Weekly Update - 24th Dec. 2025

South of Thames CCA 7.5 Championships, Wimbledon (Sat. 20th Dec.)

This race was first held in 1888 when the winner was W. Jones of Reindeer Harriers, a club which sadly no longer exists, reports Clem Dixon. The Reindeers were one of many smaller working class clubs that were denied entry to the County cross country associations by the larger more middle class clubs; as a result they founded their own organisations, one for clubs South of the Thames and another for those North of it. Such was the success of the races they hosted that before long the posh clubs applied to join and were accepted.

There were no Cambridge Harriers in that first race as the club would not be founded for another two years. Since then the courses used have been many and varied, mostly in South London or Surrey but sometimes further afield, it was last on Wimbledon Common in 2013. There are three cross country clubs in the vicinity of the Common (Belgrave, Hercules and Thames) and they each have their own course on it, historically all three have been used for South of Thames races, this year, as in 2013, we were on the Belgrave course. And once you have parked any reservations about it not being proper cross country it is a nice enough route, it has much in common with our Joydens Wood course which is also in picturesque woodland and which also has long sections on stony paths that make it unsuitable for spikes, we have more hills though!

Scoring is for teams of six in this one and as in 2013 six is all that we had. In the pub afterwards I confidently predicted that my exploits at the back of the field would ensure that we were last of those clubs that managed to close out a team but we were actually 16th out of 17 (thank you The Stragglers), but at least we were there.

Results: 59th James Macdonald 47:23; 102nd Ben Rew 50:46; 120th Terry Stark 52:14; 146th David Reader 54:31; 156th James Floyd 55:29; 213th Clem Dixon 68:14.

BFTTA Indoor Open #1, Lee Valley (Sun. 21st Dec.)

Some of the club’s high jumpers travelled to Lee Valley for an early‑season indoor competition, writes Mick Bond. Phoebe Folarin (U17W) cleared 1.60m once again, while Elazar Adejinmi (U15M) matched his personal best of 1.70m. The standout performance of the day came from Ryan Lynott (U17M), who added an impressive 14cm to his PB with a clearance of 1.92m — a height that places him inside the UK top 10 for his age group.

Portsmouth Marathon (Sun. 21st Dec.)

A festive flat out and back multi-terrain marathon along the coastal paths of Southsea Seafront. The route winds along the shores of Langstone Harbour, looping back at Hayling Island.

Christian Poulton completed the race in 3:28:47 52nd out of 590 finishers & 4th M55.

Swanley Christmas Caper (Sun. 21st Dec.)

The Swanley Christmas Caper is a festive 4.2-mile run held annually in Swanley, complete with seasonal rewards for all competitors. Every finisher received a mini Christmas pudding and a commemorative medal, while the podium prizes added to the fun — first place taking home a turkey, second a chicken, and third a vegetable selection with gravy.

A number of club members took part in the event, with an excellent performance from Mark Penny, who finished second overall. Full results have yet to be published.