Jan-Mar 08

January 2008		February 2008		March 2008
	28/01/08		25/02/08		31/03/08
	21/01/08		18/02/08		24/03/08
	14/01/08		11/02/08		17/03/08
	7/01/08		4/02/08		10/03/08
					3/03/08

Hundreds of athletes from all over the country will be taking part in Hercules Wimbledon's young athletes open meeting at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The meeting, which is being staged for the 27th time, has attracted almost 1000 entries and boats being one of the top young athletes meetings staged in Britain both in terms of popularity and standard and has often proved a valuable stepping stone to future international success.

The meeting is also being backed by England Athletics and its London Region 4x100m relays for under 13 and under 15 boys and girls and under 17 men and women are being staged in conjunction with Sunday’s meeting.

This year's meeting also takes on an international flavour with teams from Cuba, Norway, Poland, the Czech Republic and Malta. This continues a long tradition of international youth exchanges promoted by Hercules Wimbledon which began more than 30 years ago.

In the last there decades the club has regularly sent teams to Norway, Belgium, France, Poland, the Czech Republic and Cuba in a series of exchanges which began with trips to the then East Germany and Spain in 1978 and 1980.

Hercules Wimbledon staged an international inter-club meeting at Crystal Palace in 1984 and the following year, with the backing of the former Greater London Council, organised the International Youth Friendship Games at Crystal Palace with 21 teams from 10 countries taking part. Similar events were staged at Tooting Bec in 1987 and 1989.

Sunday's packed programme starts at 11am and runs through until 6pm. The day after the meeting and before they return home the foreign teams will be guests at a dinner hosted by Hercules Wimbledon.

Many of Hercules Wimbledon promising youngsters will be in action on the Crystal Palace track where some of the world's top athletes will be in action in the Norwich Union London Grand Prix meeting at the end of July. Among the Hercules Wimbledon contingent will be Avalon Howard-McGrow who topped the club's girls under 13 100 and 200m and long jump rankings in 2007 and has already shown good form this year. She leapt a lifetime best of 3.89m in taking the silver medal in the girls under 13 long jump at the Kingston and Polytechnic open graded meeting . She also took second place in her 100m race and was fifth in the 200m.

While most of the club's officials and members will be helping out at Crystal Palace to ensure the meeting runs smoothly and to time, a dozen of the club's senior athletes will be missing as they will be competing in the South of England 12-stage road relay championship at Aldershot.

It will be the first time for more than a decade that the club has fielded a team in the event. However, when it was staged at Wimbledon, Hercules Wimbledon won it twice in 1969 and 1972 and were runners-up in 1970.

The club's leading runners warmed up for the championship with a good showing in the Wimbledon Audi 10 kilometres road race where they won the men's team prize. The winning trio was led home by Justin Kelly who finished fifth in 33 minutes with Deon Coetzee seventh in 33:32 and veteran Peter Lee 17th in 35:31. A short distance behind was Neil Fraser who finished 20th in 35:45 with Phil Glynn 22nd in 35:55, former marathon international Steve Badgery top over 60 finisher taking 24th in 36:12, almost twop minutes ahead of the top over 50 finisher, Dan Pescod 32nd in 36:49 and veteran Tom Cheetham 84th in 41:43.

Meanwhile, walking international Estle Viljoen was first woman in the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial finishing 12th overall in 20:46.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's athletes are busy preparing for the summer track and field season and several of them were in action in the Surrey indoor championships at Sutton Arena and an open graded meeting at Kingsmeadow Stadium.

Eleanor Smith-Hahn, who is just 11, had a busy time in the open graded meeting at Kingsmadow Stadium competing in four events. She gained an impressive win in the girls under 13 800m race in 2 minutes 44.09 seconds, was second in the 100 and 200m in 15.13 and 23.12 and was third in the long jump with a leap of 3.59m.

Her Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Avalon Howard-McGrow, who like Smith-Hahn will be competing for Hercules Wimbledon's National Young Athletes, Southern Women's and Lily B Leagues teams this summer, was runner-up in her 100m race in 15.45 and was fifth in her 150m race in 24.19.

Hercules Wimbledon runners filled the top three places in the men's 3000m. Hussein Ahmed Aly led the field home in 9:08.01 ahead of Belal Aly (9:14.70) and teenager Joe Toomey (9:44.24).

Emily Martin, the reigning Surrey junior outdoor long jump champion took the bronze medal when making her senior competition debut in the Surrey indoor championships at Sutton Arena. She long jujmped a good 5.43m, seven centimetres further than she managed when taking the silver medal in last year's junior championship. She also just missed out on a medal in the 60m final where she was fourth in 8.10 after clocking a faster 8.02 in finishing third in her heat.

Hercules Wimbledon's reigning London Schools intermediate boys long jump champion Jermain Olasan took the silver medal in the junior men's long jump at the Surrey indoor championships with a leap of 6.47m. Cale Edmunds finished just outside the medals in fourth place with a leap of 7.39m.Olasan was also fourth in his second round 60m race in 7.3 with Edmunds clocking 7.39 in finishing fourth in his first round heat.

