Oct-Dec 04

October 2004		November 2004		December 2004
	25/10/04		29/11/04		26/12/04
	18/10/04		22/11/04		20/12/04
	11/10/04		15/11/04		13/12/04
	4/10/04		8/11/04		6/12/04
			1/11/04

There was an unexpected but welcome Christmas present for Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club when, just a few days before the start of the festive season, they heard they had been successful in a bid for funding from the London Marathon Charitable Trust towards the cost of a major refurbishment project for their track headquarters at Wimbledon Park Athletics Stadium.

The request for funding towards the around £200,000 of work to be carried out at the Wimbledon Park track was one of 51 projects to get support from the London Marathon Charitable Trust this year worth a record total of £2.22 million. Th trustees were faced with 130 requests for support totalling more than £6 million.

Hercules Wimbledon has been working with Merton Council's leisure services department on a programme to upgrade the track following an inspection by consultants appointed by UK Athletics who identified various defects that needed to be put right. The work will be carried out in 2005.

Welcoming the news, Hercules Wimbledon's coaching coordinator Dennis Roll said: "This is really tremendous news for all our athletes. It could not have come at a better time. It means we can look positively to the future knowing the athletics facility will be brought up to standard."

Merton Council's leisure development manager, Christine Parsloe said: "It's great news that Hercules Wimbledon have been successful in their bid for funding from the London Marathon Charitable Trust. Now we've got most of the funding in place it means that we can move forward on this project early in 2005."

Hercules Wimbledon and Merton Council have already appointed a specialist consultant for the refurbishment project and applications to tender for the work are likely to go out in the next few weeks.

Apart from the London Marathon Charitable Trust, £40,000 has already been secured from the Lottery Fund through Sport England and the balance is likely to be met by the London Borough of Merton.

Around 50 athletes took part in Hercules Wimbledon's final promotion of 2004, the seasonal Christmas Crackers relay on a bitterly cold evening at Wimbledon Park athletics track.

Teams of five athletes ran round in relays for just over 15 minutes with the usual batons being substituted by crackers. The winning Hercules Wimbledon combination proved to be Camille Duval, Patrick Lufkin, Gina Andrews, Jonathan Grayson and Liam White, and each of them went off with a bumper box of chocolates.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon stage their annual seven miles road race in conjunction with Lauriston Runners Club on Saturday. The race starts from outside the Fox and Grapes pub at the junction of on the edge and finished in

Hercules Wimbledon's track training sessions at Wimbledon Park will resume next Tuesday (January 4) after being suspended during the Christmas and New Year period. Track training sessions take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, starting at 6.30pm, and Sunday mornings, starting at 10.30am.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's Dereje Kebede and Hugh Saxby gained themselves early Christmas presents when they won medals in the annual South of the Thames Championships cross country race over seven-and-a-half miles of Wimbledon Common.

Kebede, who found it hard going on the muddy and slippery terrain, was heading the 200-strong field with just over a mile to go but, sportingly waited for Kent Athletic Club's international steeplechaser Jerome May after he fell racing up the steep climb towards the Windmill from Queensmere. It proved a costly wait for the Hercules Wimbledon runner as May then stormed off and opened up a lead which Kebede was unable to close.

In the end, the Hercules Wimbledon runner had to settle for the silver medal finishing 18 second behind the winner. He covered the seven-and-a-half miles in 40 minutes 31 seconds. "I looked at the start and saw the gravel paths so I didn't think the course was suitable for spikes," said Kebede. "I chose to wear trainers but I slipped a lot in them as it was much muddier than I thought it would be."

Running as a non-scorer, Hercules Wimbledon's James Trapmore, who teaches within sight of the finish at King's College School, was also well placed finishing sixth in 42:01.

There was a long wait before the second Hercules Wimbledon scoring runner, Hugh Saxby, crossed the line in 68th place in 49:02. But, there was some consolation as he won the award as the first veteran over 50 to finish. He also won the domestic feud with his teenage son, Ben. Ben held a narrow lead at the end of the first of the three laps but in the end, he had to give way to experience and finished 72nd in 49:33.

The only other Hercules Wimbledon scoring runner to finish was Martin O'Halloran who was 91st in 52:19.tion with the race, ahead of Sinnott and Drake.

Hercules Wimbledon runners get the chance to build up their Christmas Day appetites on Saturday when they compete in the annual Lauriston Runners Club's 30 minutes paarlauf. The race starts at 11am on Wimbledon Common alongside South Side, opposite its junction with Lauriston Road.

