Founded in 1869

Jan to Mar 2009

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Last updated 17 December 2015

Press Releases for January, February & March 2009

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January 2009 February 2009 March 2009
  27/01/09     24/02/09     31/03/09  
20/01/09     17/02/09     24/03/09
13/01/09     10/02/09     17/03/09
6/01/09     3/02/09     10/03/09
            3/03/09

31/03/09

World Cross Country Championships
Michael Skinner was the fourth scorer for the Great Britain mens team at the World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete started steadily like the rest of the GB team and gradually worked his way through the field to finish in 87th place. First scorer for Britain was Frank Tickner in 74th place and the team finished 14th, the 4th European team to finish.

European Masters Indoor Championships
The Club has a new World Record Holder! At the European Masters Indoor Championships at Ancona in Italy, Helen Godsell not only won the over 55s 60 metres but she did so in a new World Record and British Record of 8.46. Her time was a sensational 0.11 of a second quicker than her previous British Record, a huge margin over such a short distance and left her over half a second ahead of the runner up.

Her Championships didn't end there. She followed this by winning the 200 metres and breaking the British record with 28.68, three hundredths of a second within the previous mark. To complete an outstanding championships she was part of the 4x200 metre team which struck gold in a time of 1.57.31.

Keeping gold medals in the family her brother Bob Minting won the over 55s 800 metres in 2.13.43 and he was also 8th in the 1500, two places behind Ken Daniel.

The Club’s other individual medallist was Bill Foster who finished third in the over 50s 3000 metres in 9.24.22 while Tom Phillips was part of the over 55s 4x200 metre relay team who won silver medals.

Earlier Tom had finished 5th in the final of the 200 metres in 26.20 and reached the semi final of the 60 metres. Clem Leon was also in action in the 60, 200 and 400 metres events reaching the semi final of the latter.

Road Racing
Two athletes from the Club featured prominently in the Victoria Park 5 Mile Road Race. Loughborough student James Poole finished in 6th place in 25.47 while another student Alex Bruce Littlewood, who is at Portsmouth University, was 12th in 26.30.

Earlier in the week Alex had finished in second place in the Chichester Corporate Challenge. Over a 4.5 kilometre course he ran 13.40, twelve seconds behind the winner. There were 324 finishers.

At the Sandy 10 mile road race Bridget Davey finished in 72nd place overall in 68.20 and was second woman to finish. She was the first over 35 woman to finish.

Track and field
The track and field season is now well under way. At the Havering Open Meeting Alloy Wilson continued his return to competitive Athletics by winning the 300 metres in a very useful 35.9 seconds.

Blackheath & Bromley are looking for new members of all ages and abilities to join the Club. With this in mind the Club is hosting two meetings at Norman Park track to give youngsters the opportunity to compete in a track and field meeting. The first meeting takes place on Saturday the 4th of April and is for school years 4 to 7. The second meeting takes place on Good Friday the 10th of April. Entries can be made on the day and full details can be found on the Club website at www.bandbhac.org.uk

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24/03/09

English Schools Cross Country Championships
Three athletes from Blackheath and Bromley came away from the English Schools Championships at Stanford Hall, Leicestershire with team medals.

In the Senior girls race Jen Hamer came in 46th to help Kent to the team title by 17 points from Somerset.

It was a similar story in the Senior Boys race Frank Kilama finished in 61st place and was the Kent teams fourth scorer as they won gold medals 12 points ahead of Cheshire.

Amber Reed was the Club’s highest finishing athlete. In her first English Schools she was 29th in the Junior Girls race despite having been ill since the Inter Counties Championships. She was first finisher for Kent and led them to silver medals behind a strong Surrey squad.

New Member Emily Nolan had a good run in the Intermediate Girls race finishing in 92nd place for London in her first year in the age group.

National Sportshall Finals, Bimingham
A number of the Club’s athletes were in action in the final of the Aviva National Sportshall Finals in Birmingham. Five individual medals were won with the highlight being two golds for Dina Asher Smith. She produced a 2.42 metre leap in the under 13 girls long jump which was just 17 centimetres off the UK Record and also won the 4 lap race. In the same age group there was gold too for Holly Fletcher as she won the 6 lap race and a bronze for Aine Hurlock in the two lap race. Niyaz Choudhury won silver in the under 13 boys shot with a putt of 11 metres.

Others in action included Ellie Lawrence, Reon Gowan Wade, Louis Hopgood, Victoria Munt, Rachel Robinson, Frances Read, Jessica Moore and Ellie Duffy Penny.

Closing 5 Yacht Handicap
Past President John Robinson completely fooled the handicapper to win the Closing 5 mile Yacht Handicap race by over three and half minutes. Taking advantage of a handicap of 25 minutes he finished with a net time of 18.56. Second was Siobhan Budd with Jean-Phillipe Delon in third. Fastest runner was Alex Bruce Littlewood who ran 29.13 and fastest woman was Siobhan Budd with 22.36.

This was the final race in the Bennett Cup handicap series which takes place over nine events over the Winter months. Going into the last event the points were very close and it was Will Slack who eventually prevailed denying Mark Ellison his third Bennett Cup victory in second and Chris Pike, who had been leading going into Saturdays race, in third.

New President
At the Club AGM Alison Brand was introduced as the Club’s new President. Alison began her involvement at Club when she joined Blackheath Harriers social Club in 1973. She has been involved in the Club ever since, becoming an associate member when the Club opened to women in 1992 and then switching to full membership. She was made a Vice President in 2000 by Past President Richard Coles.

Speaking after her election she commented “We all know that Blackheath & Bromley Harriers A.C. is a great and marvellous Club, we all want success and that requires an immense amount of continuous effort, certainly from the athletes themselves, but just as much from the invaluable, hard-to-come-by and indispensable volunteers.

I hope to see more people volunteering to help in some way during the coming year. If more people help then more people benefit and the burden is not so heavy on those who have been generously giving their time for years and sometimes feel 'invisible'. I also hope that in the coming year we can reorganise in order to build towards more successful senior teams and also continue to support and encourage our already successful younger athletes”.

Out going President Tim Soutar also proposed four new Vice Presidents who were accepted by the Meeting with acclaim. These are Chief Trail Layer Bob Cliff; Ted Pepper race organiser Andy Tucker; Transport Manager and London Marathon baggage organiser Roy Watkins; and pole vaulter coach to many of the Club’s athletes Allan Williams.

Open Meetings
The outdoor track and field season is fast approaching and Blackheath & Bromley are looking for new members of all ages and abilities to join the Club. With this in mind the Club is hosting two meetings at Norman Park track to give youngsters the opportunity to compete in a track and field meeting.

The first meeting takes place on Saturday the 4th of April and is for school years 4 to 7. The second meeting takes place on Good Friday the 10th of April. Entries can be made on the day and full details can be found on the Club website at www.bandbhac.org.uk 

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17/03/09

Michael Skinner has been picked to represent Great Britain at the World Cross Championships in Amman, Jordan on the 28th of March. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete gained his selection despite missing the Trials race which was incorporated in the Inter Counties Championships at Nottingham. Skinner had been away training and racing in Australia at the time but his consistent level of performance for Great Britain in recent years got him the nod from the selectors.

The 29 year old, former Langley Park schoolboy, was the second Briton to finish both in 2008 when he came 66th in Edinburgh and in 2007 when he was 62nd in the heat of Mombassa, Kenya. He has also represented Great Britain in the European Cross Country Championships for the last four years.

Also on the International scene, race walker Chelsea O’Rawe Hobbs was in action in the Gran Premio Citta Di Lugano meeting in Switzerland. Despite still being an under 20 athlete she finished in 8th place in the womens 10km race in a time of 57.09 having passed through halfway in 28.26.