Another Hercules Wimbledon athletes in action at Sutton was Jack Dewhurst who finished eighth in the men's under 17 triple jump with 10.86m.

Long jumper Emily Martin was also in action in the British Universities indoor championships at Sheffield where she eighth in the long jump final with 5.25m. Clubmate Adam Przedrzymirski qualified for the men’s 1500m semi-final in finishing fifth in his men’s 1500m heat in 4:17.53 to qualify for the semi-final round.

Once again, Hercules Wimbledon runners dominated the weekly Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial filling three of the first six places. Teenager Alex Robinson was runner-up in 18:00 just ahead of veteran Jonathan Dobson (18:05) who was making his first appearance in the event. Matt Fell was sixth in 18:53.

Hercules Wimbledon’s John Wasbrough was first veteran over 65 to finish in 25:38 with Mick Leigh, the Hercules Wimbledon treasurer, second over 60 finisher in 26:01 taking 94 seconds off his previous best time for the course.

There will be an international flavour to the 27th annual Hercules Wimbledon Young Athletes open meeting at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre next month with athletes Cuba as well as four European countries taking part.

Almost 70 foreign athletes will swell the near 1000-entry for the young athletes meet which is one of the biggest of its kind in Britain. The full day programme on Sunday, April 6, runs from 11am to 5pm and many of previous winners have gone on to gain international honours.

According to Maurice Sharp, who has organised the international ingredient of this years young athletes meeting at Crystal Palace, "probably the most prestigious will be the Cuban contingent from the Colegio Giraldo Cordoba Cardin, Havana, the premier sports specialist school in Cuna and Latin America."

He added:" Their squad will no doubt include several potential participants in the London 2012 Olympics.".

The four European teams which will also provide good opposition to both the Cubans and domestic competitors continue a long association with Hercules Wimbledon. They are SK Sandnes from Norway, JJ Liaz from the Czech Republic, Oldstyn from Poland and the Mileta club from Malta. There are about a zoen athletes from each country, mainly in the under 17 age group.

The European clubs are being sponsored by the British Council YEC programme as part of a wider project with the theme "Friendship, Cooperation and Inclusion through the medium of Sport - the Damisela Project."

During their duty in London, the foreign teams will be involved in a variety of cultural, educational and social activities with some of Hercules Wimbledon's youngsters.

Events at the Young Athletes meeting are open to youngsters between the ages of 10 and 16 and a detailed entry form can be downloaded from the Hercules Wimbledon website: www.herculeswimbledonac.org.uk

The meeting also includes the England Athletics London Region 4x100m sprint relays for under 13 and under 15 boys and girls and under 17 men and women.

Four Hercules Wimbledon athletes were in action in the UK Inter-Counties cross country championships at Wollaton Park, Nottingham, over the weekend. Highest placed finisher was Alex Bruce-Littlewood who was 42nd for Kent in the junior men's eight kilometres championship in 27 minutes 54 seconds. He was the third Kent finisher.

James Trapmore was sixth finisher for Middlesex taking 131st place in the senior men's 12 kilometres race in 41:55. Aidan Hogan, called into the Surrey team as a late reserve, was the eighth Surrey runner to complete the course finishing 169th in 42:58. Hogan was made his Surrey debut in the event.

Teenager Joe Toomey was the sixth Surrey finisher in the boys under 15 championship. He was 83rd in 16:17. A fifth Hercules Wimbledon athlete selected to run in the championships, Liam White, had to pull out of the boys under 15 race as he was still recovering from dislocating his knee playing football.

Hercules Wimbledon runners once again dominated the annual Merton min-marathon trials, winning five of the six age category races. This year, the races were switched to Wimbledon Park after being staged on Wimbledon Common since their inception.

Hercules Wimbledon runners filled the top three places in all three girls races. Eleanor Smith-Hahn gained a runaway victory in the junior girls race crossing the line more than a minute clear in 16 minutes 6 seconds with Rebecca Stone second in 17:17 and Avalon Howard McGrow third in 19:32. A fourth Hercules Wimbledon runner in the race was Fionnuala Lane who finished seventh in 21:49.

Rosemary Fernando also made it a Hercules Wimbledon one, two and three in the senior girls race. She gained an even more convincing win finishing more than two minutes clear in 15:45. Hannah Long was second in 17:51 and Caroline Hicks third in 17:57. Megan Brown finished eighth in 19:09.

Michaela Knespl completed a clean sweep of girls titles in taking the intermediate race in 15:31, the fastest time posted by the 35 runners in the girls race. She finished exactly two minutes ahead of Alice Village with Katie Kemp (19:31) and Maria Rogan (19:39) finishing third and fourth.

Hercules Wimbledon's Joe Toomey clocked the fastest time of the day winning the senior boys race in 13:10 finishing just 10 seconds ahead of clubmate Alex Robinson with Charlie Carrington fourth in 14:18, Paul Stables sixth in 15:04 and Joseph Stone eighth in 16:23.