Hercules Wimbledon's track training sessions are being suspended during the Christmas and New Year period but the normal Tuesday and Thursday evening and Sunday morning sessions will resume in 2005 on Tuesday, January 4 at 6.30pm.

Hercules Wimbledon's James Trapmore, the inter-counties 10000m track champion, won Hercules Wimbledon's final pre-Christmas cross country promotion on Wimbledon Common in convincing style.

Trapmore, a master at KCS, Wimbledon, was making his debut for Hercules Wimbledon in a cross country event and, although he spends many hours training on the common, this was one of the few occasions when he actually raced on it.

At the end of the first of two laps, Trapmore shared the lead with Croydon's Steve Bayliss some 40 seconds ahead of the next runner. About a mile into the second lap, running alongside the Richardson Evans Memorial playing fields and approaching the sharp left turn at Beverley Brook, Trapmore made a break which Bayliss was unable to match and then went on to win the five miles race comfortably in 27 minutes 28 seconds.

Bayliss was second in 28:16 with Bill Gristwood, running for Veterans AC, third two seconds later. Hercules Wimbledon's second finisher was cross country captain Steve Sinnott finishing sixth in 30:08, with clubmate Paul Drake, first junior, in seventh place half-a-minute later.

Hercules Wimbledon's Hugh Saxby was first veteran over 50 finishing eighth in 31:12. Other leading Hercules Wimbledon runners were veterans Andy Waites and Eric Blackmore , 11th and 12th in 31:58 and 32:12, Martin O'Halloran 15th in 33:03, Barry White 17th in 33:06 and junior Ben Saxby 18th in 33:10.

Hercules Wimbledon narrowly won the match with 14 points pipping Veterans AC (15) and Thames Hare and Hounds (24). Croydon were fourth on 31 and Bank of England fifth on 36. Trapmore also won the club five miles championship for the Borough News Cup, decided in conjunction with the race, ahead of Sinnott and Drake.

Twelve-year-old Jonathan Burgess won the young athletes race, over two-and-a-half miles by more than one-and-a-half minutes in 15:37.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon runners are in action again on Wimbledon Common competing in the South of the Thames seven-and-a-half miles championship race on Saturday. The race starts from near The Pound at the junction of Parkside and The Causeway at 2pm.

Next Tuesday, Hercules Wimbledon hold their Christmas Cracker relays at Wimbledon Park athletics track, starting at 7pm. Runners are asked to assemble at 6.30pm so that teams of three or four can be selected. There will be prizes for the winning teams, goody bags for everyone involved and a spread of Christmas style eats and hot drinks.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's top runner, Dereje Kebede experienced a hectic weekend at opposite ends of the country.

First, he turned out in the fourth of this season's Reebok Cross Challenge meetings in Liverpool's Sefton Park, where he was aiming to do better than he managed in the London meeting at Parliament Hill Fields a fortnight earlier. There, he found the fast pace, combined with the tough, muddy course and near freezing conditions too much to cope with and he dropped out on the opening lap.

His performance at Liverpool was far better. Competing in sunshine, on a mild autumn afternoon, over a flatter and faster parkland course, Kebede finished 20th out of well over 300 runners in a good time of 32 minutes 7 seconds for the 10 kilometres course and he was less than two minutes behind the race winner.

Then, on Sunday, he was among more than 500 runners that took part in the annual Victory five miles road race in Portsmouth. He was up with the leaders for much of the way and was only three seconds away from second place as he took fourth place in an impressive 23:49.

Meanwhile, his Hercules Wimbledon clubmates were in action in the Ellis Trophy 5.5 miles cross country race in Richmond Park. Cross country captain led the squad home finishing third in 31:34, the first veteran over the line. Hugh Saxby was first veteran over 50 finishing eighth in 33:13 with Barry White 22nd in 35:42, another supervet, Stu Littlewood, 46th in 38:56 and over 55 veteran Dave Betts, having his first race of the winter, 55th in 40:34. Completing the Hercules Wimbledon contingent in Richmond Park was the club's winter veterans' secretary Alan Turner who was third over 60 veteran and 63rd overall in 42:14.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon host a five miles cross country match on Wimbledon Common on Saturday, starting at 2pm. Visiting teams are Thames Hare and Hounds, Bank of England, Croydon Harriers and Veterans AC. Although a few weeks off from the festive season, as this is the club's final match before Christmas there will be the usual spread of seasonal delights including Christmas puddings for the leading finishers and the age category winners.

