Jan-Mar 04

January 2004		February 2004		March 2004
	26/01/04		23/02/04		29/03/04
	19/01/04		16/02/04		22/03/04
	12/01/04		9/02/04		15/03/04
	5/01/04		2/02/04		8/03/04
					1/03/04

Four course records were set when Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club staged their annual five mile road running championship in Wimbledon Village - over a new course, starting and finishing in Parkside Gardens, for just the second time.

Clearly showing he is getting fitter with each run, former Surrey junior cross country champion Steve Newton, making a comeback after several years' away from running, emerged a narrow winner of a closely fought contest around the testing hills around the All England tennis club.

Newton, who won the Surrey junior title at Guildford back in 1974, crossed the line in 30min 27sec to set a new veteran over 45 course record. He finished three seconds ahead of Andy Waites who took 25 seconds off the veterans over 40 course record with another veteran, Hugh Saxby, third in 30min 34sec, an improvement on the time he achieved last year.

Over 55 veteran Martin Miller was next to finish in 32min 12sec with teenager Ben Saxby fifth in 32min 17sec, an under 17 course record with Neil Fraser , also an under 17-year-old finishing three seconds later. Next over the line was over 55 veteran Stu Littlewood in 33min 1sec just four seconds ahead of Zoe Pike, who was using the race as part of her preparations for this year's Flora London marathon on Sunday, April 18. Another supervet, Dennis Williams, was ninth in 33min 16sec followed by over 45 veteran Martin O'Halloran (33min 38sec).

Hercules Wimbledon cross country captain Steve Sinnott was first veteran in the Premier 10 kilometres road race at West Wimbledon. He was fifth out of more than 600 finishers in 33min 43sec. Fellow Hercules Wimbledon runner Roy Burgess was 20th, while former marathon international Steve Badgery, who won the Surrey boys, youths and junior cross country titles at Reigate, Coulsdon and Richmond Park in 1963, 1964 and 1967, respectively, was among the leading veterans over 50 with Hercules Wimbledon road running secretary Barry White also well placed.

Hercules Wimbledon's Hugh Saxby will be helping out at Merton's final mini-marathon training session at Wimbledon Park on Sunday morning (April 4), starting at 10am. His son Ben is among the 48 runners who have been chosen to represent Merton in the Adidas Mini Marathon over the final five kilometres of the London Marathon course on Sunday, April 18.

A remarkable period of more than four decades as treasurer of Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club and one of its predecessors, Hercules Athletic Club, came to an end at the club's annual general meeting when the much respected holder of the office, David Littlewood, finally handed over the reins.

A fullsome tribute was paid to the work of Littlewood who was first elected to the post in 1961 by Hercules Wimbledon's chairman Nick Getting. And, there was a standing ovation from other club members and parents after Getting had presented Littlewood with an engraved tankard to mark his 43 years' service as club treasurer. As a further honour for his work, he was later unanimously elected Hercules Wimbledon president.

The person elected to succeed Littlewood is Mick Leigh whose son Sam has steeplechased for the club at league matches over several year. Leigh, a former college bursar who is now retired, said he would do his best to follow Littlewood's fine example.

Littlewood is one of British athletics' best known and hardest working officials. Giving up his treasurer's post with Hercules Wimbledon would undoubtedly give him more time to devote to his other responsibilities with the South of England AA, Amateur Athletic Association and UK Athletics where he is secretary of the Rules and Records group, responsible for publishing the sport's rule book. The latest edition is due out next month. He is also secretary of the English Schools Athletic Association, a post he has held since 1992, and sits on the technical committee of the International Association of Athletic Federations, a position which requires him to visit their headquarters in Monte Carlo on frequent occasions.

Littlewood was international photo finish judge at the recent IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest and will be one of the officials at this summer's IAAF World Championships in Paris. But, he never forgets athletics' grass roots and officiates at club meetings whenever he can. He was a track official at Kingston and Polytechnic's open graded meeting at Kingsmeadow on Sunday.

Once again he will be men's race referee at the Flora London Marathon next month where, among the thousands of competitors will be Hercules Wimbledon's new treasurer Mick Leigh and his son Sam.