Merton schools champion Geordie Logan won the intermediate boys race in 13:57 with Alex Watson third in 15:23, Bradley Mulroe fourth in 15:25 and David Stables sixth in 16:40. Hercules Wimbledon's Aaron Jones was third in the junior boys race in 17:17 with Oliver Moulton fourth in 17:59.

Three Hercules Wimbledon runners were in action for Surrey in the Sainsbury's English schools cross country championships in Sefton Park, Liverpool, on Saturday. Twins Jennifer and Rosemary Fernando were the third and fourth Surrey finishers in the senior girls championship taking 183rd and 189th places in 18:41 and 18:45. Ed Saywell was 139th in the junior boys championship in 14:20.

A fourth Hercules Wimbledon runner at the championships was Alex Bruce-Littlewood, competing for Kent. He was Kent's fourth finisher in the senior boys race taking 68th place in 22:55.

A week after helping the Royal Air Force win the Inter-Services cross country title in Cornwall, Hercules Wimbledon's Kieran White raced to a narrow victory in the Wimbledon Common five kilometres time trial in 16:51. Tom Cheetham was 29th in 21:28 and Alastair Brown 38th in 21:59.

Hercules Wimbledon's former marathon international Steve Badgery was the top over 60 finisher in the Bushy Park five kilometres time trial at Hampton Court in 18:36, finishing 19th out of almost 400 runners. Badgery's run came a week after he set a Hercules Wimbledon over 60 age record in finishing 13th in the Brooklands 10 kilometres road race at Weybridge. His time of 36:26 took more than a minute off the previous record of 37:30 set by Peter Giles in the Audi 10 kilometres road race at Wimbledon in April 2005.

This weekend, several Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be representing Surrey in the UK Inter-Counties cross country championships at Wollaton Park, Nottingham on Saturday while most of the club's runners in action will be at the East Surrey League road relays at Box Hill, near Dorking also on Saturday. On Sunday, several Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be flexing their muscles for the coming summer season by competing in Kingston and Polytechnic's open track and field meeting at Kingsmeadow Stadium.

Hercules Wimbledon long jumper Royden John made a winning debut in the British Masters indoor championships at Lee Valley Athletics Centre, Picketts Lock, North London, when he took the gold medal in the men's over 35 long jump.

John, who qualified as a veteran (master) on reaching his 35th birthday last September, won the long jump title with a good leap of 6.87 metres. His winning leap was two centimetres further than he managed when taking the bronze medal in the South of England senior men's championships at the same venue in January. It also consolidated his position at the top of the UK veteran rankings for 2008.

His long jump win was his second medal-winning performance of the championships. Just a few minutes before competing in the long jump - in fact he had to miss the first round because of the clash of events - he clinched the bronze medal in the 60m final in 7.21 seconds after winning his heat in a slightly slower 7.22.

John was among a trio of Hercules Wimbledon athletes in action at the British Masters indoor championships at Lee Valley. Mike Kortenray, who won the South of England two mile championship at Motspur Park in 1968 is still winning medals four decades later. He was third in the British Masters over 60 3000m championship in 11:56.98. Clubmate Dennis Williams also took the bronze medal in the over 60 1500m in 5:50.34, and fifth in the 3000m in 12:19.78.

Several Hercules Wimbledon runners will be running for Wandsworth in the Adidas London mini-marathon on Sunday, April 13, after performing well in the Wandsworth trials in Battersea Park.

Best Hercules Wimbledon effort came from Emma Headley who won the girls 11 to 12-year-old race in 14:15. Clubmate Maire Gilmartin was third in 14:31, Connie Rose fifth in 14:58, Sophie Robinson seventh in 15:29and Sydney Harrison 10th in 16:22.

Tim Livingstone was runner-up in the boys 11 to 12-year-old race in 13:32 just ahead of Dean Belhaj who was third in 13:41 with Tom McCahon eighth in 15:19.

Hercules Wimbledon's James Blower was sixth in the boys 13 to 14-year-old race in 15:11.

Hercules Wimbledon runners dominated the last February Wimbledon Common time trial filling three of the first four places. Stuart Fraser was runner-up in 17:29, teenager Alex Robinson, taking 16 seconds off his previous best time, third 17:43 and veteran Gary Blesson fourth in 17:53. Veteran Tom Cheetham, making his debut in the event, was 39th in 21:33 and Alastair Brown 46th in 22:21.

Alice Village, at 14 one of the youngest runners in the 100-plus field, was second woman in 23:33.

Over in Richmond Park, Hercules Wimbledon veteran Pete Clarke took almost a minute off his previous best time in finishing fifth in 18:41 with one of the best age-graded performances of the 85-strong field while over 60 veteran Steve Badgery finished 31st out of 410 runners in the Bushy Park time trial in 19:11.

Competing in the Tunbridge Wells half-marathon in Kent, Hercules Wimbledon's John Querstret was 44th out of more than 1360 finishers in 1:25:14.

