As promised, here is a compendium (is that the right word?) of all the Heathside results I know about from the 3 weeks I was away but which haven’t been publicized before. There are also a couple from this week so that I can get a bit ahead of myself, as I will be on holiday next week so won’t be able to send anything out on Monday. As there are an awful lot to fit in I won’t waste any more time with waffle but will move straight on to the results:

Southern League Division 4 North, match 4 (of 5), Luton, 12/7/08:
100 Metres A 4th Emmanuel Adesina 14.3s
B 4th Adrian Essex 13.8s
200 Metres A 4th Emmanuel Adesina 30.6s
B 4th Adrian Essex 29.5s
400 Metres A 4th Emmanuel Adesina 72.0s
B 4th Ben Clarke-Janssen 61.0s
800 Metres A 2nd Tony Killilea 2m 11.8s
B 3rd Ben Clarke-Janssen 2m 47.3s
1500 Metres A 2nd Pete Crockford 5m 03.0s
B 2nd Simon Mackey 5m 14.7s
5000 Metres A 1st Pete Crockford 17m 57.9s
3000 S’Chase A 1st Tony Killilea 11m 22.2s
B 1st Adrian Essex 14m 39.8s
Long Jump A 3rd Simon Mackey 5.10m
B 1st Emmanuel Adesina 4.68m
High Jump A 4th Simon Mackey 1.45m
B 1st Eddie Bayne 1.40m
Triple Jump A 3rd Simon Mackey 10.24m
Shot Put A 4th Eddie Bayne 7.24m
B 4th Ben Clarke-Janssen 5.77m
Discus Throw A 4th Peter Snell 13.85m
B 4th Eddie Bayne 12.36m
Javelin Throw A 3rd Eddie Bayne 25.71m
B 2nd Adrian Essex 20.96m
Hammer Throw A 4th Adrian Essex 13.31m
B 3rd Peter Snell 9.03m
Overall Match Result:
1st Huntingdonshire 175
2nd Luton 135
3rd Biggleswade 110
4th London Heathside 106

Watford Track & Field Open Meeting, Watford, 16/7/08:
200 Metres:
Luke McNally 22.96s
Bill Awere 23.62s
Daniel Aka 23.74s
Jean-Paul Hazeley 24.16s
Sam Brown 25.25s
Remel Wickham 26.65s
1500 Metres:
Jacob Howe 4m 23.44s
3000 Metres:
Pete Crockford 10m 07.33s

Herne Hill Harriers Open Meeting, Tooting, 19/7/08:
100 Metres:
Parise Hinds-Green 14.20s
200 Metres:
Parise Hinds-Green 29.06s

High Wycombe Half Marathon, High Wycombe, 20/7/08:
37th Gavin Evans 84m 57s
54th Matt Dumenill 88m 22s
258th Susie Brighton 1h 45m 06s
260th Andrew Dawson 1h 45m 13s

National Young Athletes League Southern Div 2 London, match 4 (of 4), Kingston, 20/7/08:
Under 17 Men:
100 Metres A 2nd Luke McNally 11.8s
B 5th Eden Confino 13.2s
n/s Edward Kargbo 13.0s
n/s Jonathan John 13.1s
200 Metres A 1st Luke McNally 23.3s
B 3rd Edward Kargbo 25.5s
400 Metres A 3rd Siam Simpson 55.9s
800 Metres A 3rd Jonathan John 2m 14.1s
B 2nd Siam Simpson 2m 16.8s
n/s President Opoke 2m 44.2s
High Jump A 1st Luke McNally 1.60m
B 1st Eden Confino 1.57m
4x100 Relay 3rd 47.6s
4x400 Relay 2nd 3m 48.6s
Under 15 Boys:
100 Metres A 4th Mervin Reebye 13.7s
B 4th Jeremy Nelson 14.4s
200 Metres A 4th Mervin Reebye 26.7s
B 3rd Jeremy Nelson 28.7s
1500 Metres A 2nd Jamie Armstrong 5m 29.8s
Long Jump A 3rd Jeremy Nelson 4.72m
B 4th Mervin Reebye 4.02m
High Jump A 5th Alex Economou 1.35m
B 2nd Jamie Armstrong 1.30m
Under 13 Boys:
100 Metres A 1st Colin Kpodonu 14.5s
B 2nd Wale Olatunji 15.2s
n/s Tawfeeq Amode 18.8s
200 Metres A 2nd Tokunbah Johnson 29.5s
B 1st Anton Johnson-Smith 30.1s
800 Metres A 4th Aidan Ishock 2m 49.2s
B 4th Tokunbah Johnson 2m 55.5s
1500 Metres A 4th Callum Jackson 6m 08.3s
75M Hurdles A 2nd Colin Kpodonu 14.3s
B 1st Anton Johnson-Smith 14.8s
4x100 Relay 1st 55.4s
Long Jump A 5th Callum Jackson 3.70m
B 4th Tawfeeq Amode 3.28m
High Jump A 3rd Wale Olatunji 1.30m
B 1st Colin Kpodonu 1.25m
Shot Put A 2nd Aidan Ishock 7.97m
B 1st Tokunbah Johnson 6.96m
Under 17 Women:
100 Metres A 1st Nicky Famodun 13.5s
200 Metres A 1st Nicky Famodun 27.6s
High Jump A 2nd Nicky Famodun 1.35m
Under 15 Girls:
100 Metres A 3rd Rani Lewinson 14.3s
B 3rd Giovanna Southwell 15.2s
800 Metres A 3rd Lottie Sorbie 2m 42.8s
Long Jump A 4th Giovanna Southwell 3.83m
High Jump A 4th Rani Lewinson 1.25m
B 2nd Giovanna Southwell 1.25m
Shot Putt A 3rd Lottie Sorbie 4.29m
Discus Throw A 3rd Rani Lewinson 15.72m
Under 13 Girls:
75 Metres A 4th Deborah Famodun 11.7s
150 Metres A 3rd Deborah Famodun 23.2s
800 Metres A 2nd Kathleen Jackson 2m 56.4s
1200 Metres A 4th Jade O’Brien 5m 06.2s
B 3rd Rhiannon Bassett 5m 19.0s
70 Hurdles A 2nd Jade O’Brien 14.2s
B 3rd Kathleen Jackson 15.7s
4x100 Relay 3rd 63.7s
Long Jump A 4th Deborah Famodun 3.07m
B 3rd Ellie Jackson 3.01m
High Jump A 4th Jade O’Brien 1.15m
Shot Put A 2nd Ellie Jackson 4.25m
Overall Match Result:
1st Kingston & Poly 588
2nd South London 549
3rd Hercules Wimbledon 348
4th London Heathside 277.5
5th Highgate 237.5

Woodford Green Open Meeting, Woodford, 23/7/08:
1500 Metres:
Pete Crockford 4m 57.05s

Last Friday Of The Month 5K Road Race, Hyde Park, 25/7/08:
9th Julian Ferraro 16m 57s (3rd V40)

Under 23 Multi-Events International, Ashford (Kent), 26-7/7/08:
Decathlon:
6th Ricardo Beckford
100 Metres 10.94s
Long Jump 7.12m
Shot Put 10.22m
High Jump 1.92m
400 Metres 50.67s
110 Hurdles 14.37m
Discus Throw 32.84m
Pole Vault 3.80m
Javelin Throw 43.76m
1500 Metres 4m 28.21s

Total Score 6993 points

Trent Park 5K Handicap, Trent Park, 26/7/08:
6th Henry Andrews 19m 16s
19th Chris Neophytu 20m 37s

