Last updated
17 December 2015
Press Releases for
October, November & December 2008
23/12/08
There was a broad cross section of runners taking part in
the Blackheath & Bromley Christmas Yacht Handicap. The race over a course of
just over 5 miles attracted youngsters as young as 13 while at the other end of
the age scale 81 year old Peter Long was in action.
The Yacht Handicap is based on the slowest athlete
starting first with the quickest last. In theory all athletes should finish at
exactly the same time but this never happens. Amber Reed continued her run of
recent good form and fooled the handicapper easily coming home first in a net
time of 22.49. Sarah Dowling was next in 24.18 followed by Roy Priestley in
24.39.
Fastest of the day was Loughborough student Dan Ryan with
30.55, followed by Club President Tim Soutar in 32.32 and Roy Priestley in
32.59. Quickest woman of the day was Jane Bradshaw in a very swift 34.43 hotly
pursued by Jennie Butler in 34.53 with Amber Reed third in 36.29.
The race featured the latest round of the Bennett Cup
Handicap races and after 4 races Tony Pontifex has opened up a 15 point lead on
the chasing pack. Iain Swatton is second on 159 closely followed by Mick Jones
on 157. There is everything to play for with five races remaining.
A number of the Club’s athletes were in action at the
recent Hastings Half Marathon. Mark Skelly led the squad home in 3 hours 23
minutes and 22 seconds in 148th place overall. Second was Dave King in 3.40.46
with Kieth Duffy Penny third in 3.42.25.
16/12/08
Mike Skinner and Scott Overall were part of the Great
Britain squad who finished in third place in the European Cross Country
Championships which took place at Brussels in Belgium at the weekend. The
Blackheath & Bromley duo helped ensure that Britain secured medals in all six of
the age group races and a number of Club Members enjoyed success in the
accompanying Gaston Roelants road race.
Skinner started steadily on the 10km course but soon began
to move through the field. He had worked his way up to 20th with one lap to go
but was just unable to get back at the next group of half a dozen runners.
Although this was slightly down on his 17th position last year it was,
nevertheless, a good effort.
This was Overall's first appearance in the European Cross
Country and he started well and was up in the top 20 for the first three laps.
However, after this stomach cramps kicked in and he slipped back the field to
finish in 39th.
Club members were in the medals as well in the Gaston
Roelants 10km and 5km road races which took place before the main Championships.
In the 10km race Alex Gibbins finished in 20th place in a useful 33.54 on a
testing twisty and undulating course. However, he grabbed the headlines in the
local media as he forgot to tick the box on the entry form to identify his
gender. As a result the media hailed him as the winner of the womens' race.
Roy Priestley finished in 50th with Roy Smith 59th,
Richard Hall 65th, Brendan McShane 78th and Trevor Simmons 162nd.
Jane Bradshaw had a very good run in her first race
abroad. Her time of 38.45 was just seconds off her best on a course which was
not one for fast times and her 90th place in a field of a couple of thousand
runners showed just how far she has progressed since taking up the Sport. Kate
Pratten was 313th and Justine Eastbury 458th.
There was more success in the 5km race where Nick Gasson a
returned a new man after a spell out injured to finish in second place.
Youngster Andrew Yorke was 5th just getting the better of David Griffin. In the
womens' race two more of the Club's youngsters were prominent with Sophia Maslin
finishing in second place and Michelle Fewster third.
There was more success for the Club at the Kent Masters
Cross Country Championships at Beckenham Place Park. Club President Tim Soutar
led by example as he won the over 50s title by well over a minute and with Paul
Ross Davies 4th and Cliff Keen 8th the Club won the team race. Chris Pike was
18th, Will Slack 27th and Wilf Orton 38th.
More medals came in the womens’ races with Jennie Butler
2nd in the over 35s. With Sarah Dowling 8th and Rosie Ferguson 12th they took
silver in the team race and had good back up with Lisa Page 13th and Jackie
Montgomery 22nd.
Angela Cook was 4th in the over 45s and the Club were
second again in the team race with Amanda Taylor 6th and Anne Cilia 12th
The mens’ over 40s team were fourth led home by 49 year
old Nick Kinsey in 5th place and backed by Gary Cook in 19th, David Beadle 21st,
Ian Taylor 28th, Nick Barber 37th, and Iain Swatton 40th.
More athletes were in action at the annual Holly Run at
Reigate Priory, and although light on numbers the results were outstanding.
In the U11 girls race Bekki Keyte ran a comfortable race
over one mile to finish in 4th place out of a field of 50 Primary School
children. This was followed by a fantastic run by Amber Reed in the U15 Girls
race. She shattered the 10 year old course record to finish the race in first
place.
In the U13 Boys race the Clubs only competitor, Will Ruiz
ran a steady race over a 2 mile course, to finish in 7th position. Will Mercer,
Greg Proctor and Tom Greenhill all competed in the boys U15 race. Will ran his
best race of the season. mixing with some of the best Surrey runners to finish
in 4th place, while Greg ran well to finish in 10th. Unfortunately Tom could not
complete the course due to an injury.
Jennifer Hamer continued her amazing season by comfortably
winning the U17 women's race by a huge margin.
Indoors there was more success at the latest Kent
Sportshall meeting at Tonbridge with four Club members coming away with 10
medals.
