The sun shined defiantly over Parliament Hill, as teams from all over England assembled on the Heath. Free copies of Athletics Weekly were handed out to all the athletes, to keep their mind off the race. A distraction for those with weak mental strength. Herne Hill walked proudly to the bandstand, James’ mental conditioning more than enough to keep their heads and hearts high.
The U15 boys went first, with Lewis Lloyd leading them into the pens. Tension built up throughout the three minutes wait, with the loud gunshot a harsh awakening to many runners. The first hill loomed over threateningly and many a runner faltered before its impressive height. But not the Harriers, the team charged up the hill like a team of deranged donkeys. Despite natures best attempts to subdue the U15s, they charged through mud as thick and deep as a mangrove swamp filled with bitter candyfloss, and overcame hills that would have had filled even James with dread. After all this toil and pain, they were rewarded with Lewis Lloyd finishing 12th out of 398. He was followed very shortly after by Dan Willmott, only a couple of strides behind him. He finished 183rd. 6 seconds behind was an enigmatic Billy Holmes in 192nd place, supported by Zach Weller-Davies in 227th spot. John Tayleur came 333rd and James Allen followed in 364th. The question crawling about everyone’s skulls like a blind scorpion was….where was Jamal?
In the U13 girls' race, first for the Hill was Ashleigh Campbell in an impressive 110th. Billie Barbour and Georgie Hay followed in 164th and 183rd, with Francesca Meade 276th, Charlotte Scott 329th and Chantelle Banton 342nd supporting.
Unfortunately our U13 boys could not bring together a team, but Lascelles Hussey ran on unheeding, and finished in an impressive 48th out of 356 runners.
In the U15 girls race, Katie Snowden finished highest for Herne Hill in 10th place with a superb performance. Jessica Quartey Pigot finished 243rd, Leila Abandah was 246th and Tamsin Cornelius came home in 295th to give the girls a team placing of 25th.
Samuel Woods found himself alone in the U17 men’s race, but battled on valiantly nonetheless to finish respectably in 134th.
Hannah Edwards came in first for the U17 women in 39th with a formidable performance. Julia Wedmore followed closely behind in 69th and Aisha Wey Naibe finished in 156th.
A great achievement overall with notable finishes in all categories. A particular note of thanks must go to Lewis’ dad, who has worked tirelessly - with the U15 boys in particular - to boost their confidence and strengthen their morale. The only casualties of the day were Steve and James, who had bad backs.
Daniel Willmott