British Universities Championships and other track and field
Scott Huggins is the British Universities pole vault champion. The Brunel University student won the contest in Sheffield with a clearance of 4.80, although this height was 20 centimetres lower than last year when he was runner up. Nick Moore was 11th with a clearance 3.80.

Training partner Rachel Arnheim was fourth in the womens’ contest with a clearance of 3.50. Another Brunel athlete, Irish International Pamela Hughes was 5th equal in the high jump with a leap of 1.65.

Pamela and Scott’s performances helped make it a special weekend for Brunel as this was the first time ever that the University won both the mens and womens trophies at a British Universities Championships.

Also indoors Alloy Wilson represented Essex in an Inter Counties match at Lee Valley and won the B string 400 metres in 50.28.

These performances promise much for the Summer season and some athletes have already begun their outdoor campaigns. At the Kingston & Polytechnic open throws meetings a wide age range of the Club’s athletes were in action.

Fresh from breaking the British Indoor record for the over 75s shot putt, Gordon Hickey managed slightly further outdoors with a distance of 9.98. He needs to throw another 57 centimetres to break the outdoor record but you would not bet against him doing this as he holds the over 65s and over 70s records. He also threw the javelin 24.67, the discus 24.09 and the hammer 23.80. Barbara Terry also did all four throws in the womens’ over 60 age group with performances of 18.44 (javelin), 20.03 (discus), 8.53 (shot), and 28.55 (hammer).

Promisingly a number of youngsters showed good early form. In the under 17 womens age group Ellie Duffy-Penny launched the discus out to 24.44, nearly seven metres further than her previous best, and putt the shot 8.33. Niyaz Chowdhury had his first competition in the under 15s age group and opened with a very useful throw of 29.95 in the discus. This is actually further than anyone from the Club threw in this age group in 2008 and over five metres further than he threw with the lighter under 13s implement last year. He also putt the shot 8.61 while for the girls Eleanor Dumper threw the discus 22.46 and the shot 8.67, a personal best.

South London Harriers Mob Match and Bennett Cup
he Club failed to beat rivals South London Harriers in the annual mob match which took place at Coulsdon. The hosts were stronger numerically and also featured prominently at the front. In fact Alex Bruce Littlewood was the Club’s only finisher in the top ten in 4th place.

Club President Tim Soutar was 12th with Richard Parrott making a welcome return to competition in 15th. First woman to finish from the Club was Julie Reynolds in 50th with Carolyna Jones Baldock 76th.

The race incorporated the eighth of the nine race Bennett Cup Handicap series and the winner on this occasion was Andy Tucker with Gary Williams second and Chris Pike third. The final race in the series is the Closing 5 Yacht Handicap race this Saturday and there are any number of runners who could still win the overall title. Sixty points are awarded to the winner of each handicap race and currently overall Chris Pike enjoys a slender 5 point lead in the standings with 313 points. He is hotly pursued by Mark Ellison on 308 with Andy Lawes poised just behind on 305. Just 10 points separates the next seven chasing runners and it is still possible that the winner could come from someone outside the top 10 such is the sophisticated scoring system of Chief Handicapper Professor Chris Haines. The first runner is off at 2.30 and in theory, if the handicapping is perfect, all runners should cross the finish line together.

Club AGM
The Club Annual General Meeting takes place after the handicap race this Saturday at 6.30pm and as usual the highlight will be the announcement of the new Club President. Tim Soutar has served the Club in this capacity for the last year and he will be handing over to his chosen successor. There is much speculation as to who this might be but there are still names available in the Presidents sweepstake.

Road Racing and multi terrain
It has been a particularly busy time on the roads recently with the Club’s athletes in action at a number of different venues. Alex Gibbins showed he is warming up nicely for this years London Marathon as he finished second in the Finchley 20 Mile race in 1.54.33. He was also third recently in the Roding Valley Half Marathon in 72.02.

International marathon runner Peter Tucker finished 12th in the Hastings Half Marathon in a time of 71.24. Nick Kinsey was next in for the Club in 33rd with Roy Priestly 96th. First woman to finish for the Club was Jennie Butler in 128th with Sarah Dowling 220th and Kate Pratten 592nd. Jen Hamer was the second woman to finish at the Sevenoaks Rotary 10km in Knole Park. She was 27th overall in a field of 562 finishers in a time of 41.25. Jonathan Halls was 38th and Danielle Harker and Abi Brown finished in 136th and 137th.

Ken Daniel, who has recently announced his retirement from Mob Match racing after years of sterling service, ran the fastest time at the Crook Log Friday 5km Handicap. The old war horse clocked 19.04.

Open Meetings
The outdoor track and field season is fast approaching and Blackheath & Bromley are looking for new members of all ages and abilities to join the Club. With this in mind the Club is hosting two meetings at Norman Park track to give youngsters the opportunity to compete in a track and field meeting.

The first meeting takes place on Saturday the 4th of April and is for school years 4 to 7. The second meeting takes place on Good Friday the 10th of April. Entries can be made on the day and full details can be found on the Club website at www.bandbhac.org.uk 

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10/03/09

BMAF Indoors and Throws Championships
Helen Godsell and Gordon Hickey both enjoyed memorable weekends at the British Masters Indoor and Throws Championships at Lee Valley. The Blackheath & Bromley duo both revised their own recently set British records.

Helen improved her British best in the over 55s 60 metres as she won in 8.57, three hundredths of a second quicker than her previous best that she set just three weeks ago. She also struck gold in the 200 metres winning in a time of 28.83. This also was a seasons best and so she approaches the European Indoor Championships full of confidence.

Out in the field Gordon Hickey was busy revising his own British over 75s shot record. He won his competition with a putt of 9.96 an improvement of seven centimetres on his previous best. He was also second in the heavy weight competition with 11.34.

The Club’s other winner was Bill Foster. The former British International Marathon winner won the over 50s 3000 metres in 9.28.68. Most bemedalled athlete of he weekend, however, was Barbara Terry who won three bronze medals in the over 60s age group in the shot, hammer and heavy weight.

There was silver too for Richard Holt in the over 35s 400 while Tom Phillips was 4th in the over 50s in 7.82 his fastest time since 2006. Ken Daniel was 5th in the over 55s 1500 in 4.42.73.

Inter Counties and World Cross Country Trials, Nottingham
A number of athletes from the Club were in action at the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Nottingham which incorporated the Trials for the British team for the World Cross Country Championships.

With Scott Overall and Mike Skinner both out the country there was nobody from the Club up the front in the Senior races. In fact Mike did race last week out in Australia where he finished 17th in the 5000 metres at the Melbourne Track Classic Meeting in 14.17.87.

Jennie Butler was first home for the Club in the Senior Womens race in 89th position. In the Mens’ race Alex Gibbins finished 104th with Peter Tucker 121st and Jeremy Bradley, who has registered to compete for the Club as a Higher Competition Athlete this Summer, 142nd.

In the Under 20s age group Alex Bruce Littlewood was 41st in the mens’ race with Frank Kilama 73rd and Hannah Garcia was 153rd in the womens’ event. Jen Hamer was 52nd in the Under 17s age group.

Highest placed athlete from the Club on the day was Amber Reed who was an excellent 19th in the under 15 girls race following on from her 27th place in the National cross country last month. Oliver Taylor was 113th in the boys event with Will Mercer 174th

Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Award
Loraine Ugen is the Club’s Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Award winner for February. The 17 year old has enjoyed a very successful indoor season which has been recognised with selection for England in the Celtic Cup and for Great Britain in a jumps International in the Netherlands. Loraine has improved her best in the long jump to 5.91 the second furthest in the country this year and was an important member of the Club’s Junior team who became National Junior League Champions last Summer.