Dina Asher Smih achieved three golds and a bronze and set
a new record of 22.5 in the two lap race. Georgina Middleton won a gold, silver
and bronze and there was a gold and bronze for Rachel Dickens, her two lap time
just slightly slower than Dina’s. Victoria Munt picked up bronze in the standing
long jump.
Amber Reed is the winner of the Jack Petchey Foundation
Achievement for November. Amber has been making great improvements as a middle
distance runner on track, road and cross country and recently became the under
15s champion in the Kent League for 2008. She also won a schools Inter Counties
match in Birmingham recently.
Each month the clubs selects one young person, in the 11
to 25 age group to receive an Achievement Award. The month's winner receives a
framed certificate and a cheque (payable to the club) for £300 to be spent on a
club project of the recipient's choice.
9/12/08
Blackheath & Bromley received a presentation at the recent
UK Athletics Awards Dinner in Solihull. The Club were one of the Norwich Union
Power Of 10 club award winners, a recognition of the performance of the Clubs
athletes in the National rankings. The award was for the throws events. UK 100
metre record holder Montell Douglas, President Tim Soutar and Past Presidents
John Baldwin and Les Roberts were on hand to receive the Award
The latest round of Kent League races took place at Danson
Park last weekend and again there were a mixed set of results. The Senior Men
failed to perform but there was success in the younger age group races with the
highlights being Jen Hamer and Amber Reed winning the overall under 17 womens
and 15 girls titles for the season.
The Senior Men finished 11th on the day led home in 43rd
place by 46 year old Roy Smith who runs with an artificial hip. He was supported
by Richard Hall in 57th while Roger Beswick looked a different man as he closed
in 74th as did Giles Clifford in 76th. The men have one more match this Winter
as do the Senior Women who were not in action on Saturday.
Jen Hamer was 5th in the under 17 womens race and this
sealed her the overall title for the season by four points, a fine achievement
as this is her first year in the Sport. She has been a model of consistency this
Winter finishing in the top five in each of the four races.
Danielle Critchley was 9th on the day and this meant she
was 3rd overall in the League. With Krystal Galley 10th (7th overall for the
season), the Club were second in the team race and again second overall for the
season. Strength in depth will be very important in the Championship races in
the New Year so it was reassuring to some have strong back up with Chelsea
Crowser 12th, Melody Kane 14th and Danielle Webb 18th.
Hector Kurtyanek led the Under 17 mens team home in 8th
place and with Ross Braden 23rd and ever present Jonathan Halls in 25th they
finished 5th in the team race and third overall for the season.
Amber Reed had to settle for second place in the Under 15
girls race but this was behind one of the top runners in the country, Rebecca
Weston of Invicta East Kent. Amber’s reward for her continued improvement was
the overall title for the year and her win in the recent Schools Inter County
match in Birmingham shows she has a bright future ahead.
Arguably the best performance of the day came from Rachel
Robinson whose 10th place was her best of the season by a long way. With Hannah
Cook 13th , Jessica Jones 15th and Hope Stenning 19th the team were second on
the day and runners up for the season.
There was excellent packing from the under 15 boys with
Sam Jackson 9th, Will Mercer 10th, Greg Proctor 11th and Robert Yates 12th with
Adam Willis and Tom Greenhill not far behind in 21st and 23rd. What this meant
in the overall placings was that Sam finished 4th, Will 5th and Greg 7th for the
season. They were third in the team race on the day and third overall for the
year.
Georgina Kennedy was first home for the Club in the under
13 girls race and with Sonia Woolhouse 11th and Holly Fletcher 15th they
finished third in the team race, just one point behind second. The fact they
were so close to runners up Invicta was because Izzy Jackson 17th and Janae
Galley 18th were ahead of their third scoring runner, thus showing that while an
athlete may not score in the team they can nevertheless have an important
influence on the team result. Likewise Anna Massey in 24th and Shannon Cordell
31st provided important back up. In the overall contest for the season the team
were third again one tantalizing point off second.
William Ruiz led the under 13 boys home in 13th place and
there was a good turn out of athletes with Alex Punnett 15th, Richard Webb 19th,
Louis Parkinson 20th, Thomas Desborough 24th and Daniel Waller 27th. The team
were 5th on the day and 6th overall for the season. What the afternoon showed
was that with the County Championships fast approaching in January, with some
consistent training over the Christmas and New Year, there is the opportunity
for the Club to win team medals in all these age groups and enjoy individual
success.
Peter Tucker picked up his Christmas turkey the following
day as his reward for finishing first in the Swanley Christmas Caper 4.2 mile
road race. He won the race by over 45 seconds in 21.58 with Andrew Yorke 5th and
Tony Crowder 18th. Elaine Murty in 20th was the second woman overall.
In the Pirie 10 at Coulsdon Darryl Hilliar was the first
Club member to finish in 36th with Rosie Ferguson 68th and Jim Osman 92nd.
A number of athletes from the Club had their first Indoor
competition of the season at the Data Connection meeting at Lee Valley. In the
Senior age group Vicki Cole bounced back from a frustrating Summer to time a
useful 25.69 for the 200 metres. Amy Godsell clocked 26.24 in the same race
while her mum Helen, who moves up an age group on the Masters scene next year,
timed a useful 28.85.
Other 200 performances included Grace Sheppard (26.60),
Jessica Matthews (27.61), Thomas Jenkins (24.60), Dean Colley (25.58), Charlotte
Colgate (29.70) and an impressive 26.50 from first year under 15 Dina Asher
Smith. Dina also leapt 4.44 in the long jump.
