British and Irish Masters Cross Country International, Glasgow (Sat. 11th Nov.)
Chris Loudon represented Scottish Masters at the British and Irish Masters Cross Country International held in Tollcross Park, Glasgow. Running in the combined M35-49 race he finished in 20th position, and 10th M35, covering the 8k course in 26:09. Chris was the second scorer for the Scottish team that claimed bronze.
Kent Cross Country League, Danson Park (Sat. 11th Nov.)
After a week of persistent rain, the sun shone for the Kent Cross Country League meeting, at Danson Park on Saturday. The course was reasonably dry and without any significant hills made for some fast running. There was no women’s race at this fixture.
Young Age Groups: In the under 13 races Sophia-Rose Bonnar was first to finish for the club (9th place) in the girls race, writes Mark Newell. She has consistently placed in the top ten of each of the three matches which places her 7th in the overall standings. It was good to see ever present Lizzie Sanders and Daisy O'Brien being joined by Saskia Moon, in her first race for the club. Alex Van den Berg-Hows was once again first club finisher in the boys race with 14th place. Nineteen seconds separated Ayotunde Dauda (41st), Brodie Baker (46th) and Raif Mendjeli (47th).
In the under 15 races Aniket Iyengar (pictured below - courtesy of Mark Hookway (TAC)) had his highest placing of the season when coming home in 10th place. Delilah Lester was first club girl in 14th place and currently sits 5th in the overall standings. There were big improvements from Isabel Brand and Meredith Cummins who placed 21st and 24th respectively.
Amelia Lawrence equalled her two previous performances with another fine 3rd place in the under 17 women's race and currently holds 2nd place in the overall standings. In the under 20 men's race, David Pongui also secured a third place finish, his highest placing of the season.
Senior Men: Danson Park has been an ever present Kent League venue for longer than most can remember but for the last decade it has always hosted the fixture that does not include a senior men's race, writes Clem Dixon. This year that changed and it was the women who missed out, so although it may not be the most exciting of courses there was at least some novelty for the 29 of the club's senior men who took this on. Bexley Council are a lot more precious about Danson Park than they are about Footscray Meadows; the old course on the North side of the park is no longer available owing to fears of damage to the grass and we are left with only the relatively small and flat area between the lake and the A2, but well done to Bexley AC who make the most of what they have and organised the event flawlessly.
We had a couple of big names missing but were a lot nearer to our full strength than at Tonbridge two weeks earlier, easily strong enough to take third place from Blackheath in both the four-to-score and the twelve-to-score team competitions although still some way adrift of the leading two clubs (Tonbridge and Medway, both of whom had four in the top ten and twelve in the top 50). With one race to go a final position of third in the league should be attainable, although it will be Blackheath's home fixture (Norman Park, 10th February).
Three weeks ago at Joydens Wood Bobby Babaker had the beating of Tom Brooke, but not this time: Tom started strongly and held on well for 9th whereas Bobby (14th) started more conservatively and moved his way up through the field to finish just ahead of Ben Shearer (15th) but still 18 seconds behind Tom. James Macdonald (29th) was again our 4th finisher. The team of 12 was bolstered by Steve Hodges (47th), returning to the cross country scene after a six year absence and by new member Alfie Oliver (53rd). Duncan Hope in 79th had the honour of completing the team.
Tom Brooke - Alfie Oliver - Peter Hadley
In the earlier golden oldies race for women over 65 and men over 70, Maria Macdonald was 3rd lady and lies 2nd in the table, while Stephanie Dungate was 7th. For the men Peter Hadley was our only runner this time: 9th place leaving him 7th in the table.
Full Cambridge Harriers results are here
Enfield Open 7 Mile Race Walks, Enfield Playing Fields (Sat. 11th Nov.)
At the 96th staging of the Enfield 7 Open Race Walks, Mark Culshaw (M55) won the men's title in a time of 1:14:14.
RunThrough Victoria Park Half Marathon, Victoria Park, Hackney (Sun. 12th Nov.)
Emily Meins ran her first race in eight months having recovered from a stress fracture, clocking 1:27:00 at the RunThrough Victoria Park half marathon, finishing in 47th place overall and third women and qualifying for the 2024 London Marathon.
Chatham Maritime 10k (Sun. 12th Nov.)
Mark Penny (M40) recorded a time of 38:52 for 8th place.