Early news of a Christmas week event - The now traditional club Christmas relays, comprising three or four runners per team, will be staged at Wimbledon Park track on Tuesday, December 21, starting at 7pm. All ages, male and female, will be taking part and would be contestants are asked to arrive by 6.30pm so that teams can be selected by organisers Dennis Roll, Falah Abbas and Dermot Dunne. Once again, there will be prizes for the winning teams, goody bags for everyone involved and a spread of Christmas style eats and hots drinks.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's cross country runners enjoyed their most successful league day of the winter when their youngsters once again dominated the second Sweatshop Surrey League meeting in Richmond Park and their seniors managed to finish runners-up in their section.

In the absence of first match winner Alex Bodin who arrived too late for the youngsters' event Luke Jones gave a powerful display to take the honours in the young athletes two-and-a-half miles race finishing almost a minute clear in 14 minutes 50 seconds to lead Hercules Wimbledon to the individual and team double. Even more impressive was his beating of not only all the under 15-year-olds but all the under 17-year-olds as well - and he's still only 14.

Neil Fraser who finished fifth in 16:02 headed home a rush of four Hercules Wimbledon runners with Mark Cooper (16:03) sixth, Richard Vanderpuije (16:05) seventh and Sean Crummy (16:08) eighth. This enabled Hercules Wimbledon to romp home in the team event. These scoring five were well backed up by three other Hercules Wimbledon runners, Deyan Knepsl, 10th in 17:08, Charlie Carrington, 11th in 17:18 and William Spooner 12th in 18:02.

Twelve-year-old Jonathan Burgess continued his winning ways in convincing style when he finished more than a minute clear of the second runner in the boys under 13 race in 15:27. With James Forward in third place in 17:26, Hercules Wimbledon once again led the way home in the team competition.

The senior men also produced their best team effort of the season finishing runners-up and moving up the overall table.They were led home by Roy Burgess who was eighth in 28:10, just ahead of teenager Alex Bodin who finished a non-scoring 11th in 28:25 with Steve Sinnott first veteran in 14th place in 28:43.

Ben Saxby was first official under 20 in 34th place (30:17) just ahead of his dad, Hugh, who was first over 50 veteran in 30:21 with another junior, Paul Drake, 38th in 30:27 just three seconds ahead of another supervet, Steve Newton.

Completing the scoring Hercules Wimbledon team were Leo Cox, 46th in 30:53, Chris Coles 62nd in 31:40, Steve Badgery 63rd in 31:41, and first over 55 veteran, Dan Bodin 64th in 31:42 and Martin O'Halloran 69th in 32:09.

Also in Richmond Park, Hercules Wimbledon's Sarah Nosworthy was 25th in the Surrey Ladies League senior women's race, twins Rosemary and Jennifer Fernando were 11th and 12th in the girls under 15 race and Amy Fraser was 14th in the joint under 17 and under 20 race.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon runners compete in the Ellis Trophy meeting in Richmond Park on Saturday while the club's youngsters are in action in the second of this winter's Surrey Sportshall League meetings in Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre on Sunday.

Two Hercules Wimbledon runners got among the prizes in the Crowborough 10 kilometres road race in Sussex. Less than 24 hours after running in Richmond Park, Roy Burgess finished fourth overall in 35:20 while supervet Martin Miller was second veteran over 50 in 41:12.

Some of the longest serving members of Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club as well as some of the club's newest signings enjoyed a social evening to mark the end of club treasurer David Littlewood's 43 year reign holding the club's purse strings.

Former club secretary Doug Mobsby, long-time coach Roy Brisley, who joined the former Hercules Athletic Club in 1944 and back in 1970 was Surrey County Women's Athletic Association president, another long-standing member, Stan Theed, now 73, and three times English cross country champion Dave Clarke were among those at the get-together at Wimbledon Park Golf Club.

John Webster, summer veterans team captain, who recently qualified as an field official, and Jon Owen, men's track and field captain during one of its most successful periods when it reached Division Three of the British Athletics League in 1991 and the club fielded three senior men's teams, were also there, along with a gaggle of the club's promising young athletes led by Emily Martin, Lucy England and Alex Bodin.

