26/04/09 - Paviour leads the red and black charge in London Marathon
On a day which was much hotter than anticipated, with temperatures climbing steadily throughout the morning, the conditions for the competitors in the London Marathon were perhaps far from ideal, but that didn't stop Ben Paviour from recording 2:29:17. This represents a fine reward for months of hard training over a winter in which he has competed for the senior men's road and cross country teams more times than anybody else, so it was fitting that he should become the first man in a red and black vest to cross the finish line.
Next to finish was Dave Peters, despite having vowed never to run another marathon back in 2006. Despite being much more of a miler than a marathon man, Dave produced 26 steady miles and a sprint finish to finish in 2:48:40 to considerably improve on his 2006 effort.
Also impressing on a scorching day was Rosalind Kieran whose splendid effort of 2:53:30 was one of the faster times recorded by a club member on the day and quick enough to claim 13th place in the women's race and, of course, the club championship.
James Ward, by his own admission "overcooked" the first 10 miles, but still had signifcant determination and will-power to ensure he beat the 3-hour barrier for the first time, clocking 2:55:57 to beat his previous best by almost 13 minutes. He did, though, endure the ignomy of being beaten by an extremely nimble-footed Santa Claus in a sprint finish!
Raj Singh narrowly missed finishing inside 3 hours after suffering in the heat in the latter part of the race, but his time of 3:01:40 was still a fine effort and one which he will surely improve considerably. After him came Gaby Carnwath in a very credible 3:06.59, the second woman from the club to beat the women's qualifying standard of 3:15:00.
Paul Shiel's time of 3:14:29 was not as fast as he had hoped, but he learnt much from his marathon debut and will surely lower his standard in future. Behind him were Richard Davis, who clocked 3:15:44, Debbie Jackson who just beat the 3:30 barrier, clocking 3:29:40, while Carolyn Grainger was not far behind her in 3:31.05.
John O'Sullivan has been a club member for many years and he used all of his experience and know-how to run an evenly-paced race which saw him finish in 3:36:12 as an M50. Louisa Harrold and Virginia Grant also produced fine demonstrations of steady, even-paced running to reach the Mall in 3:38:11 and 3:41:25 respectively.
Rupert Mainwaring also achieved the target he set himself back in December of finishing inside 3:45 by clocking 3:42:34, although he was a little disappointed not to have run a little quicker on the day having raised his standard over the course of the winter. Suzanne Swaine finished in 3:58:20 before Spencer Mason, in what he claims to be his final marathon recorded 4:03:22 for a fine PB. Phillip Henwood improved his 2008 time to finish in 4:13:22. Rob Jacobs finished in 5:35:19.
A number of second-claim members also donned their racing shoes, most notably Tooting-based Ben Whitby whose effort of 2:18:14 saw him finish as the second Briton in the race and was sufficient to claim the club championship from John McFarlane who was a couple of minutes behind in 2:20:44. Andy Weir also finished in the top 100 with 2:29:13 as did Mike Boucher with 2:31:13, Alan Wray achieved his target time with 2:42:12 while Mike Ashby was thrilled to lower his PB to 2:53:46.
Congratulations to all finishers and let's hope all who were running for charities (there were a few) achieve their fundraising targets. On a different note, thank you all club members and our friends from other local clubs who lined the course and shouted out words of encouragement when we runners needed it most, particularly in those difficult last miles when legs were begining to hurt. In my own case, it played a significant part in the latter stages of my own race. I couldn't have asked for better support or encouragement. As far being beaten by Santa Claus, all I can say is that he now knows what I want for Christmas! (James Ward)
25/04/09 - Southern Women's League team off to flying start
The Southern Women’s League team started their 2009 campaign in the early season sunshine at Battersea Park with a convincing win and a match score that was sufficient to see them top the league. Nearest competitors and local rivals Sutton & District were a distant second with 95 points to the impressive red and black total of 109. The momentum from last year’s promotion to the UK Women’s League has been maintained and hopefully this can continue into the first national fixture in June.
On the track, the sprinters were in good form. Michelle Watson backed up 2nd place in the A string 100m with a 1st in the B string 200m. In the other sprint slots, the U17 duo of Rachel Mayhew and Funto Fabunmi-Alade chalked up victories in the 100m and 200m respectively. Monique Davies warmed up with a run in the 400mH before posting 60.3 in the 400m A string. Zena Bland ran well for 61.9 and victory in the B string. Lucile Smith and Alexandra Shalmoll scored a double 2nd in the 800m.