Steve Day, the partnership development manager of the recently established Merton School Sport Partnership presented the awards to the winners of various club trophies. Hercules Wimbledon's outstanding young long jumper, Emily Martin, carried off four trophies while other multiple winners included cross country runners Alex Bodin and Damien Robertson. Two other trophy winners, Jonathan Burgess and Richard Hadley led the field home the following day in the East Surrey League boys under 13 road race at Box Hill, near Dorking.

Day explained that with a team of five sport development officers based at different schools to try to encourage and promote sport in Merton primary and secondary schools and five of the sport on the organising committee.

Four runners from Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club were in action in the annual English Schools cross country championships which were staged at Mote Park, Maidstone.

Best of the quartet was Alex Bodin, the Surrey schools individual bronze medallist and Merton schools champion who showed much improved form to finish second of the Surrey team. He was 54th out of well over 300 runners in the intermediate boys race covering the 5.2 kilometres in 19min 10sec, just over a minute behind the race winner. He helped the Surrey team to 14th position.

Another Hercules Wimbledon runner in the intermediate boys race was Damien Robertson, running for London. Robertson was the third London finisher taking 143rd place and helping the London team to 26th position.

Medena Knepsl, who finished third in the Somerset Schools senior girls championship in January, found the tough Mote Park course a tough contrast to the flat, fast circuit on Wimbledon Common the previous weekend where she had won the Merton London mini-marathon girls trial. Knepsl finished 146th out of almost 300 runners in the senior girls race.

Youngest of the Hercules Wimbledon contingent at Maidstone was Jake Bodin, Alex's younger brother, who finished 159th out of 320 runners in the junior boys championship. He was the fifth Surrey runner to finish, a one place improvement on his sixth place in the county schools championships at Reigate in January. He also helped Surrey to 20th team place.

This is quite a week for Hercules Wimbledon's talented teenage long jumper Emily Martin as she is collecting a host of trophies for her performances during the last 12 months. First, she received awards at the Hercules Wimbledon annual general meeting on Wednesday night (March 17) and then on Friday (March 19), she is collecting two awards at the annual general meeting of the Surrey Athletic Association at Leatherhead. She has been awarded the Kathryn Chambers Cup for the best performance in the girls under 15 age group in last May's county championships at Kingsmeadow Stadium where she won the long jump with 5.25 metres. She has also won the Sportshall Highest Points award for her age group for her performances at this winter's series of meetings at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon runners compete in the penultimate East Surrey League meeting of the winter at Box Hill, near Dorking. The road relays for seniors and young athletes start at 3pm with a two miles race for under 13-year-olds at 2.30pm. Pete Mulholland, the Hercules Wimbledon road running secretary said: "Some say this is the most enjoyable event of the winter and they are probably not far wrong."

Runners from Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club dominated the annual Merton trials for the Adidas mini-marathon on Flora London Marathon Day, Sunday April 18.

Most convincing of the six winners was Alex Bodin who took the senior boys race on Wimbledon Common in 10min 48sec, more than half-a-minute ahead of Mark Cooper, despite competing in the UK Inter-Counties cross country championships the previous day. His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate, Ben Saxby, was third in 11min 56sec.

Hercules Wimbledon's Medena Knepsl, who like Bodin will be competing in this weekend's English Schools cross country championships at Maidstone, was a comfortable winner of the senior girls race in 13min 26sec ahead of clubmates Imogen Stoddart (14min 2sec), Amandine King (14min 25sec), Hannah Fernando (15min 55sec) and Lucy England (16min 2sec).

The Hercules Wimbledon trio of Jake Bodin (11min 50sec), Luke Jones (12min 16sec) and Luke Baillie (12min 31sec), led the field home in the intermediate boys race while Serena Brotherton (14min 22sec), twins Rosemary (14min 35sec) and Jennifer (14min 45sec) Fernando and Kate Jones (14min 47sec) were the leading runners in the intermediate girls race.

Brothers Alex and Jake Bodin both competed for Surrey in the UK Inter-Counties cross country championships at Nottingham the previous day. Alex was 120th in the men's under 17 race and Jake was 251st in the boys under 15 event. Another Hercules Wimbledon runner, Jonathan Burgess, was 56th in the boys under 13 championship, also running for Surrey.