This weekend, several Hercules Wimbledon runners will be in action for London and Surrey in the annual English schools cross country championships at Liverpool on Saturday.

Hercules Wimbledon's top woman middle-distance runner Medena Knespl showed record-breaking form when she raced over 5000m in an indoor meeting in New York.

Knespl, 20, took more than a minute off her Hercules Wimbledon club record set last year when she covered the distance in 17 minutes 45.880 seconds at the New Balance Collegiate Indoor Invitation Meeting at the Armory track in New York. Her time smashed her previous club record of 18:57:13, also set in the USA, in March 2007.

Meanwhile, Hercules Wimbledon's Eleanor Smith-Hahn was a member of the winning Surrey team in the girls under 13 competition at the London and South East Regional Sportshall final at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre. She finished fourth in the six lap race and fifth in the standing long jump contributing valuable points to Surrey's winning score. She expects to be in the Surrey team to compete in the National Sportshall finals in Birmingham in April.

Three Hercules Wimbledon athletes were in the boys under 15 team which finished in runners-up position. Best of the trio was Nathan Sacho Barechi who was the top placed Surrey athlete finishing third out of the 25 competitors from the region. He competed in three individual events, winning the speed bounce competition and taking third place in the two lap race. He also helped Surrey win the sprint relay.

His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate, Jose Costa, also competed in three events finishing fourth in the shot and fifth in the two lap race. Hercules Wimbledon's third representative, Kyran Mitchell, also contested three events. His best effort came in the two lap race where he was sixth equal.

Hercules Wimbledon runners gave a good showing in the English national cross country championships at Alton Towers.

Wimbledon schoolmaster James Trapmore was the first Hercules Wimbledon runner to finish in the senior men's 6.5 miles race taking 76th place in 35:30. Belal Aly who ran with one shoe for two of the three laps was 229th in 38:08, Justin Kelly 303rd in 38:58 and Deon Coetzee 335th in 39:26.

Aidan Hogan, who was up with Aly in the early stages of the race ran despite suffering from a chest infection to finish 353rd in 39:48 with Neil Fraser 403rd in 40:32 and Phil Glynn 551st in 42:43. Almost 1250 runners finished the race.

Three Hercules Wimbledon runners made their "national" debuts when they contested the young athletes races. Geordie Logan was 167th in the boys under 15 championship in 13:34 with Alex Watson 331st in 15:43 while Charlie Carrington was 236th in the men's under 17 race in 18:13.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon compete in their final inter-club cross country race of the season in Richmond Park on Saturday. The race over 3.84 miles is being organised by Ranelagh Harriers. It starts from close to the Pembroke Lodge car park at 3pm.

On Sunday, Hercules Wimbledon, working with Merton Council's leisure development department, are assisting in the organisation of Merton's mini marathon races to decide who should represent the borough in the London mini-marathon over the final 2.6 miles of the London Marathon course from Southwark Bridge to The Mall, on April 13.

This year, the Merton trials are being staged from Hercules Wimbledon's track headquarters at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium. Runners who are 11 and under 17 on April 13 are eligible to compete in the trials so long as they live or attend a school in Merton. Hercules Wimbledon have devised a two lap course around the park which starts and finishes on the athletics track. Registration begins at 10am with the girls race due to start at 10.30am and the boys due off at 11am.

A total of 48 runners, eight in each of six age groups, will subsequently be selected to represented Merton on April 13.

Hercules Wimbledon's former marathon international Steve Badgery was in outstanding form when he won the men's veterans over 60 prize in the Sussex Beacon half-marathon smashing the Hercules Wimbledon age record in the process.

Badgery, who was taking part in his first marathon for a decade - the last time was in March 1998 when he set a Hercules Wimbledon 55-year-old age record of 1 hour 17 minutes 7 seconds in the Wimbledon half-marathon - finished 60th out of almost 4000 runners in Sunday's race. He finished 40 seconds ahead of the top over 50 veteran in the race.

Badgery's time of 1:23:10 took more than eight minutes off the previous over 60 club record of 1:31:42 set by Dennis Williams in the Paddock Wood half-marathon in Kent in April 2006. Badgery's time also took him to the top of this year's UK rankings for his age group by exactly a minute.

Badgery was one of a large contingent of Hercules Wimbledon runners in Sunday's race on the South Coast staged in almost ideal racing conditions. First Hercules Wimbledon finisher was Stuart Fraser who finished 15th in a personal best of 1:18:00 with Naomi Warner 22nd and first woman in 1:18:33, her third fastest half-marathon time.

Dion Harrison was 32nd in 1:20:32 and Claire Grima 110th and seventh woman in 1:26:20. Amelia Lloyd was 25th in the women's race in 1:32:22.

Over on Wimbledon Common, former Geoff Moulden Wimbledon 10 miles winner Ian Horrocks returned to action after a long absence due to injury with a win in the Wimbledon Common time trial. He clocked 17:13 for the five kilometres with clubmate Alex Robinson third in 17:59 and Mike Fuller was first veteran over 60 in 22:28, finishing 35th out of 80 runners.

