Press Releases for
October, November & December 2012
27/12/12
Dina Asher Smith finished her year on a high at the
Crystal Palace Indoor Open Meeting. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete, who in
July reached the final of World Junior Championships 200 metres in
Barcelona, set a new best of 7.47 for the 60 metres. This ranks the 17 year
old Newstead Woods schoolgirl 12th in the country this year.
Amongst the Seniors competing Toby Olubi ran 6.92,
just four hundredths off the personal best he set earlier in the month.
Yehnine Gayle also set a personal best in her first year back in the Sport.
She clocked 7.77.
In the Under 17 Mens age group Luca Taylor timed 7.94
and Matthew Witchalls 8.07.
The Club’s Christmas 5 Mile Yacht Handicap took place
at Hayes with young and not so young taking part. The handicapper carefully
assesses form and with the slowest runner starting first and the quickest
last the theory is that all should actually cross the line together. Of
course, weather conditions and seasonal variations (office party) will
ensure that this will never occur.
First to cross the line was youngster William Fuller
with Nigel Bulmer second and Will Ruiz third. The fastest time of the day
came from Richard Webb with 31.44 with Will Fuller timing 32.54 and Will
Ruiz 33.19. Quickest woman was Jane Bradshaw 37.00 followed by Georgina
Taylor 39.16 and Jennie Butler 39.42.
This was the 5th of the Bennett Handicap Series of
races which take place over the Winter months. With four races left to go
Richard Webb leads on 258 points. Mark Watling is second on 239 with Roy
Smith third on 235. However, with 60 points available at each of the last
four races there is plenty of time for the positions to change.
Andy Tucker was the Club’s first finisher at the
latest Bromley 5km Parkrun at Norman Park. He was 5th in a time of 20.03
with Oliver Taylor 12th. Chloe Kibblewhite was the first woman from the Club
to finish in 59th. Elsewhere Peter Tucker won the event at Frimley Lodge in
17.07 while Glenn Turner was first at Gladstone. James Perry was 10th at
Dulwich and Karen Desborough 31st at Orpington.
18/12/12
There has been good news from the United States as
Alex Bruce Littlewood has been named Southland Conference Student Athlete Of
The Year. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete helped McNeese University to
their first Conference title in 12 years and he is the first athlete from
the school to have ever won this title.
He also earned NCAA All-South Central Region honors in
helping guide his University to a fourth place finish.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which
consists of one administrator from each of the 10 member universities, votes
for the student-athletes of the year. The student-athlete of the year award
is presented to one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both
academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA
on a scale, and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at
the nominating institution.
The Club enjoyed some great success at the Kent
Masters Championships at Tunbridge Wells with three sets of team gold
medals; one set of silvers and four individual medallists.
Graham Coates won the gold medal in the over 60s race
and with Rob Brown in sixth place and Chris Pike in 8th, they won the team
gold. John Fenwick finished in 13th and was the third over 65 athlete to
finish.
Further team success came in the over 50s age group as
triathlete Nick Kinsey finished in second place. Roy Smith, who runs with a
hip replacement, coped well with the twisting woodland course to place 5th
and Mark Watling was 9th. This secured gold medals in the team race and
means that Roy has now won team gold at Senior, over 40 and over 50 level.
There was fine strength in depth too as Neil Ayrton closed in 10th, Andy
Lawes 16th, Steve Pairman 17th and Mark Ellison 18th.
Helen Godsell also won individual silver in the womens
over 55s age group. Placing second and with Annie McDonough 4th and Maz
Turner 8th they won team gold also.
Silver medals went to the womens over 35s age group
team as Jane Bradshaw finished in third place; Jennie Butler was 6th and
Sara Elmquist 11th.
There was good packing in the over 40s age group as
Mark Skelly placed 46th, David Beadle was 47th and Clayton Aves 48th but the
Club had no one at the sharp end. Together they were 11th in the team race.
The Club’s youngsters also enjoyed great success at
the Holly Runs at Priory Park in Reigate. Naomi Kingston was the runaway
winner of the under 13 girls race. She completed the course in 11.36 and was
45 seconds clear of the runner up in a field of fifty athletes.
Jessica Keene won the under 15 girls race by 10
seconds in 11.32 and there was some fine packing behind her with Niamh
Bridson Hubbard in 3rd (11.45) Georgina Taylor 6th (12.19), Shannon Riskey
8th (12.25) and Mary Guy 11th (12.45). This ensured they won the team race.
The Seniors, Under 20s and Under 17s all raced
together and Clare Parkin was 10th overall and 5th under 20 to finish. Lucy
Sidey finished in 22nd and was the 8th under 17.
Peter Tucker won the Bexley 5km park run in a time of
16.34. However, the bulk of the Club’s park runners were in action at Norman
Park, Bromley where Fintan Parkinson missed out on victory by just four
seconds as he finished runner up in 18.07. Jake Potter was 4th and James
Perry 9th. First female finisher for the Club was Georgina Piper in 62nd
with Chloe Kibblewhite 85th.
Leah Everson was first woman at Orpington and Tom
Desborough was runner up overall with his mum Karen 41st. Charlotte
Stickings was the first woman to finish in the event at Greenwich as she
placed 12th overall. Likewise, Catrin Murphy was the first woman to finish
at Dulwich. She was 35th overall. Glen Turner was 10th at St Albans.
11/12/12
Elaine Murty continued her good Winter season at the
South Of England Inter Counties Championships at Wood ford. The Blackheath &
Bromley athlete finished in 6th place helping Kent to 5th in the team race.
Fran Green was 29th and Jane Bradshaw 47th.
In the under 20 womens race Amber Reed was 15th with
Amy Mitchell 24th, Krystal Galley 31st and Danielle Critchley 33rd. Kate
Curran as 10th in the under 17 womens race.