Hercules Wimbledon saw off local rivals Ranelagh Harriers in an inter-club cross country match in Richmond Park. Teenager Damien Robertson, the youngest runner in the field, led the Hercules Wimbledon contingent home finishing second in 22min 35sec, just 10 seconds behind the winner, with veterans Steve Newton and Hugh Saxby finishing third and foruth in 23min 11sec and 23min 33sec.

Another veteran, Andy Cunningham, was sixth in 23min 50secwith supervet Peter Giles 10th in 25min 3sec and newcomer Mario Ruiz 12th in 25min 14sec allowing Hercules Wimbledon to win the match by 37 points to 41.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon runners make the trip to Brighton to compete in the South of the Thames senior 10 kilometres cross country championship.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club are holding their annual general meeting and presentation of trophies and awards at Wimbledon Park Bowls Pavilion next Wednesday (March 17) starting at 7.30pm.

Youngsters from Merton get the chance this weekend to challenge for places to run over the final five kilometres of the Flora London Marathon on Sunday, April 18.

Merton will be sending a total of 48 runners to take part in the event which starts at Southwark Bridge on London marathon day and six teams of eight will be chosen following trial races being staged at Wimbledon Common this Sunday, March 7, in conjunction with Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club. Race headquarters are at The Study Prep School in Camp Road, Wimbledon. Registration begins at 10am with the first race for girls off at 11am while the boys start at 11.30am.

Any youngster over 11 or under 17, on Sunday April 18, who either lives or attends school in Merton, is eligible to represent the borough in the Adidas Mini Marathon which has been regularly supported since its inception by runners from Merton. The council organises transport to convey competitors to the start of the mini-marathon and then bring them home afterwards and there are also souvenir Merton T-shirts for those selected to run.

It promises to be a busy weekend for Hercules Wimbledon's Alex Bodin, just back from a successful Hercules Wimbledon trip to Cuba where several club athletes showed good form. Bodin runs for Surrey in the men's under 17 race at the UK Inter-Counties championships at Nottingham on Sunday before turning out in the mini-marathon on Sunday.Adrian Marriott has clinched his place in the senior men's team after finishing fifth in the county championship at Croydon in January.

Bodin clocked a personal best 1500 and 5000 metres times of 4min 18.80 and 16min 51.2sec in finishing third and second in an international inter-club meeting in Cuba against club teams from Cuba, France and Nicaragua. Ike Mba, Hercules Wimbledon's AAA under 17 men's long jump champion, leapt an impressive lifetime best of 6.89 metres in taking second place and was also runner-up in the 100 and 200 metres in good times of 11.29 and 22.88sec.

Another Hercules Wimbledon youngster, Emily Martin, showed good form when she competed in the Norwich Union AAA Junior Indoor Championships at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena when she reached the final stages of the women's under 17 long jump. Emily finished fifth with a lifetime best of 5.48 metres, adding five centimetres to her previous best achieved when winning the bronze medal at the South of England championships at Bedford in January. She was also just outside her best ever 60 metres times where she narrowly failed to reach the final. She was third in her heat in 8.01sec and was then fourth in her semi-final in a faster 7.98sec. Consolation for Emily is that she will be in the same age group next year as she is a first year under 17-year-old.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon have a cross country match hosted by Ranelagh Harriers in Richmond Park. The race is over 3.8 miles and starts from opposite the Pembroke Lodge car park at 3pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's Emily Martin faces another challenging weekend when she competes in the Norwich Union AAA age group indoor championships at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena this weekend.

Fresh from her triumphs in the South-East Regional Sportshall final where she was the top individual in her section and gaining a hat-trick of medals in the Surrey indoor championships the following day where she also broke Hercules Wimbledon's senior women's triple jump record with 11.32 metres, Emily is competing in the women's under 17 long jump and 60 metres at Birmingham.

