with Alison Mackenzie second (43'01')and third. Christine Costiff (45'19')1st. LV35. Jo Quantrill won the LV45 category.
The winners of the series with the fastest times overall were Jim Burdett and Ruth Hutton. A special presentation was made to Jeffrey Butler of Epsom and Ewell who has not missed a race for 4 years. The Results.
The best field ever, 341 finishers. 130 entries on the day but 44 pre entries obviously had better things to do. A good day for SLH but good to see other local clubs supporting the event and winning some prizes. And here . . The Results.
South London Harriers' Stuart Major and Jason Simpson locked horns in a battle to the finish in last Thursday's Near as Dammit 10k Trail Race, hosted by SLH. Stuart led from the race start, but with Jason tracking within striking distance a few metres behind. Stuart's determination to hold off his clubmate won through and he finished the race in 33.36 with Jason only 4 seconds behind.
SLH went on to take the next seven places with Francis Staunton 3rd in 37.04, Chris Phelan 4th (and 1st v40) in 37.54, Jim Burdett 5th in 38.17, Dave Ogden 6th (2nd v40) in 38.34, Mike Airey 7th (3rd v40) in 38.54, Ian Kitchin 8th (1st v50) in 38.52 and Paul Mitchell 9th in 39.51.
1st woman and 1st wv35 was SLH's Ruth Hutton in 43.01, Phyllis Flynn of Stragglers was 2nd and 2nd wv35 in 43.08 and Pippa Major (SLH) was 3rd and 3rd wv35 in 43.02. Full results here.
This race series offers an informal but demanding race ideal for those looking to try out their race fitness, and for this occasion it attracted 57 runners of all abilities. The next 'Near as Dammit' race is scheduled for Thursday 27 July. Anyone interested in taking part should register at the SLH clubhouse, 194a Brighton Road, Coulsdon by 6.45pm. The cost for race entry is £2.50.
Brian Gardner
Another few delayed reports here.
A 3rd place in our second match of the season and a very solid performance by our Junior Girls.
U15 Girls
Sophie Small set another new pb in the 100m 'A' 13.6 to finish 3rd with newcomer Nicola Bascombe second in the 'B' race. Harriet Field also finished 2nd in the 'B' 200m and 'B' 75m hurdles with Yasserley Noriega 3rd in the 'A' 75m hurdles. We picked up good points in the 1500m with Sophie Hannson 2nd in the 'A' race and Helen Wilson winning the 'B' race. Amy Mitchell and Lucy Palin both finished 3rd in the 800m.
In the jumps, Amy Mitchell and Yasserly both cleared 1.30m, Amy 2nd and Yasserly winning the 'B' string. Shannon Cooney and Lily Holder both finished 2nd in the discus, lily was 3rd in the javelin and shot. Harriet Field, out newly discovered javelin thrower, threw 15.62m for 2nd place in the 'A' string.
Senior + U17's
Estelle Dja just back from injury looked good when finishing 3rd in the 'A' 100m, but had to pull up in the 200m, we wish her a speedy recovery. Jessica Case, vice captain, set a great example, finishing 3rd in the 'A' 400m, 'A' 400m hurdles and 2ns in the 'A' 100m hurdles.
Sue McDonald also had a good day setting a pb in the 800m 2:30.5 to finish 3rd, also 3rd in the 'B' 400m and 2nd in the 'A' 1500m with Viv Mitchell 3rd in the 'B' 1500m.
Alecia Alli-Ugbaja was 3rd in the 80m hurdles with Hayley Hazelby 2nd in the 'B' race. Fredi Cardew-Relf, running her first 100m hurdles race finished in 3rd place.
Juggling events is not enjoyable but Hayley managed 4th place in the high jump 1.30m, javelin 22.72m for 3rd and was second in the 'B' triple jump! Well done. Beth Wilkins set a new pb in the triple jump, 9.11m to finish 4th in the 'A' string.
Team captain Jill Lula finished 2nd in the 'A' hammer and 'B' javelin, 3rd in the 'A' discus and 'B' shot. Jill's throwing partner Bonita Francis was second in he 'B' discus, 3rd in the 'A' shot and was 5th in the 'B' hammer.
We were so stretched; we did not have sufficient athletes for the 100 AND 400 relays!
A gutsy effort by those who competed.
Phil Hartnett
A very encouraging third place with 161 points in our opening match of the season with 8 new junior girls competing in their first match! This result gives the team a chance of promotion at the end of the season.