Hercules Wimbledon chairman Nick Getting presented David Littlewood with an engraved plaque marking his 43 years as club treasurer from 1961 to 2004, thanking him sincerely for his record-breaking period in a job he only took on for a year to plug a gap. When he took over computers had hardly been heard of, colour television was in its infancy, decimalisation had yet to occur, Britain was outside the European Union, the Beatles were unheard of, England had not yet won the World Cup at either soccer or rugby and American computer tycoon Bill Gates was just six years old!

In turn, David himself made a presentation to Wally Wonfer, who made the trip from his home on the Isle of Wight, for the occasion. Wonfer, who is best known as the man who trained the Wimbledon ball boys and girls for many years, was also a key figure in Merton High Schools athletics. He was founder secretary of the association in 1965 and was involved with the organisation for 37 years.

Wally, who is a qualified starter and marksman, officiated at Merton and Surrey schools championships as well as major international meetings at Crystal Palace and Portsmouth. Mr Littlewood, who has been secretary of the English Schools Athletic Association since 1992, presented him with an engraved clock as a gesture of thanks for his many years' service to Merton Schools athletics.

One of Hercules Wimbledon's most talented youngsters, Jonathan Burgess, competed in one of the biggest races of his young career when he took part in the Reebok Cross Challenge Meeting at North London's Parliament Hill Fields. Despite the testing, heavy, going, Burgess, who is just 12, had a superb race to finish a superb 12th out of the 65 runners and just 21 seconds behind the race winner. "It was a bit cold and tough," admitted Burgess after his fine run.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon runners are in action in the second Surrey Ladies League and Sweatshop Surrey Men's League Division Two matches in Richmond Park on Saturday. The races are being held from Kingston Gate with the senior women off at 12.30pm. The first of the men's league races for young athletes starts at 2.30pm with the senior men off at 3pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's Dereje Kebede gained an impressive first time win in the annual South of the Thames cross country association's five miles race in Richmond Park.

Competing on a fine, sunny but crisp autumn afternoon, the Hercules Wimbledon runner was always near the front of the field. Kebede, who two seasons ago, finished runner-up in the Surrey championship at Banstead, was having his first cross country race of the winter. He was always in a challenging position and after the initial surge was in a breakaway group of five runners.

The leading group reduced to three at the half-way stage with Kebede still in strong contention and it was on a long downhill run on the second lap that the Hercules Wimbledon runner went clear. But, he was pushed all the way by British international steeplechaser Jermaine Mays from Kent AC. Mays never gave up the battle and Kebede had to fend him off to win by just three seconds in 28 minutes 39 seconds.

"It's a good course but when we started I was taking it easy," said 23-year-old Kebede after his triumph. "It was cold but it was good training and I gave it a little bit of push to get ahead."

He is the first Hercules Wimbledon runner to win the South of the Thames five miles race for almost three decades. The last winner from the club was Dave Clarke who triumphed on Wimbledon Common in 1977. Clarke then went on to become an outstanding cross country runner winning the English senior men's title three times. He recently stepped down after managing the British senior men's cross country team for nine years.

Four other Hercules Wimbledon runners have won the South of the Thames title in the past. They were Dave Holt at Aldershot in 1964, Steve Badgery at West Wickham two years later and John Sullivan, also at West Wickham in 1969.

Hercules Wimbledon also fielded a team in the race for the first time for several years. Roy Burgess, having a race outing over the country, was 24th in 31:24, veteran Steve Sinnott 46th in 33:11 and Damien Robertson, visiting this country from his home in France, 55th in 33:48. That gave Hercules Wimbledon a respectable seventh place in the team contest out of the 33 that closed in.

Hercules Wimbledon also finished sixth in the eight-to-score competition. The other four runners were Paul Drake 68th in 34:45 and veterans Mark Larche 91st in 36:31, Tom Morris, 111th in 38:03 and Dennis Williams 112th in 38:11.

Roy Burgess had a busy weekend. The following day he turned out in the Leatherhead Fire Station 10 kilometres road race and took second place in 34:38, 26 seconds behind the race winner.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's youngsters put in their best ever Sportshall team effort when they competed in the opening match in this winter's Surrey programme at the Spectrum Leisure Centre, Guildford.

The girls under 15 team finished third overall against tough opposition with Serena Brotherton taking fourth place in the individual ranking, while Amelia Richards was third in the girls under 13 rankings leading the Hercules Wimbledon team to eighth place.