It will be the first time she has challenged for a national title indoors although last summer she did take the bronze medal in the outdoor AAA championships at Sheffield when she finished third in the girls under 15 long jump. This weekend's competition is bound to be tough but her current form suggests she could come away with a medal in the long jump.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the age range, Hercules Wimbledon's Mark Baker just missed out on a medal in the British Masters indoor championships at Cardiff's National Indoor Athletics Arena. He was fifth in the over 40 60 metres in 7.51sec.

Hercules Wimbledon runners have been in action in various road races. Francis Staunton and Kieran White both smashed their previous personal bests when they competed in Kent Athletic Club's open 10 miles road race at Sidcup. Staunton was 19th out of almost 300 finishers in 55min 30sec with White 21st in 58min 34sec.

Veteran Steve Sinnott finished 15th out of almost 600 runners in 26.2 Road Running Club's Valentine's 10 kilometres road race at Chessington in 34min 20sec. Clubmates Roy Burgess and Steve Newton, second in the over 45 category, were 20th and 23rd in 34min 52sec and 35min 34sec, respectively.

Two Hercules Wimbledon runners, Dannis Williams and Ian Isherwood made the trip to the south coast to join 200 other runners competing in Poole Runners' Winter Series five kilometres road race at Boscombe Pier. Williams was sixth in the over 55 veterans category in finishing 63rd in 19min 53sec while Isherwood was 12th in the over 50 section finishing 105th in 22min 2 sec.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Clubs Emily Martin had one of the most hectic and successful weekends of her young athletics career when she competed for Surrey in the Regional Sportshall final at Guildford and less than 24 hours later was in action in the Surrey indoor championships at Sutton Arena.

For the second consecutive year, Emily will be competing in the National Sportshall finals in Birmingham next month after winning the individual under 15 girls title at Guildford in helping Surrey to second team place. Emily won both the standing long jump and four lap event, was runner-up in speedbounce and was partnered by her Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Serena Brotherton to take second place in the paarlauf, to secure her overall individual triumph. Luis Garcia was a member of the Surrey team which took second place in the boys under 13 competition.

Next day, she had a busy time at Sutton where she showed outstanding form in the womens under 17 triple jump. Competing in the event for only the second time, she added almost a metre to her previous best as she cleared a superb 11.32 metres to smash the championship record by 18 centimetres. She collected a hat-trick of medals at Sutton taking silver in the long jump with 5.37 metres and bronze in the 60 metres in 8.01sec after posting a faster 7.97sec in her heat.

Another Hercules Wimbledon winner at Sutton was Rufus Nugent who, after two no-jumps, cleared a valid 6.10 metres with his third trial to win the mens under 17 long jump gold medal. Two other teenagers, Jade Lally and Lucy England just missed out on medals. Jade finished fourth in both the junior womens shot and triple jump with 9.55 and 10.13 metres, respectively, while Lucy was also fourth in the womens under 17 long jump with 4.37 metres. Another Hercules Wimbledon competitor, John Brown, was fourth in the senior mens shot.

Hercules Wimbledons Merton schools winner Luke Jones boosted his chances of running for Surrey in next months English schools championships at Maidstone when he finished 23rd out of more than 100 runner in the junior boys race at the SouthEast Schools Inter-Counties meeting at Wellington College, Crowthorne. He was the fifth Surrey runner to finish helping the county to fourth team place in the event. His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate, Jake Bodin, had a disappointing run finishing 62nd and 11th Surrey runner over the line. Another Hercules Wimbledon runner in action in the schools meeting was Ben Saxby who was 58th and sixth Surrey finisher in the senior boys race.

Hercules Wimbledons Andy Cunningham was runner-up in Veteran Athletic Clubs four miles race on wimbledon Common in 22min 31sec, just five seconds behind the winner.

Three Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club youngsters have been selected to compete for Surrey in the South-East Regional Sportshall final at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre this weekend.

Teenagers Emily Martin, Serena Brotherton and Luis Garcia were chosen for the Surrey squad to compete against Middlesex, Kent and Sussex after taking part in the third and final Surrey Sportshall meeting at Guildford.

Despite feeling unwell for most of the previous week, Emily still managed to achieve a hat-trick of individual successes in the girls under 15 four lap, speed bounce and standing long jump events to once again win her age group.