U15 Girls
Sophie Small had a great run in the 100m 'A' race to finish 4th with 14.4 and was fourth in the 'B' Long jump. Frederica Foster, in the 'A' 200m, set a new pb, 28.1 to finish 3rd, Lucy Gibbon, in the 'B' race, finished 5th in the 100m and 4th in the 200m. Frederica comfortably won the 800m 'A' race. Ciera Riordan also had a good run to finish 3rd in the 'B' 800m race.
Eleanor Riordan was 4th in the 'A' 1500m with Catherine Campbell 3rd in the 'B' race.
Jahisha Thomas (U13) had a classy 75m hurdle 'B' race winning with a new pb 14.4 with Yasserley Noreiga placed 3rd in the 'A' race. Yasserley cleared 1.35m for 2nd place in the high jump with Jahisha 2nd in the 'B' high jump. Yasserley also finished 3rd in the long jump 4.33m.
Shannon Cooney threw 18.16m pb in the 'A' discus and 7.09m in the shot or 4th place. Lilly Holder finished in 4th place in the javelin, shot and discus.
The 4 x 100m relay team: Sophie Small, Lucy Gibbon, Yasserley Noreiga and Fred Foster.
Senior Women
Sparkling performance from our sprinters, hurdlers and field competitors, good to watch! Our sprinters Natalie Bartley and Estelle Dja dominated the 100m and 200m winning all four races.
Hurdling Vice Captain Jessica Case won the 'A' 400m hurdle race 68.7pb, was 2nd in the 100m hurdles and 3rd in the 400m race. Sian Mitchell won the 80m hurdles 'B' race 13.7pb with Alecia Alli-Ugbaja second in the 'A' race 13.4 pb. Alecia stepped in to run the 300m race and ran brilliantly 51.9 a new pb.
In the absence of our senior middle distance, Anne Roden and Loraine Hewitt did an excellent job on covering the 1500m and 3000m picking up 11 valuable points!
In the field, double win for Zoe Wickens and Hayley Hazelby in the Javelin. Kara Miller was 2nd in the 'A' triple jump and 4th in the 'B' long jump. Ola Williams won the 'B' triple jump and came 2nd in the 'B' long jump.
Team Captain Jill Lula won the 'B' discuss, 2nd in the 'B' shot and fourth in the hammer despite throwing 35.20m. Bonita Francis was 2nd in the 'A' shot, 2nd in the 'A' discus and 5th in hammer.
The 4 x 100m relay, Natalie, Estelle, Sian and Alecia comfortably won, in the excellent time 51.2.
Phil Hartnett
Apologies for the delay, here's a write up I recieved earlier this month.
Match One
Our opening match proved to be very competitive and although we finished in fourth place, we were only 26 points behind the second placed team.
U13 Girls
Jahisha Thomas won the 70m hurdles in tremendous style in 13.0pb and finished 3rd in the high jump 1.20m. Maria Kavanagh also set a new pb, 2:58.8 in the 'A' 800m to finish 2nd, Catlin Riordon was also second in the 'B' 800m 2:59.8 also a new pb. Megan Waller easing her way back after injury, finished 2nd in the 'B' 150m with a new pb. Eleanor Riordan also achieved 2nd place in the 'A' 1200m.
U15 Girls
Sophie Small continues to improve, setting a new pb in the 100m, 14.0 and 200m 29.1 finishing 2nd in both races. Amy Mitchell dominated the 1500m to win in 5:46.2. Twins Hanna and Harriet Field both finished 2nd in their 800m races. Yasserly Noriega was 2nd n the 75m hurdles and 'A' long jump 4.69m. Lilly Holder set 3 pbs in the field. Harriet field won the 'B' discuss.
U17 Girls
Despite a shortage in numbers, they notched up 10wins and 4 second places! Sian Mitchell won the 'A' 100m, 80m hurdles 'B' race and was second in the 'A' 200m. Alecia Alli-Ugbaja won the 'B' long jump; 'B' discus and set a new pb in the 80m hurdles 13.3. Bonita Francis won the 'A' shot, javelin and discus. Hayley Hazelby won the 'B' javelin, shot and was second in the high jump. New member Bethen Wilkins had a good start winning the triple jump and 2nd in the long jump 4.52m.