The under 15 womens race saw Jessica Keene take 22nd
place with Georgina Taylor 54th, Shannon Riskey 61st and Niamh Bridson
Hubbard 77th.
Jake Potter was 9th in the under 13 boys race and he
was one of the 4 scorers who won the team race for Kent. Yasmin Austridge
was 20th in the girls race and was part of the Kent team who came second.
The indoor track and field season is getting under way
and Loughborough student Dan Putnam took the opportunity to compete in his
University’s Open Meeting. In his first race since injury abruptly ended his
Summer season, he timed 6.97 for 60 metres.
Outdoors Gordon Hickey won the over 75s contest at the
SECTA Throws Pentathlon at Ewell. He scored 2584 points. Barbara Terry was
second in the womens over 65s age group with 3158 points.
Shaun Lightman finished in 9th place in the Surrey
Walking Club Christmas Cup at Selsdon. Racing over 5km he timed 29.17 which
gave him 3rd place in the Handicap contest. One place higher in the handicap
but one lower in the race, Peter Hannell was 10th in 30.19. David Hoben was
21st and 6th in the handicap. Lyn Atterbury had flown in from Poland and
although he did not race he donated a number of prizes.
Andy Tucker was the Club’s first finisher in the
latest Bromley 5km Parkrun at Norman Park. He was 13th in a time of 19.27
with Steve Pairman 16th and Graham Coates 22nd. Joanna Clowes was the first
female from the Club in 96th with Karen Desborough 247th.
Elsewhere, Fintan Parkinson was 5th at Dulwich;
Charlotte Stickings 9th at Greenwich; David Beadle 6th at Lloyd Park and
Glen Turner 16th at Milton Keynes.
4/12/12
Scott Overall’s race in the Fukuoka Marathon did not
go as well as planned as he finished in 13th place in 2.14.15. The
Blackheath & Bromley athlete had passed the half marathon point in 65.24 but
a calf injury and a call of nature slowed him in the second half of the
race, which was won by Joseph Gitau in 2.06.58.
Nevertheless, his time ranks him third in Britain this
year and is well inside the IAAF A qualifying standard for next years World
Championships which take place in Moscow.
Luke Smallwood timed a very useful 79.23 for 600
metres at the City Of Manchester indoor meeting at Sports City.
Many of the Club’s stars of the future were competing
in the Kent Cross Country League at Danson Park and it was a day to
celebrate as the Club won the girls overall trophy and the boys finished as
runners up. In addition there were top three placings for five of the age
groups teams.
For the Senior men this was the third of four races so
overall positions have still to be decided. Peter Tucker was first home for
the Club in 8th place and with Alex Gibbins 11th, Danny Brewer 18th and
Fintan Parkinson 47th they were third in the team contest. They were also
second in the 12 to score.
There was no Senior womens races. The fourth and final
races for the Senior men and women will take place on the 9th of February at
Swanley.
For the younger age groups this was their 4th and
final fixture and also included the Club Championships. In the under 20s age
group Krystal Galley won the race while in the mens race Tom Greenhill was
7th.
A very competitive under 17 womens team race saw the
Club finish in 3rd place despite having three runners in the top 11. Kate
Curran was first home in 3rd place with Lucy Sidey in 10th and Anne Myers
11th. They were closely followed by Bethany Frost in 12th, Samantha Leighton
13th, Sonia Woolhouse 15th, Holly Fletcher 16th and Chloe Haffenden 22nd.
Anne was third overall for the season and pleasingly
Lucy Sidey 4th, Samantha Leighton 5th, Holly Fletcher 6th and Sonia
Woolhouse 9th all made the top 10. The team were 3rd for the season.
Numbers in the Under 17 mens age group have improved
significantly this Winter. Six toed the line with Richard Webb the first to
finish in a very good 4th place. Will Fuller was 9th with Will Ruiz 26th ,
Tom Desborough 28th , Jamie Gosnell 39th and Luke Russell 45th. The team
were 4th on the day and 5th in the overall contest.
The under 15 girls produced another impressive
collection of individual performances which resulted in team victory.
Georgina Taylor excelled in finishing in 2nd place with Jessica Keene 3rd,
and Niamh Bridson Hubbard 5th. Shannon Riskey in 6th and Charlotte Rhule 8th
also made the top 10 and they were strongly supported by Mary Guy in 12th,
Leah Everson 17th, Elizabeth Ibidunni 19th , Joanna Clowes 20th, Molly Dent
21st, Chloe Kibblewhite 22nd and Jenny Sheasby 36th.
There was more good news as Jessica Keene was the top
individual for the season with Shannon Riskey 2nd and Mary Guy 5th and they
were overall team winners as well.
Bailey Stickings was first home for the boys in 7th
place and with Josh Davidson 8th and Niyi Akin-Agunbiade 14th, the team were
second. More good performances saw Marco Arcuni in 18th, Arthur Carey 24th,
Scott Bulmer 26th and Jack Estment 37th. The team were runners up for the
season.
Naomi Kingston was 3rd in the under 13 girls race and
was third overall for the season. Yasmin Austridge in 7th (securing 5th
place for the season in the process) and Georgina Piper 12th helped to
secure second place in the team race. However, for the Winter they are the
champions of the age group. Phillipa Messent Watling closed in 32nd and
Christine Kichmerova 38th.
It was 3rd also in the boys race for Jake Potter,
which gave him second place overall. Dillon Robertson finished in 6th and
Oscar Hussey 8th to help the team to second place. Again they enjoyed good
support with George Pope 19th, Lewis Stickings 21st, newcomer Barney Sitwell
24th, Harry Keene 36th and Charlie Short 39th. The team were second for the
season.