London Inter-Club Challenge, match 3 (of 4), Copthall, 26/7/08:
100 Metres: Moses Arthur 10.84s
Bill Awere 11.65s
Jean-Paul Hazeley 11.67s
Majid Noori 12.05s
Cardelle Fenton 12.35s
Remel Wickham 12.75s
Jayed Mayes 13.09s
Mervin Reebye 13.42s
President Opoke 13.48s
Rani Lewinson 14.12s
Emmanuel Lewinson 14.38s
200 Metres: Bill Awere 23.41s
Daniel Aka 23.71s
Jean-Paul Hazeley 24.01s
Colin Robertson 24.28s
Majid Noori 24.72s
Mervin Reebye 26.53s
President Opoke 27.10s
Remel Wickham 27.25s
Daniel Ishack 27.98s
Rani Lewinson 28.79s
Wale Olatunji 28.84s
Emmanuel Lewinson 31.85s
400 Metres: Adrain Essex 64.77s
800 Metres: Sian Simpson 2m 12.0s
Jonathan John 2m 13.6s
1 Mile: Paul Lemmon 4m 51.03s
400M Hurdles: Israel Nworgu 58.93s
Daniel Aka 61.48s
High Jump: Wale Olatunji 1.45m
Adrian Essex 1.30m
Shot Put: Aidan Ishack 7.91m
Eddie Bayne 6.97m
Daniel Ishack 6.31m
Peter Snell 5.92m
Discus Throw: Aidan Ishack 20.13m
Eddie Bayne 17.53m
Peter Snell 16.84m
Javelin Throw: Eddie Bayne 26.33m
Peter Snell 18.32m
Hammer Throw: Adrian Essex 18.20m
Overall Match Result (Men):
1st London Heathside 124
2nd Shaftesbury Barnet 118
3rd= Woodford Green 88
3rd= Enfield & Haringey 88
5th Highgate 47
6th Barnet 22
Overall Match Result (Women):
1st Woodford Green 118
2nd Shaftesbury Barnet 81
3rd London Heathside 30
4th Barnet 27
5th Enfield & Haringey 24
6th Highgate 20

Southern Under 13 Inter Counties Champs, Kingston, 27/7/08:
Girls:
100 Metres: 4th B Parise Hinds-Green 13.77s
200 Metres: 9th A Parise Hinds-Green 28.17s
Boys:
100 Metres: 3rd n/s Colin Kpodonu 13.68s

Harlow 10 Mile Road Race, Harlow, 27/7/08:
9th Richard Browne 59m 06s
31st Ken Heney 63m 46s
44th Dominic Ross 65m 32s
67th Mark Derry 68m 53s
132nd Karen Levene 76m 50s
145th Fiona Holland 77m 42s
248th Charles Verrall 86m 47s
310th Resi Dzialdow 93m 12s
376th Marilyn St Hilaire 1h 40m 20s

Watford Track & Field Open Meeting, Watford, 30/7/08:
400 Metres:
Matthew Bates 58.37s
800 Metres:
Jacob Howe 2m 06.80s
3000 Metres:
Fiona Holland 12m 06.61s

Southern League Division 4 North, match 5 (of 5), 2/8/08:
Overall Match Result (individual event results not yet known):
1st Huntingdonshire 199
2nd West Suffolk & Diss 170
3rd London Heathside 55
4th London AC 34
Final League Table:
1st Huntingdonshire 30 868.5
2nd Queens Park 27 754
3rd West Suffolk & Diss 27 753
7th London Heathside 16 378

Indian Queens Half Marathon, Cornwall, 3/8/08:
22nd Pete Crockford 81m 51s (2nd V50)

Civil Service Track & Field Champs, Solihull, 13/8/08:
800 Metres: 5th Tony Killilea 2m 13.9s
1500 Metres: 7th Tony Killilea 4m 45.7s

Watford Track & Field Open Meeting, Watford, 13/8/08:
100 Metres:
Luke McNally 11.30s
Mohamed Mohamed 12.38s
Colin Robertson 12.44s
Remel Wickham 12.60s
Eden Confino 12.73s
Nicky Famodun 13.03s
Rani Lewinson 14.40s
Deborah Famodun 15.04s
200 Metres:
Luke McNally 23.03s
Bill Awere 23.59s
Colin Robertson 24.81s
Mohamed Mohamed 25.75s
Eden Confino 26.64s
Remel Wickham 26.66s
Nicky Famodun 26.90s
Natalie McQueen 28.47s
1500 Metres:
Jacob Howe 4m 28.80s
Pete Crockford 4m 57.09s
Hammer Throw:
Peter Snell 15.08m

Due to me working in Brussels I haven't been able to do my usual results e-mails for the last couple of weeks, so I will have a lot to catch up on when I get back to London next week! I have just about got time to list the detailed results from Saturday however along with the final league table. John has already described the events of the afternoon in his mail, so I will just say thanks to everyone for turning up on the day, espceially to Kabir and the Weston family who did the officiating so that we could concentrate on competing. Special congratulations to Bill who got a deserved PB from a very gutsy 400M run, to Richard for his excellently judged 5000 Metres and to Lanre and Ricardo for their fight to the death in the last event of the day, the Discus, which Lanre took with the final throw of the competition due to his having a longer 2nd best throw. One final point, you will see that despite us winning 20 of the 36 events on the day, we are still complete rubbish at the Hammer! Surely there must be a couple of you out there who fancy learning how to throw the thing over the winter and thus becoming vital members of the team in Div 2 next year? Full results as follows:

Southern League Div 3 South, match 5 (of 5), Kingston, 2/8/08:

100 Metres A 1st Moses Arthur 11.0s
B 1st Luke McNally 11.3s
n/s Jean-Paul Hazeley 11.8s
200 Metres A 1st Moses Arthur 22.1s
B 1st Luke McNally 23.1s
400 Metres A 1st Bill Awere 53.0s (PB)
B 2nd Nathan Cyrus 57.7s
n/s Mohamed Mohamed 58.8s
800 Metres A 3rd Jacob Howe 2m 07.5s
B 3rd John Flahive 2m 09.1s
1500 Metres A 3rd John Flahive 4m 29.5s
B 3rd Jacob Howe 4m 37.2s
5000 Metres A 2nd Richard Browne 16m 42.0s
B 1st Julian Ferraro 16m 53.1s
110 Hurdles A 1st Ricardo Beckford 15.5s
B 2nd Adam Zeniou 20.2s
400 Hurdles A 1st Israel Nworgu 63.1s
B 1st Didier Sorel 65.1s
3000M Chase A 1st Paul Lemmon 10m 53.1s
B 1st John Flahive 11m 00.8s
4x100 Relay 1st Lanre, Moses, Ricardo, Luke 44.0s
4x400 Relay 2nd Bill, Adam, Sian Simpson, Jonathan John 3m 41.0s
n/s Mohamed, Daniel Aka, Nathan, Jacob 3m 51.9s
Long Jump A 2nd Ibrahim Idoniboye 6.10m
B 2nd Emmanuelis Stasaitis 5.92m
High Jump A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 1.80m
B 1st Luke McNally 1.60m
Triple Jump A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 13.74m
B 2nd Emmanuelis Stasaitis 12.13m
Pole Vault A 3rd Nathan Cyrus 3.00m
B 1st Didier Sorel 2.80m
Shot Put A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 11.81m
B 1st Adam Zeniou 10.18m
Discus Throw A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 36.78m
B 1st Ricardo Beckford 36.78m
Javelin Throw A 3rd Ricardo Beckford 39.95m
B 2nd Nathan Cyrus 38.92m
Hammer Throw A 4th Jacob Howe 17.42m
B 4th Russell Weston 14.43m

Final Match Result:
1st London Heathside 118
2nd Bracknell 101.5
3rd South London 80.5
4th Paddock Wood 56

Final League Table (top 7 of 16):
1st St Mary's Richmond 20 563.5
2nd London Heathside 19 537.5
3rd Ealing 17 526
4th Bracknell 17 497.5
5th Blackheath 14 482
6th South London 14 447
7th Eastbourne 14 432.5

By the way, the B team finished 3rd in their final match and ended up 7th in Div 4 North. More details of that one next week all being well.

London Heathside’s Senior Men’s track team has secured promotion to Division 2 of the Southern League on Saturday with a win in the final fixture at Kingston. We went into the fixture knowing that a win would take us up and we had an excellent turnout with 22 athletes contributing to our point’s total. The strong turnout was very necessary as promotion rivals Bracknell A.C. came with a strong squad. South London Harriers and Paddock Wood also fielded some strong competitors, making it possibly the highest standard match of the season.