Hercules Wimbledon's former English cross country champion Dave Clarke was second over 50 veteran in finishing 22nd out of 85 runners on his first appearance in the Richmond Park time trial in 20:54.

Hercules Wimbledon's Mike Halman gained a runaway victory in leading the 50-plus strong field home in an inter-club 5.56 miles cross country race organised by the Bank of England in Richmond Park on Saturday. Halman won by almost a minute in 31:06. Jim Wallace was 12th in 36:17, Ed Reed 16th in 38:07, veteran Dave Betts 17th in 38:20, Frank Wood 18th in 38:46, teenager Bradlee Mulroe 24th in 40:03 and Yuzo Saito 25th in 40:09. Veterans Marco Ciglia, Don Anderson and Alan Turner were 30th, 35th and 43rd in 41:09, 41:57 and 43:12 with Jane Searle 52nd in 45:33.

Hercules Wimbledon's cross country runners ended their first season for a decade in the top division of the Sweatshop Surrey cross country league with another strong team performance finishing third out of the nine competing teams in the final match in Richmond Park and a gloriously sunny spring afternoon.

Egyptians Hussein Ahmed Aly and Belal Aly led the Hercules Wimbledon runners home finishing ninth and 11th in 29 minutes 37 seconds and 29:52, respectively.

Aidan Hogan was 18th in 30:13, Richard Xerri 30th in 30:48, Jamie Helmer 43rd in 31:10, Justin Kelly 51st in 31:37, Phil Glynn 69th in 32:17, veteran Peter Lee 88th in 33:19 and Arnaud Claverie 89th in 33:20. Final member of the scoring team was over 50 veteran Hugh Saxby who finished 105th in 34:12.

Other Hercules Wimbledon finishers were Steve Sinnott 116th in 34:56, Frank Wood 147th in 37:12, John Querstret 148th in 37:17, Ed Reed 156th in 38:21, Maurice Sharp 165th in 39:53, Mike Stables 167th in 40:14 and Tom Cheetham 177th in 42:37.

Hercules Wimbledon teenager Liam White, who had won the three earlier under 15 races, was forced to cheer his clubmates on from the sidelines after dislocating his knee playing in a schools football match a few days earlier. In his absence Geordie Logan won the under 15 race in 16:16 with Alex Robinson taking the under 17 race in 16:08. With Charlie Carrington fifth in 17:14, Bradlee Mulroe 11th in 18:59, Paul Stables 13th in 19:36 and Alex Watson 15th in 19:59, Hercules Wimbledon easily took the team honours on the day to lift the overall league title for the season.

Brothers Tom and Patrick McCahon were ninth and 10th in the boys under 13 race in 22:32 and 23:44, respectively.

Hercules Wimbledon's Eleanor Smith-Hahn was the highest place club runner in the Surrey Ladies League races also staged in Richmond Park. She was third out of 47 runners in the girls under 13 race in 13:31. Maire Gillmartin was 20th in 15:04 and Ella Dobson 35th in 16:17.

Amelia Lloyd made an impressive league debut finishing 10th out of more than 130 runners in the senior race in 24:16. Serena Brotherton, who started about 50m behind the field, managed to work her way through to finish 71st in 29:25. She was also the second junior.

Seven Hercules Wimbledon athletes were in action in a schools inter-county match at Paddock Wood, Kent. Twins Rosemary and Jennifer Fernando were 27th and 34th in the senior girls race in 22:25 and 22:51, the fourth and sixth Surrey runners to cross the finishing line.

Alex Bruce-Littlewood was 18th for Kent in the senior boys race in 21:12 with Andrew Penney 41st in 22:06 and Deyan Knespl 54th in 22:59, both running for Surrey. Joe Toomey was 23rd in the intermediate boys race in 18:10 while Ed Saywell was 29th in the junior boys race in 16:56.

Hercules Wimbledon's Stuart Fraser beat a 1000-plus strong field to win the London Love in 10 kilometres road race in Battersea Park in 34:53.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon compete in an inter-club cross country match hosted by the Bank of England in Richmond Park on Saturday. It starts from near Roehampton Gate at 3pm. On Sunday, several Hercules Wimbledon youngsters will be in action for Surrey in the South East Regional Sportshall final at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre on Sunday.

Hercules Wimbledon's top teenage cross country runner Liam White continued the impressive form he has shown this winter with two fine runs over testing courses at Parliament Hill Fields, North London.

White, the Surrey County boys under 15 bronze medallist was in a class of his own as he ran away with the London Schools intermediate boys cross country title in 18 minutes 39 seconds, finishing a comfortable 22 seconds ahead of the second runner.