Each month the Club selects one young person, in the 11 to 25 age group to receive an Achievement Award. The month's winner receives a framed certificate and a cheque (payable to the club) for £300 to be spent on a club project of the recipient's choice.

Other results
Missing from last weeks report was mention of Amy Godsell’s performance at the Surrey Indoor Championships. Like her mother Helen, she has been in good form this Winter and she won the 60 metres title in a seasons best of 7.69.

On the roads Bridget Davey finished 37th in the Lydd Half Marathon while further afield Les Smith was 363rd in the Banbury 15 and Ray Bennett was 116th in the Duchy Marathon.

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3/03/09

The Winter season is nearing its close but there was plenty of activity for the members of Blackheath & Bromley across the world at events in Australia, Holland, Wales and Thanet.

Internationals, Indoor City Challenge, Cardiff, and other indoors
Two athletes from Blackheath & Bromley were selected to represent Great Britain in a jumps International against Holland in Apeldoorn. The GB team won the match and Scott Huggins cleared 5 metres to finish in third place in the pole vault, a good effort on his Senior debut and the highest place Briton in the contest.

Lorraine Ugen went one better and finished in second place in the long jump with a new personal best of 5.91. It is only a matter of time before she goes over six metres.

Mike Skinner has been out in Australia training and he showed that things are going well as he ran 3.45.36 in the Sydney Track Classic. In a high class field this gave him 9th place.

At the Inter City Indoor Challenge Final in Cardiff a number of the Club’s athletes were in action for the South London team. Highest placer was Kola Adedoyin who took third place in the triple jump with a leap of 14.60

Dan Putnam had a busy day. He took 4th place in the 200 metres in 22.60 and he was also 6th in the 400 in 49.69, good performances from a first year Junior on a track that has tight bends which militates against fast times.

Liz Hughes was 5th in the womens pole vault with a clearance of 3.55, a seasons best, while in the mens event Nick Moore was just outside his best with a height of 3.80. It was 7th place also for Lauren Blackie in the triple jump with a leap of 11.61 and second claim Dave Boyce was 9th in the 1500 with 4.11.41.

At the Surrey Indoor Championships Jermaine Alexander was third in the Under 20 mens 60 metre final in 7.12. Neil Francis clocked 7.4 in the Senior Mens race.

Cross Country
Blackheath & Bromley were well beaten in the Annual Mob Match against Orion Harriers. Numbers were almost even for the match at Hayes but the visitors from Essex packed well up front to ensure a comfortable victory. The hosts did, however, have the consolation of providing both the first male and female athletes to finish.

Alex Bruce Littlewood returned from Portsmouth University to win the 7.5 mile race by four seconds in 46.58. Next home for the Club was Alex Gibbins in 5th place followed by Gareth Evans in 13th.

Jennie Butler followed on from her fine run in last weeks National Cross Country Championships to comfortably win the womens' race in a time of 52.44. She was actually the Club's 5th scorer in 17th place overall. Julie Reynolds was the next runner from the Club to finish in 40th with Angela Cook 74th.

Jennie also enjoyed success in the Bennett Cup Handicap race which was incorporated in this event. She won in a net time of 36.54 with Ian Montgomery second and Alex Bruce Littlewood third.

With just two races left in the Handicap series positions are mighty close with just twenty three points separating the top ten athletes. With a maximum of 60 points available in each of the last two matches it is still anyones title. Leading at the moment is Gareth Evans with 274 points followed by Mick Jones on 269 and Mark Ellison on 265.

At the Southern Schools Inter Counties Championships at Bexley Will Ruiz finished in 11th in the year 8 race. Richard Webb was 55th in the Boys Year 7 race.

Road
Many of the Club’s youngsters took part in the London Borough of Bromley trials for the Adidas London Mini Marathon which is part of the London Marathon day on the 26th of April.

Full results are not yet available but the top three placings in each race are as follows. Boys 15/16/17, 1. Hector Kurtyanek, 2. Martin Parry, 3. Greg Proctor. Girls 15/16/17, 1. Krystal Galley, 2. Rebecca Smith, 3. Chelsea Crouser. Boys 13/14, 1. Tomas Greenhill, 2. James Murphy, 3. Alex Pennett, Girls 13/14, 1. Amber Reed, 2. Lauren Heria, 3. Hope Stenning. Boys 11/12, 1. Richard Webb, 2. William Fuller, 3. Louis Parkinson, Girls 11/12, 1. Janae Galley, 2. Louise Davison, 3. Issy Jackson.

Selections for the Bromley team will follow but Will Mercer has been selected to represent Croydon.

A number of athletes from the Club were in action in the Thanet 20 mile road race. Richard Hall continued his back to back race program finishing in 18th place in 2.13.31. He was followed by Dave King (87th), Mark Skelly (114th), Matthew Newins (115th), Kieth Duffy Penny (191st), Trevor Delahoy (224th) and Justine Eastbury (238th)

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24/02/09

On another busy weekend for the Club, athletes from Blackheath & Bromley were in action across the Country at International, National, and Area level; indoors, on the country and on the roads. Four athletes were on International duty, one UK record was set, and many younger members qualified to compete in the National Sports Hall Final in March.

Celtic Cup
Four athletes from the Club were selected to represent their countries at the Celtic Indoor Cup in Cardiff. Best performance here came from Shaunagh Brown. Competing for the England under 20s team she won the Senior and Under 20 shot competition with a putt of 14.09. Lorraine Ugen made her International debut but had to settle for 6th place in the long jump.

Two Brunel students represented their respective countries. Scott Huggins was second in the pole vault for Scotland with a leap of 4.94 and Pamela Hughes was third in the high jump for Ireland with a clearance of 1.68.

Also in action indoors was Katie Murray. She ran a very useful 58.67 for 400 metres at the Midland Counties Open Meeting in Birmingham

National Cross Country Championships, Parliament Hill Fields
The Club were represented in most of the races at the National Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill Fields and although there were no medals for the Club or its athletes there were some good performances.

It wasn't so many years ago that the Club won the Senior Mens race at the National Cross Country Championship. Eighth last year, they had to settle for 28th this as some athletes are out the country and others injured.

However, there is much promise for the future as the team was led home by first year Senior James Poole who finished in a very useful 101st place. Peter Tucker was 124th closely followed by another first year Senior, Andrew Conway who closed in 129th. Alex Gibbins 205th, Richard Daniel 629th and Richard Hall 702nd completed the scoring six.

Jennie Butler had a fine run in the Senior Womens’ race working her way through the field to finish in 44th place. Sarah Dowling in 193rd, Kate Pratten 248th and Carolyna Jones Baldock 349th completed the scoring quartet. This gave them 35th in the team race.

Alex Bruce Littlewood also finished in 44th place in the under 20 mens race, a very good run considering he has been struggling with injuries for much of the Winter. Frank Kilama was 114th.

In the under 17s age group Jonathan Halls and Ross Braden were 241st and 260th in the mens race with Chelsea Crowser and Melody Kane 115th and 149th in the womens race.

Highest placed athlete on the day was Amber Reed. She had another good run finishing 27th in the under 15 girls race. Some remarkable packing saw Hannah Cook close in 212th, Lauren Heria 217th and Hope Stenning 218th with Jessica Jones just behind in 255th. This gave them 21st position in the team competition, the highest placed B & B team on the day.