Several events were of an unusually high standard for the division, particularly the closely contested Pole Vault where three athletes went over 3 metres including Heathside’s Nathan Cyrus who had to settle for third in 3.10 but Didier Sorel won the B-string in 2.80. Ricardo Beckford and Nathan threw well in the Javelin only to come up against an exceptional opponent throwing over 50m.

For most of the day it was a nail-bitingly close contest with little more than a couple of points to spare between ourselves and Bracknell, our superiority in the sprints (fine double wins from Moses Arthur and Luke McNally) being balanced by their superiority in middle distance. A double first in the shot (Lanre Ali-Balogun and Adam Zeniou) was offset by Bracknell’s strong hammer throwing in by far our weakest event.

We shared the spoils in the 110m Hurdles, 1st A-string (Ricardo Beckford being in a class of his own) 2nd B-string to their 2nd A-string and 1st B-string. Likewise in the 400m where Bill Awere won the 400m with a finely judged run in a PB of 53.00.

We had double wins in the 400H (Israel Nworgu and Didier Sorel) and Long Jump (Ibrahim Idoniboye and Emmanuelis Stasiatis) to their double seconds and also gained two points in the 5000m where Richard Browne unusually won his a sprint finish with Julian Ferraro not far behind with a big gap on his rival. Thus we began to edge very slightly ahead.

It wasn’t until near the end of the day when double wins in the triple jump (Lanre and Emmaunelis) and 3000m steeplechase (Paul Lemmon and I still holding back the years) where Bracknell struggled in last positions that we opened up a decisive lead.

Final overall match scores were;-
London Heathside 118
Bracknell 101.50
South London Harriers 80.5
Paddock Wood 56

More detailed match statistics will follow shortly.

As team manager I’d like to thank all the athletes, volunteer officials and coaches, for their season long effort. In a Division where only 2 teams get promoted even contributions that might seem modest really mattered. Just a handful of points were the difference between promotion and staying put in Division 3. Thus this was a genuine team achievement.


Best regards

John Flahive
Men’s Team Manager

A fantastic turn out last night saw 36 heathsiders take on the scary prospect of running a mile on the track. The results were

Men

1 Paul McCrossin 5.14.5
2 Steve Monaghan 5.15.9
3 Ahmed Jamaa 5.23.8
4 Gavin Evans 5.24.4
5 Mark Derry 5.27.4
6 Henry Andrews 5.28.3
7 Mark George 5.31.7
8 Jim Hodges 5.37.1
9 Matt Crole-Rees 5.38.7
10 Dave newman 5.41.8
11 Stuart Carcary 5.45.4
12 Ric Hewitt 5.47.4
13 Russel Weston 5.48.5
14 Carl Heap 5.50.5
15 Dieter Perry 5.51.1
16 Dave Browne 5.52.6
17 Jeff Powell 5.57.0
18 Roy McDowell 6.02.7
19 Simon Patten 6.03.4
20 Iranda 6.08.3
21 Andy Dawson 6.12.2
22 Max Heap (u 12) 6.28.0
23 Norbert Reed 6.36.9
24 Ric Baker 6.48.2
25 Sumi Ghose 7.14.4
26 Simon Clarkson 7.16.1
27 Arthur Keitsch 7.20.6


Women

1 Jackie Watt 6.01.7
2 Fiona Holland 6.12.2
3 Emma Humphrey 6.13.0
4 Karen Levene 6.26.0
5 Michele French 6.28.3
6 Emma Bloomfield 6.52.6
7 Marie Shannon 7.25.2
8 Marilyn St Hilaire 7.28.2
9 Claire Holgate 7.28.5

Well done to all and many thanks to Ruth , John F and Jacob who helped out on the night. Round 2 is on Sept 2nd.

Here follows my report from the Zurich Ironman. If it's too long just go to the race day. Thanks to everyone for their support:

Au​gust 2007 - Meet nice bloke down Sweatshop in North Finchley and get chatting. He is a keen triathlete and has recently completed the Ironman in Germany. Jackie (my wife) says that I’ll no doubt do an Ironman one day. This seems like tacit approval to attempt the race. A little seed sown in my mind as to whether I could actually complete the gruelling event consisting of a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and a 42km marathon. A little research shows that the event was actually a drunken bet between three US marines – one a swimmer, one a cyclist and one a runner. Each was boasting how their event was the hardest so they decided to run a race with all three events concurrently. Don’t know who won but on that day the Ironman was born. Spent a large part of the night awake thinking about that first Ironman and whether I had the capability to complete the same event.

Sept 2007 – Met with out swim coach in café Nero (Terence). He’s doing the Ironman in Zurich in July 2008. We should do it….it’d be a laugh…….great weather……..the best organisation etc. Both Jackie and I get excited about the proposition so rush back home to enter before we change our minds. All 2,600 entries are already full so I send an optimistic email begging for a couple of slots for the race. Much to our surprise we get a response from the organiser with dedicated places for the two of us. £271 each later we have our entries confirmed. Spent the night awake worrying about what I had just done. Next day Jackie says she’s not doing it. Lucky we took out the cancellation insurance.

​Oct and November 2007 – Training starts in earnest. Long Sunday bikes in the autumn sunshine, swimming in the cool lido and running with London Heathside. Things looking good!

Dec 2007 – One of the wettest Decembers on record has put paid to much of our cycling (my weakest discipline). Running is going well and the swimming is ticking over. Still the Ironman is over seven months away and we have plenty of time to catch up – still it doesn’t stop me having many sleepless nights.

Jan 2008 – New years resolution to get out on the bike more. After a couple of sub-zero bike rides I have serious concerns if I have bitten off more than I can chew. Bought a turbo trainer and set it up in the basement. This becomes my staple mid-week cycle training – but boy is it boring. Running takes a dip and the swimming is almost non-existent. Still the Ironman is over six months away – despite this more sleepless nights!

Feb 2008 – Actually managed a couple of serious Reliability Rides. Mileage picking up and feeling more optimistic about the biking. Swimming technique is getting better thanks to Terence but running like a donkey. Still the Ironman is still five.……oh dear it’s looming! More sleepless nights.

Mar​ch 2008 – Month starts well with a good training weekend in the New Forest with West 4 Harriers. Even manage the first multi sport event of the year at the Deal Aquathlon on Easter Sunday. Almost die of frostbite in a blizzard during the run. At least the weather should be better in Zurich.

Apr​il 2008 – Spring weather picking up with some longer bike rides and more pleasant runs. Back in the lido despite the 9 degree temperatures. Go to Torremolinos for a triathlon training camp with Fit for Tri. Great week of training but came back knackered with lots of injury niggles. How am I going to manage another three months of training at this intensity. Sleepless nights once again.

May 2008 – Great training weekend with London Heathside helped to kick start a high intensity period. Week later completed the Hampshire Hilly 100. Completed in six hours and unable to walk back to the car – how on earth am I going to complete the marathon if I can only just finish 100 miles. No sleep that night.

June 2008 – Completed another 100 mile Cyclo Sportif in Essex. Felt strong and for the first time thought I might even be able to complete the event. Completed the Beaulieu Half Ironman. Felt even stronger but had to wait for 40 minutes at the scene of a serious accident. A cyclist hit a car head one but was still alive and coherent – car was a write off. Thought about the incident all night.

Earl​y July 2008 – Starting to think about tapering. Look back over my schedule and realise I have completed on average 14 hours of training a week for the last six months. Still not completed a bike ride over 112 miles or a swim over 2 miles. Fret about this all night and go out the next day to the lido to complete 2.5 miles.

5th July (1 week and 1 day to go) – Hung over from the previous nights Heathside Party. Get concerned that I might have over done it. Vow to drink less in the final week. Need a drink to calm the nerves and help me sleep – not that it made any difference.

​6th July (1 week to go) – Raining so complete final bike in basement on turbo. Little do I know I should have been out on the road experiencing how horrible the weather could be. Run to Café Nero but my leg is playing up. Am I imagining it? Worry in bed that night.

9th July (4 days to go) – Last day at work. I put on the attendance board that I am in Zurich till Wednesday. Someone crosses out Zurich after Sunday and inserts “hospital” for the rest of the week. Everyone wishes me luck. I get the feeling they think they may never see me again. Another sleepless night.