For the first time since Hercules Wimbledon began participating in the popular Sportshall meetings two years ago, the club managed to field full teams in all four age groups and team manager John Dennis says he is much encouraged by the good turn out with more than 20 Hercules Wimbledon youngsters in action.

Serena Brotherton and Amelia Richards were overall the best individuals in the Hercules Wimbledon contingent. Serena was runner-up in the four laps race and third equal at speed bounce with her Hercules Wimbledon clubmate Corrine Hall. Also in the under 15 age group, Lara Blincow was second in speed bounce and sixth in the long jump while Jennifer Fernando was sixth equal in the four lap race.

Amelia Richards was runner-up in the girls under 13 two lap event in an encouraging 26.5 seconds, a faster time than any of the club's under 15 competitors. She was also third in the long jump with 2.08 metres which was again further than any of the Hercules Wimbledon under 15 girls.

Best of the boys under 15 team which finished fifth was William Spooner who was sixth in the triple jump while Pratul Marqund was seventh at speed bounce and eighth in the two lap event and Tom Sandford was eighth in the four lap event.

Newcomer Liam White helped the boys under 13 team to seventh place finishing fifth in the standing long jump, just ahead of clubmate Derek Frempong who was sixth.

Hercules Wimbledon's youngsters are now eagerly awaiting the next Sportshall meeting which is being held at the Spectrum Leisure Centre, Guildford, on Sunday, December 5.

Hercules Wimbledon's Roy Burgess continued his impressive road running form when he finished runner-up out of more than 300 competitors in the Ronhill Surrey Classic 10 kilometres road race at Oxshott. He clocked 33:54, 28 seconds behind the race winner.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon are sending a team to compete in the annual South of the Thames five miles team race in Richmond Park on Saturday, starting at 2.30pm from near the Pembroke Lodge car park.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club's Jonathan Burgess turned in another impressive performance with a runaway victory in the second of this season's East Surrey League meetings at Croydon's Lloyd Park.

Burgess, who is still only 11, sped away from the rest of the field to win the boys under 13 two-and-a-half miles race in 12 minutes, more than two minutes ahead of the other runner in his age group. He will be hoping his win over the testing and in parts muddy Lloyd Park circuit will be seen as a good omen for the Surrey County cross country championships which are being staged at Lloyd Park in January when he will be challenging for the boys under 13 title. His present form suggests he is bound to be one of the favourites for the gold medal.

His Hercules Wimbledon clubmate James Forward, making an impressive debut for the club, was third in 14:30. They helped Hercules Wimbledon finish runners-up in the team event on the day but, overall, with half of the season's programme completed, Hercules Wimbledon head the league in the boys under 13 section.

In the absence of the Bodin brothers, it was left to Alex Bruce-Littlewood to lead the Hercules Wimbledon contingent home in the under 17 and under 15 age group. Bruce-Littlewood was, in fact, the first under 15 finisher in 11:53, half-a-minute ahead of the second runner in his age group.

With Richard Vanderpuije ninth in 12:48 and Sean Crummy 13th in 13:11, Hercules Wimbledon were again runners-up in this section on the day but, half-way through the season's four East Surrey League fixtures, head the section overall.

Hercules Wimbledon's Dereje Kebede continued his impressive series of road running performances when he finished among the prize winners in the Stroud half-marathon in the West Country. He was fifth out of more than 2000 runners in 1:07:34 which was an encouraging performance bearing in mind he wants to move up to the half-marathon distance in 2005. Previously, he won the Croydon open 10 kilometres road race in impressive style and was just beaten in the Dulwich Charity 10 kilometres road race in Dulwich Park by just two seconds.

Two of Hercules Wimbledon's more seasoned runners were first in their age categories in the Veterans Athletic Club 5.6 miles cross country race on Wimbledon Common. Former international Grenville Tuck was second overall and first over 50 runner in 34:39, while Martin Miller was first in the over 55 section in finishing fifth overall in 37:47.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club teenager Alex Bodin proved age was no handicap to winning when he took the individual honours in an inter-club five miles cross country race on Wimbledon Common.

Bodin, at 16, was the youngest runner in the race but despite his youth and pouring rain he dominated the race which included some of the toughest part of the common, including the notorious "butts" near Putney Vale, to win comfortably in 28 minutes 39 seconds. However, Bodin, winner of last year's Merton Schools title who has represented Surrey in inter-county events, commented after crossing the line mud covered and dripping wet: "That's the toughest race I've ever run in."