Sam Jackson led the boys team home as he finished in 118th. Greg Proctor had a good run to finish 177th with Will Mercer 191st, Robert Yates 202nd, Adam Willis 259th and Tom Greenhill 293rd.

Will Ruiz enjoyed a good National debut in the under 13 boys race. He was first home for the Club in 97th place with Richard Webb 136th, Thomas Desborough 292nd and Daniel Waller 334th. Sonia Woolhouse was 253rd in the girls race.

Vets AC Championships
Highlight of the Veterans Athletics Club Championships at Lee Valley was a new UK best in the over 75s shot putt. Gordon Hickey, who in his younger days was one of Britain’s top high jumpers, produced a throw of 9.89 to improve the previous record by 14 centimetres.

Elsewhere Tom Phillips timed 26.74 in the 200 metres and Ken Daniel ran 4.50.62 in the 1500, over ten seconds quicker than his most recent performance.

Sussex Beacon Half Marathon
A number of the Club's athletes warmed up for this weekends important Mob Match against Orion by running in the Sussex Beacon Half Marathon at Brighton. In a field of well over 4000 runners David Beadle was first home in 65th place with Richard Hall, fresh from the previous days National Cross Country, just behind in 69th. Third finisher for the Club was Neil Ayrton in 127th just one place ahead of the first woman to finish Fran Green. Anne Cilia was the Club’s only other woman finisher in 919th.

Sports Hall
Many of the Club’s youngsters were in action in the London Regional Final of the Aviva Sportshall UK Championships at Newham Leisure Centre. Representing South London they enjoyed an outstanding day with most of them qualifying for the National Sports Hall Final in Birmingham next month.

In the under 15 girls age group Jessica Moore finished as second best athlete overall winning the eight lap race and the speed bounce contests. She also took bronze in the long jump.

Rachel Robinson won the 4 lap race and was part of the 4 x 2 lap race team which enjoyed victory. Also in this quartet were Ellie Duffy-Penny and Victoria Munt.

Frances Read picked up two silvers in the Speed bounce and the Vertical Jump.

Joshua Oyedele showed more promising form as he won the two lap race, the shot putt, and the standing long jump. This left him as the top all rounder in the under 15 boys age group.

In the under 13 girls Aine Hurlock won the two lap race and was also third in the standing long jump. She then picked up another gold in the 4x2 lap relay along with Holly Fletcher. Holly had earlier won the high jump with an impressive leap of 1.30 and she completed a hat trick of wins in the 6 lap race, an event where Ellie Lawrence won bronze to add to her gold in the shot putt with 8.41.

Third place in the shot was Shannon Clarke who also won a gold in the obstacle relay. The other triple gold medallist in this age group was Dina Asher Smith. She won the four lap race by over three seconds and jumped 6.64 in the standing triple jump. She also won gold in the eight lap parlauf.

In the under 13 boys Louis Hopgood won the shot with a putt of 7.63 and the 8 lap race and was third in the 6 lap trial race in 1.21.3.

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17/02/09

On a busy weekend athletes from Blackheath & Bromley were in action all over the country in National and County Championships and with some success. A British record, National and County titles and many personal bests made it a good weekend for the Club and its members.

European Indoor Trials, Sheffield
To get to compete in the European Indoor Trials is an achievement in itself as athletes are invited to compete and, although there were no medal winners at Sheffield, the opportunity to take part was an important experience. Scott Huggins responded to the challenge with another 5 metre performance that gave him 5th place in the pole vault.

Amy Godsell finished 5th in her heat of the 60 metres in 7.83 and James Alaka clocked 6.97 in the mens' event. James also ran 21.87 in the semi finals of the 200 and Lauren Blackie was 11th in the triple jump with a leap of 11.60.

England Athletics Aviva Under 20 Championships, Birmingham
Two athletes from the Club struck gold at the National Under 20 Championships in Birmingham. Shaunagh Brown won the shot with a putt of 14.51 which is easily the furthest by a Junior athlete this year and actually places her 4th in the Senior rankings, one centimetre ahead a heptathlete Kelly Sotherton. It was gold too for Lorraine Ugen who leapt 5.80 in the long jump to snatch victory in the last round of the competition.

There were silver medals too for Dan Putnam in the 400 in an indoor best of 48.71 and Mary Iheke in the womens' event in a new indoor and outdoor best of 56.16. Sabine Efiannayi picked up silver in the under 17 womens' shot with 11.46.

Bronze medals came from Tremayne Gilling in the under 20 mens 60 in 6.89 and from Kola Adedoyin in the triple jump in the same age group with 14.42.

There were other good performances too. Anna Huggins equalled her best of 3 metres in finishing 11th in the under 17 womens’ pole vault; Savannah Echel Thompson timed 56.77 in the heats of the under 20s 400; and Megan Southwart ran 9.21 in the heats of the 60 metre hurdles.

Rachel Dickens and Georgina Middleton both ran new bests in the Under 15 girls 60 metres of 8.15 and 8.24 and Rhiannon Jones ran a very useful 9.71 in the 60 metre hurdles. Dina Asher Smith took 5th place in the 200 metres in 26.18.

Kent and Essex Indoor Championships, Lee Valley
There were medals galore for the Club's athletes at the Kent and Essex Championships at Lee Valley. Alloy Wilson returned to action after a long break to win the Essex Senior 400 title but all the other winners were in the Kent events.

In the Senior age group there were golds for Daniel Haque (60 metres), Sam Bobb (triple jump) Nick Moore (pole vault), and Rachel Arnheim (pole vault) but trumping them all was Helen Godsell who picked up bronze in the 60 metres in a British over 55s record of 8.60. Another over 55 Allan Williams was second in the pole vault.

Katrina Cosby made an impressive breakthrough as she won the under 20 womens 400 in a new Championship best of 57.62 while Alex Blair took the mens title and Megan Southwart the 60 metre hurdles.

In the under 17s Dominic Coelho won the 60 metres and there were further wins for Mark Longhurst (Long and triple jump) Sian Hurlock (triple jump). Mark was also third in the 200 metres behind Jonathan Pettet who took silver with a very useful 23.71. There was disappointment for Ben Parkin who was first across the line in the 400 metres and it was unfortunate to say the least that he only found he had been disqualified when he went to the awards presentation.

Amara Lalemi Jacobs picked up silver in the 60 metres as did Sian Hurlock in the long jump and Christine Lyston in the high jump.

Bronze medals went to Sian Duffy in the 300 and Rachel Robinson in the 800.

Dina Asher Smith won the under 15 girls 60 metres and 300 metres the latter being particularly notable as the Club had the first three finishers with Holly Fletcher second and Jessica Moore third. Further wins came from Victoria Munt (1km walk) Rachel Dickens (200) and Adam Willis (Long jump) and there were silvers for Georgina Middleton (200) and Frances Read (long jump); and bronzes for Rachel Giannini (60 hurdles) Jessica Moore (long jump), Adam Willis (800) and promising Joshua Oyedele in the 200.

SCVAC Indoor Championships, Lee Valley
There some more fine performances at last weekends Southern Counties Indoor Championships at Lee Valley with every athlete who competed for the Club picking up medals.

Helen Godsell claimed a hat trick of gold medals in the over 55s age group winning the 60 metres in 8.69, the 200 in 29.07 and the 400 in 69.13.

Busiest athlete was Clem Leon who took part in six events. His best performance came in the triple jump which he won with a leap of 10.30. He was also second in the high jump and fourth in the long jump. On the track he was 4th in the 400 and 5th in both the 60 and 200 metre races.

Tom Phillips was second in the over 50s 60 metres in 8.07 and third in the 200 in 26.43. However because there were guests in front of him in the 200 he actually won the gold a good way to finish his time in this age group. He turns 55 at the end of this month, three days before the European Masters Indoors in Ancona.