A few days earlier, White finished a superb eighth out of almost 250 runners in the South of England boys under 15 4.5 kilometres championship in 18:16, just four seconds behind the top Surrey runner in the race. He led the Hercules Wimbledon team which was the first from Surrey to close in its four runners. Geordie Logan was 99th in 20:16, Ed Saywell 147th in 21:24 and Joe Toomey 186th in 22:23.

A fifth Hercules Wimbledon runner in the race was Bradlee Mulroe who finished 194th in 22:38.

Hercules Wimbledon fielded a team in the senior men's 12 kilometres championship for the first time for several seasons. Aidan Hogan led the team home finishing 97th out of more than 800 runners in 54:35 with Justin Kelly 154th in 56:43, Deon Coetzee 198th in 57:57, Phil Glynn 208th in 58:11, Neil Fraser 271st in 60:21 and Jonathan Dobson 282nd in 60:52.

Andrew Penney had a good run in the men's under 17 six kilometres championship. He finished 55th out of almost 200 runners in 24:22. Charlie Carrington was 144th in 27:58 and William Spooner 163rd in 30:30.

Hercules Wimbledon's Tim Livingstone tasted victory in Kingston and Polytechnic's schools races in Richmond Park. He won the boys under 13 race by three seconds in 8:21.

At the other end of the age scale, Hercules Wimbledon's former marathon international Steve Badgery just missed out on a medal in the South of England over 60 masters cross country championship at Ruislip. He was fourth in 38:58. Clubmate Hugh Saxby was 13th in the over 50 championship 36:54, while Jonathan Dobson finished 43rd in the same time.

Mike Kortenray was the first over 60 finisher in the Wimbledon Common time trial in 21:03. Teenager Alice Village was first woman in 23:08.

Jutin Kelly led home a trio of Hercules Wimbledon runners in the Watford half-marathon. He was 18th out of almost 1800 runners in 1:16:13 with Deon Coetzee 37th in 1:20:36 and Stewart Bond 212th in 1:31:10.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon’s focus returns to cross country league racing with both men's and women's runners in action in Richmond Park on Saturday. A busy day starts with the Surrey Ladies League senior women's race at 12.15pm followed by young athletes races. The Sweatshop Surrey League Division One boys young athletes race is due off at 2.30pm with the senior men off at 3pm. The races starts from the edge of Sidmouth Wood near Pembroke Lodge car park.

Hercules Wimbledon's top long jumper Royden John made an impressive indoor debut when he picked up a bronze medal in the South of England championships at Lee Valley Athletics Centre.

John, 35, silver medallist at last year's Surrey outdoor championships had never competed indoor before in his 20 years in athletics and it was also the first time he had contested the South of England championships and bounced back from a shaky start.

However, he made an inauspicious start as he had a foul jump with his first attempt. He then managed 6.56m which lifted him into fourth place. He had a third attempt of 6.40m, missed the fourth round and then benefited from the rest by jumping 6.79m to move into bronze medal position and completed his medal-winning competition with a further improvement to 6.85m, just five centimetres off the silver medal position.

John was delighted with his medal-winning effort and contributes his success to strengthening training at Wimbledon Park athletics track. He return to Lee Valley towards the end of next month to compete in the British Masters Indoor Championships his debut in a Masters or Veterans competition. On his current form he has a good chance of gaining a gold medal there. Clubmate Ka Cheun To was seventh with a leap of 5.94m, a six centimetre improvement on his previous best.

Another Hercules Wimbledon athlete, teenager Jermaine Olasan was not far off his lifetime best in taking fourth place in the junior men's long jump championship with a leap of 6.43m. He was also making his indoor debut and but it proved a traumatic experience as he fouled four of his six attempts. His best effort came with his third jump. Clubmate Michael Ajei-Tabirade was well below his best with a leap of 5.51m which put him 18th in the competition.

Hercules Wimbledon teenage sprinter Praf Nargund also showed good form in the junior men's 60m where he twice improved on his previous best of 7.42 seconds set last year. He survived the heats finishing fourth in his first round race in 7.35 and then went even faster in finishing sixth in his semi-final in 7.34.

Another Hercules Wimbledon athlete to perform well at Lee Valley was Nnamdi Odum, also making his indoor debut, who finished eighth in the junior men's triple jump with 12.89m.

Hercules Wimbledon's former marathon international Steve Badgery was top veteran over 60 finisher in the Bushy park five kilometres time trial at Hampton Court. Badgery finished 12th out of almost 350 runners in 18:45. Over 50 veteran Barry King was 87th in 21:55.

Meanwhile, veteran clubmate Hugh Saxby was the top male age-graded performer in the Wimbledon Common time trial finishing third out of more than 80 runners in 18:12. He was the first over 50 finisher. Clubmate Matt Fell was not far behind finishing fifth in 18:47, slicing 16 seconds off his previous best time for the course.

Kieran White finished sixth out of more than 600 runners in the Romsey five miles road race in Hampshire in 26:25 while Ray Owens was fourth over 45 veteran in the Last Friday of the Month five kilometres road race in Hyde Park in 18:59.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are hosting the East Surrey League cross country relays on Wimbledon Common. The relays start near the Fox and Grapes pub at the corner of West Place and the Causeway at 2pm.