Dan Putnam opened up with a new indoor best of 49.60, an
impressive start to the Winter in his first year as an under 20. Training
partner Sarah McLellan timed a very useful 61.12.
2/12/08
Two members of Blackheath & Bromley have been selected to
represent Great Britain at the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels
on the 14th of December. Mike Skinner and Scott Overall gained their places in
the team after finishing 7th and 8th in the Trials race in Liverpool last
weekend.
Only the first three over the line in the race were
guaranteed automatic selection but with two of those ahead of them being under
23s and available to compete in the own age group, the B & B duo secured their
places. They bring a wealth of International experience to the team. Mike has
represented GB in both the European and World Cross Country championships while
Scott has only just returned from Japan where he competed for Britain in the
Chiba Ekiden Marathon Relay.
Closer to home over 50 athletes toed the line for the Club
10 Mile Cross Country Championships with the first three finishers all veterans.
Nick Kinsey, the former British Ironman record holder, took the title in 64.44
with Gary Cook second and Steve Pairman third.
First woman to finish, and 7th overall, was Jane Bradshaw
with Julie Reynolds second and Bridget Davey third.
25/11/08
Scott Overall had an excellent run over 5000 metres in the
Chiba Ekiden Road Relay in Japan, a mixed gender relay over the traditional
marathon distance. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete timed an impressive 13.44 on
the opening stage to bring the Great Britain team home in fourth place.
Although there were some other good performances from the
joint mens and womens team the squad had to settle for 7th at the finish, a good
effort against some of the top distance running nations of the world. The race
was won for the second year running by the Ethiopian team.
Overall’s performance will give him much confidence as he
prepares for the Trials for the Great Britain team for the European Cross
Country Championships which take place at Liverpool this weekend. He will be
joined on Merseyside by team mate Mike Skinner who will also be bidding for
selection having made the team last year.
Jane Bradshaw continued her run of recent good form at the
South Of The Thames Cross Country Championships at Lloyd Park, Croydon. She
finished fourth in the womens race timing a useful 35.33 for the 8km course.
Julia Reynolds continues to improve. She finished in 10th place. The men and
women both ran in the same race and Jane actually beat all the Club's male
competitors. Con Griffin was 80th with Andy Lawes 81st, Simon Lloyd 86th and
Wilf Orton 119th.
Blackheath & Bromley are celebrating being awarded
Clubmark status by the London Region. The Clubmark award is given to Clubs that
have shown they cater for the well being of youngsters in an effective a well
run club. The Clubmark status has taken sometime to achieve largely because of
the size of the organisation. Blackheath & Bromley are the largest of the nine
clubs in London who have achieved Clubmark.
The Clubhouse in Hayes was a hive of activity last weekend
with Club members of all ages in attendance. On Friday the Annual Club Dinner
took place with guest speaker former Great Britain International middle distance
runner Julian Goater. Also in attendance were a number of the Clubs’ talented
youngsters; John Dugdale from sponsors London Biggin Hill Airport; and UK Record
holder for the 100 metres Montell Douglas.
Montell and John were back on Sunday along with Great
Britain Junior athletes James Alaka and Anike Shand Whittingham to present
awards to the Clubs Under 15 and Under 13 athletes for the 2008 Summer season.
The tables were turned for Montell and Anike as they too
had presentations made to them. Both have received Jack Petchey Foundation
Achievement Awards this year and they received their cheques and certificates
from Dina Asher Smith and Reon Gowan Wade, both under 13s who themselves have
been Jack Petchey award winners this year.
Pictures from these events can be viewed
here...
Another of the Club’s Internationals has also recently
received a prestigious Award. Shaunagh Brown has been named Sportsperson Of The
Year at the annual Medway Sports Awards. In addition she has been named as one
of Medway’s two sporting ambassadors for 2008. Shaunagh was the top Junior
discus thrower in the country this year and won a bronze medal in the
Commonwealth Youth Games in India.
Shaunagh has been living in the Medway area having moved
there from South London in 2006.
www.medway.gov.uk/london2012/55319/83730/83900.htm
18/11/08
Mike Skinner continued his preparations for the Great
Britain trials for the European Championships in Liverpool in two weeks time
with a 7th place in the McCain UK Cross Challenge in Gateshead. The Blackheath &
Bromley athlete was involved in a very tight finish with just five seconds
covering 3rd to 7th places.
Significantly these five places were filled by the first
five Britons in the field which will make the Trials race a keenly contested
affair with only the first three guaranteed a place in the British team. The
remaining three will be selected on current form.
Given that he was beaten by some of his rivals for a place
in the team, Skinner was slightly disappointed with his position, but he has the
ability and experience to make the team and will be fine tuning his training
over the coming days in preparation for the Trials.
Closer to home the latest round of the Kent Womens and
Young Athletes League took place at Knole Park with some breakthrough
performances across the age groups.
The Senior Womens race was a disappointment as the Club
could not complete a team. However, individually the quality was there with
Jennie Butler returning from injury to finish in 3rd place and Elaine Murty in
5th. Elaine is now 4th overall for the season.
Hannah Garcia was the only representative in the Under 20s
age group finishing in 2nd place and she is second overall for the season.