U13 Boys
Richard Morris was the only winner in this age group, winning the 'B' 100m in 14.7. Richard was 2nd in the 'B' shot and 3rd in the 'A' 200m. New member Jack Scutt performed well with 2nd in the 'B' long jump, 3rd in the 'B' 200m and 'A' shot. Another new member Tyrie Obuhs was forth in the 'A' 100m.
U15 Boys
The outstanding performance was by Ned Quiney who won all three events, setting 2 new pbs. Ned cleared 1.65m in the high jump and threw the discus 26.79m. Tom Kennedy won the 'A' 200m in 24.6, won 'A' shot 7.98m and 3rd in long jump. Ben McDaniel's and Gregory Campbell comfortably won their 1500m. Neil Furhmann was 3rd in the 'A' 100m and long jump as was Tejiri Obano in the 'B' 100m and 80m hurdles.
U17 Boys
Neil Francis looked a class above the rest when winning his 'A' 400m in 55.2. Neil was 2nd in the 'A' 200m in 24.1. Billy Porter was also second in the 'B' 200m and the 'B' shot. Jerome Richards was 2nd in the 'B' 100m. Daniel Sellman achieved two second places, in the 3000m 9:44.9 and high jump 1.45m. Tom McAulay won the 'A' javelin, 'B' discus and 3rd in 'A' hammer. Rhys Harris won the 'B' hammer, was 2nd in the 'A' discus and 3rd in the 'A' shot. Olivier Serviable was 3rd in the 'A' triple and 4th on the 'B' long jump.
We just need to cover more events to improve our match position!
Phil Hartnett
Four young "irrepressible" rising stars showed the rewards of winter training at this meet. What better way to spend a Sunday evening! DEDICATION! All PBs!
800m Fredrica Foster. 2m.22.2s Ben McDaniel. 2m.06.9s Daniel Altendorff. 2m.02.9s Matthew Grant. 2m.07.0s
Mick Firth.
It was a disappointing start to the SLH Men's track season, mitigated only by some fine individual performances. Going into the first Southern League match at Norman Park, against Croydon, Bexley and Richmond, we knew it was going to be tough, since our injury and absentee lists were longer than our team list! During the course of the match, two more athletes succeeded in joining the ranks of the invalids. Indeed, such was the competition that Andrew Aitken had to make do with an injury "B" string place, despite not one but two spectacular tumbles in the steeplechase.
Amidst the gloom were a few sunbeams. Iwan, having not even looked at his hammer in 8 months, waiting until his final throw to break the 10m shot, and 40m hammer marks. Tom Jenkins breaking 2 mins for a close-finish PB in the 800m, followed very quickly by another exciting race for Tim Chidgey, edged out on the line. Tom then stepped into the breach in the 1,500m, which despite claims of going to take it easy, he won. Ray Chapman, as his last minute backup, practically had to sprint to the start!
Two sound performances in the 5,000m from Ray Marriott and Dave Baker, despite some of Dave's rivals being given a one lap discount! Meanwhile, Darren Brown did his usual magic in the jumps, backed up by an inaugural SLH long jump from Kieran Dawkins.
Despite these and other sterling efforts, the match slipped away from SLH as surely as the event times slipped away from the timetable. Final tally was:
Croydon 145 points, Bexley 142, Richmond 95, SLH 75.
Individual results below:-
Event A-string B-string Pole Vault - - Shot Iwan Borszcz 10.37m (2nd) Paul Mitchell 5.02m (4th) Hammer Iwan Borszcz 41.00m (2nd) Paul Mitchell no-throw High Jump Darren Brown 1.60m (3rd) - 400 Hurdles Paul Mitchell 87.1 s (4th) - Long Jump Darren Brown 6.32m (1st) Kieran Dawkins 5.88m (1st) 100m Darren Brown 11.8 s (4th) Aaron Miller-Broderick 12.5 s (3rd) 800m Tom Jenkins 1:59.7 (2nd) Tim Chidgey 2:06.2 (2nd) 5000m Ray Marriott 16:15.3 (2nd) David Baker 16:58.2 (1st) Javelin Barry Attwell 11.87m (4th) Paul Mitchell 5.98m (4th) 400m Will Parry 59.1 s (3rd) - 110 hurdles - - 200m - - 1500m Tom Jenkins 4:15.9 (1st) Ray Chapman 5:10.9 (3rd) Triple Jump Darren Brown 12.93m (1st) - Discus Barry Attwell 13.47m (4th) Paul Mitchell 11.25m (4th) 4 x 100m relay - - Steeplechase Andrew Aitken 11:34.1 (2nd) - 4 x 400m relay - -
I never expected to see Elvis on the streets of london, singing, and holding an umbrella. I never expected to see a fifty pound note on the road, and then run straight past it. I never expected to see Mark Burtwell walking at nineteen miles....