All these performances ensured the girls secured the
overall title and the boys second. This was a fine effort by all those
involved from the athletes, many of whom competed in all four fixtures, and
from the Club managers and helpers such as Paul Austridge, Nigel Stickings,
Andy Frankish and Hanna and Dave Cordell.
Having enjoyed a successful League season the
youngsters will now be preparing for the Championships which take place in
the new year, the first of which are the Kents on the first weekend in
January.
Also on the country Chris Woodcock was first over 70
to finish at the Devon Championships which took place at Exeter Arena.
Peter Tucker was back in action the following day at
the Swanley Xmas Caper a race which has provided him with rich pickings in
past with a turkey on offer to the winner. No bird was available this year
but he did collect a hamper as he won by over half a minute in 16.57.
Also on the roads, 1968 Olympian Shaun Lightman
finished in 9th place in the Cambridge Harriers Winter League 5k road walk
at Bexley. He timed 29.04 after a steady start owing to a slight injury. He
passed Peter Hannell around the half way stage and Peter went on the finish
10th in 29.52.
David Beadle was the Club’s first finisher in the
latest Bromley 5km Parkrun at Norman Park. He placed 7th in 19.15 with
Clayton Aves 9th and Oliver Taylor 22nd. First woman to finish was Helen
Godsell in 73rd with Jackie Montgomery 124th and Karen Desborough 260th.
Nigel Haffenden and Martin Carey were 13th and 14th
respectively in the race at Greenwich while Tony Pontifex was 86th at
Whitstable.
27/11/12
Michael Skinner has missed out on selection for this
years European Cross Country Championships as he finished in 12th position
in the Trials race at Liverpool. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete, who
turned 33 last week, was less than 20 seconds off an automatic qualifying
place with a time of 30.21, but there are only six places in the team.
Andy Rayner finished in 52nd place in 31.54 while
Elaine Murty was 36th in the womens race in 30.20.
Scott Overall travels to Japan this week to race the
Fukuoka Marathon this coming weekend. While he is preparing for this
important event, he still found the time to support the London Youth Games
Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill Fields and, pleasingly, he
was able to meet a number of fellow Blackheath & Bromley athletes at the
podium.
Most of the Club’s runners were representing the
London Borough Of Bromley and pride of place went to the under 15 girls team
who won the team championship. They were led home by Jessica Keene in 2nd
place with Niamh Bridson Hubbard in 5th and Georgina Taylor in 10th. Shannon
Rickey (13th), Charlotte Rhule (15th) and Mary Guy (20th) also made the top
20.
Both the Bromley Under 17 teams finished with bronze
medals. For the boys Will Fuller finished in 9th with Richard Webb 10th and
Will Ruiz 26th. Tom Desborough was 54th and Luke Russell 100th. Lucy Sidey
was 12th for the girls with Bethany Frost 15th and Samantha Leighton 17th.
Holly Fletcher was 22nd and Chloe Haffenden 60th.
Bailey Stickings finished in 18th place for Bexley in
the under 15 boys race, followed by Joshua Davidson 33rd, Charlie Davis
38th, Joss Barber 43rd, Jonathan Court 59th , Arthur Carey 119th and Scott
Bulmer 132nd.
Jake Potter continued his fine Winter season by
finishing third in the under 13 boys race and with Oscar Hussey 24th and
Harry Keene in 168th they were 18th in the team race for Bromley.
Another good run from Yasmin Austridge saw her lead
the girls team home in 11th place. Tasmin Falshaw in 34th and Georgina Piper
in 39th ensured they were 5th in the team race. Good back up came from
Roisin Atkins Dykes in 63rd, Safiya Atkins Dykes 66th and Darcy Kirwin in
103rd.
Kev May and Jane Bradshaw are the new Club 10 mile
cross country champions. Kev won in a time of 63.19 with Peter Tucker, who
went off course while leading, 2nd and youngster Richard Webb in 3rd. Jane
won the womens race in 73.58 with Lisa May second and Fran Green third.
The race incorporated the latest in Bennett Cup
Handicap, a series of 9 events which take place over the Winter months.
Winner on this occasion was Glen Read with young Tom Desborough 2nd and John
Fenwick 3rd. After four events Richard Webb leads on 213 points with Andy
Tucker 205, Roy Smith 203 and Mark Watling 201. However, with 5 events to go
there is still everything to play for and who is to say the eventual winner
will not be someone from the chasing pack. The next event in the series is
the Christmas 5 Mile Yacht Handicap on the 22nd of December.
Many Club members have participated in the various
Parkruns which take place across the UK each weekend. James Poole won the
event at Braunstone in 15.03 while Peter Tucker did the same at Bexley
recording 16.39. Andy Tucker was the Club’s first finisher at Norman Park
closing in 6th with James Perry 8th, Marco Arcuri 12th and Clayton Aves in
13th also making the top 20. First woman from the Club was Charlotte
Stickings in 49th with Niamh Bridson Hubbard 52nd and Molly Dent 73rd.
Twenty Club members completed the course.
Naomi Kingston was 6th at Crystal Palace and the first
woman to finish. Mary Guy was 17th. Martin Carey was 18th at Greenwich while
Chloe and Nigel Haffenden were 28th and 29th.
Jake Potter was third overall at Orpington with Steve
Pairman 5th while Leah Everson was the first woman to finish. Steve Haley
was 10th at Riddlesdown.
20/11/12
After the disappointment of the cancellation of the
New York Marathon, Scott Overall is now set to race the Fukuoka Marathon in
Japan on the 2nd of December. Although this is not one of the big City
Marathons, it attracts some of the best runners in the World. This years
race will feature top Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie.
The Blackheath & Bromley athlete could have run the
California Marathon but as this course is net downhill any time achieved
here would not be acceptable as a qualifying time for a Championship, which
is his target. Having all the New York training under his belt, he will just
be ticking over for the next couple of weeks.