There was a large turnout in the younger age groups with
more girls competing than anyone could remember. Eight toed the line in the
under 17 womens race with Jen Hamer the first to finish in 3rd place. She is now
in first place overall for the season followed in second by Danielle Critchley
who was 5th at Knole Park. With Krystal Galley in 9th the team were second on
the day to Tonbridge and there was good back up with Amy DeMatos 12th, Chelsea
Crouser 15th, Danielle Webb 18th, Mel Kane 19th and Clare Parkin 20th.
In the U17 Men, Hector Kurtyanek ran a blinder to improve
his finish by 3 places from Mote Park to place 4th. Stephen Cavey and Ross
Braden brought the team home in third place. Jonathan Halls continued to
complete all of the Kent League races.
Amber Reed had an eventful afternoon. She won her first
ever Kent League race as she finished first in the under 15 girls race. Her win
was not without incident, however, as 600 metres to go her shoe came loose and
she completed the last 300 metres with one shoe. She now heads the League for
the season with just one race to go.
With Jessica Jones 11th and Lauren Heria 17th the team
were second and there was strength in depth with Hope Stenning 18th, Ella Self
20th, Rachel Robinson 21st, Kayleigh Leonard 24th and promising debutant Amelia
Gibbons in 30th.
The U15 boys team showed strength with the ever improving
Will Mercer and Sam Jackson running in the deteriorating weather conditions to
finish 8th and 9th. Adam Willis finished 14th for his first U15 scoring place.
The team finished in 3rd place. Greg Proctor ran well in the muddy conditions to
complete the course in 19th place. The Under 13 girls race produced perhaps the
surprise result of the day. Dina Asher Smith was one of the fastest sprinters in
the country this Summer breaking all the Club records in the process but she
showed that cross country is for everyone as she won her first cross country
race for the Club. The lead four runners had broken clear of the field with 400
metres left before Dina hit the front with 250 metres to go to win by two
seconds. “Never again!” said the Newstead Woods schoolgirl.
Behind her Georgina Kennedy finished in third place and
with Sonia Woolhouse in 13th they were second team albeit on the same number of
points as winners Tonbridge, the placings being decided on the Clubs’ highest
positioned third scorer.
Again there was good depth to the squad with Louise
Davison 19th, Izzy Jackson 23rd, Janae Galley 24th despite having just recovered
from tonsillitis, new talent Anna Massey 26th, and Holly Fletcher 27th.
Five U13 boys ran. The best finisher was the ever
improving Will Ruiz who finished in 9th place. Alex Punnett wasn't far behind in
14th and Richard Webb completed the scoring team in 20th position. The team
finished in 4th place. Tom Desborough completed the course along with debutant
Oliver Sims to complete the team.
Some other runners from the Club were in action in a less
conventional race, the Hellrunner at Longmoor camp in Hampshire. The course was
roughly ten miles in length and featured the “bog of doom”, a long 40 yard
puddle which was up to five foot deep in places. This was followed by a
succession of sand dunes, not for the faint hearted. Full details and pictures
can be viewed here.
Others preferred the relative luxury of a road race with
Gary Cook the first athlete from the Club to finish in the Epsom 10 in 65.01.
Others to finish included Garry Williams 30th, Tony Crowder 31st and Len Crowder
57th. Meanwhile at the Brighton 10km Jim Bailey was 458th and James Sullivan
1644th.
Last Saturday the Clubhouse was packed with Club Members
and representatives from a number of organisations to celebrate the 90th
birthday of one of the Club’s most distinguished members, Past President Alan
Brent. Alan has made a huge contribution to the Club as an athlete and
administrator since joining just after the Second World War and still helps
doing the announcing at home Summer matches. Pictures from the evening can be
found here.
11/11/08
Blackheath & Bromley runner Colin Poole has run an
astonishing five marathons in October, not only this, but they have been on a
variety of terrains and in various countries. He started with the Jersey
Marathon at the start of October where he was the first athlete over the age of
70 to finish. The following weekend he travelled to Italy to run the Carpi
Marathon, a special race to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Dorando
Pietre's marathon run in the 1908 London Olympics. Pietre was the athlete who
collapsed in the stadium while in the lead and was disqualified after officials
helped him across the finish line. Next it was back to Britain for the Abingdon
Marathon where Colin was the second over 70 to finish.
Three marathons in three weekends is something of a
challenge but he followed this with two in two days. On the last Saturday of the
month he was in action in the Beachy Head Marathon, a multi terrain event run
over the Seven Sisters in Eastbourne, not an easy course. The following day he
opted for something a little flatter, the Crawley Track Marathon, over 26 miles
of running round an Athletics track.
This was his 19th marathon of the year and he has now
completed 235 in total as he approaches his 72nd birthday.
Colin is one of a number of runners at the Club who have
completed 100 marathons and the most recent to achieve this was Nigel Webb when
he completed the Beachy Head. Others from Blackheath and Bromley who are members
of this elite group are Harry Martin, Dave Lewis, John Turner, Dick Griffin,
Brian Smith, Dave King and Ray Bennett.
Rankings for the 2008 track and field season are now
appearing and the under 20 list features a number of athletes from the Club, not
surprisingly, as the seven of them competed in the World Junior Championships
during the Summer.
Two athletes top their events. James Alaka is the fastest
under 20 man in the country with 10.46 seconds. James ran for Great Britain in
World Juniors and another who competed there is Shaunagh Brown. She also
competed in the Commonwealth Youth Games last month and dominates the discus
rankings, her throw of 49.69 being over four metres further than her nearest
rival. She is also second in the shot with a putt of 14.27.