Hercules Wimbledon's boys under 15 Sportshall squad turned in another impressive team effort in the final Surrey Sportshall meeting at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre. They filled four of the top six places to take a good second place in the team battle.

Heading the squad was Nathan Safo Barnien who was pipped by just one point in his bid for victory to take runners-up spot with 52 points. He gained a double win taking the speed bounce and two lap events and third place in the standing triple jump. With three of his clubmates brothers Jose and Luis Costa and Kyran Mitchell he also helped Hercules Wimbledon to victory in the relay.

Jose Costa also took fourth spot in the individual events with 48.5 points winning the standing long jump and taking third place in the shot.

Mitchell finished fifth overall with 47 points with his best efforts coming in the two lap race where he posted the second best time and the standing long jump and shot where he was fourth. Luis Costa was sixth with 44 points with his best performance in the four lap race where he was fourth.

Another good Hercules Wimbledon effort came from Eleanor Smith-Kahn who finished joint fourth in girls under 13 competition. Her best efforts came in the six lap race where she finished second and the vertical jump where she was third. With clubmates Katie Impl, Dahlia Serafy, Ellie Stewart, Olivia Hogan and Avalon Howard-McCrow, she helped Hercules Wimbledon to eighth team place.

Following the three Sportshall meetings at Guildford, Hercules Wimbledon expects to have several of its athletes in action for Surrey in the South East regional final at Guildford on February 17 against Kent, Middlesex and Sussex.

Hercules Wimbledon athletes were in good form in the annual Surrey schools cross country championships at Reigate and several are in line to represent the county in the South East inter-counties meeting at Paddock Wood on February 9 and the Sainsbury's English Schools championships at Liverpool in March.

Best Hercules Wimbledon effort came from Joe Toomey who took runners-up spot in the intermediate boys championship. Twins Rosemary and Jennifer Fernando were sixth and seventh in the senior girls championship, while Ed Saywell was sixth in the junior boys race. Andrew Penny took eighth place in the senior boys championship ahead of Deyan Kespl (11th) and Alex Robinson (12th).

Deyan's sister Michaela was 14th in the intermediate girls championship with Tim Livingstone 18th in the under 13 boys race.

Hercules Wimbledon's Keiran White warmed up for this weekend's South of England cross country championships at Parliament Hill Fields by taking third place in Saturday's Bushy Park five kilometres time trial in 16:48. It took 10 seconds off his previous best time for the course. White runs for the senior men's team at Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday.

Hercules Wimbledon's cross country runners followed up their bronze medal-winning performance in the Surrey cross country championships by producing their best team performance of the season in the third of this season's Sweatshop Surrey cross country league Division One matches at Reigate Priory.

They did so without some of their top runners including Kent junior champion Alex Bruce-Littlewood and Kieran White, the second scoring member of the bronze medal-winning team who were both unavailable.

Egyptian Hussein Aly led the superb Hercules Wimbledon team performance finishing fifth over the testing, undulating five miles course in 28 minutes 15 seconds. James Trapmore was next, not far behind, taking seventh place in 28:17 with Belal Aly 17th in 29:00, Aidan Hogan 18th in 29:05, Richard Xerri 19th in 29:13 and Mike Halman 29th in 29:55.

The scoring team of 10 was completed by Deon Coetzee 49th in 31:04, Phil Glynn 54th in 31:20, Jamie Helmer 60th in 31:30 and veteran Peter Lee 65th in 31:34. Despite the absences, more than 20 Hercules Wimbledon athletes took part in the race with Justin Kelly 68th in 31:38, Arnaud Claverie 69th in 31:40, Stuart Fraser 71st in 31:53, Gary Blesson 77th in 32:09 and Hugh Saxby first veteran over 50 finishing 88th in 32:55. Then came Jonathan Dobson 97th in 33:39, Steve Sinnott 103rd in 34:08, Andy Waites 119th in 35:12, John Querstret 121st in 35:19, Frank Wood 146th in 38:38 and over 60 veteran Maurice Sharp 148th in 38:44.

Hercules Wimbledon's youngsters were also in good form with Surrey individual bronze medallist Liam White first under 15 finisher in the young athletes race covering the 2.5 miles in 14:22. Andrew Penney, who missed the previous weekend's Surrey races, was second under 17 in 14:39 with Alex Robinson fourth in that category in 14:49 and Geordie Logan just two seconds behind in fifth position. Next to finish was Deyan Knespl in 15:10.

The joint under 17 and under 15 team easily won their match to complete a hat-trick of wins this season and with just one match remaining look set to lift the league title.

Making his debut in a Hercules Wimbledon vest Max Allison finished seventh in the colts race in 19:47.

Hercules Wimbledon's under 17 women also came out winners in their race led in the Surrey Ladies cross country league meeting staged at the same venue. They were led to their success by twins Jennifer and Rosemary Fernando who were fourth and fifth in 18:21 and 18:23 with Caroline Hicks 12th in 20:55.