Ken Daniel was 2nd in the 1500 but claimed gold as the winner was a guest. Back in the field Allan Williams won the over 55s pole vault with a clearance of 3.75 and also finished second in the high jump. Alan Hardy was second in the over 50s pole vault with a leap of 2.70

Kent League, Swanley
The last Kent Cross Country League races of the season for Senior Men and Women took place at Swanley. The women finished 5th for the season and were led home by Bridget Davey in 7th place. Captain Kate Pratten finished in 21st with Carolyna Jones Baldock 26th.

Junior Alex Bruce Littlewood was first home for the Senior Men in 11th place backed by Roy Priestley in 52nd, Giles Clifford in 66th and Rob Brown in 76th.

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10/02/09

Scottish Indoor Championships
There was a small piece of Athletics history made at the Scottish Indoor Championships in Glasgow when for the first time ever two Scots cleared five metres in a pole vault competition. One of these was Scott Huggins, the first year Senior from Blackheath & Bromley. He won the competition on countback with a clearance of five metres from Shettleston's Alasdair Strange. He also came very close to clearing a new Scottish Indoor record of 5.11 and now prepares for the Aviva European Trials this coming weekend in Sheffield.

It was a double celebration for the Huggins household as sister Anna was the top under 17 woman with an equal best of 3 metres. Training partner Nick Moore cleared 3.60 and was close to going over 3.80.

Surrey League, Ham Lands, Kingston
Dave Taylor continued his return to racing after an injury with an outing in the Surrey League. Competing for his second claim club Herne Hill Harriers at the final match of the season at Ham Lands near Kingston he finished in 17th place in a time of 28.49.

Sidcup 10
A number of the Club’s athletes were in action at the Sidcup 10 mile road race with pride of place going to Peter Tucker and Jennie Butler. Peter finished 4th overall in 50.51 which gave him third place in the Kent Championship which was incorporated in the event. Jennie was 40th in the race and was third woman home, but won the County title.

Alex Gibbins finished in a very good 8th place and others to feature included Richard Hall 42nd, Steve Holmes 47th, Steve Pairman 66th, Tony Crowder 97th and Darryl Hilliar 110th.

Sportshall
Two athletes from the Club were in action for Kent in the South East Regional Sportshall Final of the Aviva Sporthall UK Championships. Dina Asher Smith won two individual events in the under 13 girls age group. She leapt 2.38 metres in the standing long jump to win by six centimetres. She also enjoyed a good win in the 4 lap race timing 52.3, 1.4 seconds quicker than the runner up. She was also part of the team that won the 8 lap paarlauf race.

In the under 15s age group Rachel Dickens was 8th in the standing long jump with 2.18 and equal 8th in the 2 lap race in 25.1. She also putt the shot 5.07.

Ron Pickering Memorial Fund
Four members of the Club have received grants from the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund. The Fund was set up in memory of the former BBC commentator to support athletes in education up to the age of 23 years old.

James Alaka was the number one under 20 in the country last year in the 100 metres and represented Great Britain at the World Junior Championships.

Stephen Cavey was the fastest under 17 over 1500 metres in the country in 2008 and the English Schools champion.

Scott Huggins broke the Scottish Junior record on a number of occasions in 2008. He also won the Senior Inter Counties title for the second year in a row and represented GB at the World Junior Championships.

Dan Putnam was 4th fastest under 17 in the country in 2008 breaking the Club record with 48.55. He represented England indoors.

Tony Weeks Pearson
In the week when Mo Farah broke the UK 3000 metre indoor record, Tony Weeks Pearson who broke the record in 1954 has suffered serious injuries while walking to the recent Kent Fitness League. The Club Past President fell and dislocated both knees which has left him with both legs in plaster from the thigh to the ankle.

Tony set the UK Indoor record on the 18/12/54 in Belgium with a time of 8.25.4.

London Mini Marathon
Time is running out for youngsters to enter the London Borough Of Bromley Trials for this years Adidas Mini London Marathon. The trials are open to boys and girls aged between 11 and 17 who live or receive full time education in the London Borough of Bromley.

The trials take place on Sunday 1st March and each race will start and finish on the running track at Norman Park. The first five finishers in each of the age group races will gain automatic selection for the Borough team that competes in the Adidas Mini London Marathon on April 26th.

The remaining three places will be at the discretion of the borough team organisers. There are three races each for boys and girls in the following age group categories 11-12, 13-14 and 15-17.

The deadline for entries is Friday the 20th of February. Entry form here - closes 20 February

British Universities Championships
The Club were hoping to have a number of athletes in action in the British Universities Cross Country Championships at Aberdeen. Unfortunately the race was called off on Friday afternoon.

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3/02/09

Montell Douglas opened her Indoor campaign at the Aviva International at Glasgow. The British Record holder for the 100 metres was in action in the 60 metres in a high class field. Having missed some training through injury in November, the Blackheath & Bromley athlete had to settle for 5th place in 7.45.

A number of the Club’s athletes were in action at the London Indoor Games at Lee Valley. Perhaps the highlight here was a new over UK over 55s record in the pole vault from the evergreen Allan Williams, who represented Great Britain at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. He made a clearance of 3.81.

In the Senior Mens age group James Alaka set a seasons best of 6.91 in the 60 metres while for the women Rachel Arnheim cleared 3.40 in the pole vault.

In the under 20s age group Shaunagh Brown putt the shot the furthest in the country this year as she threw an indoor best of 14.11. Second claimer Tremayne Gilling ran an excellent 6.88 for the 60 metres, the 6th fastest by an under 20 in the country this year. Lorraine Ugen was another to set a seasons best as she ran 7.77 in the womens’ race as did Megan Southwart in the 60 metre hurdles with 9.13. Lorraine also won the long jump with a leap of 5.78. Christina Moore cleared 3.20 in the pole vault. Jermaine Alexander ran 7.32 in the 60 metres.

Sabine Efiannayi opened her season with a putt of 11.11 in the under 17’s shot which ranks her 4th in the country this year. Jonathan Pettet showed that his Winter training is going well as he ran 52.96 for the 400 metres which is close to his best from outdoors last Summer. Sian Hurlock leapt 4.63 in the long jump and timed 8.55 for the 60 metres.

At the Birmingham Games Lauren Blackie finished 4th in the triple jump with a leap of 11.90, a seasons best.

On the roads the Club took the team prize in the Watford Half Marathon. First home was Peter Tucker who came 4th overall in 70.26. Alex Gibbins was 12th in 73.30 while veteran Keith Ewing rolled back the years to finish third scorer in 52nd place with 81.46. This gave them an overall time of 3.45.33 just 25 seconds clear of the team from St Albans Striders.

At the London Open Walks meeting at Victoria Park, Victoria Munt finished 3rd in the 2500 metres race which meant she was second in the under 15s age group in the Southern Championships.

There was more success at the South Of England Veterans Cross Country Championships at Biggleswade where Jennie Butler won the silver medal in the over 35s race. She timed 23.14 for the 6000 metre course.

The South Of England Inter Counties races took place at the same venue and Will Mercer finished in 21st place in the under 15 boys race. This means he has been selected to represent Surrey at the Inter Counties Championships at Nottingham next month

Closer to home at Hayes the Club won the annual mob match against Ranelagh Harriers. The Club were boosted by the presence of a number of youngsters who figured most prominently. Second in the race was 15 year old Hector Kurtyanek who negotiated the testing 7.5 mile course in 49.55. Portsmouth undergraduate Alex Bruce Littlewood was 4th with Club President Tim Soutar in 5th. Other youngsters to feature included Robert Yates 13th, Sam Jackson 16th and Greg Proctor 19th.