Serena and Lucy England linked up to win the paarlauf event and they were also well placed in the two and four lap races and the vertical jump. Luis, who is just 10, competed in the boys under 13 events. Twins Rosemary and Jennifer Fernando and Lara Blincow competed in the girls under 13 events where Jennifer won her four lap race and Rosemary was second in her two lap event.

The Hercules Wimbledon youngsters face a busy weekend as some of them will also be competing in the Surrey indoor championships at Sutton Arena on Sunday. Emily Martin gained a hat-trick of wins competing in an open meeting there. She won the women's under 17 60 metres in a personal best of 7.92sec, the long jump with 5.39 metres and made a winning debut in the triple jump of 10.36 metres. Jade Lally achieved two personal bests in the triple jump and shot of 10.25 and 9.97 metres. Chris de Jager was runner-up in the senior men's long jump with 6.25 metres while Serena Brotherton long jumped 4.20 metres in the girls under 15 competition.

Meanwhile, Hercules Wimbledon runners dominated the final Surrey Cross Country League meeting at Croydon. Damien Robertson led the field home in the under 17's race ahead of Lance Power and Alex Bodin with Merton schools winner Luke Jones, making his debut for Hercules Wimbledon, finishing fourth. With Jake Bodin sixth, Richard Vanderpuije seventh and Ben Saxby eighth, Hercules Wimbledon easily took the team honours on the day and for the season while Alex Bodin and Robertson took the under 17 and under 15 individual league titles.

Jonathan Burgess had another good run in the under 13 race finishing runner-up ahead of clubmates Jonathan O'Halloran and Richard Hadley with Charlie Carrington sixth and Harry Wignall 10th. Hercules Wimbledon again took the team honours on the day and for the season.

Hercules Wimbledon's Dereje Kebede was a clear winner of the senior men's five miles race with Roy Burgess 11th and Steve Sinnott 14th. Hercules Wimbledon were second team on the day and third overall for the season.

Kebede completed a winning double when he finished almost a minute clear of the field in the Fab Feb 5k, Leg it for Lifeboats five kilometres road race in Victoria Park, North London, in 15min 17sec.

Hercules Wimbledon's African Games race walking champion Estle Viljoen lapped the entire field in winning the Slater Bryce Memorial 10 kilometres track race at Horsham.

A party of Hercules Wimbledon athletes is off to Cuba later this month on an international exchange trip which is sponsored by the European Commission.

It is the fourth trip to Cuba organised by Hercules Wimbledon official Maurice Sharp and this time it is the second phase of an exchange involving athletes from Cuba, France and Nicaragua. The first part was in August 2002 when 35 young athletes from those country stayed at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and took part in the Rosenheim League final and other meetings at Tooting Bec track.

Athletes in the 17-strong party involved in the youth exchange include talented Hercules Wimbledon youngsters Ike Mba, the AAA under 17 long jump champion, and top cross country runner Alex Bodin, recent winner of the Merton Schools intermediate boys title. They leave London on February 13, returning on February 23. The theme of the exchange, which will again involve club teams from France, Cuba and Nicaragua, is "Friendship and Cooperation through Sport".

The athletes will be accommodated in a sports stadium hostel about 12 miles from Cuba's capital, Havana. The hostel is part of a complex which houses the centre for the development of potential international Cuban athletes in 16 different sports.

Looking forward to the trip, Mr Sharp said: "Obviously, the focus is sport but only as a medium for a large number of activities with the other three groups. There will be plenty of opportunities for warm weather training and we will have full use of the facilities including tracks, swimming pools and the gym. There will also be lots of sightseeing and social events." The exchange will also include an athletics match.

Also in the party is Hercules Wimbledon teenager Damien Robertson who warmed up for the trip by finishing a superb third in the intermediate boys events at the London Schools cross country championships at Parliament Hill Fields.

