Weekly Update - 1st July 2026

Track & Field Round-Up

Whilst the scorching weather led to the cancellation of both the Master’s League on Friday and the Kent Young Athletes League on Saturday there was still loads going on over the weekend.

British U18 Trials for European Championships, Cardiff (27th / 28th June)

Four of our top juniors travelled down the M4 to compete at the GB U18 Trials, with places on the line for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the upcoming European Under-18 Championships in Italy, reports Mick Bond.

Qualification was awarded to the first two finishers in each event, provided they had also achieved the demanding entry standard. All four athletes acquitted themselves superbly, each producing a new personal best. Unfortunately, despite their outstanding performances, they were all left just short of securing a place on the team.

First up was Danielle Agyemang-Talbot, who finished fourth in the 400m final. Drawn in the difficult outside lane eight, she ran an excellent lifetime best of 55.17 seconds.

Next was Emily Cadman, who crossed the line second in the 100m in a superb personal best of 11.67 seconds. She would have earned selection were it not for the illegal tailwind of +2.5m/s, which meant her time could not be considered for qualification.

In the high jump, Daniel Obike cleared a personal best of 2.02m but also had to settle for fourth place.

Finally, Ekene Ogbonna finished third in the 110m hurdles, where a strong following wind of +5.1m/s made conditions difficult for everyone.

While all four narrowly missed out on European selection, they can take some consolation in competing at the English Schools Championships, an event they would have had to miss had they been selected for the European Championships.

SEAA U14/U16/U18 Championships & Race Walks, Chelmsford (27th / 28th June)

A bumper entry of more than 1,800 athletes, despite clashes with several other events, made for a busy weekend of competition at Chelmsford, where the club was once again very well represented, reports Mick Bond.

Elijah Olaleye enjoyed a superb championships, securing a double gold medal. He dominated the 400m hurdles, winning by three seconds, before producing a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the 110m hurdles, edging home by just 0.04 seconds in a personal best of 14.25.

Obinna Aniebo also claimed double gold in the field events, winning both the U16 discus and shot put with outstanding throws of 61.51m and 17.74m respectively.

The club's gold medal tally was further boosted by Joshua-Raphael Ike, who produced a last-round personal best of 6.77m to win the U18 long jump.

In the U14 200m, Rida Oluwa had to contend with a punishing -5.2m/s headwind in the final. Despite the conditions, her strength prevailed as she claimed gold in 26.39, having earlier cruised to victory in her heat in 25.75.

There was further success across the championships with several medal-winning performances. Charlotte Foster claimed silver in the U16 1500m with 4:28.31, while Nia Thomas made a welcome return from injury to take silver in the U18 100m hurdles in 15.17.

Kendrick Onolememen enjoyed an excellent competition, winning silver in the U16 discus with 51.36m and bronze in the shot put with 16.59m.

Bronze medals were also earned by Phoebe Folarin and Ryan Lynott in their respective U18 high jump competitions, while Jovani Lyndsey rounded off the club's medal haul with bronze in the 300m, recording a personal best of 35.91.

In the race walk championships held in conjunction with the event, Hannah Hopper secured the gold medal in the 5,000m race walk with a season's best time of 26:39.63.

North Downs Run, Gravesend (Sun. 28th June)

By Sunday the heatwave was officially over but conditions were still decidedly warmer than most would have chosen for a 30k trail race, writes Clem Dixon. Les Pullen's beer station at 18k provided much needed relief. It is a great race as is evidenced by the fact that so many runners return to it year after year; all four of the Cambridge Harriers who did it this year also did a year ago when it was also a hot one.

Results: 23rd Kyle Hurst 2:14:17; 200th Clem Dixon 3:12:23; 261st Steve Brown 3:34:13; 287th Russell Buchanan 3:41:07.

Cambridge Harriers Beer Mile, Greenwich Park (Fri. 26th June)

Motorsport has the Nürburgring 24 at the Nordschleife, cycling the Hour Record, bobsleigh the Cresta Run, events that represent a romantic distillation of speed and human endurance, monuments to the soul of their respective sports. In this pantheon lives the Cambridge Harriers Beer Mile, an event that occupies an outsize space in the hearts of the sporting faithful writes Peter St-Amour.

The format remains the traditional British version of 4 x (pint of beer + 400m), and Royal Parks have the good grace to mark out a track on a cricket field. Having a painted line to focus on after a few hasty pints indicates sound appreciation of park users’ needs.

Nine weeks prior and near the Beer Mile start, 66,393 runners would be poised to tackle the London Marathon. On this night, eight elite drinkers athletes took the first pint in hand and on the signal, downed them. Strategies varied thereafter. This year Chantelle McGinty raced with a compliant beverage of beer rather than the non-qualifying wine of 2025. Others went hard with cold lager. The podium occupiers chose less gassy ales, sacrificing out and out refreshment after a week of 30+ degree temperatures for the practical considerations of drinking as fast as possible.

Clem Dixon performed the undercut on James Macdonald with a nine second downing, only to see his advantage slip on the running legs. Equality is a core value of the Beer Mile, and the achievements of Chantelle McGinty with sixteen seconds and Julie Backley with an eighteen second pint (Budvar!), rounded out the top four fastest pints.

Thanks to Graham Maynard and James Floyd for timekeeping. In a repeat of 2025’s placings, it was James Macdonald who took home the sizeable silverware with Clem Dixon in second. Peter St-Amour took the third step of the picnic bench in his first outing at this event.