10th July (3 days to go) – Drive to Germany to visit Anne Werner, former member of London Heathside. Pack Jackie’s bike just in case she wants to join me on a warm up bike. Notice she has also packed full tri kit. Why is she doing that? Despite a stress free journey think I might be coming down with something. Leg hurts. Shoulder is stiff. Worry all night.

11th July (2 days to go) – Drive to Zurich for race briefing. Jackie registers with me…”I might just do the swim” she says. Boy is it hot. 30 degree in the shade. I’m going to die. Meet Terence and the rest of the triathletes from London, Chris, Michael and Rach (Rachel is support crew) in the hotel. Go to pasta party but instantly regret it as food is awful and the entertainment consists of a yo-yo performer. Back at the hotel had a couple of beers then to bed. Neither of us sleep all night. I was thinking of whether to become a yo-yo performer myself.

12t​h July (day before IM) – Up early to get eye drops for Jackie. She has developed an eye infection and needs anti-biotic eye drops. Obtain these at the first chemist and return for breakfast. Rest of the day is spent preparing for the triathlon including buying over shoes for the bike (it rained all day), putting the bikes together, servicing bikes, racking bikes, carbo loading, sorting kit etc. One of the most stressful days of my life. Finally complete all the tasks in time for a relaxed meal. Four triathletes round one table all apprehensive about the next day – if we have another nine it would have been even more like the last supper. Had a glass of wine to relax but did nothing to calm the nerves. Go to bed early but spend the whole night tossing and turning.

13​th July (race day) - Wake up to the alarm at 4.30am to the sound of rain rattling on the window. Spent a while composing myself and thinking of excuses I could use to not start the race. Couldn’t think of any reasons not to start (except claims of sanity) so go down to breakfast. Load up on muesli, eggs, bacon, croissants, fruit etc. There is a buzz in the air. Not nervous any more but more eager anticipation. “What ever happens the day will end” one of the competitors said to Jackie. I wasn’t convinced.

Head off to the start in pouring rain, check bikes, lay out gear for the transitions and head to the swim start. Jackie heads to the female start and we say good bye. Jackie bursts into tears – pull yourself together woman!. Luckily a friendly South African competitor takes Jackie under her wing and I head to the mass start. Get called to the water. It feels cool, clean and strangely welcoming. 7am comes along and we’re off – the culmination of eight months training finally arrived. Starts like this are always congested but this is not worst than most. Just the odd kick in the face but I soon have a clear sight of the first buoy and settle into a rhythm. Complete the first lap, exit the water, run across an island and re-enter the water – the organisers idea of a joke I supposed. Next lap went well but started to cramp towards the end. Pleased to exit the water in 66 minutes. Wondered if Jackie ever started but had no time to dwell as went straight into transition.

Rain still sheeting down, put on bike gear, helmet and head out onto the road. First 30km are flat and fast. Averaging 22mph but felt relaxed and in control. The first of the hills started soon after and the course undulated until the “Beast”. This is the killer hill with a 300 metre ascent to the summit (felt more like a mountain). Rewarded with an oompah band on the top and great views towards the Alps. More undulations until the precipitous descent into Zurich. Loop past the transition area and up the final hill of the lap, Heatbreak Hill. This had all the supporters lining the road and I felt like a Tour de France rider. Our numbers had our names on them so everyone was cheering you on by name – great feeling! Dropped back to the lake and past the Lindt Chocolate factory. If Jackie gets this far she’ll never make it past the factory gates. Continue back past the transition and out on the second lap. Flat section was much harder this time only averaging 18 to 19mph. Passed by large groups of drafting riders (despite this being a non drafting race). Let them go by as I was to do the race legitimately – sorely tempted to join the groups. Passed most of these riders on the hills and nailed the Beast for the second time. However on the final hill before descending into Zurich, I was chatting to a Frenchman called Fabian. Out of no where a race marshal came up on motor bike and issued a six minute penalty for “drafting”. I half heartedly protest about the drafting benefits of riding side by side at 10mph but took the penalty on the chin. Where was he on the flat where the groups were drafting?

Another ascent of Heartbreak Hill and down into transition. Six hours on the bike and I was already 20 minutes ahead of the eleven hour schedule. Quickly through transition and then off on the run. After 1km diverted into the sin bin to pay my six minute penalty. Stretched the legs, had a sneaky leak and set off on the marathon. First lap (of four) went well, too well perhaps. Second lap was OK and I was still within schedule. Took on board food and drink at every aid station so feeling good. On the third lap things started to go wrong. Legs were fine but my back started to seize up. I’d obviously spent too much time on the aero bars on the bike. Soldiered on jogging with walking at the feed stations. See Chris and assume he must be on the final lap (turns out he was only just starting the run). Final lap comes along and the walking increases. Finally catch sight of Jackie – she’s on the run and hadn’t dropped out yet. With just 16 miles to go I knew she would do it. Reluctantly we parted and I ran the final couple of miles into the finish. Crossed the line in 11 hours and 19 minutes.

Once in the finish had a quick check I was OK by the medical team. Obviously I did not look too bad as they directed me into the athletes area. Had a beer which was alcohol free – another one of the organisers jokes no doubt. Have some food and take a shower then have some more food. I had burned over 10,000 calories during the day so needed some replenishing. Suddenly remember Jackie was still out there. Pack my bags and head out to spectate. Catch up with her with just 9 miles to go. She was mainly walking by this stage but summoned the odd jog between aid stations. Rain commences again and the sun sets. Jackie’s is still going strong and is surprisingly chipper. We made a pact never to do an Ironman event again – wonder how long that will last. Finally she appears with one kilometre to go and runs full tilt into the finish with a beam on her face to light up a dull night. She crosses the line in 14 hours and 57 minutes – what an achievement!

After some food in the village we collect our things from transition and head back to the hotel. We are both euphoric and can’t believe it is finally over. Have a quick beer – thank God for mini-bars – and go to bed. Fall asleep straight away and sleep a thousand sleeps.

www.justgi​ving.com/martinpotter ​

It was a very busy weekend for Heathside, with results from all over the UK and Europe in events of massively varying lengths in 3 different sports, one of which I’ve never even heard of before! I’ll start however with the men’s track teams in their penultimate matches of the season. The A team were at Hoo, a track which is bizarrely situated in the middle of nowhere in Kent. We had our weakest team of the season out but knew that the opposition would probably be weak too so we might get away with it. Things did not start well however with only Jacob managing to clear a height in the Pole Vault and with poor Romeo Beckford pulling a hamstring on the Long Jump runway and thus both scoring no points in that event and also being unable to take part in the sprints later. This led to us being last of the 4 teams after 5 of the 19 events, not what we needed. The double first in the 100 Metres followed by near maximums in the 800 and the 5000 started to turn things around however and our only remaining nightmare came with Israel in the 110 Hurdles thinking he had crossed the line for an easy win when he hadn’t and stopping before it. I know that sounds inconceivable, but it is a bizarrely laid out track and it was totally understandable. Fortunately he eventually realized what was going on and still came 2nd. By the time of the Steeplechase (Water Jump-less for some reason) we were in front and the double first there confirmed our victory. Lanre was the obvious star with 4 wins and a PB, but well done to everyone especially those who filled in with great success and in most case PBs in events they don’t normally do like Luke (400 Metres), Bill (110 Hurdles), Colin (Discus), Israel (Shot), Emmanuel (Javelin) and Jacob (Pole Vault). Even better news was that Ealing had lost their match so we are now in 2nd place in the league with 1 match to go and 2 to go up, thus we are guaranteed promotion if we can win our last match. It is in Kingston on August 2nd so if any of you can make it that day either as competitors, helpers (we have to officiate the Long Jump & Triple Jump, and it will be a lot easier for John, Jacob and myself to organize the team and run our own races if we aren’t having to worry about officiating too) or even just supporters that would be wonderful. We don’t want to blow it now!