Over the years, Hercules Wimbledon has built up an envious reputation for international exchanges organising athletics trips to Poland, Czechoslovakia and France. In 1985, Hercules Wimbledon organised the International Youth Friendship Games at Crystal Palace with teams from Poland, Germany, Norway and Holland among those taking part. Two years later, the club organised a match with a team from Poland at Crystal Palace and in 1992, Hercules Wimbledon were hosts to a club team from France.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon's cross country runners are competing in the fourth and final Sweatshop men's Surrey and Surrey Ladies Cross Country League meetings both being held at Lloyd Park, Croydon. On Sunday, talented teenager Emily Martin heads the Hercules Wimbledon squad competing in the third Surrey Sportshall meeting at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre.

One of the youngest athletes among the 2000-plus taking part in the nine championship races and one of the club's most experienced were the outstanding Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club competitors in the annual South of England cross country championships at Parliament Hill Fields, North London.

Jonathan Burgess, fresh from his impressive triumph a fortnight earlier in the Sweatshop Surrey League race at Guildford, had a fine run in the boys under 13 championship. Despite the tough, hilly and testing course, Burgess, who is just 11 and will have two more years in this age group, ran the race of his young life in the warm sprint sunshine to finish 14th of the 224 runners in his race in 12 min 45sec, just 36 seconds behind the title winner.

His performance underlined the promise he has shown this winter and was far better than his 10th place in the Surrey championships at Croydon at the beginning of the month. He was the fifth Surrey finisher and will now almost certainly make Surrey's boys under 13 team for the UK Inter-Counties Championships in March .

Kebede, boosted by his record-breaking win in the Dartford 10 miles road race a week earlier, was the second Surrey qualified athlete to finish in the senior men's championship over 15 tough kilometres. It was not easy for the Ethiopian-born runner as he was troubled by a thigh problem and was forced to hang back on the opening lap to see how his injury stood up. He was in 20th place going into the second circuit but then pulled through and eventually finished a good 13th of the 800 runners in 48min 36sec, just over a minute behind the race winner.

His performance will also have strengthened his chances of running for the Surrey senior men's team in March. Hercules Wimbledon fielded a senior men's team for the first time for many years. There was a long gap before Dan Bodin finished in 309th place in 59min 42sec. Veteran Hugh Saxby was 368th, Eric Blackmore 390th, Barry White 470th and Tom Morris 613th.

Teenager Alex Bodin, who took the individual silver medal in the Surrey Championships at Croydon gave another encouraging display as he led the county runners home in the men's under 17 six kilometres race. He finished 22nd in 23min 49sec, just over a minute behind the race winner.

Hercules Wimbledon also field a team in this event but there was again another long wait before Ben Saxby crossed the line in 122nd place, just two positions ahead of Richard Vanderpuije with Oliver Sanchez 138th and Lance Power, who headed the 170-plus field up the first hill, paying the penalty for his early enthusiasm and finishing in 149th place. Hercules Wimbledon were the only Surrey club to field a team in this race.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club athletes have been showing successful form at a variety of venues from Bedford to Dartford.

The club's most talented youngster. Emily Martin, started her 2004 competitive programme in superb form by taking a medal in the South of England indoor championships at Bedford. She took the bronze medal in an exciting long jump competition, her first in the women's under 17 age group.

Emily produced her best-ever indoor form to leap 5.43 metres with her final effort and was edged out of the silver medal position by just four centimetres. She was also in action in the 60 metres dash where she just failed to reach the final. She won her heat in 8.04sec and equalled that time finishing second in her semi-final where she was fifth fastest of the eight runners with just four qualifying. Emily, who took the bronze medal in last year's AAA girls under 15 long jump championship has now moved up an age group but her first appearance in under 17 contests have indicated she can match some of the best in the older age group.

Meanwhile, over at Dartford, Kent, Dereje Kebede, who seems to be improving with every race after recovering from a long injury spell, was running the feet off more than 600 other runners as he stormed home in the Les Witton Memorial 10 miles road race in 51min 36sec, smashing the course record in the process. He finished almost a minute ahead of the second runner. Kebede said he would have run even faster had it not been for the cold weather.

Another Hercules Wimbledon teenager to show winning form was Jade Lally who won the junior women's 50 metres dash in an indoor meeting at Horsham in 7.3sec, a reasonably good time in her first outing over the distance. Jade, the reigning Surrey schools intermediate girls discus champion, is better known as a thrower.