Scottish Junior and Club Junior Record Holder Scott
Huggins is also second in the pole vault with 5.10.
Anike Shand Whittingham is another International who
features. She struggled with injury for much of the year but still placed 7th in
the 100 metres and 8th in the 200.
Others to appear on the womens’ side are Lauren Blackie
who is 6th in the triple jump; Rachel Arnheim and Emily Godley 8th and 17th in
the pole vault; Lorraine Ugen 11th in the long jump and 17th in the heptathlon;
Katrina Cosby and Katie Murray who are 12th and 14th in the 400 hurdles; Jessica
Matthews 14th in the high jump; Sabine Efiannayi 16th in the shot; Banke Jemiyo
20th in the Hammer; and second claimers Mary Iheke and Jade Dodd who are 16th in
the 400 and 4th in the javelin respectively.
One athlete who would have featured is new member Pamela
Hughes who cleared 1.80 in the high jump and represented Ireland in the World
Junior Championships. The Brunel University student will be a valuable member of
the Senior squad in 2009.
Others to feature on the mens’ lists are Funmi Sobodu who
is 6th in the 100; James Alaka and Dan Putnam 5th and 19th in the 200; Dan
Putnam again, 18th in the 400; Alex Bruce Littlewood 7th in the 2000
steeplechase; and Andrew Jordon and Richard AlAmeen 6th and 13th in the Hammer.
Femi Owolade would have placed 7th in the 200 and 17th in the 100 but he took up
an option to represent Nigeria during the year.
A number of second claimers feature with James Groocock
second in the long jump; Simon Merrill 5th in the 110 hurdles; Antoni Davis
Phillip and Matt Threadgold 9th and 17th in the 400 hurdles; and Kola Adedoyin
18th in the triple jump.
With such a wealth of good performances across the events
it is not surprising that the Club are National Junior Champions in 2008.
Winner of the Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Award
for October is Andrew Jordon. Andrew had an outstanding season in the Under 17s
age group and was the number one Hammer thrower in the country in his age group.
He won the National, Area and County titles as well as the English Schools and
Schools Games. He has been an invaluable member of the Club’s Under 17 and Under
20 teams.
Each month the clubs selects one young person, in the 11
to 25 age group to receive an Achievement Award. The month's winner receives a
framed certificate and a cheque (payable to the club) for £300 to be spent on a
club project of the recipient's choice.
At the latest Committee Meeting it was agreed that the
Club will expand its sporting activities and affiliate to the British Triathlon
Association. A number of Club Members already compete in Triathlons and this is
seen as a natural progression.
Anyone who is interest in triathlon or duathlon is invited
for an informal drink and chat at the Clubhouse in Hayes on Monday 8th December
at 7.30. The Clubhouse address is The Sydney Wooderson Centre, 56 Bourne Way,
Hayes, Bromley,Kent. BR2 7EY. For further information send an e-mail to
info@blackheathtriclub.org.uk
4/11/08
Blackheath & Bromley's Senior Men continued their
promising form in National competition when they finished in 11th place out of
151 finishing teams in the National Cross Country Relays at Mansfield. This was
achieved despite being without Scott Overall who is currently training in
Ethiopia.
Andy Rayner got the quartet off to a fine start finishing
in 20th place on the opening stage with a time of 15.35. He passed on to Mike
Skinner who stormed through the field moving up 16 places to 4th. His time of
14.54 was the second quickest of the day.
Peter Tucker slipped to 11th on the next stage with 16.33
a position maintained on the anchor leg by James Poole who timed 16.95. The team
would have been three places higher if they had been five seconds quicker.
The B team of Alex Gibbins, Dave McKinlay, Andrew Conway
and Bill Foster was 48th The womens' team finished in 37th place overall moving
up steadily throughout. Jane Bradshaw finished in 57th on the opening stage with
11.53 before Elaine Murty moved up to 43rd on the second stage with 11.29. Julie
Reynolds moved up to 37th on the last leg with 12.11.
In U17 Men Stephen Cavey ran first leg completing the
3000m course in 10.09. Jonathan Halls ran a steady 11.55 and Hector Kurtyanek
picked up 20 places on the final leg to complete the course in 10.12. The team
finished in 57th place. Amrullah Azizi ran a first leg in his first ever cross
country race and completed the course in 12.14.
The incomplete U17 women's team gave both athletes
valuable experience with both Chelsea Crouser(10.57) and Mel Kane(10.53)
completing the 3000m course.
Most notable performances of the day for the youngsters
came in the under 15 boys race with Sam Jackson timing 6.59 for leg 2 and Will
Mercer 6.58 on a short 2000m course. Rob Yates had led the team off with a time
of 7.14. Both Will and Sam passed many athletes and the team finished 28th,
which was highest of any of the young athletes teams. Greg Proctor continues to
show improving form running the first leg of an incomplete team and finishing in
a time of 7.05. In the U15 girls race Amber Reed ran an excellent first leg in
7.33, bringing the team home in 22nd place. Both Ella Self and Rachel Robinson
ran the next legs in identical times of 8.30 to bring the team home in 43rd
place.
The previous weekend Peter Tucker enjoyed victory in the
Wilmington 10km with a time of 34.43. There was more success in the womens race
with Elaine Murty third in 39.38.
Also on the roads Andy Tucker finished 55th in the Barns
Green Half Marathon in 85.55 with Chris Fulford Brown 513th.
