Weekly Update - 9th Sept. 2026

101st Glenhurst Handicap, Bexley (Wed. 2nd Sept.)

This month's handicap attracted 24 runners to take on the 3.3 mile course of undulating roads around our clubhouse, reports Clem Dixon. The fastest net times were recorded by mother and son Rose and Brett Baker (24:46 and 19:27) but this is a handicapped race where start times are staggered and first over the line, and first to get his hands on the newly repurposed trophy that will now get awarded every month, was 80 year old Peter Hadley.

If you fancy participating in this great club institution, it is on the first Wednesday of every month (except when it isn't). Contact Keith Dungate for information: keithdungate@hotmail.com.

Assembly League #6, Beckenham Place Park (Thur. 3rd Sept.)

Twelve club runners competed in the final Assembly League of the year at Beckenham Place Park.

First home for the club was James Macdonald finishing in 8th overall and also taking the M45 overall title for the series. Closely followed on the night by Jonathan Sargent in 20th and Duncan Hope 30th.

Sophie Johnson and Beki Hilton-Hans were our only females, both running for the first time in the league and separated by just two places.

Although not there on the night Rose Baker was 2nd in the league for W60 and to complete a successful series out men's team were 3rd overall.

BMC 800m Regional Meeting, Gillingham (Sat. 5th Sept.)

Strong end-of-season performances from our juniors at the BMC meeting in Gillingham on Saturday!

Charlotte Foster (U16 - pictured) took the win in the women’s A race, recording a fantastic PB of 2:13.67. Chloe Dolton (U16) also set a new PB, clocking 2:29.99 in the B race.

Oliver Cook (U18 - pictured) continued his excellent form with another sub-2-minute performance, running 1:59.64, while Senuth Gomes (U16) recorded 2:10.10.

Big Half, Tower Bridge to Cutty Sark, Greenwich (Sun. 6th Sept.)

The Club had more than 20 runners taking part in this year’s Big Half, the popular half marathon that starts at the Tower of London and heads through Docklands to Greenwich. The course follows roads that feature in the London Marathon route, including the iconic crossing of Tower Bridge.

Our first finisher was David Worden, who produced a superb personal best of 1:14:08. Amy Smith was our first female finisher, completing the course in an excellent 1:35:14.

Congratulations to everyone who took part and represented the Club so well!

8th Internationaler Hochgratberglauf, Oberstaufen, Germany (Sun. 6th Sept.)

The Hochgratberglauf is a classic Allgäu uphill-only race: 6km and around 850m of climbing from the valley station at Steibis to the cable car top station just below the Hochgrat summit (1,834m), the highest point of the Nagelfluhkette, writes Christian Poulton.

Now in its 48th edition, it always draws a strong field of local runners and this year the field was even stronger as the race doubled as the regional mountain running championship. After racing it last year, I was back for another go as the sole British runner in the field.

The traditional 10:30 start sent us straight into the climb, and with temperatures in the mid-to-high twenties it was a sweaty grind almost from the gun. The gradient rarely relents, so it’s essentially 50 minutes at threshold — my watch had me averaging 154bpm all the way up. I couldn’t quite match last year’s time in the heat, finishing about a minute down in 50:27 for 72nd place, but held my own in a deep M60 field and enjoyed the reward that makes this race special: a finish line perched on the ridge, the Alps spread out in every direction, and an ice-cold German beer to cool you down. I’ll be back.