First woman for the Club to finish was Jane Bradshaw in an excellent 14th place, with Julie Reynolds 28th and Sarah Dowling 32nd.

The race incorporated the latest round of the Bennett Cup Handicap series which runs throughout the Winter. First here was Sam Jackson with Dick Griffin second and Robert Yates third. Saturdays results caused some seismic changes in the overall placings. After six of the nine races just five points separates the top three with Mick Jones first on 231 followed by Mark Ellison on 230 and Jane Bradshaw on 227. Another eight points separates the next five athletes and a further five have over 200 points.

Ben Hopkins is the Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Award winner for January. Ben won the Under 17 mens’ 60 metre hurdles at the South Of England Indoor Championships. He has been an important part of the Club’s young athletes squad in recent years scoring numerous points for the team in the hurdles and sprints.

Each month the Club selects one young person, in the 11 to 25 age group to receive an Achievement Award. The month's winner receives a framed certificate and a cheque (payable to the club) for £300 to be spent on a club project of the recipient's choice.

For those struggling to cope with the challenging weather conditions, Past President Ken Daniel has a range of moon boots available for purchase at competitive prices. Ken can be contacted at kenneth.daniel@ntlworld.com

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27/01/09

South Of England Championships, Hillingdon
The South Of England Cross Country Championships remains one of the highlights of the Winter season and a good number of athletes from Blackheath & Bromley were in action at the 2009 contest at Hillingdon, albeit with a mixed set of results. While there was another good team performance from the Senior women and some encouraging performances in the younger age groups, the Senior Men had a disappointing afternoon.

Bryony Proctor continued her return to fitness finishing 25th in the Senior Womens' race in her first year in the age group. Veteran Jennie Butler enjoyed the challenging conditions making light of the mud and water to finish in 30th and another veteran Jane Bradshaw also ran well to finish 54th. Julie Reynolds just pipped Sarah Dowling for the 4th scoring place and they finished in 104th and 106th respectively. Captain Kate Pratten closed in 154th with Anne Cilia 215th and Carolyna Jones Baldock 248th.This gave them a very good 7th place in the team race.

The Senior Men have a rich tradition in this race stretching back to their first appearance in 1884. After over 100 years of fielding teams in every race they won the team title for the first time in 1986, to begin a golden era which saw them win the title seven times in the 1990s and provide four separate individual champions. Sadly at Hillingdon they failed to finish a team for the third year in a row.

The one bright spot was the fine individual performance of Andrew Conway. The St Marys University student bounced back from missing the Kent Championships because of an achilles injury to have his best run on the country to finish in 76th place. Alex Gibbins did not enjoy the conditions but still finished a useful 105th while Roy Priestley closed in 290th and Richard Hall 370th. Peter Tucker started well but had to pull out because of a severe stitch.

Frank Kilama ran well in the under 20s race to finish in 40th place while Alex Bruce Littlewood’s injury strewn Winter meant he had to settle for 61st place.

Highest placed athlete on the day was Jen Hamer. She produced another good performance to finish 19th in the under 17 womens' race with Chelsea Crouser 54th and Melody Kane 78th. Hector Kurtyanek was a useful 63rd in the mens' race.

Amber Reed had a tough time as she lost a shoe early on in the under 15 girls race. She finished with a cut foot in 28th place, a brave effort from one of the Club's most promising athletes. With Rachel Robinson in 149th, and good packing from Hope Stenning, Ella Self and Lauren Heria in 159th, 161st and 163rd, the team finished 22nd.

For the boys Will Mercer had his best run of the Winter finishing in 42nd place. Oliver Taylor and Greg Proctor were 83rd and 84th and Sam Jackson completed the scoring in 100th place. Adam Willis and Tom Greenhill provided good back up in 145th and 185th to help the team to 12th place.

There were some promising runs in the under 13s age group. For the girls Georgina Kennedy finished in 50th place with Izzy Jackson 131st and Sonia Woolhouse 201st. Will Ruiz led the boys home in 83rd place with Richard Webb 98th, Alex Punnett 129th, Tom Desborough 187th and Oliver Sims 216th.

Inter City Challenge and other indoors
Scott Huggins won the pole vault at the Inter City Challenge semi final at Lee Valley. Competing for London North for who, he qualifies by virtue of being a student at Brunel, he cleared 5.01 metres, an indoor seasons best and a performance that ranks him 4th in the country this year. Lorraine Ugen was also in winning form, despite still being a junior, taking the long jump with a leap of 5.73. This ranks her as 5th Under 20 in the country this year. Shaunagh Brown is easily the number one junior in the country this year, and fourth in the Senior listings, but she had to settle for second place in the shot putt. She nevertheless threw a very good 14.00 just four centimetres off her seasons best. Lauren Blackie faced some strong competition in triple jump finishing in 4th place with a distance of 11.5

There was a welcome return to action for Dominic Parsons at the Bath Indoor Open Meeting. Injuries have hampered him for a couple of years but he bounced back by clocking 7.06 for the 60 metres on two occasions.

Dartford Les Witton 10 Mile Road Race and more
Peter Tucker was in winning form the previous weekend. Having won the Club Open 10km Cross Country on the Saturday he triumphed again on the roads in the Dartford Les Witton 10 Mile race. On a new course, fast times were made difficult by the hills and wind. Nevertheless Tucker showed that his has good strength as he reeled in last years winner Crispian Bloomfield to win in 53.37.

Second man from the Club to finish was Len Crowder in 58th with third finisher Fran Green in 110th. Darryl Hilliar was 127th, Dave King 192nd, Nick Bunclark 225th, Adrian Stocks 247th, Paul Carter 260th, Trevor Delahoy 316th, Kate Jones 380th and Justine Eastbury 405th. Gary Cook was in action at the Canterbury 10 finishing in 41st in 65.22.

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20/01/09

It has been a busy few days for athletes from Blackheath & Bromley both outdoors and indoors. Scott Overall and Mike Skinner have both been racing abroad. Last weekend Scott was in action at the Muguerza Cross Country meeting at Elgoibar in Spain. In a high class field he was the first European athlete to finish closing in 7th in a race won by Ayel Abshero of Ethiopia. Scott's time for the 10.796km course was a very useful 32.40, the same as the 6th placed athlete.

This weekend both he and Mike were in Spain as they competed in the Italica International Cross Country meeting. Again the standard was very high with Scott 16th in 32.16 and Mike 22nd in 32.52.

A good number of athletes from the Club were in action at the South Of England Indoor Championships at Lee Valley. They added another eight gold medals to the three they won last year exceeding the bumper ten they won at last years championships.

Scott Huggins got the weekend off on a high as he cleared 4 metres 90 centimetres to win the pole vault in his first year as a Senior. It was good news too for Nick Moore. The opening height was 3.80 which is higher than his best. Like Scott, a first year senior, he soared over but could not improve on his new personal best, finishing in 5th place. The other Senior winner was Shaunagh Brown. Still a junior she putt the shot 14.04 to win the competition by over a metre and a half.

More Senior medals came in the womens pole vault where Liz Hughes and Rachel Arnheim finished 2nd and 3rd both clearing 3.50.

Elsewhere Vicki Cole was 4th in the 200 in 25.52 and James Alaka was 5th in the mens’ race in 22.01 and would have gone quicker had he not been drawn in the inside lane. Lewis Ely was 8th in the high jump with 1.85 as was Lauren Blackie in the triple jump with a leap of 11.38.