At the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month David Beadle
was 24th and Graham Coates 48th.
28/10/08
Scott Overall has been selected for the Great Britain team
for the Chiba Ekiden Relay which takes place in Japan on the 24th of November.
The event is a mixed relay race of six legs of various lengths which make up the
full marathon distance. The 25 year old Blackheath & Bromley athlete has been
chosen to run one of the 5km legs as Britain attempt to build on the very
creditable 6th place achieved last year.
He was delighted with his selection and flew to Ethiopia
last week where he will train for four weeks with Mo Farah, Britain's number one
over 5000 metres on the track last Summer. Unfortunately this means he will miss
the National Cross Country Relays at Mansfield this weekend.
The latest round of the Kent Cross Country League took
place at Mote Park, Maidstone and again produced a mixed set of results.
After winning the opening match of the season the Senior
Women were not at full strength and despite a very useful 6th place from Elaine
Murty the team finished in 5th place which leaves them third overall for the
season.
With the stalwarts from the opening fixture Alex Bruce
Littlewood and Tony Pontifex both unavailable the Senior Men only managed to
field one athlete. This was Alex Gibbins who ran well to finish in 6th place, a
good performance.
Hannah Garcia won the under 20 womens’ race by over a
minute and is now second overall for the season while Calum Fraser moved up to
fourth overall for the season in the mens’ contest as he finished 10th on the
day.
Best team performance of the day came from the under 17
women who fielded more athletes than the Senior and Junior men and women put
together. Danielle Critchley was first to finish in second place just four
seconds clear of Jen Hamer who was third. With Krystal Galley in 10th place they
won the team race and so after two meetings both B & B and Tonbridge have three
points with Tonbridge top of the table as they have a better match score. There
was good back up here with Amy Dematos 12th, Chelsea Clowser 13th, Sophia Maslin
16th and Melody Kane 18th.
In the U17 Men's race Stephen Cavey showed stamina to
finish in 4th position, with Hector Kurtyanek not too far behind him in 7th.
Jonathan Halls made up some ground towards the finish to finish in 21st
position. This meant that the team finished in 2nd place.
There was aIso a very good turn out in the Under 15 boys
race with 6 athletes running. Will Mercer continued his improving form finishing
in 7th place, with Sam Jackson not too far behind in 8th. Greg Proctor ran an
excellent race and improved his finishing position at Capstone Park by 9 places
to finish 12th. Joe Ewing and Adam Willis both ran their first Kent League race
of the year with steady performances, completing the course in 20th and 21st
places respectively. Unfortunately Rob Yates could not complete the course. The
team finished in 2nd place.
Amber Reed had her best race yet in the girls race as she
finished in second place and she is now joint first in the overall scoring for
the season. With Rachel Robinson in 17th and Jessica Jones 19th they finished
4th in the team race.
There was another fine performance in the under 13 girls
race from Georgina Kennedy who finished in third place just four seconds behind
the winner. Janae Galley finished in 11th with Sonia Woolhouse 14th, Holly
Fletcher 17th, Izzy Jackson 26th, and Shannon Cordell 43rd. This gave them third
in the team race.
Alex Punnett made his debut for the club in the Kent
League as the only U13 boy, running a fine race and finishing in 15th place.
Further afield Peter Tucker ran in the first of the
English Cross Country Association Cross Challenge races which was incorporated
into the opening Birmingham & District League meeting at Senneleys Park. The
marathon International had a solid run finishing in 33rd position.
A number of Club members took part in the Beachy Head
Marathon, a multi terrain race which takes place around the Seven Sisters at
Eastbourne. This is a very tough course which is run by some, jogged by others
and walked by those who wish to savour the South Downs countryside.
First to finish for the Club was Roy Priestley who was
14th overall in 3 hours 30 minutes. He was followed by Andy Tucker who was 23rd
and Dave King, Peter Burford and Mark Skelly who finished in positions 138 to
140. First woman to finish from the Club was Kate Pratten in 173rd place with
Alison Jelly 516th.
While Paula Radcliffe was setting a new British Best
performance for 10 miles in the BUPA Great South Run three runners from the Club
were also in action. Richard Hall was first home finishing in 147th in 64.41
while Gary Lamb timed 84.29 and Sarah Coombs two hours six minutes and four
seconds.
The Club is always keen to hear from people interested in
road running and cross country. For adults the best place to start is by
visiting the Clubhouse at Hayes on a Wednesday evening from 6.30. Groups of all
standards, male and female, train from here, making use of the changing and
showering facilities, kitchen and bar. The address is The Sydney Wooderson
Centre, 56 Bourne Way, Hayes, Bromley, Kent. BR2 7EY.
21/10/08
Shaunagh Brown has won the bronze medal in the Discus
while representing England at the Commonwealth Youth Games at Pune in India. The
Blackheath & Bromley athlete will not have been pleased with her distance of
42.96 but it has been a very long season for the John Hillier coached athlete
and she would have had to have thrown another five and a half metres to have won
silver. She nearly picked up a bronze in the shot as well but had to settle for
4th with a putt of 14.07, 17 centimetres away from a medal. The winning throw
was 15.02.
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, race walker Chelsea O'Rawe
Hobbs was in action at the Giornate Internazionali Della Marcia meeting at
Chiasso. She finished in 8th place in the 10km in a time of 54.54. This is the
second quickest time by a British woman this year and all the more notable as
she is still an under 20 athlete.