Race wise it has been a quiet weekend but there was
good news from the Brooks Brighton 10km where Elaine Murty ran a new best of
35.33 to finish in 75th place. She was the 5th woman to complete the course.
The Club enjoyed another successful Annual Dinner at
the Clubhouse at Hayes. Guest speaker was Gill Freeman, who was Assistant
track referee at the London Olympics. She was able to shine a torch on the
work that goes on behind the scenes at a global event. Gill very kindly
agreed to speak after the original invitee football manager Mick McCarthy
had to stand down having accepted the Ipswich Town manager’s job. He was
there in spirit, however, as he recorded a question and answer session with
Club President Steve Hollingdale which was played to those attending the
Dinner.
David Hoben travelled to the Midlands to place 6th in
the Leicester Yacht 7 mile Handicap Race Walk.
Fintan Parkinson won the latest Bromley 5km Parkrun at
Norman Park. His time was 17.46 with Richard Daniel second in 18.05. Adrian
Stocks in 14th and Chris Gentle in 15th also made the top 20. First woman
from the Club to finish was Carolyna Jones Baldock in 159th.
Elsewhere Dave Beadle was 9th at Lloyd Park; Luka
Taylor and Matthew Witchalls were 12th and 13th at Orpington with Karen
Desborough 51st; Chris Pike was 15th at Bexley and the Turners, John and Maz
were in action at Dulwich.
Bob Minting came up from the West Country to place
18th at Riddlesdown while his sister Helen Godsell was 28th.
13/11/12
Blackheath & Bromley not only enjoyed the racing at
the latest Kent League at Nonnington, they also enjoyed the free barbecue.
This could prove to be a popular venue for races.
After the disappointment of not fielding a complete
team at the National Cross Country relays the previous weekend, the Club
bounced back to win the Senior Womens team race led home by youngster Amber
Reed, who achieved her highest ever League position of 5th. Captain Jane
Bradshaw finished in 9th and Sara Elmquist secured the team title in 13th.
After three races they head the League. Amy Mitchell in 15th and Charlotte
Stickings 18th also made the top 20.
The Under 17 women finished in third place with Anna
Myers first in 10th place followed by Lucy Sidey in 12th and Bethony Frost
13th. Good packing behind the scoring trio saw Samantha Leighton place 14th,
Sonia Woolhouse 16th, Holly Fletcher 17th and Chloe Haffenden 21st. Anna now
lies third in the overall League placings and the team is third too.
Will Fuller was first for the men in 11th and with
Richard Webb 12th and Will Ruiz 22nd they scored 5th in the team race. Solid
back up came from Tom Desborough in 28th and Luke Russell 34th.
Biggest turn out from the Club came in the under 15
girls race with an impressive 12 finishers. Up the front Jessica Keene
finished in 2nd place with Niamh Bridson Hubbard 5th and Shannon Riskey 7th.
Mary Guy in 9th , Leah Everson 13th, Elizabeth Ibidunni 18th and Joanna
Clowes 19th all made the top 20 and with Molly Dent , Jenny Sheasby, Chloe
Kibblewhite, Natasha Hainsworth and Millie Haffenden also finishing, the
Club is showing an enviable strength in depth which will be most useful when
the Championship races take place in the new year. Jessica and Shannon are
first and third overall for the season and the team top the table.
The boys also did well finishing in 2nd place with
Bailey Stickings in 7th , Josh Davidson 9th and Charlie Davies 10th all in
the top 10. Arthur Carey was 24th and Scott Bulmer 31st.
Jake Potter continued his good season with second
place in the under 13 boys race. Lewis Stickings in 14th and Harry Keene
28th secured 4th in the team race and they are now 2nd overall for the
season.
Naomi Kingston finished in 4th place in the girls race
and with Yasmin Austridge in 7th and Georgina Piper 12th they won the team
race by the narrowest of margins. They actually scored the same number of
points as Dartford but because Georgina finished higher than Dartford’s
third scorer, B&B were victors. They are 2nd overall with one race
remaining, and Naomi is third individual overall.
The Kent League did not have a Senior Mens race at
Nonnington so they competed elsewhere or not at all. Andy Rayner represented
his second claim Club Kent AC at the Surrey League at Richmond Park and
finished in 3rd place in a strong field. Super vet Dave Taylor was 17th for
Herne Hill Harriers.
End of year Awards continue to be showered, not just
on the Club’s athletes, but on it’s officials as well. Dina Asher Smith and
Adam Gemili were named the Kent County Under 20 female and male athletes of
the year at the Kent County Awards Evening. To add to the celebrations the
tireless Dave Cordell received the Official of the Year award.
Shaun Lightman finished in 19th place at the Enfield 7
Mile race walk in 67.09. David Hoben was 47th in 80.26.
The Club had three winners of Parkruns over the
weekend. At the event at Norman Park, Richard Daniel’s winning time was
18.13 with Andy Tucker, Adrian Stocks, Steve Pairman, Clayton Aves and Andy
Lawes all making the top 20. Adam Atkinson won the event at Brockwell Park
in 16.43 while Peter Tucker completed the hat trick of victories at Danson
Park in 16.45.
Catrin Murphy was 22nd at Dulwich and the Club were
also represented at Orpington and Whitstable.
6/11/12
Scott Overall’s plans for a fast end of year marathon
were dashed by the weather as Hurricane Sandy caused the New York Marathon
to be postponed just 36 hours before it was due to take place. It was a
frustrating experience for the Blackheath & Bromley athlete who had gone to
considerable effort just to get to the event.
To avoid the Hurricane, he had flown to Denver , three
hours beyond New York. From there he flew to Chicago and then on to NYC.
Having reached his hotel, and had a visit from a drug testing unit, he
learned the race was cancelled.