James Alaka and Danny Doyley ran 6.95 and 6.97 in the 60 metres while in the womens’s races Amy Godsell and Vicki Cole achieved times of 7.79 and 7.8.

Shaunagh Brown not only won the Senior shot, she won the Junior competition as well with a distance of 13.90, a new Championship Best Performance. The Club’s Junior women field eventers had a remarkable couple of days winning four of the five gold medals and gaining silver and bronze in the other. Given that the South Of England covers 19 separate counties this was a notable achievement.

First year Junior Jessica Matthews took the high jump title with a clearance of 1.65 and Christina Moore won the pole vault with 3.20. Lorraine Ugen leapt 5.79 to take long jump gold and also came 5th in the 60 metres. Isobel Ivy took silver in the triple jump with 10.97 and Jessica Matthews picked up her second medal of the weekend as she claimed third place with 10.81.

There was gold though in the mens’ triple jump as Kola Adedoyin won with a leap of 14.56. Dan Putnam followed his gold in last weeks 400 with silver in the 200 with 22.02.

Second Claimer Tremayne Gilling took 4th in the 60 metres and produced a hugely consistent series of times running between 6.97 and 6.92 on four occasions. Megan Southwart was 6th in the 60 metre hurdles in 9.3; Jermaine Olason 7th in the long jump with 6.13 and Jermaine Alexander clocked 23.13 in the 200.

Second claimer Mary Ihere ran a very swift 25.46 in the 200 metres but unfortunately was disqualified in the final.

Ben Hopkins stormed to victory in the under 17s 60 metre hurdles winning in 8.53 in a close finish. Like Dan Putnam, Tom Bensted followed last weeks victory in the 400 with silver in the 200. He ran 22.72 while Jonathan Pettet timed 24.44 in his heat.

It was silver too for Anna Huggins in the pole vault. She set a new best of 3 metres and finished equal second.

There was more success in the under 15s age group. Amber Reed, fresh from winning the Kent Schools Cross Country title the day before, had a comfortable win in the 1500 metres as astonishingly there were no other starters. Nevertheless she clocked a very useful 5.10.10.

There was a good turn out in the under 15 girls long jump with Dina Asher Smith third with 4.65; Frances Read 5th (4.57), Jessica Moore 6th (4.46) and Georgina Middleton 13th (4.19).

Dina also picked up bronze in the 200 metres in a new best of 26.32 and 6th in the 60 metres 8.15 which meant she picked up three medals from the Championships in total. Rachel Dickens timed excellent 8.20 in the semi with Georgina Middleton running 8.39 in the heats. Georgina ran 28.46 in the 200.

Rhiannon Jones enjoyed a successful championships. Although she did not win a medal she made a big improvement to finish 4th in the 60 metre hurdles, improving her best to 9.68.

A number of the Clubs youngsters were in action at the County Schools Cross Country Championships as they bid for places in the English Schools Championships later in the year. At the Kents at Mote Park, Maidstone, Jen Hamer enjoyed a fine win in the Senior Girls race with Amy DeMatos 8th and Hannah Garcia 9th. Frank Kilama was third in the boys race with Callum Fraser 13th.

Hector Kurtyanek was 8th in the Intermediate boys race giving him a place in the Southern Inter County Schools Cross Country event at Croydon on the 7th of February. Greg Proctor finished in 16th. Chelsea Crouser had a good run in the girls race to place 9th with Amy Mitchell 18th.

As stated earlier Amber Reed enhanced her growing reputation with a win in the Junior Girls race 17 seconds clear of the runner up. Hannah Cook had a good run in 16th with Hope Stenning 28th, Jessica Jones 31st, Ella Self 32nd, Holly Fletcher 36th and Mollie Miller 41st.

Adam Willis was first home in the Junior Boys race in 14th with Bradley Taylor 29th.

In the year 7 races Georgina Kennedy was 2nd in the girls race and Richard Webb 5th and Daniel Waller 54th in the boys.

At the Surrey Championships at Reigate Will Mercer was 14th in the Intermediate Boys race so gaining selection for the Inter Counties race in February with Sam Jackson 21st.

Closer to home there was a good turn out for the Club Open 10km Cross Country race at Hayes which incorporates the Club Masters Championships.

Peter Tucker won the testing open race in 35.59 with Alex Gibbins second in 36.15.

Jane Bradshaw continued her excellent form this Winter by winning the women’s race in 42.56 with just one second separating second and third placers Julie Reynolds and Sarah Dowling. Jane was also winner of the over 35s age group with Sarah Dowling second and Justine Eastbury third. Angela Cook was first over 45 followed by Anne Cilia.

Club President Tim Soutar won the mens’ over 40 race with Gary Cook second and Steve Pairman third. Graham Coates took the over 50s title with Andy Lawes second and Chris Pike third.

Trevor Delahoy was first over 60 followed by Tony Pontifex and Drew Grace while Ron Chambers won the over 70s race.

The race also incorporated the latest round of the Bennett Cup Handicap series of races. First in this was Trevor Delahoy followed by Kate Pratten and Sarah Dowling. After 5 events Tony Pontifex leads with 204 points from Gareth Evans on 194 and Julie Reynolds on 188. With four events still to go and 240 points up for grabs the event is still wide open.

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13/01/09

Great Edinburgh Cross Country
Mike Skinner figured prominently in the 4km short course race at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country meeting last Saturday. The Blackheath and Bromley athlete was well placed in the pack for the first two thirds of the race which featured many of Britain's top middle distance runners. From here he made a surge to try and break the field but while some fell off the pace fellow Internationals Andy Baddeley and Steve Vernon did not.

Baddeley, a training partner of Skinner, went on to win and Skinner was reeled back in the closing stages to finish in 5th place. He now plans to travel to Australia to train for a month.

Kent Championships
The race in Edinburgh meant that Skinner had to miss the Kent County Cross Championships at Detling Showground. Freezing conditions on a location which is one of the highest points in the County made it a challenging day for the athletes but the Club, nevertheless, had some good results.

Bryony Proctor won the Senior Womens race last year despite being an under 20 but this year had to settle for the runners up spot. This was a good run considering she has missed much of the Winter through injury. With the ever improving Jane Bradshaw in 10th and Sarah Downing 14th the Club won silver medals in the 3 to score contest.

This was achieved despite the absence of athletes such as Jennie Butler, Siobhan Budd, Elaine Murty, Shavaun Henry and Fran Green and they went one better in the 6 to score event where with Julie Reynolds 16th, Rosie Ferguson 19th and Lisa Page 27th they won gold medals.

Loughborough student James Poole had a fine run in the Senior Mens race to finish in 5th place and with Peter Tucker 10th and Alex Gibbins 11th team medals were a possibility. Unfortunately the remaining three scorers were a lot further down the field and they finished 4th.

In the under 20 age group new member Frank Kilama, who has joined the Club from Bexley AC, finished in 4th place while Cambridge University student Alistair Cliff was 23rd. Last years champion Alex Bruce Littlewood was unable to defend his title because of injury.

Jen Hamer led the under 17 womens’ team to silver medals. She finished in 8th place with Chelsea Crouser 12th and Melody Kane 14th.

Hector Kurtyanek was first home for the men in 9th place but with Jonathan Halls the only other Club member in 27th they did not complete a team.

Best individual performance of the day came from Amber Reed in the Under 15 girls race. Amber has been improving almost by the week and she stepped up another gear to win the County title by nine seconds. With Hannah Cook and Rachel Robinson both having good runs in 10th and 11th they took silver medals in the team race.