Blackheath & Bromley’s Senior Men had one of their best
results for some time when they finished a very good 8th in the ERRA National 6
stage road relays at Sutton Park. To get to compete Clubs needed to have
qualified via their Area relays so the competing teams were the best in the
country.
Alex Bruce Littlewood ran a good solid 18.51 on the
opening stage, traditionally the strongest leg of the race. This put the team in
50th place leaving the opposition nicely lined up for Andy Rayner. He cut
through the field moving up 22 places with a time of 17.52.
Next up was Scott Overall and after running the quickest
time at the South Of England relays he didn’t disappoint. He moved the team up a
further 15 places to 13th and his time of 16.54 was the second quickest of the
days with only Aldershot’s Andy Vernon going quicker.
Mike Skinner to the Club up to it’s highest position of
the day on leg four finishing in 5th place in 17.30. Loughborough student James
Poole slipped a couple of places with 18.34, the same time as Peter Tucker on
the final stage which saw him come home in 8th. The Club were the third Southern
Club and first Kent team to finish.
For the women Sioban Budd flew in from France for the race
and came home 37th on the opening stage with 15.43, the quickest of the day by a
Club member. Elaine Murty moved up six places on the second stage with 16.03, a
position maintained on the third stage by fast improving Jane Bradshaw (16.48).
Team captain Kate Pratten anchored the quartet home in 38th with 18.47.
The following day it was the turn of the youngsters to
compete. In the under 17age group the girls team of Melody Kane (16.59), Chelsea
Crowser (17.06) and Rebecca Smith (16.11) finished in 30th place. Unfortunately
the men could not complete a team. Hector Kurtyanek was 42nd on the opening
stage with 13.02 before Jonathan Halls ran 15.00 on leg two.
In the Under 15s age group the girls team of Ella Self
(16.55), Rachel Robinson (16.48) and Hope Stenning (16.56) were 56th with the
boys trio of Sam Jackson (13.24), Robert Yates (13.43) and Will Mercer (18.17)
were 59th but this does not tell the whole story.
Third leg runner Will Mercer was not allowed into the
changeover area as no official saw second leg runner Rob Yates finishing. By the
time the error was picked up over five minutes had elapsed since Rob had
finished his leg. Had this not occurred the trio would undoubtedly have been the
highest placed of the Club’s teams on the day and Will’s official time would
have been considerably quicker. Greg Proctor ran 13.42 for the B team.
Highest official placing of the day came from the under 13
girls where Holly Fletcher (17.10), Georgina Kennedy (15.43) and Sonia Woolhouse
(16.57) finished in 29th place. The boys were not able to complete a team but
Tom Desborough (15.52) and Will Ruiz (15.59) gained useful experience.
Scott Overall quickly returned to racing after his
exploits at Sutton Park. The following day he dominated the Cabbage Patch 10
mile road race at Twickenham winning by nearly a minute with a time of 48.28.
Only two athletes broke 50 minutes. He was not the only athlete to run at Sutton
Park and then win a road race the next day. At the Lexus Croydon 10km Jane
Bradhsaw totally dominated the womens race winning in 39.29, over six minutes
quicker than the next woman home and leaving her 25th overall in a field of 460
finishers.
There was more success in the mens race as the trio of
Cliff Keen, Gary Cook and Gary Williams finished in second place in the team
contest, a commendable result as all are Masters. Cliff was the first over 50 to
finish in 10th place overall with a time of 37.06. Gary Cook was the third over
40 to finish in 38.01 with Gary Williams the 5th over 40 in 38.26.
14/10/08
Blackheath & Bromley’s Andy Rayner continued his recent
good form on the roads as he finished 24th in the Chichester 10km which
incorporated the National 10km. Being a National Event the race was of a high
standard with six runners under 30 minutes. Andy’s time was 31.28. He now
prepares for this weekends National 6 Stage Road Relay at Sutton Park.
Elaine Murty finished in 142nd place in 38.24 and junior
Cameron Ward was 160th in 39.05. There was more success on the roads at the
Guivaudan Ashford 10km which incorporated the Kent 10km road race championships.
Here Peter Tucker finished in 2nd place to claim his fourth County silver medal
of the year, having already finished second in the County 5000, 10 mile and 20
mile races.
Tucker was slightly disappointed with his time of 32.24
but it is only a couple of weeks since he ran a marathon. Tucker says his recent
good form has been down to hard work, consistency, good coaching advice from
coach Gordon Cooper and also the support he has been receiving form his local
health club Amida in Beckenham.
http://www.amidaclubs.com/home/beckenham Cliff Keen finished in 23rd
place in 36.36.
Slightly further afield Keith Duffy Penny was in action in
the Bank Of America Chicago Marathon where he finished in 4.33.07 which gave him
13254th position.
For most the track season is over but for Shaunagh Brown
there is one big competition remaining. She is currently in Pune in India where
she is part of the England team at the Commonwealth Youth Games. She competes in
the shot putt tomorrow (15th) and then in her main event the discus on Thursday
the 16th.
One of the Club’s other talented throwers has also been in
action at the Hammer Circle Reunion in Hull. Andrew Jordon, who was the number
one under 17 in the country this year, won both the under 17 and under 20
competitions with throws of 62.40 and 57.58.
