Quick Quartets

At the Surrey Combined Events and Track Relay Championships (the final County event of the season) on 7/8 September the Club’s young athletes collected handfuls of medals over the two days of relay-racing. On day one there were silver medals for Amelia Barnes, Beatrice Eminson, Lucy Whorton and Freya McAndie (above) who broke their own Club record in the U15 Girls 4×300m, bringing the baton home in 2:57.11. Patience Namazzi, Sofia Vinni, Ligaya Walters and Benedicta Oporum won the silver medals in the U15 Girls 4 x 100m (below with coach Tianna Gayle).

Day two was bronze day, with the U15 Boys team of Ross Dunipace, Eli Kwame-Messam, Zane Irhzo and Sancho Beckford (right) coming home in third in the 4x300m. The U17 Women (Sienna Patterson, Kristina Frost, Olivia Ifeanyi-Nwobodo and Naomi Igbintade were also third over the same distance, having taken the bronze medals in the 4x100m earlier in the day, with Neema Chuol joining Kristina, Olivia and Naomi in the team. The U17 Men’s team of Torin Cox, James O’Flynn, Dylan Glover and Louie Guest also came home third in the 4x400m.

In the combined events a raft of youngsters enjoyed the experience of competition, with Charlotte Gurney winning silver in the U20W Pentathlon, while their coach, Mark Andrews, took the gold medal in the SM Pentathlon. There was a silver medal, tool, for Gerald Dodds in the Masters Pentathlon.

Below: the U17 Men and Women’s teams with their bronze medals

Street Wise

On 7 September a handful of Club athletes were amongst over 25,000 entrantstook to the roads for London’s Big Half (half marathon, that is) which starts at Tower Bridge and finishes at the Cutty Sark, taking in the four boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich along the route. Upfront amongst the Elites, Alex Milne finished ninth in 67:17 and Jonny Cornish two places back in 67:38. The hot but blustery conditions didn’t lend themselves to PBs, however, despite this being a flat, fast course. Stephan Shipp finished in 86:34 and Lloyd Emeka (M45) in 92:39. Zaira Brilhante (W40) clocked 01:48:18 and Isobel Deeley (W35) finished in 01:51:41.

So near, so far

In the space of a week middle distance runner Andrew Penney notched up PBs in both the 5000m on the track and 5K on the road, each time missing out on his mission to go under 14 minutes by a whisker. At the Tracksmith Twilight 5000m on the Highgate Harriers track at Parliament Hill on 27 August, Andrew had to go it alone after the pacers dropped out after 3000m, and although he finished 16 seconds clear of the field, the clock stopped at 14:00.36. ‘It was bittersweet’, said Andrew after the race. ‘ I was so close, but the last mile was hard on my own. I had a good run and I should be happy to go that quick and get the win, but I can’t deny feeling g a bit gutted!’.

Just three days later he was competing in Cardiff in the Home Nations Podium 5k, featuring the UK Road 5k Championships, in a Club team which also featured Charlie Eastaugh, Fred Slemeck and George Mallett (left). Despite the tough turnaround, Andrew finished in ninth, in a PB of 14:06, which puts him level with Jonny Cornish in second place on the HW all-time list. Charlie finished 51st in 14:48, Fred in 77th in 15:11 and George in 100th in 15:22.