Meanwhile the B team came 4th, only narrowly missing 3rd, in Luton. As last time the following report of their match is by Adrian:

It was a day of slow progress and disappointing times, especially on the M1 roadworks section from junctions 6 to 10 - still we got there and performed like a small group of heavily outnumbered heroes. A small group we certainly were, outnumbered we certainly were, heroes, well . . . ? If the venue had been Agincourt rather than Luton I might have thrown in - "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;" but perhaps not the rest of the speech. Mind you, blood was spilt when I literally "fell at the first hurdle" in the steeplechase, just as the heavens opened with a somewhat too refreshing shower, and my crampons slipped while I clambered over what I find to be a very forbidding obstacle.
The team was sufficiently small for everyone to get a mention, in no particular order - Eddie concentrated on his throws and the high jump and went home cheerful; Peter filled in the team sheet, did some throwing and seemed very pleased with his new tent; Chris was good on stopwatch - just shave off a few more tenths here and there, Chris, and you get upgraded to excellent; Simon jumped well in a number of events and ran in the 1500m because he was not fit to sprint (!); Ben ran 800m and 1500m and took part in catching the javelin; Emmanuel did all the sprints and the long jump and nearly put together a 4 by 400 team of him and Ben and him and Ben again; Pete ran 1500m and 5000m; Tony did very good times (PBs I think) in both the 800m and the steeplechase; I did the sprints, the javelin and the hammer and damn near caught up with an old bloke with grey hair in the 400m. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone.
So all we need to cover the other events (all the hurdles, triple jump, and the relays, as well as a bit more strength in depth in the longer distances) are, well, athletes, really.

I don’t have the full results of the B team match yet. Hopefully I will be able to pass them on next week.

2 of the reasons for the A team being weaker than normal were the absences of Moses and Ricardo. Both were for the best possible reason however as Moses was competing in the UK trials at Birmingham and Ricardo was up against Dean Macey etc in the multi-events match at Hexham. Moses came close to a PB in narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-finals, another excellent performance in what has been a terrific season for him so far. As for Ricardo, he had a stunning first day including a club record Long Jump leaving him well on the way to an overall PB. Annoyingly however the final results haven’t appeared yet so I can’t tell you if things continued to go well on day 2. Again that will have to wait until next week.

The only road race I know of this weekend with Heathside competitors was the Lea Valley 10k, where Declan was edged out of victory by 1 second and there were good runs from all our other competitors. I will therefore now move on to other Sports. I’ll put you out of your misery straight away on the one I’d never heard of, it is Rollerskiing! Apparently it is what Cross Country skiers do during the summer and Greg is a keen participant. Sadly his e-mail to me telling me all about it didn’t actually say where it took place or indeed where he finished in the race, but I thought I’d include it after all.

Less surprisingly the other Sport to be reported on is Triathlon. Close to home Gavin led home 3 Heathsiders in the Hillingdon event, but with all due respect to them the Heathside Triathlon stars of the day were clearly Martin and Jackie who both successfully completed the Zurich Ironman event and, apparently, are still alive and with the requisite number of working limbs. It is difficult to contemplate just how horrendous it must be to be competing non-stop for basically the whole day, or indeed how much pain they must both be in now. Suffice to say that if you aren’t already sponsoring them I’m sure it’s not too late and they deserve every penny. Results of most of the above as follows:

Southern League Division 3 South, match 4 (of 5), Hoo (not all that near Maidstone!), 12/7/08:
100 Metres A 1st Luke McNally 11.3s
B 1st Jean-Paul Hazeley 11.7s
n/s Colin Robertson 12.2s
200 Metres A 4th Jean-Paul Hazeley 24.4s
B 2nd Colin Robertson 24.3s
400 Metres A 3rd Bill Awere 55.6s
B 1st Luke McNally 53.8s (PB)
800 Metres A 2nd Jacob Howe 2m 07.5s
B 1st John Flahive 2m 07.9s
1500 Metres A 3rd John Flahive 4m 32.5s
B 3rd Jacob Howe 4m 41.1s
5000 Metres A 2nd Richard Browne 16m 55.5s
B 1st Paul Lemmon 17m 02.1s
110 Hurdles A 2nd Israel Nworgu 19.9s
B 2nd Bill Awere 21.5s (PB)
400 Hurdles A 1st Israel Nworgu 58.6s (PB & club record)
B 4th Paul Lemmon 81.8s
3000M Chase A 1st John Flahive 10m 31.3s
B 1st Paul Lemmon 10m 41.1s
4x100 Relay 2nd Lanre, Colin, Emmanuel, Jean-Paul 45.7s
4x400 Relay 2nd Luke, Jean-Paul, Bill, Israel 3m 37.9s
Long Jump A 3rd Emmanuel Stasaitis 5.97m
High Jump A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 1.90m
B 1st Luke McNally 1.70m
Triple Jump A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 13.96m
B 1st Emmanuel Stasaitis 12.26m
Pole Vault A 3rd Jacob Howe 2.00m (PB)
Shot Put A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 11.60m
B 2nd Israel Nworgu 8.77m
Discus Throw A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 35.41m
B 1st Colin Robertson 21.98m (PB?)
Javelin Throw A 2nd Lanre Ali-Balogun 42.14m (PB)
B 3rd Emmanuel Stasaitis 29.22m (PB?)
Hammer Throw A 3rd Jacob Howe 18.00m (PB)
B 4th Paul Lemmon 6.88m

Overall Team Result:
1st London Heathside 104
2nd Medway & Maidstone 96
3rd Tunbridge Wells 84
4th Haywards Heath 68

Current League Table (top 6 of 16):
1st St Mary’s Richmond 16 442.5
2nd London Heathside 15 419.5
3rd Ealing 14 424
4th Bracknell 14 396
5th Blackheath & Bromley 13 407
6th South London 12 366.5

Southern League Division 4 North, match 4 (of 5), Luton, 12/7/08:
Overall Team Result:
1st Huntingdonshire 175
2nd Luton 135
3rd Biggleswade 110
4th London Heathside 106
5th Southend 0

Current League Table (11 teams in all):
1st Huntingsonshire 24 669.5
2nd West Suffolk & Diss 22 583
3rd Queens Park 21 593
8th London Heathside 12 323

UK National Championships incorporating Olympic Trials, Birmingham, 12/7/08:
200 Metres 3rd in ht Moses Arthur 21.77s (20th overall so 4 places off reaching the semi final)

Lea Valley 10k Road Race, Waltham Cross, 13/7/08:
2nd Declan Hamblin 33m 40s
31st Dominic Jackson 41m 08s
43rd Mike Abrahams 41m 51s
73rd Nik Skipper 44m 05s
93rd Jackie Watt 45m 20s
115th Emilia Vynnycky 46m 28s

London Region Nordic Ski Club 1 hour Rollerskiing race, 13/7/08:
?th Greg Bell 14 miles approx

Hillingdon Triathlon, Hillingdon, 13/7/08:
(Swim 600 metres, run 6k, cycle 25k):
54th Gavin Evans swim 13m 35s
run 27m 16s
cycle 52m 51s
total 1h 33m 42s
82nd Caroline White swim 18m 15s
run 34m 24s
cycle 63m 57s
total 1h 56m 36s
83rd Julie Khan swim 18m 51s
run 35m 57s
cycle 64m 10s
total 1h 58m 58s

Zurich Ironman Triathlon, Zurich, 13/7/08:
(Swim 3.8k, cycle 180k, run 42.2k):
145th man aged 40-44 Martin Potter swim 1h 06m 06s
cycle 6h 01m 58s
run 4h 01m 22s
total 11h 19m 35s
32nd woman aged 45-49 Jackie Wastell swim 1h 30m 49s
cycle 7h 19m 34s
run 5h 38m 33s
total 14h 57m 57s

Before I start on the results, please note that my company has moved into a new office this week. It doesn’t affect my e-mail address but if any of you ever call me at work please note the new phone number below.

There are plenty of results to get through this week and I’ve not got much time so I’ll keep my waffle to a minimum. The late results from last weekend show a couple of club age group records for Adrian in the B team match and another win for Ella competing for E&H in the Junior League. The latter had an even better run on Wednesday however when she improved her club age group record at Watford, but she was just beaten by Pete who also took the record for his age group. In between these events Sergio had an excellent debut for the club with 3rd in the Battersea 5k.