With all this good training under his belt, he may
well race a different marathon in the next month.
Meanwhile fellow Olympian, Adam Gemili has received
the Jim Coote Memorial Award from the British Athletics Writers Association.
The Award, which is presented to the athlete the Writers judge to be the top
Junior Male athlete in the country each year, follows Adam’s outstanding
season in which he won the World Junior 100 metres title; broke the British
Junior record for 100; ran the fastest 200 metres by a Briton for five
years; and just missed out on a place in the Olympic 100 metres final.
If he thought things would quieten down once the track
season was over he was mistaken. He will joining Pop Idol Gareth Gates to
switch on the Christmas Lights at Dartford Town Centre on Saturday the 17th
of November.
Dina Asher Smith has not been asked to switch on the
Christmas Lights in Orpington yet but the Newstead Woods schoolgirl’s
outstanding Summer in the sprints has been recognised by the Governing Body
of the Sport who have placed her on the UKA Futures Programme. This funding
is available to athletes who ultimately have the potential to be successful
at the World Championships or Olympics.
An under 17 in 2012, she reached the final of the 200
metres at the World Junior Championships despite competing against athletes
up to three years older.
She joins javelin thrower Izzy Jeffs who has already
been on the Programme. She is ranked number two in the javelin in the
country this year.
Back to the Winter, and the Club fielded teams in a
number of age groups at the England Cross Country Union Relays at Mansfield
and recorded some very useful results.
The Senior Men finished 11th in a very competitive
race. The opening stage is always a tough leg and so James Poole did well to
come home in 23rd place. This was ideal for Michael Skinner as it left him
with plenty of athletes in his sights. He stormed through the field moving
the Club up to 7th place and his time of 15.29 was the 9th fastest time of
the day. Alex Gibbins slipped to 18th before Andy Rayner hauled them back up
to 11th on the closing stage.
Unfortunately Elaine Murty was the Club’s only runner
in the Senior Womens race. She finished in 17th place on the opening leg
with 10.40.
Pleasingly the Club completed a team in the Under 17
mens race. The trio of William Fuller, Tom Desborough and Will Ruiz finished
in 44th place.
A fine team effort saw the under 15 girls finish in
8th place. The girls times were remarkably consistent. Shannon Rickey
brought them home in 26th on the first leg in 7.52 and then Niamh Bridson
Hubbard moved through to 11th on leg two. Jessica Keene climbed a further
three places on the anchor leg with 7.37.
Leah Everson and Mary Guy ran in a B team but they
were missing a third runner.
Fast improving Marco Arcuri was the quickest of the
Under 15 boys team. He timed 7.34 on the opening stage while the ever
present Scott Bulmer and William Pope completed the trio who finished in
74th.
Both Under 13 teams turned in good team results. The
girls were the Club’s highest placed team of the day as they closed in 7th
place. Naomi Kingston finished in 7th place on the opening stage with 7.49
and Georgina Piper’s 8.12 brought her home 8th. Yasmin Austridge edged back
up to 7th on the closing leg with 8.01.
Jake Potter ran a fine opening leg for the boys
finishing in 3rd place in a time of 7.08. This proved to be the 5th quickest
time of the day, out of over 250 runners. George Pope and Joe Smith had good
runs too and this helped the team to finish 14th out of 80 teams. Harrison
Parker ran well in an incomplete B team. George and Harrison both have
another year in this age group.
At the Surrey Walking Club, Alec Potton Addington 7
mile walk, Shaun Lightman finished in 7th place in 1 hour 8 minutes and 27
seconds. Peter Hannell was 11th (1.12.11) and David Hoben 16th (1.19.48.
Richard Daniel was the first Club member to finish in
the latest Bromley 5km park run at Norman Park. He was second on 18.18 with
Andy Tucker (8th), James Perry (14th) and David Beadle (19th) also making
the top 20. First female finisher from the Club was Chloe Haffenden in 127th
with Chloe Kibblewhite 128th and Philippa Messent Watling 131st.
Elsewhere Adam Atkinson won the event at Brockwell
Park in 16.58; the Stickings family, Bailey, Nigel, Lewis and Charlotte all
made the top 15 at Greenwich; and the Club also had representatives at
Dulwich, Killerton, Newcastle, and Orpington.
30/10/12
Blackheath & Bromley enjoyed a good turn out in most
age groups at the latest Kent League fixture at Tonbridge. Most of the teams
made the top three and Kate Curran and Jessica Keene won their age groups
leading the Club to victory in the process.
Both Senior teams finished in third place. Youngster
Amber Reed was first for the Senior Women in 8th with Fran Green 9th and
Sarah Belaon 16th completing the scoring three. With Andrea Pickup 19th, Amy
Mitchell 21st and Sarah Dowling 24th the Club won the 6 to score race.
Alex Gibbins was 8th in the mens race with Peter
Tucker 11th. There was a welcome return to competition from Phil Sesemann
who finished 12th and with Ben Cockburn 21st they were third in the team
race. Unfortunately they only had 11 finishers and so did not score in the
12 man team contest.
Krystal Galley was 2nd in the under 20 womens race
with Emma Rowland in 5th.
Kate Curran won the under 17 womens race and the Club
had an impressive 8 finishers. Anna Myers (5th), Lucy Sidey (6th), Bethany
Frost (7th), Samantha Leighton (8th) and Holly Fletcher (9th) all made the
top 10 while good strength in depth was shown with Sonia Woolhouse in 15th
and Millie Haffenden 17th. This meant the Club won the team race and had a B
team been allowed to score they would have finished 3rd. Anna Myers is now
in third place overall for the season.
The under 17 men did not fare quite so well with only
two finishers, Thomas Desborough in 29th and Luke Russell 43rd.