The boys finished in 4th place missing out on medals by the narrowest of margins. They had the same points score as third placed Medway & Maidstone but missed out as their fourth scorer finished one place behind M&M’s 4th man. Oliver Taylor was first home in 8th with Sam Jackson 15th , Greg Proctor 19th and Robert Yates 23rd.

Janae Galley came a good 7th in the under 13 girls race and with Holly Fletcher 18th and Sonia Woolhouse 23rd they were 5th in the team race. Good back up came from Izzy Jackson in 25th The boys were fourth, led home by William Ruiz in 11th with Richard Webb 15th and Alex Punnett 16th. There was good strength in depth here with Thomas Desborough 38th, Daniel Waller 42nd, Louis Parkinson 44th and Oliver Sims 48th.

England Athletics Combined Events Championships
Bomene Barikor returned to competition after a long break to finish 16th in the England Athletics Combined Events Championships in Sheffield. There were some promising performances from the one time fitness instructor and music artist Sniper E who is now training to be a science teacher. He was 5th quickest in the opening event the 60 metres where he timed 7.24 and after leaping 6.53 in the long jump he was 6th. He did not fare so well in the shot where he putt 9.20 but he rallied with a 1.92 clearance in the high jump to finish the first day in 11th place out of 30 starters.

The second day started with the 60 metre hurdles in which he timed 10.48 and he followed with a 2.95 clearance in the pole vault. This left him in 20th place but he rallied in the final event the 1000 metres, his time of 2.47.03 being the second quickest of the day. This left him in 16th place, a very satisfactory effort.

South Of England Championships, Lee Valley
While the bulk of the South Of England Indoor Championships take place this coming weekend, because of the long timetable a few events were brought forward a week to ease congestion. It proved a fairly successful day for the Club, although there were some athletes who neglected to enter.

Dan Putnam enjoyed his first Championship in the under 20 age group. He cruised through his heat and semi final of the 400 metres with winning times of 51.50 and 50.12. He stepped up a gear for the final winning in 49.27 over a second clear of the runner up. Alex Blair ran a useful 52.37 in his heat but could not replicate this in his semi final.

In the womens’ race there was an emphatic victory for second claimer Savannah Echel Thompson. She broke the Championship best performance in the semi final of the 400 with 57.29 and bettered it again to win the final in 56.77. Sarah McLellan ran 61.57 in her heat and 62.07 in her semi final.

It was gold again in the under 17 age group where Tom Bensted was in equally convincing form. He won his heat and semi final with times of 51.51 and 51.42 and then won the final by over a second and a half in 50.17, a time that would have won him silver in the under 20 race. Ben Parkin ran 53.34 in his heat and improved to 52.55 in his semi, while Jonathan Pettet ran 53.69 and 55.90.

Rachel Robinson qualified for the semi of the 300 metres by running 47.32 in her heat, but Sian Duffy who ran 46.34 in her heat did not get through. Three athletes from the Club qualified for the final of the Under 15 girls 300 metres with Dina Asher Smith picking up silver in 42.62. It took a Championship Best Performance to beat her. Jessica Moore was 4th in 45.14 and Holly Fletcher 6th in 46.85, exactly the same time as her heat.

Brunel Indoor Sprints and Jumps Meetings
Across London a number of the Club’s athletes were in action at the Brunel Sprints and Jumps meeting. Scott Huggins opened his 2009 campaign with a winning performance in the pole vault. He cleared 4.90 and his sister Anna went over 2.80 in the under 17 womens competition. Lewis Ely cleared 1.85 in the high jump.

On the track Fabian Collymore timed 6.89 in his heat of the 60 metres and Amy Godsell ran a seasons best of 7.77. New second claim junior member Tremayne Gilling opened his season with a promising 6.97, after an injury strewn 2008. Jermaine Alexander timed 7.25 and 7.26.

100 Marathon Club, Marathon and AGM.
Back outdoors a quite unique event took place at Norman Park recently when the 100 Marathon Club held a marathon to coincide with its AGM. This is a unique club of some 187 members who have all completed at least 100 marathons and eight of these are members of Blackheath & Bromley. There are also a couple more in the wings waiting to complete their hundredth event. The race started and finished on the hallowed Norman Park track and the event was completed by some 75 registered runners with the race being run to sponsor the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The course was 5 laps starting on the track and then down Hayes Lane to Bromley Common, right at Bromley College, then through the woods and Hayes farm to arrive at Hayes then down Hayes Lane to Norman Park, a full lap of the park and then back on to the track. The course was marshalled and lap counted by volunteers of Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC, Bromley Vets AC and Orpington Road Runners all standing around for some 7 hours in temperatures of -3 centigrade.

The race was completed by 1430 hrs with the handicap fastest time of 3 hrs 0min 02 secs which is excellent for this mixed terrain course with plenty of " twists and turns " and underfoot frozen ground.

Four Club members took part, John Turner, Dave Lewis, Ray Bennett and Nigel Webb. The AGM followed which did not take quite as long as the race.

Stanley Wooderson
All this recent activity would no doubt have impressed Stanley Wooderson who sadly passed away over the Christmas period. Stanley was, of course, the younger brother of Sydney, the former World Record Holder for the mile and half mile in the 1930s. He was part of the handicap races in which his brother broke these records and was a Life Member of the Club.

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6/01/09

A large number of athletes from Blackheath & Bromley warmed up for the forthcoming Indoor Championships by competing at the Data Connection Open Meeting at Lee Valley with a number achieving qualifying standards for National events.

In the Senior age group Fabian Collymore timed a very useful 6.81 for the 60 metres comfortably inside the National entry standard of 6.90 and the fastest in the country so far this year. Equalling the qualification standard for the European Trials was Amy Godsell who won her heat in 7.80 the tenth fastest in the country in 2009. Vickie Cole ran 7.90 in an earlier round and Daniel Haque 7.09.

A number of the younger athletes also achieved marks which qualified them to compete in the National Championships. In the 60 metres in the under 20 age group Dan Putnam clocked 7.07 and Jermaine Alexander 7.10 in their respective races.

Just missing out on the standard for the National Championships was new member Megan Southwart who recently joined the Club from Tonbridge. She ran a useful 9.55 in the 60 metre hurdles just 5 hundredths of a second shy of the qualification mark.

In the under 17's Dominic Coelho (7.44), Ellis Zorro (7.47), Abs Jolaoso (7.55) and Kieran Daly (7.57) all dipped under the 7.60 qualifying standard with Jonathan Pettett just outside with 7.61. There was some fine sprinting in the under 15s age group with Dina Asher Smith running four tenths inside the 60 metres qualification for the National Indoors with 8.10. Rachel Dickens (8.27) and Georgina Middleton (8.34) also dipped inside the qualification while Charlotte Colgate was just one hundredth of a second outside with 8.51.

Further afield Lauren Blackie was in action in the Midlands Indoor Open Meeting at Alexander Stadium and won the triple jump with a leap of 11.66. She also long jumped 5.33.

Michael Skinner started his 2009 campaign with a low key outing at the Bushy Park 5km time trial. However, a number of the country’s top runners also took part and the Great Britain International had to settle for third place in a race won by training partner Andy Baddeley, Britain’s number one 1500 metre runner last year.

Jen Hamer is the Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Award Winner for the month of December. Jen has enjoyed a fine start to her Athletics career and was recently crowned the Kent Cross Country League Under 17 Champion for 2008. She also won the Holly Run in Reigate by a huge margin last month. She has been a virtual ever present for the Club in 2008 over track, cross country and road.

Each month the clubs selects one young person, in the 11 to 25 age group to receive an Achievement Award. The month's winner receives a framed certificate and a cheque (payable to the club) for £300 to be spent on a club project of the recipient's choice.

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