I didn't see many Irrepressibles once the gun had gone. There were a few on the side supporting, though perhaps fewer than usual, but after the first mile Mark's was the only vest I spotted. I felt sorry for Mark. I wouldn't wish his experience on anyone, but he had the balls to continue, when I bet he wished the ground would open up. A day I'm sure he'll want to forget.
If you'd asked me who I might expect would blow up I've have come up with two names: Paul Mitchell and Andy Davies. I'm pleased both proved me wrong. I've never known Andy get beyond about 15 miles without struggling, but when it mattered he pulled it out. Not sure where it came from, but well done. You chose the day when it mattered.
However a real star performance, or possibly a nifty short cut on the DLR, came from Paul Mitchell. He was telling me last week how little he'd done and how unprepared he was. Don't play poker with this man. I don't know his real preparation but if it was as little as he claimed he did an 'Ogden' and cheated the event. Two hours fifty, but he paid for it after. He looked awful in the pub, just like Dave Ogden usually does, and he pushed away his beer, unable to finish it. This might be some consolation for Andy Collins who must have expected to beat him, but trailed in three minutes behind.
I didn't get to speak to Robbie James (aka Phillips) after the race. He was probably back in Sussex by the time I finished, but I guess he was disappointed with his time, especially after his race winning performance in Worthing three weeks ago. Not far behind him was The Bantam, getting a pb and showing life begins at forty, for some. However, maybe it starts at fifty. Ian Kitching arguably produced the SLH performance of the day. 2h 42 and a V50! What a run, and I'd like to claim it came on the back of some pre start good psychology just prior to the gun, (it was me next to him at the green start)!, but I suspect it goes somewhat deeper. He certainly was keeping his hopes or expectations quiet in the minutes prior to the off.
I saw three 'championchips' or whatever they are called lying on the course, a sight I'd never seen before. One of these might have belonged to Nicky McGarry. Nicky's not listed in the results, I'm not sure she finished, but Chris Costiff ran with her part of the way and saw she chip had fallen off. Both had fifteen seconds of fame as the leading wheelchairs attempted to run them over.
Chris was claiming she was going to jog round in three and a half hours. Another to avoid in the poker school. 3h 11m and going easy. I hope she looks as good after her Grand Union Canal race....
Ruth Hutton didn't make the pub, she apparently had an appointment with her bath, but achieved a pb in 3h 6m. She's had a strong season and concentrated on her running and got her reward. Pippa Major did make the pub, and was vibrant, and why not. Baby in December, marathon in April, and 3h 26m. Scary what this woman does. Just behind Pippa was Clare Settle, who was, perhaps, the female equivalent of Mark Burtwell. Clare is so much better than this time. Not her day, let's hope next time is. (Clare, there will be a next time!)
Of course, Jake Clausen didn't make the finish at all. The Dutchman quoted French in his email about his race in the English capital. There is a sad irony here. Last year it was Jake's arrival in the pub that alerted us to the problems Neil Maury had suffered on the course, and whilst Jake's situation was nothing like as serious, the end result is the same, a DNF.
There was a cliche used by the commentators on BBC yesterday, that every competitor has a story to tell. It is so true. My favourite one is about a Portuguese runner who finished, behind me. It almost made the pain seem worth it!
Peter
It is sometimes suggested that the London Marathon is "the event" in the runner's calendar! Increasingly I am wondering whether it still should be afford that accolade?
The advantage of being a club member is that its schedule also centres on this event. So from early January the Sunday long run was the focus of the club marathon runners with excellent runs organised by Peter Emery, who also led the medium group. Chris Phelan the fast group and Richard Carter the slow group.
It was really busy in the club house and there was a buzz going around even though many a time we set off in snow and frost. It meant though that good team work was achieved during the hours that were spent in discovering every nook and granny around the Downs and further afield. Bletchinley, Reigate Hill (and Colley Hill) were visited, Epsom race course, Tadworth, Walton on the Hill and Banstead Woods, we know them all now - well not quite.