Another strong showing came from the under 15 girls
with Jessica Keene winning from Georgina Taylor and Niamh Bridson Hubbard
4th. This gave them an emphatic victory in the team race and with Shannon
Riskey 5th , Charlotte Rhule 8th and Mary Guy 13th, this trio would have
finished 2nd had B teams been allowed to score. Leah Everson, Chloe
Kibblewhite, Molly Dent, Jenny Sheasby, Madeleine Payne, Francesca Pickup
and Millie Haffenden were the other finishers.
Bailey Stickings was first home for the boys in 4th
place and Charlie Davis in 13th and Joshua Davidson 15th ensured the team
were second. Again there was a good depth with Marco Arcuri, Jonathan Court,
Arthur Carey, Scott Bulmer and Jack Estment all inside the top 40.
The under 13 girls took second place by one point from
third placed Dartford. Naomi Kingston finished 3rd and Yasmin Austridge 7th
which meant B&B and Dartford both had 10 points with two runners home. It
was all down to the third scorer and Georgina Piper got the nod in 13th one
place ahead of her Dartford rival with both being given the same time. Tammy
Falshaw and Catrin Murphy were both also in the top 20.
Jake Potter led home the under 13 boys in 5th place
and with Oscar Hussey 11th and George Pope 16th they were third in the team
contest. Good support came from Lewis Stickings, Peter Guy, Harrison Parker
and Harry Keene.
Over in the States, Alex Bruce Littlewood was second
in the Southwood Cross Country Meeting at Beaumont, Texas. This, and the
performances of his team mates, helped McNeese University win the team
title.
Shavaun Henry was in action in the latest UK Cross
Challenge race at Bristol. The International steeplechaser finished in 15th
place.
At the Cambridge Harriers 5km walk at Bexley, Shaun
Lightman was 9th overall in 29.25 and was first in the over 65s age group.
Tim Ayres was first Club member to finish the Great
South Run at Portsmouth. He was 181st in the 10 mile road race in 64.30 with
Richard Hall in 236th. Other finishers included Sue Dowse, Trevor Lewis,
Jude Lewis, Tina Harradine and Colin Rowe.
The Club’s endurance runners continue to show they are
an adventurous breed demonstrating there is more to long distance than just
the London Marathon. Following his recent efforts in the 24 hour track race
at Tooting, John Turner took part in the Snowdonia Marathon, one of the most
testing courses in the country. He finished in 557th place with Dave Leal
911th.
Down on the South coast at Eastbourne, a number of
Club members took part in the Beachy Head Marathon a cross country event
which finishes over the challenging terrain of the Seven Sisters. First home
was Steve Pairman in 122nd with John Fenwick, Stuart Bayley Dainton, Martin
Blunden, Mark Skelly, and Glen Read also completing the course.
Pete Rogers, Dick Griffin and Colin Poole took part in
the Woolwich Foot Tunnel Marathon. This was staged to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the opening of the Tunnel by Lord Cheylesmore, Chairman of
London County Council on 26th of October 1912.
Elaine Murty was the first woman to finish and second
overall in the latest Orpington Parkrun. She timed 18.51 for the 5km course.
Mick Jones was 7th in the event at Norman Park; while Bob Minting finished
16th at Killerton; Nigel Haffenden was 15th at Greenwich; and Jim Osman was
76th at Swindon.
23/10/12
Michael Skinner was the runaway winner of the
Blackheath & Bromley mob match against Orion Harriers at Hayes. He won the
7.5 mile cross country race in a time of 45.07 over two and half minutes
clear of the field.
His win helped B&B to victory in the match as, scoring
22 a side, the Club won with 378 points to Orion’s 746. In addition, the
Club won the Veterans race. With scoring 14 a side, they took 154 points to
the visitors 315.
To add to the celebrations Jane Bradshaw was the first
woman to finish in a time of 57.08. The race also incorporated the Club 7.5
mile championship so Michael and Jane are the new title holders.
Alex Gibbins (47.43) and Jamie Darling (49.13) were
second and third in both the Mob Match and the Club Championships. Amber
Reed was second in the womens Club Championship race in 59.06 with Rebecca
Taylor third in 61.25.
The race also incorporated the latest round of the
Bennett Cup Handicap, a series of 9 races which take place throughout the
Winter months. Winner on this occasion was Richard Webb with Roy Smith
second and Glen Read third.
Richard also leads the Series after three events on
167 points with Nigel Bulmer second (162) and Roy Smith third (160).
However, with 6 events to go, there is still everything to play for,
especially as a maximum of 60 handicap points are available to the winner of
each handicap race.
Elsewhere, Andy Rayner finished in third place in the
Surrey League at Roehampton competing for his second claim club Kent AC.
Dave Taylor was 13th for Herne Hill.
Shavaun Henry was 82nd in the Cabbage Patch 10 mile
road race in a time of 61.57. This improved her previous best for the
distance by 2 minutes. She was the 9th woman to finish.
Fintan Parkinson finished in 29th place at the
Abingdon Marathon in a time of 2.52.12. Closer to home, Helen Godsell was
220th in the Croydon 10km in 50.22.
Also on the roads Shaun Lightman finished in 5th place
in the Surrey Walking Club 4 mile Gazette Cup at Selsdon. He timed 38.23
with David Hoben 20th in 44.32. Both were back in action again at the
Steyning 10km where Shaun was 6th in 57.30, his fastest for nearly 10 years,
and David 16th in 72.52. Between them in 9th was Peter Hannell in 62.41.
Plenty of Club members took part in the various
Parkruns which take place around the country each Saturday morning. At the
event at Orpington, Elaine Murty not only won the womens race, she beat all
the men as well. She timed 19.12 for the 5km course with youngsters Bailey
Stickings and Joshua Davidson finishing second and third. Bailey’s dad Nigel
was 9th, brother Lewis 13th and mum Charlotte 17th.