But, his victory proved he has fully recovered from the injury problems which kept him out for much of the summer. Bodin was suffering from a stress fracture but he is now back in full training with the aim of doing well in this winter's major races including January's Surrey cross country championships at Croydon's Lloyd Park. He will be hoping to go one better than the silver medal position he secured in the men's under17 race at Lloyd Park last January.

Young Bodin finished more than 100 metres ahead of the second runner, Nick Gould from Thames Hare and Hounds with Hercules Wimbledon runners then packing solidly to fill the next five places.

Richard Xerri was fourth in 30:13, supervet Hugh Saxby fifth in 31:00, Alex's dad Dan sixth in 31:05 and Jonty Summers seventh in 31:16. Veteran Eric Blackmore was 13th in 32:42, Barry White 17th in 33:29, and supervet Dennis Williams 24th 36:34.

Scoring 10-a-side, Hercules Wimbledon easily won the match by 89 points to 125 by Thames Hare and Hounds.

In addition to providing the individual winner in the Croydon Open 10 kilometres road race in Dereje Kebede, Hercules Wimbledon had a second runner who was well placed in the event, Roy Burgess. He was ninth of the 874 runners to cross the finishing line in 34:30.

This weekend, Alex Bodin and his Hercules Wimbledon clubmates get the chance to race at Lloyd Park, the venue for the Surrey championships in January, when they compete in the East Surrey League cross country races. Hercules Wimbledon's youngsters, led by Bodin and Jonathan Burgess, will be out to consolidate their winning start to the season they achieved in the cross country relays on Wimbledon Common at the beginning of October. The young athletes race over two miles starts at 2.30pm with the start of the senior five miles race scheduled for 3pm.

Hercules Wimbledon's supervet cross country runners overcame tough opposition and torrential rain to take the gold team medals in the annual Surrey cross country championships in Richmond Park.

Despite getting a thorough drenching from the weather, the Hercules Wimbledon trio had plenty to celebrate as they saw off the opposition to comfortably take the team title. The gold medal-winning team performance was led by Hugh Saxby who was the first Hercules Wimbledon runner to complete the testing, undulating two lap course over 6.2 miles in 37 minutes 22 seconds. Saxby also took the individual bronze medal in the over 50 category and with team-mates Grenville Tuck, having his first cross country race of the winter, finishing fourth in 37:42 and Steve Newton taking fifth in 37:52, Hercules Wimbledon ran away with the team title.

Hercules Wimbledon's Martin Miller just failed to pick up an individual medal in the over 55 category where he was fourth in 40:05.

Top Hercules Wimbledon athlete Dereje Kebede continued his return to racing after being injured for most of the summer when he ran away with the Croydon 10 kilometres road race. Kebede crossed the finishing line in a fast 31:02 to finish more than half-a-minute ahead of Croydon's Jon McCallum. It was Kebede's second successive road race victory. The previous week, Kebede also beat McCallum when he won the Charity 10 kilometres road race in Dulwich Park in an even faster 30:58 finishing just two seconds ahead of his Hercules Wimbledon clubmate James Trapmore.

Another Hercules Wimbledon road runner Roy Burgess was in action in the BUPA Great South Run 10 miles in Portsmouth where he finished 77th out of around 15000 runners in 57:52. Meanwhile, Hercules Wimbledon Chris Coles was 63rd out of 1173 finishers in the Cabbage Patch 10 miles road race in Twickenham in 1:01:15.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon athletes will be in action outdoors on Wimbledon Common and indoors at Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre. Thames Hare and Hounds are hosting a men's inter-club cross country match from their Putney Vale headquarters. The race which is over five miles, starts at 3pm. Hercules Wimbledon teenagers are competing in the opening Surrey Sportshall meeting at Guildford on Sunday. The club will be fielding athletes in boys and girls under 13 and under 15 events. Anyone interested in joining Hercules Wimbledon's successful Sportshall squad should contact John Dennis on 020 8946 9989.

Hercules Wimbledon's young athletes continued their fine start to the winter cross country season when they competed in the opening Sweatshop Surrey League and Surrey Ladies League meetings on Wimbledon Common.

Fresh from clocked the joint best time in the Surrey cross country relay championships the previous weekend, 11-year-old Jonathan Burgess ran away with the boys under 13 race covering the 2.75 miles in 15 minutes 18 seconds to finish more than two minutes ahead of the second runner. With Joe Bodin sixth and Alex Cobb seventh, Hercules Wimbledon easily took the team honours.