Moving on to the weekend, I will save myself from another telling off from Charles by mentioning that I won the V45 Steeplechase at the British Vets Champs. I didn’t run well, but there was no decent opposition so I got away with it. Then on Sunday several Heathsiders took part in the Tottenham Marshes 5, with Pete continuing an excellent week of racing with a top 3 finish and Jackie winning 1st prize in the women’s event. Finally we had our latest Open Meeting at Finsbury Park. The turnout of Heathsiders was lower than usual, perhaps put off by the poor weather in the morning (though it improved for the event itself), but there were still some decent performances from Edward, Adrian and John amongst others. Results of these and other events as follows:

Southern League Division 4 North, match 3 (of 5), St Ives (Cambs), 28/6/08:
100 Metres A 6th Eden Confino 13.2s
B 6th Adrian Essex 13.2s (club V50 record)
200 Metres A 6th Adrian Essex 28.3s
400 Metres A 4th Adrian Essex 63.7s
B 4th Tony Killilea 60.9s
800 Metres A 3rd Tony Killilea 2m 18.7s
3000 Chase A 2nd Tony Killilea 11m 53.2s
B 2nd Adrian Essex 16m 18.8s (club V50 record)
Long Jump A 6th Eddie Bayne 3.26m
High Jump A 6th Eddie Bayne 1.30m
Triple Jump A 6th Tony Killilea 9.13m
B 4th Adrian Essex 8.10m (club V50 record)
Shot Put A 6th Adrian Essex 7.02m
Discus Throw A 6th Peter Snell 13.89m
B 5th Eddie Bayne 13.77m
Javelin Throw A 5th Eddie Bayne 21.82m
B 4th Peter Snell ?m
Hammer Throw A 6th Adrian Essex 12.83m
B 5th Peter Snell 9.77m

National Junior League Southern Premier Division, Cambridge, 29/6/08:
Women:
3000 Metres A 1st Ella Waldman 10m 49.6s

Self Transcendence 5k Road Race, Battersea Park, 30/6/08:
3rd Sergio Di Noto 17m 30s

Watford Open Track & Field Meeting, Watford, 2/7/08:
3000 Metres 29th Pete Crockford 10m 17.83s (1st V50, club V50 record)
31st Ella Waldman 10m 24.28s (1st U20 woman, club U20 record)

British Veterans Track & Field Championships, Birmingham, 5-6/7/08:
M45:
3000 Chase 1st Paul Lemmon 10m 45.72s
M50:
800 Metres 5th Mike Abrahams 2m 28.79s
1500 Metres 6th Mike Abrahams 5m 07.15s

Norwich Olympic Distance Triathlon, Norwich, 6/7/08:
38th Ken Heney 2h 20m 53s

Tottenham Marshes 5 Mile multi-terrain race, Tottenham, 6/7/08:
3rd Pete Crockford 29m 21s (1st V50)
9th Gavin Evans 31m 04s (3rd V40)
10th Robin Tremaine 32m 13s (3rd V50)
11th Trevor Wilson 32m 23s
25th Jackie Watt 35m 52s (1st woman)
32nd Caroline White 37m 25s (3rd woman, 2nd V45)
35th Jim Taggart 37m 31s

London Heathside Track & Field Open Meeting, Finsbury Park, 6/7/08:
100 Metres:
10th Edward Kargbo 12.1s (1st U17)
12th Cardell Seton 12.2s
18th Melvin Reebye 13.4s (3rd U17)
19th Emmanuel Adesina 13.8s
200 Metres:
6th Colin Robertson 24.5s
10th Edward Kargbo 25.5s (1st U17)
13th Melvin Reebye 27.4s (3rd U17)
14th Adrian Essex 27.7s (1st V50)
18th T Johnson 29.6s (1st U13)
400 Metres:
2nd Adrian Essex 63.1s (1st V50)
800 Metres:
6th Ahmed Jama 2m 28.2s
9th Alex Beattie-Child 2m 46.4s (1st U15)
10th Ben Clarke-Janssen 2m 46.4s
1500 Metres:
5th John Flahive 4m 15.3s
9th Alex Economou 5m 40.8s (1st U15)
10th Ben Clarke-Janssen 5m 57.0s

There’s loads to cover this week so I’ll get straight on with it, starting with a couple of races from last weekend. The Last Friday 5K confused everyone (well me anyway) by happening on the 2nd last Friday of the month, hence why I missed it last week. We only had 2 runners competing but both Julian and Pete had good runs finishing well up in their age groups.

Next came the Young Athletes match on Sunday, about which I received the following report from Adrian Essex:

On a bright but windy afternoon in Kingston, London Heathside Athletic Club fielded athletes in all categories of the National Young Athletes League, Southern region. Stars of the afternoon were the officials travelling with the athletes, outwardly old men well beyond their sell by dates, they nevertheless managed to pitch up and wield stop watches and tape measures and score 25 points for the club. Some of the athletes also did fairly well. Hugh Gibbs was the runaway winner of the u15 boys hammer at his first attempt at the discipline. Other first timers included Shian Burton in the shot put (u13girls) and Saffron George in the u15 girls javelin. Luke McNally did well in the u17 boys high jump, and Colin Kpodonu put in good performances in the u13 boys 100m, 75m hurdles and shot putt. The u13 boys 100m relay team won their event despite some tension within the team which had earlier resulted in food being thrown. Despite its being a very long day disciplinary problems were relatively few, with even the grumpy old men still quite cheerful in the coach on the way home.

Moving on to this weekend, both the men’s teams had our 3rd Southern League matches of the season. The A team were competing in what seemed like a hurricane at Eastbourne, definitely the windiest I can ever remember it for a league meeting. Fortunately for the sprinters the wind was behind them, so Moses easily broke the club record in the 100 and equaled it in the 200, but for almost everyone else it was a nightmare and times were irrelevant. It turned into a very close match between us and the hosts, with the lead changing hands after almost every event. It finally came down to which of us beat the other in the 4x400 relay and fortunately it was us who came out on top despite Ricardo inexplicably running most of the 1st leg in lane 4! Although we are in 3rd place and only 2 go up we are still well placed to get promoted, as we have already competed against the 2 teams above us but they have yet to compete against each other. It will depend on us getting good turnouts for the last 2 matches on July 12th and August 2nd however, and it would be particularly useful if some of the better longer distance runners who regularly train on the track but have so far avoided competing on it (eg: John P, Richard, Julian, Ash, Andy W, Ed etc) could try and make themselves available for at least 1 of the 2. Meanwhile the B team were competing up in St Ives. Due to a combination of better opposition and fewer people turning out they were unable to match their 2nd position from the previous match, but they still have every chance of a mid-table finish come the end of the season. I don’t have the detailed results from their match yet however.

Finally we had a good turnout in the Triffic Trail 10K in Trent Park yesterday, with Robin leading them home in a very good time given the hilliness of the course, while Jackie also had an encouraging run despite her constant knee problems. Results of these and a couple of other events are as follows:

Last Friday of the Month 5K Road race, Hyde Park, 20/6/08:
5th Julian Ferraro 17m 12s (1st V40)
16th Pete Crockford 17m 59s (2nd V50)