Brothers Alex and Jake Bodin showed fine form in the annual Surrey Schools cross country championships at Reigate's Priory Park. Just a week after winning the Merton Schools title by a street, Alex took the individual bronze medal over the more testing Reigate course finishing just 18 seconds behind the race winner.

Jake, who like his brother, goes to Rutlish School, was sixth in the junior boys race, 25 seconds behind the winner. He was also the first Merton runner to finish after having to settle for second place in the Merton Schools Championships when he was suffering from the after effects of a cold. Both brothers are now likely to represent Surrey in the prestigious English Schools championships at Maidstone in March.

Hercules Wimbledon's older cross country runners were in action in Richmond Park in a match hosted by the Bank of England. John Querstret led the Hercules Wimbledon contingent home as he finished runner-up in 34min 41sec with Hugh Saxby first veteran over 45 finishing fifth in 35min 40sec, just six seconds ahead of fellow vet Eric Blackmore. Tom Morris, another over 45 veteran was 17th in 38min 55sec, 13 seconds ahead of Barry White with Mitsugi Tamoto 24th in 40min 13sec and over 55 veteran Fred Green 31st ub 42min 12sec. Stu Littlewood was fourth veteran over 50 as he finished 12th in the Veterans cross country championships on Wimbledon Common.

Hercules Wimbledon runners are competing in the annual South of England cross country championships which are being staged on Parliament Hill Fields, North London on Saturday.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's cross country runners produced their best results of the season in their opening Sweatshop Surrey cross country league meeting of 2004 at Merrow Golf Course, Guildford.

Dereje Kibede gained an impressive individual victory in the senior and veteran men's race leading the club to second team place while the youngsters continued their domination of the boys under 13, 15 and 17 sections.

Kebede, showing far better form than he did in the Surrey Championships the previous weekend, went straight into the lead and ran away from the rest of the 140-strong field to win in 25min 14sec, almost half-a-minute ahead of Scottish international Jon McCallum. With team captain Steve Sinnott sixth in 27min 28sec, Francis Staunton 12th in 28min 14sec, Roy Burgess 20th in 28min 59sec, and Jonty Summers, Chris Coles and Mahmoud Abuattaya 33rd, 34th and 35th in 30min 13sec, 30min 14sec and 30min 15sec, respectively, Hercules Wimbledon made a solid start in the team contest.

Steve Newton, winner of the Surrey junior cross country title back in 1974, who is making something of an impressive comeback as a veteran, was next Hercules Wimbledon finisher taking 39th place in 30min 21sec with fellow veteran Hugh Saxby 41st in 30min 29sec and John Querstret, 45th in 30min 35sec, completing the scoring team. Other Hercules Wimbledon runners to finish were Eric Blackmore 52nd in 30min 48sec, Andy Cunningham 57th in 30min 57sec, Dan Bodin 63rd in 31min 15sec, Andy Waites 70th in 31min 46sec, Martin O'Halloran 76th in 32min 14sec, Barry White 84th in 32min 44sec and over 55 veteran Neil Robson 93rd in 33min 21sec.

Alex Bodin, fresh from his triumph the previous day in the Merton Schools intermediate boys championship in Morden Park, led the way home in the youngsters race ahead of Damien Robertson. With Richard Vanderpuije, who had finished behind Bodin in the Merton Schools race, fifth, Jake Bodin sixth and Neil Fraser seventh, Hercules Wimbledon romped home in the joint under 15 and 17 team contest. Michael O'Halloran and Ben Saxby were 10th and 11th, Dominik Leeson 19th and Sean Crummy 24th

Jonathan Burgess and Jonathan O'Halloran led Hercules Wimbledon to team victory in the boys under 13 event finishing second and third with Charlie Carrington eighth, Fergus Stoddart ninth and Harry Wignall 11th, completing the winning team.

* Hercules Wimbledon runners dominated the annual Merton Schools cross country championships in Morden Park with Paul Killerby winning the senior boys title, Alex Bodin, Richard Vanderpuije, Neil Fraser and Dominik Leeson filling the first four places in the intermediate boys championship and Jake Bodin, Charlie Carrington and Deyan Knepsl finishing second, fifth and eighth in the junior boys race.

