Cambridge Harriers Young Athlete Trials, Sutcliffe Park
The club’s pre–Season Young Athlete trials have been an annual event for over ten years now, reports Mick Bond. They provide good early season competition for club members whilst also allowing potential members to come and try things out and for parents to meet team managers etc and get a feel for what we can offer as a club. In the early years we would get around 60 athletes entered and then post Covid this was our first event back and entries went over the over 100 mark. This year’s event attracted 175 entries and that along with some good weather made for a great day’s athletics. Of the 175 athletes entered roughly 50% were potential new members and based on previous years many will join to should bolster our junior teams nicely
For the club members good weather and good training through the winter meant PB’s fell left right and centre and are too numerous to mention in full. Best performances of the day however went to Faith Assah 40.95s in the Under 17 Women’s 300m and to Elijah Olaleye who ran the Under 15 boys 80m hurdles in 11.61s seconds to equal the club record (video of race below).
Team manager’s are now hard at work putting together teams for the first league matches on the season (U13 and U15 Kent League at Norman Park on April 29 and U17 and U20 Youth Development League at Tonbridge on April 30th).
The Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon having been inaugurated in 1897 following the success of the first marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens and ranks as one of the world's best-known road racing events. The race is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday in April. The Boston is considered to be one of the more difficult marathon courses because of the Newton hills, which culminate in Heartbreak Hill near Boston College, so James Macdonald's finishing time of 2:32.38 is pretty impressive, crossing the line in 230th overall and 19th M40. Alex Tringham recorded a time of 3:13:36. James' mum Maria had a good run finishing twelfth in the W70 age category in 4:23:14.
Maria & James Macdonald
Manchester Marathon
Five club members travelled 'up north' for the Manchester Marathon, billed as the UK's flattest major marathon. John O'Mahony finished in 253rd in 2:45:44, Geoffrey Smith 800th - 2:56.46, Katica Puga 5552th - 3:41.33, Maggie Illingworth 5780th - 3:43:02 and Nathan Moncaster 7780th - 3:55:12.
Enschede Marathon
Clem Dixon travelled to Enschede, a municipality and city in eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel for the Enschede Marathon, which is the second oldest marathon in Europe, and the oldest marathon in the Netherlands, having been run annually since 1947, Covid excepted. Clem crossed the line in 288th position (5th M60) in a time of 3:33:46.
The One in the Park 10k, Regents Park
At the One in the Park 10k held in London's Regents Park, Lucy Marlow recorded a time of 40:18, for tenth place overall and first woman.