Peter's description failed every now and then and although that did not matter most times - it was very worrying being locked in a field, as apart from the style we had entered it by there was no visible exit - followed by eventually arriving into somebody posh back garden with statues and lions. We survived but perhaps we could persuade the Croydon Orienteering Club to allocate one of their members to each of the groups to avoid situations like that.
Richard Carter was never going to take part, but was more our mentor, leader and encourager. When he found that we were going too far for his liking he accompanied us on his bike!! He was so impressed with the slow group's efforts that we were elevated to "the steady group".
So all that there is now left to be done was to get the diet right, not to get any injuries, and fill ourselves up with carbohydrates and then its just the big day itself - which should be a doddle by then?...! Well we have been training for almost four months now!
For some of us it was plain sailing to the start like a lift from Carter & Grant removals. Peter must have been asleep as afterwards he could not remember who had travelled with him - perhaps they were all in cardboard boxes and he could not see what was in them..
Others just caught the train at Croydon and direct into another one to Blackheath...
Whilst a few "fortunate runners?" had a greater obstacle then the marathon itself to overcome to get to the start. Their train was seriously delayed and as the train company in their wisdom, unlike what they do normally in the rush hour, did not allowed the next train to arrive at Blackheath before ALL the passengers had left the platform, it caused long delays with trains waiting up to 15 minutes outside the station - if it is already after quarter past nine then panic sets in .... toilet definitely still required ....
For me the fun was that there were no trains between Horsham and Three Bridges and that the level crossing next to my local station Littlehaven was going to be repaired which meant that one could not get across the railway at that point and hence to the replacement bus - in their usual way the train company had done no notices to warn the passengers. So my day started with a bike ride to Horsham station at 5.40am. Followed by an exiting bus ride to Three Bridges - the excitement provided by two somewhat drunk and exceptionally loud "vagrants" who did not keep quiet for one moment all the way - their vocabulary if that is what it could be called consisted of four letter words only! ... It only went downhill from that point except that at East Croydon I met Chris Phelan and Ian Kitchin. We actually arrived two hours before the start in the compound.
At London Bridge we also met Nicky McGarry and Lee. Nicky said "she felt that her "dressing" up was being a number, required front & back, as her race numbers were bigger than her top!!
We met Richard Oliver and Mark Burtwell. Everybody was in a buoyant if not slightly tense mood. We had been seeing the elite ladies having to do somewhat of a hurdle race through the pens and the field the other side to get to their area. Clearly even some of them were held up by traffic or had train problems as we saw one of them being escorted to the start about 15 minutes after they had set off .... in retrospect I think I would have liked to have been able to set off on my own!
All of us went to our allocated pens and although I did not hear any start guns this time, there was movement in the pens and one could see people going through the start. Neither the drizzle nor the wetness did worry me at any time, unlike some other runners. The race did let the runners down just 200 meters after the start where we came to a grinding halt and did not move again for another two to three minutes. The amount of road space narrowed suddenly was the cause - this was done with fences as there was plenty of road width available. So my first mile was slightly over 10 1/2 minutes!
Effectively I found that there was no possibility to get into any sort of rhythm or pace as most of the people immediately ahead of me were going slower and many behind me were also trying to overtake. This is a problem I did not have last year; through start at 9:48 compared to 9:52 this time. It would appear that there may be some merit in starting the runners slightly more spread out rather than trying to push them all into the system within ten minutes! As I am moaning it was not helpful either to have the clocks at the mileposts still showing the elite ladies departure at most of them.
Beyond Tower Bridge the congestion eased and I settled to a reasonable pace.
But in reality by mile 3, I was not happy about my running - but still hoping that I could settle in. This sadly did not happen either and so I progressed at a pace which I was comfortable with. I had set off in the hope of matching the Cranleigh times but due to the congestion and the loss of time at the beginning there was no hope of that. In reality I did not achieve any of the mile times anywhere and was about half a minute to a minute slower throughout and reached halfway in 2:04 about eight minutes down. Nothing was particularly worrying me at that stage.
Passed "Richard's" crossing shortly after that where I was cheered on and saw Ian Kitchin looking as fresh as a daisy at a very good speed going the other way to his fantastic time.
I must have run for quite a while somewhere near Elvis as I kept hearing the crowd shouting his name out. I don't think I actually saw him and lost him north of the Thames, where I actually started to overtake a lot of people. I did, like Peter, also see quite a lot of "chips" on the floor so I think there are going to be a lot of unhappy runners. Was it the flimsy paper strips which were not able to cope with the drizzle?