Rebecca Stone led the Hercules Wimbledon contingent home in the girls under 13 race finishing 18th in 14:15 with Emma Headley 26th in 1506 and Ella Dobson 32nd in 15:33. Meanwhile, Claire Grima had a good run in the senior women's race where she finished seventh in 26:26 with Sally Maddock 20th in 28:25 and Amandine King 31st and top under 20 finisher in 29:14.

Hercules Wimbledon's Micheala Knespl was first woman to finish Saturday's Wimbledon Common time trial finishing 11th overall in 21:50. Alastair Brown, making his debut in the event was 15th in 22:28 and teenager Alice Village third woman in 23:52. Adam Przedrzymirski, who has been hampered by injury this season, finished sixth in the Richmond Park time trial in 19:12, taking 37 seconds off his previous best time for the course.

The East Surrey cross country relays due to be staged by Hercules Wimbledon on Wimbledon Common on Saturday have been postponed until February 2 so as not to clash with the Surrey schools cross country championships being held at Reigate on Saturday afternoon. Several Hercules Wimbledon youngsters will be competing for the Merton teams at Reigate.

Hercules Wimbledon runners were in good form in the annual Surrey cross country championships staged in testing conditions in Croydon's Lloyd Park on Saturday, returning with a hat-trick of team medals.

However, the best Hercules Wimbledon performance of the weekend came in the Kent championships at Maidstone where teenager Alex Bruce-Littlewood took the junior men’s title. The 17-year-old won the 7.2 kilometres race by almost 100m in 24 minutes 57 seconds.

Despite missing some of their top runners, the Hercules Wimbledon senior men's team continued their impressive winter to take the bronze medals at Croydon. It was the first time that Hercules Wimbledon has got among the senior men’s team medals for more than three decades - since winning the gold medals for the sixth consecutive time in 1974!

They were led home by Aidan Hogan who finished a good 15th in 46:23 with Kieran White 20th in 47:39, Mike Halman 25th in 48:15, Richard Xerri 28th in 48:42, Phil Glynn 32nd in 49:46 and veteran Peter Lee 36th in 50:09. Missing from the line-up up was Justin Kelly whose running would certainly have secured the silver medals.

Other Hercules Wimbledon runners in the senior men's 12 kilometres race were veteran Gary Blesson 46th in 50:58, over 50 veteran Hugh Saxby 48th in 51:19, Deon Coetzee, who started late, 74th in 55:14, Andy Waites 76th in 55:18 and Tom Cheetham 134th in 66:13.

The senior men's team effort was the third bronze medal-winning team performance by Hercules Wimbledon runners.

The medal winning medal haul began when teenager Liam White took the individual bronze medal to lead the club's boys under 15 team to team bronze. White ran strongly to finish just 12 seconds behind the winner covering the four kilometres in 15:20. Merton schools champion Geordie Logan was seventh in 15:54, Ed Saywell 20th in 17:26 and Tom Meehan 44th in 19:57 to complete the team. Just five seconds behind was Bradlee Mulroe in 45th place.

Hercules Wimbledon also took the bronze medals in the men's under 17 6.5 kilometres championship with Alex Robinson 11th in 25:45, Deyan Knespl 15th in 26:20, Charlie Carrington 22nd in 28:02, James Greene 25th in 29:33 and Tom Sandiford 26th in 30:18.

Two Hercules Wimbledon runners were in action in the senior women's eight kilometres championship. Medena Knespl, back from her college in Boston, USA, was 17th in 37:02 with Sally Maddock 43rd in 41:31. Amandine King was fifth in the junior women's 4.8 kilometres race in 25:30.

Twins Jennifer and Rosemary Fernando were 13th and 14th in the women's under 17 championship, also over 4.8 kilometres, in 24:18 and 24:23 with Hannah Long 23rd in 27:47, just missing out on a set of team medals finishing in fourth place.

Michaela Knespl was first Hercules Wimbledon finisher in the girls under 15 four kilometres championship finishing 11th in 18:58 with Alice Village 35th in 23:17 and Georgia Haigh 40th in 25:17.

Eleanor Smith-Hahn led the Hercules Wimbledon team home in the girls under 13 3.25 kilometres championship finishing ninth in 14:45 with Maire Gillmartin 28th in 16:18, Emma Headley 33rd in 16:34 and Sydney Henderson 53rd in 19:11.

Two Hercules Wimbledon runners finished among the top six out of almost 700 runners in the Tadworth open 10 miles road race on Sunday. Hussein Aly was second in 56:15 and fellow Egyptian Belal Aly sixth in 58:30. Maurice Sharp was third veteran over 60 in 1:12:31.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon cross country runners are in action in the third Sweatshop Surrey League Division One and third Surrey Ladies League meetings which are both being staged at Priory Park, Reigate, on Saturday. The club's youngsters will be competing in the third Surrey Sportshall meeting at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre on Sunday

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club - NEWS