Imogen Stoddart and Lucy England were first and second in the intermediate girls race while Serena Brotherton took the junior girls title ahead of twins Rosemary and Jennifer Fernando, who took the other two medals. All of these runners will be in Merton's teams competing in the Surrey Schools Championships at Reigate Priory on Saturday.

Both Imogen and Serena were in action the following day in the Surrey Ladies cross country league meeting in Richmond Park where they finished eighth and 10th in the girls under 15 race. Amy Fraser was 10th in the joint junior and under 17 race while Geraldine Alexander was 42nd in the senior women's race.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon runners travel to Richmond Park to compete in an inter-club match hosted by the Bank of England on Saturday. The start is near Roehampton Gate at 2.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's youngsters started 2004 in fine style with a superb team medal hat-trick in the annual Surrey cross country championships at Croydon's Lloyd Park.

Best team effort came in the men's under 17 race where the Hercules Wimbledon quartet took team silver and were led home by Alex Bodin who took the individual silver medal in 22min 51sec, finishing just 10 secondss behind the champion. Other members of the silver medal-winning team were Ben Saxby (12th in 26min 4sec), Neil Fraser (14th in 26min 55sec) and Richard Vanderpuije 16th in 27min 32sec. Also in the race was Lance Power who finished 23rd in 30min 9sec.

Hercules Wimbledon's boys under 13 team also took the team silver medals. They were led home by Jonathan O'Halloran who was seventh out of the 50 runners in 12min 45sec with Jonathan Burgess 10th in 13min 3sec, Richard Hadley 21st in 14min 1sec and Charlie Carrington 22nd in 14min 3sec. Two other Hercules Wimbledon runners in the race were Tom Sandiford 25th in 14min 22sec and Deyan Knepsl 26th in 14min 25sec.

The third set of team medals came in the boys under 15 championship where the Hercules Wimbledon quartet took bronze. Michael O'Halloran, Jonathan's elder brother, led the team in finishing ninth in 16min 26sec with Jake Bodin, Alex's younger brother, 11th in 16min 34sec, Dominik Leeson 24th in 18min 6sec and Sean Crummy 41st in 21min 50sec.

Two other Hercules Wimbledon athletes just missed out on individual medals. Triathlete Medena Knepsl finished fourth in the women's under 17 championhip, 10 seconds behind the bronze medal winner but is likely to have the consolation of being selected to represent Surrey in the UK Inter-Counties Championships at Nottingham in March. Marathon man Adrian Marriottwas also close to a medal in the senior men's race where he was fifth out of 170 runners in 41min 20sec. But, he too, is likely to be running for Surrey in March.

Among those cheering on the senior men's team was Bob Holt , county champion in 1970 and 1971 during a highly successful period for the club in which it won the team title a remarkable seven years on the trot from 1969 to 1975. Although unable to emulate their predecessors, the senior men achieved their best effort for many years and just missed out on team medals finishing in fourth place. Behind Marriott was Dereje Kebede 15th in 43min, Francis Staunton 42nd in 47min 15sec, Steve Sinnott 48th in 47min 30sec, John Querstret 62nd in 49min 6secand Eric Blackmore 65th in 49min 46sec.

Other Hercules Wimbledon runners in the race were Hugh Saxby 69th in 50min 10sec, Chris Coles 74th in 50min 44sec, Andy Cunningham 90th in 52min 23sec, Barry White 94th in 52min 47sec, Martin O'Halloran 122nd in 56min 5secand Mitsugi Tamoto 128th in 57min 4sec.

Hercules Wimbledon's sole representative in the senior women's race was Geraldine Alexander who finished 55th in 41min 30sec, Amy Fraser was ninth in the junior women's race in 31min 34sec, and twins Rosemary and Jennifer Fernando were 22nd and 25th in the girls under 13 championship in 15min 55sec and 15min 59sec.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon runners compete in the third Surrey Men's League meeting at Merrow golf course, near Guildford, and the third Surrey Ladies League meeting in Richmond Park. Both events take place on Saturday.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club - NEWS