Just after I had passed the 19 mp I was now going at 11 min/mile at 3:06 and 4:20 still looked possible with a PB. But without any warning first my left leg followed immediately by my right leg both hamstrings went into spasm and cramped up.
The firstaider gave me a massage but the cramp persisted with in both legs a very painful spot in my calves. This was clearly the end of the race, as there was no way of improving last year's time now. This was an absolute requirement so the decision to pull out was made very quickly indeed.
I wanted Richard Carter to know what had happened so I started walking along to his crossing at 21MP. I had not gone far from where I had given up and both legs at the very same time went into spasm - you might imagine what sort of sight you then are! - where is something to hold on to - which leg shall I do first - so you are dancing lurching hopping from one leg to the other .... - just at that moment I realised that a huge policeman (looking more like the SAS with a yellow jacket on) was running towards me - and yelled at me: "are you alright Sir??? Do I need to get an ambulance?" The cramp is now releasing and finally I can more or less stand upright again ... It's just cramp, sir, I am alright really!!!!!!
Richard's crossing was finally reached and I told him and Brian Gardner the bad news. Richard just said "come on Jake you need to get your luggage so you may as well walk it out!" No Richard I said I pulling out! So a very kind lady at the crossing, which I did not recognise as she was totally wrapped up because of the rain, said I could have some tea out of the flask, which I did.
Went with the District line. Where a kind lady got up to give me her seat! I thought: "will I be able to get up at Embankment station?? And said I am fine" - (this I thought afterwards was a very bad mistake as I deprived her of the good feeling of having got up for an injured runner!)
Getting one's luggage back is also interesting. You can't get in through the exit even if you show them your number! You need to struggle round the edge of the fencing until you find a small separate alley way which gets you to the "Gopher team"! Had my bag within two minutes! You can change in the coach out there he then suggested. It was lovely and warm in there with quite a few people asleep .... I thought what is going on here .... It became clear almost immediately:- these were all people for whom they could not find their luggage!!! And clearly they had no means of getting home either. One runner had finished in 3:45 and had both knees completely in bandages and had been painful throughout. Oh She said "they have been bad since I fell out of a tree when I was little!..." She had been there a long time already, but they could not find her bag. The steward kept muttering we have all the problems with these two lorries and crew!....
After that the train back to Redhill I had a meal with family in Reigate and as it was after ten by then I had to drive back home where I arrived around eleven - it was a very long and unsatisfactory day, but that is how it started ....
I thought there were even more spectators that last year. I very much enjoyed the crowds in Greenwich, all along the route south of the Thames, over the Bridge and into Docklands and when you are walking they still cheer you on ... absolutely great. It worth coming out just for that alone. To get to the finish is just a byproduct and only worth it if you have a good time.
I am absolutely staggered by the number of very good times our runners have done - clearly the Bantam effect is working. The medium group did well and I would just like to say that the "steady group" is worthy its name - Richard Oliver in under four, Zoe without hitting the wall for the second time (after Cranleigh before) at an excellent time of 4:09 and the two firstimers Tracy and Louisa at around 4:25 which is a very great achievement.
The club can be looking back at a very good day last Sunday!
For Nicky, who I believe might also have had hamstring problems, and me (and perhaps one or two others who we have not discovered yet) an extremely frustrating and abrupt end to the proceedings .... I'll be back next year I hope .... You should as well but join us in the long runs on Sundays in January they are the perfect start to an enjoyable time. Thank you all for your company and encouragements.
PS I might try and do a marathon elsewhere when it is a bit cooler in winter - with perhaps less chance to get cramp.
Runningclogs - (well this time it was Hobbleclogs!)