Karen Ellison had an impressive day, winning both the 3000m and the 1500m. The former was composed run which saw Karen avoid the exuberant pace set by other athletes and come through the field strongly to post 10:52.0, holding off the fast finishing Clare Pauzers who took victory in the B string with 10:53.7. The HHH distance squad showed their strength in depth by fielding a further 3 non-scorers including a return to action by Amelia Hickman, who defied a slow bus driver to make the start line. Karen and Helen Carter dominated the 1500m for another double victory. Helen’s run was all the more impressive having already competed in the 400m hurdles.
In the field, Briony Phillips went through the card for a busy day of throwing which included wins in the B string shot and A string discus. Gabriella Rosejee took on three of the four throwing disciplines, winning the A string shot and B string javelin. Barbara McAnus filled the other throw slot with 20.72m for third in the B string hammer. Jenny Honeyball won the A string pole vault with an excellent 3.00m and also the B string high jump. The day’s other individual victory came from Charlotte Koosman with 4.99m in the B string long jump.
The day was rounded off with 2nd place in the 4x100m relay and a win in the 4x400m relay. Let’s hope this season opener is a sign of things to come. HHH top the Division 1 table as a result of their mammoth total of 109 match points and the attitude and application shown at Battersea Park suggest that they could stay there. (Mike Cummings)
Click here to view the HHH results.
18/4/09 - Thomas Ashby shatters club discus records
19 year-old Thomas Ashby shattered both of his own HHH club under 20 discus records in his first outdoor competition of 2009 at the Woodford Green open meeting.
Thomas threw the under 1.75kg discus used in under 20 competition a superb 49.10m to add over 6m to his record and place 3rd in a competition which would appear to have produced the top 4 in the UK U20 rankings at this early stage in the season. He also threw the senior 2kg discus 45.33m which advances his own club record for a U20 throwing this weight implement by over 2.5m and again commands an early top 10 ranking among senior UK throwers, at least until the big guys get started in earnest. Thomas also substantially improved his PB with the 6kg shot to 14.24m as his throwing is looking to become a strong component of his challenge for decathlon honours this summer.
Although unimpressed with a season's opener of 54.91m in the hammer competition, HHH British League man Stuart Thurgood nevertheless produced a solid start to his own campaign.
18/04/09 - HHH make their mark in Sutton Park
After being named the most-improved team at the South of England 12-stage relays in Milton Keynes, the challenge for our senior men was to replicate the growing enthusiasm, ambition and confidence in being a competitive running force at regional and national level at the ERRA National 12-stage relays in Sutton Park. This they did with aplomb, securing our highest ever placing of 17th in this competition in this format (the club did finish second in the National London to Brighton relay in 1956), albeit our cumulative time has in the past been quicker.
Times were as follows: Ben Paviour - 28:43; Iain Yates - 15:19; Iain Lockett - 27:59; Chris Busaileh - 15:21; Brian Wilder - 28:08; Vic Maughn - 16:32; Keith Newton - 28:50; Jonathan Stead -16:06; David Mulvee - 28:08; Simon Coombes -16:02; Jeff Cunningham - 28:47; Tim Elsey - 15:17
Click here to view the full results (hyperlink to www.race-results.co.uk). Photos from the race appear in the Photo Gallery.
07/04/09 - Ewell be East Surrey League champions, then!
The East Surrey League concluded with a 4 mile road race starting at finishing at Ewell Court. Going into this final fixture, the senior team enjoyed a healthy 4-point advantage over our nearest challengers, hosts Epsom & Ewell Harriers, and needed to finish only 4th or better in the team race on the night to win this competition for the first time. The U13 team also harboured hopes of winning the league title, but needed to overturn a one-point deficit in favour of Sutton & District to do so.
The seniors completed their task with consumate ease. Chris Busaileh continued the fine form he showed at Milton Keynes two days earlier to win the race in 22:06, the course being suspiciously longer than the advertised 4 miles. Tim Elsey finished 3rd in 22:13 and Vic Maughn secured 7th spot in 23:37 to surely put the outcome of the league beyond doubt, any drama being confined only to the battle to be the team's 4th scorer. Sam Knight had arrived only 10 minutes before the start of the race and perhaps paid for an over-eager start which saw him battle the pain barrier in the closing stages, eventually finishing 10th in 24:28. James Ward, by contrast, started at far too leisurely a pace and then found overtaking difficult along the narrow footpaths in the early part of the first lap race. At the end of a much faster second lap, he had gained significant ground on Sam, but didn't quite have enough left for a sprint finish half-a-mile from home which might have proved the difference, finishing 12th in 24:34. Phillip Henwood was our 6th man home in 32:21.