James Poole won the event at Braunstone in 15.26 and
Jessica Keene was first woman at the event at Lloyd Park in 21.29.
Youngster James Perry was the Club’s first finisher at
Norman Park placing second in 18.46. Another youngster Marco Arcuri was 7th
with Mark Daniel in 12th and Arthur Carey 19th also making the top 20. First
female finisher from the Club was Chloe Haffenden in 117th.
Joshua Skyers was 17th at Dulwich.
16/10/12
Blackheath & Bromley athletes have been here, there,
and everywhere in recent days competing across the UK and the globe on
country, road, field and bike.
Olympic marathon runner Scott Overall was the first
Briton to finish at the Cardiff Half Marathon. He was 7th in 65.35. This
time may appear a little slow from someone who has run four minutes quicker,
but that was the plan. Scott was using the race as part of his preparation
for the New York Marathon and the target for Cardiff was to run the Half at
Marathon pace. His next race will be the Cabbage Patch 10 mile race at
Twickenham.
Michael Skinner finished in 4th place in the Perkins
Great Eastern Half Marathon at Peterborough. He timed 67.02 for the
distance. The previous week Peter Tucker completed the full marathon in
Jersey coming home in 3rd place 2.31.11.
In the United States , Alex Bruce Littlewood was 108th
in the NCAA Div 1 Pre Nationals cross country in Louisville, Kentucky. He
timed 24.33.9.
Richard Hall travelled to Germany for the Munich
Marathon where the finished in 3.29.18. Meanwhile Nick Kinsey was competing
at the ICAN Half Marathon triathlon at Peguerra in South Mallorca. Due to
high winds, the swim was cancelled and replaced with a 10km run. This was
followed by a 90km bike ride and then the scheduled 21km run. Nick won the
Masters category and was 20th overall.
Fresh from his exploits in Jersey, Peter Tucker could
not resist the free chocolate bar, banana and samosa on offer to those
finishing the Petts Wood 10km. He did more than just complete the course, he
won it in 34.51 with Alex Gibbins 2nd and Ben Cockburn 4th. Justine Eastbury
was the first woman from the Club to finish in 92nd with Zoe Wood 128th.
Peter Hamilton was 95th in the Givaudan Ashford 10km
in a time of 39.57. The race incorporated the British Masters Championships
and Peter was 6th in the over 60s race. It also included the Southern
Counties Vets AC Championships in which he was 3rd.
Barbara Terry and Gordon Hickey both finished in
second place in their respective age groups at the SECTA Weight Pentathlon
at Ewell. Barbara scored 3325 points in the over 65s competition. Gordon
chalked up 2505 points in the mens over 75s category.
Fintan Parkinson was the Club’s first finisher in the
latest Bromley 5km Parkrun at Norman Park. He came 3rd in 17.28 with Richard
Daniel 4th, Andy Tucker 6th and Joshua Davidson 10th. First female from the
Club to finish was youngster Yasmin Austridge in 105th with 400 hurdler
Katrina Cosby in 136th and Chloe Kibblewhite 191st.
Fran Green won the womens race at Dulwich in a time of
19.16 while Jessica Keene was 3rd in the event at Orpington with Rob Brown
8th; Chris Pike was 18th at Bexley; and Chloe and Nigel Haffenden were 28th
and 29th at Greenwich.
.
9/10/12
Adam Gemili has finished as runner up in European
Athletics Rising Star poll for 2012. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete was
beaten to the title by Pavel Maslak of the Czech Republic who won the
European Championships 400 metre title at the age of 21.
Adam’s second place came after he won the World Junior
100 metres title in Barcelona in July. He also reached the 100 metres semi
final at the Olympics and ran the fastest 200 metres by a Briton for three
years.
It is likely to be the first of many end of year
awards in which he will feature and was a nice 19th birthday present.
Elaine Murty and Andy Rayner have also had plenty to
celebrate this weekend. Elaine was first woman to finish in the Kent Cross
Country League at Swanley and led the womens team to victory. Andy finished
in 2nd place in the mens race as the Club finished in 3rd. More importantly
the couple have just got engaged.
The other members of the winning womens team were Fran
Green in 6th and captain Jane Bradshaw. Amber Reed in 13th and Sarah Dowling
in 17th also made the top 20 and with Sara Elmquist 23rd they won the 6 to
score contest as well. Encouragingly there were another seven finishers.
Alex Gibbins in 10th, Sam Barnes 16th and Danny Brewer
29th completed the scoring mens team. The Club were also 3rd in the 12 to
score contest.
A very good turn out in the under 17s age group saw
the women finish in third, Anna Myers in 10th, Lucy Sidey 11th and Samantha
Leighton 13th being the three scorers. On a number of occasions last year
the Club did not have a complete mens team but this year started promisingly
with the team finishing 4th led home by Richard Webb in 11th, Will Ruiz 16th
and Tom Desborough 31st despite getting a spike through his foot.
Best result and biggest turn out in the younger age
groups came in the under 15 girls. With Jessica Keene 3rd, Georgina Taylor
5th and Shannon Riskey 6th they won the team race, but, equally pleasing was
to see a further 9 athletes finish. Baily Stickings led the under 15 boys
home in 9th place and with Charlie Davis 15th and Joshua Davidson 16th, they
were 3rd in the team race.
Both under 13s teams finished in runners up spots.
Naomi Kingston was second for the girls with Yasmin Austridge 8th and
Georgina Piper 12th. First for the boys was Jake Potter in 3rd place with
Dillon Robertson 7th , despite an early fall, and Joe Smith 9th.
With a number of youngsters making their Kent League
debuts it was overall an encouraging day. The next fixture takes place at
Tonbridge on the 27th of October.