| Overall Position | Gender Position | Race Number | Name | Category | Club | Time |
| 221 | 209 | 849 | Robert S. James | M30 | South London Harriers | 02:40:36 |
| 263 | 250 | 5167 | Chris Phelan | M40 | South London Harriers | 02:42:27 |
| 284 | 271 | 29530 | Ian D. Kitching | M50 | South London Harriers | 02:42:59 |
| 552 | 533 | 30828 | Paul R. Mitchell | M40 | South London Harriers | 02:50:13 |
| 708 | 681 | 29907 | Andy W. Collins | M40 | South London Harriers | 02:53:50 |
| 1359 | 1268 | 43124 | Robert N. Gill | M30 | South London Harriers | 03:01:56 |
| 1469 | 1372 | 32658 | Martin I. Wood | M40 | South London Harriers | 03:03:30 |
| 1533 | 1428 | 30331 | Richard M. Davis | M40 | South London Harriers | 03:04:29 |
| 1608 | 1491 | 29964 | Bob M. Harrison | M40 | Epsom Oddballs | 03:05:23 |
| 1657 | 125 | 383 | Ruth F. Hutton | W40 | South London Harriers | 03:06:02 |
| 1664 | 1539 | 51760 | Andrew R. Davis | M30 | South London Harriers | 03:06:06 |
| 1918 | 1769 | 30342 | Peter K. Emery | M40 | South London Harriers | 03:08:48 |
| 1972 | 1816 | 26444 | Antonio M. Martins | M40 | South London Harriers | 03:09:20 |
| 2180 | 181 | 208 | Christine Costiff | W40 | South London Harriers | 03:11:19 |
| 2413 | 2208 | 52107 | Rob Crozier | M20 | South London Harriers | 03:13:18 |
| 3040 | 2765 | 26443 | Mark C. Burtwell | M30 | South London Harriers | 03:18:30 |
| 4088 | 446 | 30291 | Pippa J. Major | W40 | South London Harriers | 03:26:20 |
| 4303 | 485 | 29952 | Clare R. Settle | W30 | South London Harriers | 03:27:32 |
| 5110 | 4470 | 51759 | Wayne G. Mitchell | M30 | South London Harriers | 03:31:57 |
| 5164 | 4512 | 43627 | Huw D. Griffiths | M40 | South London Harriers | 03:32:13 |
| 5419 | 4726 | 51757 | Nigel L. Bush | M50 | South London Harriers | 03:33:53 |
| 6211 | 5369 | 51758 | David J. Newland | M60 | South London Harriers | 03:38:09 |
| 7963 | 1219 | 30037 | Jane N. Luxton | W40 | South London Harriers | 03:46:33 |
| 8254 | 6979 | 12972 | Richard T. Oliver | M40 | South London Harriers | 03:47:47 |
| 10096 | 8450 | 14007 | John G. Linney | M50 | South London Harriers | 03:54:53 |
| 13810 | 2549 | 26445 | Zoe C. Simek | W30 | South London Harriers | 04:09:15 |
| 17884 | 14206 | 52419 | Graham Swann | M50 | South London Harriers | 04:25:38 |
| 22963 | 5476 | 13807 | Anita Tanner | W30 | South London Harriers | 04:46:35 |
| 29681 | 8351 | 23253 | Jeanette Laley | W30 | South London Harriers | 05:34:00 |
| Place | Race No | Name | Age | County | Time |
| 12 | 384 | Samuel Honey | Boys 11-12 | Croydon | 00:16:05 |
| 86 | 389 | David Sidwell | Boys 11-12 | Croydon | 00:17:45 |
| 91 | 388 | Stevie Fletcher | Boys 11-12 | Croydon | 00:17:50 |
| 97 | 390 | James McDonald | Boys 11-12 | Croydon | 00:17:54 |
| 18 | 1401 | Ben McDaniel | Boys 13-14 | Sutton | 00:15:20 |
| 46 | 394 | Sonny Altendorff | Boys 13-14 | Croydon | 00:16:07 |
| 14 | 400 | Daniel Altendorff | Boys 15-17 | Croydon | 00:13:53 |
| 46 | 1409 | Daniel Sellman | Boys 15-17 | Sutton | 00:14:49 |
| 21 | 227 | Harriet Field | Girls 13-14 | Bromley | 00:17:39 |
| 43 | 416 | Amy Mitchell | Girls 13-14 | Croydon | 00:18:26 |
| 60 | 1136 | Sophie Hanson | Girls 13-14 | Lewisham | 00:18:46 |
| 109 | 417 | Ciara Davis | Girls 13-14 | Croydon | 00:19:51 |
| 168 | 418 | Hannah Field | Girls 13-14 | Croydon | 00:21:38 |
| 65 | 428 | Aisling Davis | Girls 15-17 | Croydon | 00:22:36 |
Under the guidance and leadership of Anne Roden, the Youngsters of SLH have been partaking in "Sportshall", this is a fun packed indoor athletics competition, kindly sponsored by Norwich Union for the 8 - 15 yr old age group. The Report is now available.
Once again SLH will be organising the Elmore 7. More details available on this website.