By contrast, the U13 competition could not have concluded in more dramatic circumstances. A fine run from Lascelles Hussey who finished 2nd in 12:39 was just what the team needed, but the odds were very much against them after Sutton District runners finished 5th, 7th and 8th, separated by our second runner home, Alex West, in 6th place in 14:19. Sutton's score of 20 meant that the team's final counter needed to finish 11th of better to keep alive any league title aspirations. This, though, is precisely where Teresa La Rosee finished, in 15:26, holding off a Sutton runner in a mad dash for the line to secure victory over Sutton on the night. But would this be good enough? Croydon Harriers had placed 1st and 3rd in the race, but had yet to close a team. After a nervy wait, the final Croydon runner closed in 15th place which was sufficient for them to finish second on the night and relegate Sutton to 3rd, thus converting a one-point deficit into a one-point advantage in the final league table. Well done to our U13s for such a brave and spirited display!
In the U15/U17 race, Samuel Woods placed 7th in 12:20, Katie Snowden finished 11th in 12:43 and Zach Weller-Davies closed the team in 13th place in 12:55. This team placed 3rd on the night, a position which was mirrored in the final league standings.
Click here to view the full results (courtesy of Ken Crooke).
05/04/09 - HHH "most improved" at Milton Keynes as team places 6th
The senior men's road running team placed an excellent 6th in the South of England 12-stage road relays at Milton Keynes, one of our highest ever positions in this race in our history. Moving through the field as the race unfolded we were 10th after 4 stages and worked through steadily in the second half of the race for a superb all round effort by all team members - no stars, just 12 good quality men who were a model of consistency. Welcome in particular to Chris Busaileh and Jonny Henderson in their first race as HHH team members and welcome back Dave Peters, who ran our A team's fastest short stage and then went on to run the fastest short stage of an incomplete B team which ran out of runners after 10 legs when in 38th position.
The improved performance from previous years was recognised by the fact that the team scooped the award for the most improved men's team over the previous two years. Well done to all. HHH times: A team - Chris Busaileh - 26:00; Jonny Henderson - 17:55; Alan Barnes - 26:08; Dave Peters - 17:31; Keith Newton - 26:12; Jonathan Stead - 18:10; Jeff Cunningham - 26:19; Kofi Agyei - 18:41; Brian Wilder - 25:58; Simon Coombes - 18:12; Tim Elsey - 26:07; Iain Yates - 17:41. B team: Bob Harrison - 30:20; Waldy Pauzers - 22:30; Tony Harran - 30:05; James Ward - 19:28; Tim Ridley - 32:53; Deron Fagan - 18:32; Sam Knight - 27:49; Dave Peters - 18:18; Mike Cummings - 27:31; Justin Rabett - 22:52. Click here to access the full results (hyperlink to Marshall Milton Keynes AC website).
The senior women failed to send a complete team to the 6-stage relays as Karen Ellison was left to fly the flag for the club. Karen placed 9th on the first leg in 20:21 but had nobody to hand over to continue the challenge. (Geoff Jerwood)
05/04/09 - Paviour places second in Kingston 16
Meanwhile, long before the road relays had even started, Ben Paviour enjoyed an early morning 16-mile outing in the Kingston Breakfast run where in placed an impressive second in 1:30:13, demonstrating the strength he has built up in training for the London Marathon by comfortably recording negative splits. Raj Singh, another preparing for the London Marathon, also impressed, finishing a fine 9th in 1:36:42 after running at an even pace through the race.
Further down the field, a number of others in red and black vests were also more than happy with their performances. Ben Hallifax recorded a new PB over the course of 1:50:11 (chip time), Rupert Mainwaring finished in 1:55:13 (chip time) while Paul Shiel hot-footed in the second half of the race to finish in 1:57:13 (chip time). Richard Davis recorded 1:57:01 (chip time) and Helen Carter 1:57:10 (chip time).
In the 8-mile race, Rob Karn enjoyed a comeback run to place 5th in 48:04, while Roland Woodbridge finished in 67:27 (chip time) and Paul Winks in 69:48 (chip time). (James Ward)
05/04/09 - Boys finish third in Ebbisham League opener
The U13 and U15 boys' team finished 3rd in their opening fixture of the season at Sutton. This was a creditable performance as several athletes with a national ranking have now moved into older age groups and at least half the team were experiencing their first outdoor athletics competition. Click here to view the full results (courtesy of David Barrington). (James Ward)