National Young Athletes League Southern Division 2 (London), match 3 (of 4), Kingston, 22/6/08:
Under 17 Men:
100 Metres A 2nd Luke McNally 11.8s
B 4th Jamell Robinson 13.2s
n/s 3rd Eden Confino 13.1s
200 Metres A 2nd Luke McNally 24.1s
3000 Metres A 2nd Simon Rosum 11m 57.8s
4x100 Relay 3rd Emanuelis, Luke, Eden, Jamell 48.7s
Long Jump A 1st Emanuelis Stasaitis 6.16m
High Jump A 1st Luke McNally 1.80m
B 1st Jamell Robinson 1.70m
n/s 1st = Eden Confino 1.60m
1st = Emanuelis Stasaitis 1.60m
Triple Jump A 2nd Emanuelis Stasaitis 12.61m
Discus Throw A 3rd Jamell Robinson 26.56m
Javelin Throw A 4th Eden Confino 29.09m
Under 15 Boys:
100 Metres A 5th Jeremy Nelson 15.6s
B 3rd Mervin Reebye 13.8s
200 Metres A 4th Jeremy Nelson 28.2s
B 4th Mervin Reebye 27.6s
400 Metres A 4th Jake Mattison 59.1s
Long Jump A 4th Mervin Reebye 4.61m
B 1st Jeremy Nelson 4.59m
Shot Put A 2nd Jake Mattison 9.04m
B 1st Hugh Gibbs 7.39m
Javelin A 4th Hugh Gibbs 18.89m
Hammer A 1st Hugh Gibbs 15.34m
Under 13 Boys:
100 Metres A 3rd Wale Olatunje 14.9s
B 1st Colin Kpodonu 14.5s
200 Metres A 5th Anton Johnson-Smith 31.1s
B 1st Tokeumelh Johnson 29.3s
800 Metres A 5th Tokeumelh Johnson 2m 48.5s
75 Hurdles A 2nd Colin Kpodonu 14.1s
4x100 Relay 1st Anton, Wale, Tokeumelh, Colin 56.9s
Long Jump A 4th Wale Olatunje 3.63m
B 5th Anton Johnson-Smith 3.06m
High Jump A 4th Wale Olatunje 1.25m
Shot Put A 3rd Colin Kpodonu 6.92m
B 2nd Anton Johnson-Smith 6.50m
Under 17 Women:
100 Metres A 1st Nikki Famodun 13.3s
200 Metres A 1st Nikki Famodun 27.0s
High Jump A 2nd Nikki Famodun 1.35m
Under 15 Girls:
100 Metres A 5th Saffron George 15.5s
800 Metres A 3rd Lottie Sorbie 2m 53.3s
Javelin A 5th Saffron George 10.53m
Under 13 Girls:
75 Metres A 4th Deborah Famodun 11.4s
B 4th Shian Burton 11.9s
150 Metres A 3rd Deborah Famodun 22.8s
Long Jump A 5th Shian Burton 3.29m
B 2nd Deborah Famodun 3.21m
Shot Put A 4th Shian Burton 3.75m

Final Match Result:
1st Kingston 597.5
2nd South London 424.5
3rd Hercules Wimbledon 388
4th Walton 293
5th London Heathside 219
6th Highgate 190

Dulwich Midsummer 5K Road Race, Dulwich Park, 25/6/08:
160th Charles Verrall 23m 40s

Southern League Division 3 South, match 3 (of 5), Eastbourne, 28/6/08:
100 Metres A 1st Moses Arthur 10.5s (PB & club record)
B 3rd Bill Awere 11.6s (PB)
200 Metres A 1st Moses Arthur 21.5s (PB & club record)
B 3rd Daniel Aka 23.6s (PB)
400 Metres A 4th Bill Awere 62.1s
B 3rd Didier Sorel 57.6s
800 Metres A 4th John Flahive 2m 21.4s
B 3rd Jacob Howe 2m 16.4s
1500 Metres A 4th John Flahive 4m 37.9s
B 3rd Jacob Howe 4m 40.6s
5000 Metres A 2nd Paul Lemmon 17m 15.3s
B 1st Pete Crockford 18m 44.2s
110 Hurdles A 1st Ricardo Beckford 15.1s
B 1st Israel Nworgu 15.7s
400 Hurdles A 1st Israel Nworgu 59.7s
B 1st Daniel Aka 64.4s
3000 Chase A 2nd John Flahive 10m 49.1s
B 1st Paul Lemmon 11m 33.3s
4x100 Relay 1st Lanre, Bill, Ricardo, Moses 43.8s
4x400 Relay 1st Ricardo, Moses, Didier, Israel 3m 43.4s
Long Jump A 1st Emanuelis Stasaitis 6.30m
B 2nd Bill Awere 5.37m
High Jump A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 1.85m
B 2nd Emanuelis Stasaitis 1.65m
Triple Jump A 3rd Emanuelis Stasaitis 12.04m
B 1st Daniel Aka 11.60m
Pole Vault A 1st = Didier Sorel 3.00m
B 2nd Daniel Aka 2.00m (PB)
Shot Put A 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 12.20m
B 1st Ricardo Beckford 10.49m
Discus Throw A 3rd Ricardo Beckford 31.72m
B 1st Lanre Ali-Balogun 26.67m
Javelin Throw A 1st Ricardo Beckford 38.78m
B 1st Didier Sorel 37.11m
Hammer Throw A 4th Jacob Howe 15.36m
B 4th Paul Lemmon 6.98m

Final Match Result:
1st London Heathside 109.5
2nd Eastbourne 107.5
3rd Crawley 67
4th Herne Hill 66

Current League Table (top 6 of 16):
1st St Mary’s Richmond 12 343
2nd Ealing 11 337
3rd London Heathside 11 315.5
4th Blackheath & Bromley 10 312
5th Bracknell 10 296
6th South London 10 281.5

Southern League Division 4 North, match 3 (of 5), St Ives (Cambridgeshire), 28/6/08:
Final Match Result:
1st Huningdonshire 187
2nd West Suffolk/Diss 131
3rd Watford 104
4th Biggleswade 92
5th Luton 90
6th London Heathside 41

Current League Table:
1st Huntingdonshire 18 494.5
2nd West Suffolk/Diss 17 458
3rd Queens Park 15 447
8th London Heathside 9 217

Triffic Trail 10K Multi-terrain race, Trent Park, 29/6/08:
25th Robin Tremaine 40m 05s (2nd V50)
47th Dominic Jackson 42m 25s
113th Jackie Watt 46m 32s
129th Martin Dop 47m 19s
153rd Martin Hill 48m 33s
158th Ken Townson 49m 09s
166th Chris Hewertson 49m 27s
210th Sandra Buckton 52m 38s
316th Ralph Buschow 58m 54s

Dysart Dash 10K Road Race, Richmond, 29/6/08:
222nd Susie Brighton 46m 45s

There’s plenty to report on this week but relatively little time, so I’ll get straight on with it. Moses and Ricardo traveled up to Bedford for the U23 Champs over the weekend and found the wind in their favour for once, especially on Sunday. This seems not to have helped Moses all that much however as, although he preformed well especially in the 200, his times were not exceptional. Ricardo however, despite the Hurdles being an event where a strong following wind can actually cause problems with stride patterns, took full advantage of the conditions to massively improve his own club record.

Back here in London on Saturday the second LICC meeting of the season took place at Woodford. Again the wind was helping the sprinters which led to good performances from the likes of Colin, Jordan and Parise, while in the longer events Jacob ran a good 800 before pacing Angela round for most of the 5000. Meanwhile in the throws Eddie continued the improvement he has been showing during his enforced layoff from the running events.

The main event of the weekend however was our own promotion, the Hampstead Midsummer 10k on Sunday morning. A record field of over 400 finishers coped admirably not only with the hilly course but also with the strong wind that made the uphill sections even tougher. The undoubted star from a Heathside point of view was Jaimie with an excellent 2nd place in the women’s race. We now need to get a club vest to her so that more people will recognize her and cheer her on in future races! She also led the women’s team to a comfortable victory with excellent support from Jules and Louise, while Louise and Caroline won vets prizes in their respective age groups. The men however, as is often the case in this event, were eclipsed by Highgate, but George performed well in (I assume) his first race since turning 40 and almost won the Vets prize, while Andy was only run out of the top 10 in the latter part of the race and Robin won the V50 category. Apart from the delayed start, which was unavoidable due to the large number of people turning up at the last minute to enter on the day, everything seemed to run like clockwork, so well done to Dave Newman and all the rest of the organizers and helpers. Results of the above and a couple of other events as follows:

Rosenheim League Track & Field Meeting, Tooting, 18/6/08:
200 Metres: 11th Jean-Paul Hazeley 24.2s
400 Metres: 9th Bill Awere 57.9s
1500 Metres: 4th John Flahive 4m 26.7s
400 Hurdles: 1st Didier Sorel 63.6s
4x200 Relay: 2nd Bill, Didier, Jean-Paul, Daniel Aka 1m 37.5s

Watford Track & Field Open Meeting, Watford, 18/6/08:
1500 Metres: 47th Jacob Howe 4m 24.44s