Dan Marks was the Club’s first finisher at the latest
Bromley 5km Parkrun at Norman Park. He finished in 5th place in a time of
18.28 with Richard Daniel 6th, and Mark Daniel 13th and John Beck 19th also
making the top 20.
Colin Norris won the event at Dulwich in a very good
time of 15.37, while Steve Cooper was 2nd at Ipswich in 17.48; and Karen
Desborough was 50th at Orpington.
2/10/12
There was a disappointing turn out for the Blackheath
& Bromley Club 5 Cross Country Championships at West Wickham with only 40
finishers, the lowest this Century. Although the date had to be moved
forward from its traditional October slot and this may have affected
numbers, it is probably fair to say that the Olympic legacy has not extended
to Cross Country.
This is a shame, not only because of the big effort by
the Club’s volunteer officials to ensure the event took place, but also
because the Club 5 is one of the oldest trophies in the World, first having
been contested in 1880 and the list of previous winners gives a taste of the
richness of the Club’s History. Past victors have included in 1884 Walter
George, former World Record Holder for the mile, while a more recent winner
was Mark Steinle, the fastest Briton over the Marathon this Century.
Not that this years winner was not a distinguished
individual. Alex Gibbins has been a stalwart of the Club’s cross country,
road and track teams for many years and is joint captain of the men‘s Winter
team. The 36 year old won the race in 29.29 from Peter Tucker who timed
30.06. Roy Smith celebrated his 50th birthday a week early by securing third
place in 32.47, a good performance from someone who does the majority of his
aerobic conditioning on a bike and who regularly triggers airport alarms
with his hip replacement.
Winner of the womens race was team captain Jane
Bradshaw, who was 13th overall in 36.27 followed by youngsters Amber Reed in
36.44 and Georgina Taylor in 36.50.
Amber and Georgina were 1st and 2nd in the Junior
Womens race with Niamh Bridson Hubbard in third with 39.59. Winner of the
King-Morrison Trophy for the Junior Mens race was Richard Webb in 33.42 with
Bailey Stickings 2nd in 34.22 and Tom Desborough 3rd in 36.09.
The race incorporated the second of the Bennett Cup
Handicap races, a series of nine events which take place over the Winter
months. Winner was Rebecca Taylor who made a welcome return to racing. Now
in her 5th year of studying Medicine she was actually 4th woman overall.
Mick Jones was second in the handicap with Rebecca’s younger sister Georgina
third.
Mick leads the Handicap on 118 points but there are
still 7 events to go and he can’t afford to be complacent with Scott Bulmer
on 113, and Sarah Belaon on 110. In fact seven athletes are already over 100
points meaning that the Handicap Title is again promising to be a keenly
contested event.
Fresh from becoming a father Alex Bruce Littlewood finished in 22nd place at
the Notre Dame Invitational in the United States. He timed 24.12 and helped
McNeese State University to finish in 9th place in the team race.
Kev May finished in 11th place in the Barns Green Half
Marathon in a time of 77.58. He was the second over 40 to finish.
The Kent Relays took place the previous weekend at Norman Park and, despite
the poor weather which meant that the Meeting was abandoned towards the end
of the afternoon, there was still plenty of success for the Club in the
younger age groups.
Particularly noteworthy was the performance of the
under 13 boys quartet of Adefela Lipede, Harry Taylor, James Low and Daniel
Ndukwe who won Gold with a PB time of 51.4 sec. This ranks them 3rd club in
the country this year and was close to the Club record which has stood since
1993. They won by nearly six seconds.
Similarly impressive were the under 17’s women 4 x 100
metres team of Vivien Olatunji, Cheriece Hylton, Shannon Hylton and Dina
Asher Smith who won by nearly three seconds in a time of 48.8.
Further victories came from the under 15 girls 3x800
team of Leah Everson, Jessica Keane and Shannon Riskey who won by 12 seconds
in 7.19.0; and the under 13 boys 3x800 metres team of Dillon Robertson,
George Pipe and Jake Potter. They won by nearly half a minute much to the
delight of their team manager Paul Austridge who said “It was worth being
soaked to the skin seeing the lads ignore the rain and the depleting crowds
and race with such great determination. Another great effort”.
The under 15 girls 4x100 metre team of Isabella
Hilditch, Kate Woodbridge, Megan Beaman Browne and Jamilya Robinson Pascal
finished second in 53.6; and there were bronze medals for the under 13 girls
3x800 metre team of Naomi Kingston, Yasmin Austridge and Satiya Atkins-Dyke
and the under 17 womens 3x800 trio of Bethany Frost, Samantha Leighton and
Holly Fletcher.
Many runners will now know whether they have gained
entries for next years London Marathon, but if they think the distance is a
long way they need to talk to John Turner. He has just completed his 5th 24
hour track race at Tooting Bec over Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd of
September. Without any specific training he was the first over 60 runner
completing a total of 91.25 miles.
Some may think that running round a track for 24 hours
might put extra pressure on the left hip but they need not be concerned as
half way through the race the athletes do a reverse turn and run the last 12
hours in a clockwise direction.
At the Enfield One Hour walk at Hemel Hemstead Peter
Hannell finished in 10th place covering 9,717 metres while David Hoben was
22nd in 8,335.
Andy Tucker was the Club’s first finisher in the
latest Bromley 5km Parkrun at Norman Park. He finished in 6th place in with
Richard Daniel 11th and Steve Pairman 12th. First female from the Club to
finish was young Yasmin Austridge who finished in 57th.
Naomi Kingston was winner of the womens race at
Crystal Palace. She was 11th overall in 20.14 with Mary Guy 26th.
Steve Cooper was 4th in the event at Ipswich while at
Orpington Jessica Keene was the first Club member to finish in 7th .