Brothers Alex and Jake Bodin showed the way home in the men's under 17 race in 14:17 and 14:48 respectively and with Luke Jones next in 15:08, Hercules Wimbledon runners took the top three places in the young athletes match.

With Mark Cooper sixth in 16:04 and Richard Vanderpuije seventh in 16:15, Hercules Wimbledon easily took the team honours in the joint under 15 and under 17 age group.

On another part of the common, Hercules Wimbledon's youngsters also produced their some of their best ever efforts in the opening Surrey Ladies League meeting. The club's under 15 team ran well to take runners-up sport in their race while the joint under 17 and under 20 team was third.

Corinne Hall led the Hercules Wimbledon team to second place in the under 15 event finishing 12th in 12:57 with Serena Brotherton 15th in 13:11 and twins Rosemary and Jennifer Fernando completing the team in finishing 17th and 21st in 13:15 and 13:27.

Amadine King was first for the under 17 and under 20 team finishing ninth in 22:29 with Amy Fraser 12th in 24:17.

Best of the Hercules Wimbledon seniors in the men's league were Hugh Saxby and Martin Miller who were first in the over 50 and over 55 age categories in 31:02 and 33:09. Saxby, in fact, was the first Hercules Wimbledon runner to finish. Cross country captain Steve Sinnott was the second Hercules Wimbledon runner over the line in 31:37 with fellow veteran Andy Waite next in 31:41.

All four of these runners in action this weekend when Hercules Wimbledon compete in the annual Surrey Veterans cross country championships in Richmond Park on Saturday.

Hercules Wimbledon's young athletes made a superb start to their winter racing programme by taking the team honours in the East Surrey League cross country relays on Wimbledon Common and then, the following day, coming away with a prized set of silver team medals and an individual gold from the Surrey County Young Athletes cross country relays at Guildford's Stoke Park.

Racing through pouring rain in difficult conditions, the young trio marked the return of Hercules Wimbledon to the event after several years, mainly because it always clashes with the club's own open 10 miles road race.

The outstanding member of the silver medal-winning trio was Jonathan Burgess on the anchor leg. He took over just eight seconds behind Aldershot's Surrey boys under 13 800 and 1500m champion, Oliver Aitchison and matched him stride for stride to finish exactly the same distance behind him at the end of the contest. So, young Jonathan won himself an individual gold medal for the joint fastest time of the event, 6 minutes 14 seconds.

Jonathan O'Halloran put in a solid run on the opening leg coming in second in 6:33 while Khalid Belhaj ran the race of his young life to keep the team in second spot with a fine 6:51 on leg two. To finish just eight seconds behind the Aldershot squad which the previous weekend took the silver medals in the South of England championships was some achievement. "Had we run in the South of England Championship at Aldershot, I'm sure our team would have been among the medals itself," said Hercules Wimbledon official David Burgess.

Les than 24 hours earlier, young Burgess had raced away with the East Surrey League boys under 13 cross country race on Wimbledon Common in 11:07 to complete the first leg of an impressive weekend double.

Hercules Wimbledon runners also won the young athletes relay with anchor man Alex Bodin posting the fastest individual time of 10:13 on the anchor leg. His brother Jake was third fastest with 10:42 on the opening leg and the third member of the winning team was Luke Jones with 10:44 on leg two. The Hercules Wimbledon trio of Alex Bruce-Littlewood (11:08), Neil Fraser (11:34) and Charlie Carrington (12:12) finished third overall.

Almost 200 runners took part in the 44th staging of the annual Wimbledon open 10 miles road race, organised by Hercules Wimbledon. The runners were sent on their way by the Mayor of Merton, Councillor Mrs Margaret Brierley and the winner was Robin Copestick from Walton in 53:58. First Hercules Wimbledon finisher was veteran Steve Sinnott, who was third in the over 40 category in taking 13th place in 1:00:08. Lucy Hasell from Thames Hare and Hounds smashed her own women's course record with a winning time of 58:24. The previous best was her winning time of 1:00:47 in 2002.

This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon runners are in action on Wimbledon Common. The club's women and girls are competing in the Surrey Ladies League, starting at 12.30pm while the men and boys are in the opening Sweatshop Surrey League match. The young athletes race is at 2.30pm with the seniors off at 3pm.

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club - NEWS