Alex Gibbins won his first ever Blackheath & Bromley Club
5 mile Cross Country title on a sunny afternoon at Hayes. The 32 year old won
with some ease timing 28.54 for the over distance course and so now holds one of
the oldest Athletics trophies in the world. The race was first contested in
1880.
Junior Alex Bruce Littlewood travelled up from Portsmouth
University to finish in second place in 30.15 while Portsmouth graduate Steve
Cooper travelled over from Manningtree where he now lives to pick up the bronze
medal with a time of 31.13.
Jane Bradshaw continues to improve and she finished in
13th place overall out of 58 starters. She won the womens' race in 35.03 with
promising newcomer Julie Reynolds second in 36.21. Third place went to one of
the youngest competitors in the field Amber Reed. The 13 year old was 27th
overall in 39.39.
Alex Bruce Littlewood was first junior Man and Amber the
first junior woman, with Rebecca Smith second and Jessica Jones in third place.
The fixture also incorporated the second race of the
Bennett Cup series, a 9 event handicap competition that takes place throughout
the Winter. Winner here was Melody Kane with Amber Reed in second and Tony
Pontifex third.
After two events in the series Bob Minting leads with 101
points from Tony Pontifex who is second on 96 and three athletes (Andy Lawes,
David Carton and Iain Swatton) level in third on 94 points. There is everything
to play for. The next race in the series in the Club 10 mile cross country on
the 30th of November.
A number of Club members took part in the multi terrain
Petts Wood 10km. First home for the Club was Andy Tucker, who fresh from
finishing as second over 40 in the previous weeks Ron Wheeler 5km, came in 13th
overall in 40.16. Graham Coates was next home in 34th in 42.42 and Fran Green
was first woman home from the Club in 40th overall in a time of 43.18. Other
finishers were Rob Brown (68th), James Morris (163rd) and Simon Tolson (423rd).
7/10/08
Scott Overall figured prominently in the two mile race
which took place at Gateshead on Saturday as a prelude to Sunday's Great North
Run. The Blackheath & Bromley Club 3000 and 5000 metre record holder was in the
lead group after the first of the two lap race.
However the race hotted up on the second lap with former
World Champion Eliud Kipchoge going on to win. Overall was the first Briton to
finish in 7th place.
In the Great North Run itself former Great Britain
Marathon International Bill Foster was the first over 50 runner to finish as he
came in 54th overall out of 52,000 entrants. He timed 73.26 for the distance and
recorded 10km and 20km splits of 34.32 and 69.45.
There was further success for the Club’s athletes on the
roads at the Wimbledon 10 and the Dulwich 10km. Andrew Rayner continued his good
recent form winning the race at Wimbledon by 10 seconds in 52.49.
At Dulwich, Alex Gibbins won the race in 33.51 just two
seconds clear of Herne Hill’s James Jarvis. In the accompanying 5km race Russell
Bentley continued his return to fitness by finishing in third place in 15.54.
Neil Ayrton was 21st with Paul Delicata 31st.
The opening Kent League match of the season took place at
Capstone Park with a mixed set of results. There was a good turn out in the
Senior Women’s race with Elaine Murty first home in 4th place. Fran Green
continued her promising return to action after breaking an ankle by placing 5th
with Bridget Davey (11th), Viv Mitchell (12th), Ella Fisher (18th), Kate Pratten
(22nd) and Carolyna Jones Baldock (36th) the other scorers.
Alex Bruce Littlewood came home for the weekend from
Portsmouth University and had a very good run to finish 5th in the Senior Mens’
race despite still being an under 20 athlete. Unfortunately the only other
runner from the Club in the race was Tony Pontifex in 125th place. This meant
the Club did not score in the team competition.
In the combined under 17s and under 20s races Jen Hamer
started her Winter season off well by finishing in 4th place. With Danielle
Critchley 6th and Krystal Galley 12th the team finished in second place. Illness
to key runners prevented the men from finishing a team but Stephen Cavey took
10th while Jonathan Halls competing in his first race as an under 17 worked hard
and finished the 5000 metre course in 26th. There was a good turn out in the
under 15 girls race where Amber Reed led team home in 4th place. Hannah Cook
15th and Ella Self 17th completed the scoring team which finished second and
there was strength in depth with Jessica Jones 18th, Lauren Heria 20th, Rachel
Robinson 21st and Kayleigh Leonard 23rd.
In the boys race all four runners from the Club set off
together until 800m into the race when a collision saw Will Mercer take a tumble
and fall from 9th to 25th. Sam Jackson ran a steady race finishing in 11th place
and an amazing comeback from Will saw him finish in 14th. Rob Yates and Greg
Proctor ran their own private race and finished 20th and 21st. The team finished
4th overall.
It was good to have an U13 boys team for the first Kent
League Cross Country race of the season. Richard Webb continued from last year
with a solid 12th place and an excellent last 300 m. Newcomers Thomas Desborough
and Daniel Waller did themselves proud finishing 20th and 25th respectively. The
team finished the race in 4th place. It was fourth also for the girls team with
Janae Galley first home in 7th place. Sonia Woolhouse was 16th, Holly Fletcher
21st and Shannon Cordell 35th.
The track season is virtually over but there was a major
shake up in the Club over 55s rankings last week when Bob Minting ran 10.46 for
the 3000 metres at a race meeting in Exeter. This moves him up to number one
status in the Club in this age group for the event this Summer a full nine
seconds quicker than Ken Daniel.