England Athletics Under 23 Championships, Bedford, 21-22/6/08:
100 Metres: 4th in ht Moses Arthur 11.10s
200 Metres: 7th Moses Arthur 21.95s
110 Hurdles: 6th Ricardo Beckford 14.18s (PB and club record)

London Inter-Club Challenge, match 2 (of 4), Woodford Green, 21/6/08:
100 Metres: 21st Jordan Woodhouse 11.65s (1st U17)
30th Luca Pellicci 12.27s (3rd U17)
32nd Cardelle Fenton 12.33s
39th Parise Hinds-Green 13.77s (1st U13 Girl)
200 Metres: 16th Jordan Woodhouse 23.76s (1st U17)
19th Colin Robertson 24.60s
30th Parise Hinds-Green 29.37s (1st U13 Girl)
31st Mike Abrahams 30.37s (1st V50)
800 Metres: 11th Jacob Howe 2m 08.82s
18th Mike Abrahams 2m 31.97s (1st V50)
1500 Metres: 6th Paul Lemmon 4m 39.40s (2nd V45)
5000 Metres: 4th Jacob Howe 17m 59.88s
5th Angela Howe 18m 20.29s (2nd woman)
7th Alan Dickson 19m 27.11s
110 Hurdles: 5th Israel Nworgu 15.94s
Discus Throw: 7th Eddie Bayne 14.55m
Javelin Throw: 8th Eddie Bayne 27.82m

Hampstead Midsummer 10k Road Race, Hampstead Heath Extension, 22/6/08:
9th George Stewart 37m 01s (2nd V40)
11th Andy Welshman 37m 20s (4th V40)
16th Ken Heney 38m 30s
21st Paul McCrossin 39m 00s
23rd Gavin Evans 39m 08s (5th V40)
29th Andrew Corcoran 40m 14s (not joined yet, but soon will)
31st Robin Tremaine 40m 26s (1st V50)
34th Trevor Wilson 40m 44s
48th Jaimie Feeney 41m 40s (2nd woman)
53rd Richard Bird 42m 02s
54th Mark Derry 42m 05s
58th Dominic Jackson 42m 24s
62nd Steve Mobbs 42m 47s (3rd V50)
66th Nigel Tonks 43m 20s
73rd Alex Sweet 43m 50s
75th Andrew Hudson 43m 57s (6th V50)
78th Carl Heap 44m 08s
80th Jules Weall 44m 16s (6th woman)
91st Louise Waldman 45m 0ss (7th woman, 3rd V35)
94th Richard Hewett 45m 19s
109th Andy Conway 46m 25s
118th Caroline White 46m 57s (12th woman, 1st V45)
131st Aubrey Schultz 47m 38s
133rd Jim Taggart 47m 43s
142nd Andrew Dawson 48m 04s
172nd Greg Bell 49m 19s
177th Charles Verrall 49m 27s (2nd V60)
185th Harry Nuttall 50m 02s (3rd V60)
190th Michelle French 50m 24s (24th woman)
204th Adrian Jones 51m 27s
213th Jane Hazell 51m 52s (33rd woman)
216th Chris Hewertson 51m 56s
259th Marilyn St Hilaire 54m 17s (55th woman)
267th Sandra Buckton 54m 45s (60th woman)
272nd Jane Thomas 54m 57s (62nd woman)
283rd Resi Dzialdow 55m 38s (66th woman)
292nd Alison Harrow 56m 04s (70th woman)
323rd Louise Cripps 58m 20s (88th woman)
328th Ralph Buschow 58m 52s

405 finishers in all

There’s a bumper crop of results from all sorts of events all over the world to cover this week, with the times taken ranging from just under 11 seconds to just under 9 hours, but I’ll start with a relatively local event where the times fitted nicely in between these extremes, the St Albans Half Marathon. 16 Heathsiders (unless I missed any in the results) completed the race in extremely hot conditions and despite the hilly course, though as it was June in St Albans neither of these facts seems all that surprising to me! Julian led home our runners in a decent time given the circumstances with several others, including our first woman Rosaire, also managing top 10 places in their age categories. I very much doubt if there were any PBs, but as mentioned before it was very hot and hilly, have I stressed that enough now Marilyn? By the way, the positions in the results below are in actual finishing order while the times are chip times, hence the apparently illogical order of our last 2 runners.

As most of you will know, several of our members are now triathletes as well as athletes. There are 2 triathlons to mention this time, with John finishing about half way down the field in the sprint event at Blenheim (though given the winning time I suspect at least 1 of the sections was well over distance), while Ken put in an excellent performance in what sounds like a very difficult Half Ironman event in Exmoor. He, like Martin Potter, is training for a full Ironman later in the year.

Moving on to this weekend we had 4 athletes competing in the South of England Champs at Crystal Palace. Moses was extremely unfortunate in the 200 Metres as his time would have got him 4th spot and a place in the Final in the other semi, but at least it was an improvement on his own club record and he did have the bonus of a moment in the spotlight as he was racing against Dwayne Chambers in his 100 semi. Jayed was unfortunate too, only missing out by 1 place and a couple of hundredths on reaching the next stage, but Ella was able to pick up a medal with another strong performance in the 3000.

On Sunday over in South Africa Ursula completed the Comrades in marginally under 9 hours, an exceptional time given her almost constant illness and injury over the last few months. According to the website that qualifies her for a ‘Bill Rowan medal’ which is somewhere between a Silver and a Bronze, though had she taken 3 seconds longer she would have been relegated to a Bronze, so those couple of speed sessions over the last few weeks made all the difference!

Finally and much nearer to home we had a good turnout for the London Chest Hospital 10k. Ash was 1st home for the club while there were also impressive runs from Mark D and Jules in particular. Results from all of the above and a couple of other events are as follows:

St Albans Half Marathon, St Albans, 8/6/08:
10th Julian Ferraro 80m 45s (3rd V40)
24th Gavin Evans 85m 38s (7th V40)
25th Dominic Ross 85m 42s (8th V40)
52nd Henry Andrews 88m 54s
72nd Robin Tremaine 91m 13s (7th V50)
100th Steve Mobbs 93m 05s (9th V50)
179th Carl Heap 98m 09s
253rd Richard Bird 1h 41m 14s
373rd Rosaire Gray 1h 45m 30s (10th FV45)
521st Martin Stone 1h 49m 24s
541st Caroline White 1h 50m 47s
645th Charles Verrall 1h 53m 29s
664th Fiona Holland 1h 54m 12s
1139th Marilyn St Hilaire 2h 05m 10s
1279th Resi Dzialdow 2h 09m 34s
1280th Jane Thomas 2h 07m 55s

Blenheim Sprint Triathlon, Blenheim Palace, 8/6/08:
1763rd John McConnell 99m 34s

Woodford Green Open Track & Field Meeting, Woodford Green, 10/6/08:
800 Metres:
20th Mike Abrahams 2m 31.83s (1st V50)

South of England Track & Field Championships, Crystal Palace, 14-15/6/08:
Senior Men:
100 Metres:
5th in SF Moses Arthur 10.96s
200 Metres:
5th in SF Moses Arthur 21.52s (PB and club record)
400M Hurdles:
7th in ht Israel Nworgu 60.48s
Under 20 Women:
100 Metres:
6th in ht Jayed Mayes 13.11s
3000 Metres:
3rd Ella Waldman 10m 39.97s

Ironman UK 70.3 Half Ironman Triathlon, Wimbleball Lake, Exmoor, 15/6/08:
84th Ken Heney 5h 27m 31s

Comrades 54 Mile Road Race, Durban – Pietermaritzburg (South Africa), 15/6/08:
1970th Ursula Wilson 8h 59m 57s (104th woman)

London Chest Hospital 10k Road Race, Victoria Park, 15/6/08:
13th Ash Abrha 35m 37s (2nd V40)
31st Mark Derry 38m 25s (6th V40)
64th Mark George 40m 32s
70th Dominic Jackson 40m 58s
87th Andrew Hudson 42m 02s
128th Jules Weall 44m 05s (8th woman)
227th Daniel Palmer 48m 02s
566th Paula Beattie 59m 15s
712th Anthony Burns 66m 47s