Weekly Update - 10th Sept. 2025

Assembly League, Beckenham Place Park (Thur. 4th Sept.) (Results)

This years Assembly League came to a close on Thursday 4th September with a small group of club runners tackled the undulating Beckenham Place Park course in rapidly fading light, writes Graham Maynard. Despite not running all the races, Rose Baker and James Macdonald had scored enough points to pick-up medals for the W60 (1st place) and M40 (3rd place) age categories. The men’s team won 3rd overall place for the six race series. Congratulations to Martin Hawkins and Graham Maynard for completing all six races this year, with Martin now having completed over 90 Assembly League races.

BMC Regional Races/Medway & Maidstone Open, Gillingham (Sat. 6th Sept.)

Oliver Cook ran an excellent race to break two minutes for the first time for 800m finishing in 1:59.32s. Obinna Aniebo and Kendrick Onolememen renewed their rivalry in the discus and shot. Kendrick came out on top in the discus with 55.77m, though Obinna was only inches behind with 55.54m and they now sit 1st and 2nd on the UK-all-time list. In the shot Obinna took top honours with a PB of 16.31m to move to 2nd on the 2025 rankings, whilst Kendrick's PB of 15.43m moved him up to 6th.

Kent Under 13 Jumps Championships, Norman Park, Bromley (Sun. 7th Sept.)

Oladesire Ayinla added a centimetre to his own UK all time high jump record clearing 1.75m to win the Kent title.

Kent County Relay Championships, Norman Park, Bromley (Sun. 7th Sept.)

Cambridge Harriers Shine at Kent Relay Championships - The club enjoyed a hugely successful day at the Kent Relay Championships, held at Norman Park, Bromley, on Sunday, reports Mick Bond. The club’s athletes produced outstanding performances across the age groups, highlighted by a clean sweep of victories for the Under 17 Men, who dominated every event they contested.

Under 17 Men – Untouchable - The U17 men delivered one of the most comprehensive displays ever seen at the championships, winning all four of their relays: 3 × 800m – Oliver Cook, Thomas Ellis, and Joshua Wellings claimed gold in 6:18.8s; 4 × 200m – Ekene Ogbonna, Elijah Olaleye, Rhys Joyeux, and Hans Nmaju stormed to victory in 1:31.4s; 4 × 400m – Immanuel Jegede, Rhys Joyeux, Joshua Wellings, and Elijah Olaleye won convincingly in 3:26.8s, with the club’s B team also taking silver; 4 × 100m – Ogbonna, Olaleye, Daniel Obike, and Nmaju crossed the line first in 43.5s, with the B team again on the podium in bronze position. This remarkable set of results underlined both the quality and the depth of the U17 men’s squad.

Medals Across the Age Groups - Cambridge Harriers’ medal tally extended far beyond the U17s, with podium finishes across nearly every age group. There were golds for the U17 women in both the 4 × 100m and 4 × 300m, and double victories for the U15 boys in the 4 × 200m and 4 × 300m. The senior women also impressed, taking gold in both the Medley Relay and the 4 × 400m. Silver medals came in abundance too, with strong second-place finishes for the U13 boys, U17 women, and senior women, while bronze medals were secured in the U15 girls’ sprints and other competitive races.

Medal Table - When the medals were tallied across all clubs, the club emerged as the most successful team of the championships:

Club	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Cambridge Harriers	11	9	4	24
Medway & Maidstone AC	7	7	6	20
Dartford Harriers AC	4	6	5	15
Tonbridge AC	3	6	5	14
Ashford AC	2	4	3	9
Bexley AC	1	3	3	7
Invicta East Kent AC	0	3	5	8
Folkestone RC/AC	1	2	2	5
Kent AC	0	2	1	3
Swale Combined AC	0	1	0	1
S Factor Academy	0	0	1	1

A Day to Remember - The championships demonstrated both the depth of talent and the team spirit running through Cambridge Harriers. With athletes from U13s to seniors stepping up and medalling, and the U17 men writing their own piece of history by winning every event, the club’s future looks brighter than ever.

International Hochgratlauf Mountain Run, Germany (Sun. 7th Aug.)

Christian Poulton participated in the 47th International Hochgratlauf, held in Oberstaufen-Steibis on Sunday. Mountain running is one of the oldest and most traditional sports in the Alpine region. This event featured endurance athletes traversing a 6.040km long route with a height difference of 850 metres to the mountain station (1,708 metres), at the summit of the highest peak of the Allgäu Nagelfluhkette.

The race record is held by the multiple mountain running world champion Jonathan Wyatt (New Zealand), who achieved a time of 29:37 in 2002. The fastest woman was Susi Riermeier, a former cross-country skier, who completed the race in 37:56 in 1982.

The first male finisher completed the race in 35:15, while the first female finisher completed it in 45:33. Christian finished in 60th place, with a time of 49:37, placing 8th in the M55 category.