The two Chiltern Harriers taking part in the SIAB match at Belfast last weekend both gave a great account of themselves.
 
Emile Morti was running for England Schools in the 110m Hurdles. The hurdle hight was lower than at English Schools and Emile had another great run to win in 13.05, a PB at that hurdle specification. Tom Ford was running in the 3000m for English Schools and ran an excellent PB of 8.36. to be second.

Good Evening, Race Report fans. I apologise for the radio silence over the last few weeks. No excuses, just laziness (which I’ll call ‘malaise’ because that seems so much more the sort of thing a Jane Austen heroine would say when it’s hot).

The prestigious English Schools Championships were held at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 July.
 
There were some excellent performances from the Chiltern Harriers athletes who were   representing their county schools associations in a variety of disciplines on what was an extremely hot couple of days.

 
Evelyn Wildman has been selected to represent Great Britain in the U18 European Championships, taking part in the 2000m steeplechase.

This achievement follows a breakthrough season in 2025, where she achieved strong PBs in 800m (2.13.68) and 1500m (4.32.19). This was also the year she began to explore the steeplechase.
In her first race at the 1500m steeplechase at the YDL Upper Age Group in Winchester in April 2025, Evelyn achieved the English Schools standard in a very promising 5.13.68.
By the time the championships happened in July Evelyn was the UK leader and duly won the championships in new Championships Record of 4.54.54.

Stepping up to the 2000m steeplechase in 2026, while juggling her GCSEs, Evelyn made her debut in the event in early April where she ran 6.49.68. This was a strong start but just outside the European qualifying standard of 6.45.00.
A 6.46.10 in Bury St Edmonds in early May was followed by a stunning run at the BMC PB Classic event in Loughborough on June 6th. Evelyn’s time of 6.34.06 became the leading time in Europe and third on the UK all-time list for the age group.
In the meantime, PBs in 800m (2.08.26) and 1500m (4.25.46) confirmed Evelyn was in good shape on the flat too.
The final piece in the jigsaw was to finish top two at the European Trials meeting in Cardiff on June 27th. Evelyn ran another strong race to win in 6.41.92, again achieving the qualifying standard and confirming her place in the Great Britain team.
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The Championships take place in Rieti, Italy from 16 to 19 July. The women’s 2000m steeplechase heat is first on the track at 9.35am on the Thursday morning, meaning Evelyn will need to conquer her allergy to early starts.
Evelyn has been coached by Steve Perkin for over 5 years, in which time he has supported her development and offered support and guidance throughout. Evelyn’s progress reflects the dedication Steve has shown to his coaching over close to two decades at Chiltern Harriers.

Do join us in congratulating Evelyn and wishing her all the best for the championships!

Evelyn Wildman competed on the Saturday in 2000m Steeplechase. Conditions were good with temperatures lower than the mid-week heatwave, and there was also a pleasant cooling breeze. The track at Cardiff features a water jump outside lane 8 which Evelyn hadn’t encountered before but she coped fine with the new configuration. Evelyn had another very good race to win in a time of 6.41.92, beating the qualifying standard of 6.45 for the second time.
 
Emile Morti was in action on the Sunday, again with pleasant, but blustery, conditions. Emile was taking part in the 110m Hurdles and won his heat in a new PB of 13.93 with a legal wind reading. Emile pushed on to a faster time to win the final in 13.71, just a hundredth outside the qualifying standard, but with a +5.1 wind reading it was not eligible for consideration.
 
So, two great wins at this prestigious meeting for the Chiltern duo. The GB team for the European U18 Championships which take place in Rieti, Italy July 16-19 will be announced later this week with Evelyn hopeful of being on the list.

This week’s Race Report – embarrassingly – is actually a wrapping up of the last few weeks. I don’t think it’s possible to pre-emptively blame this on the lateness / earliness of the England v Mexico game, but I’m happy to try!

Man v Horse
The legendary Man v Horse race took place on 13 June in Llanwrtyd Wells. The unique 22-mile event pitches human runners against horses and riders over challenging terrain. This year the horses came out on top (boo hiss…..)
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Representing Chiltern Harriers: Glen Martin, Seb Lawrence, Matt Lawrence and Matt Channer combined to complete the relay in 4:01:23. Ed Wright tackled the course solo in 4:37:08. Mike Sheppard also ran solo, finishing in an impressive 3:34:56. Next year, to add to the jeopardy, organisers are rumoured to be considering holding the event at 7000 ft above sea level at 1am...

1500m Section 1
Race 1
Jess Orr                         SW               5.12.04               SB
Sunaya Nanda             U14              5.12.91               PB
 
Race 4
Maya Davis                  U16               4.49.45
 
1500m Section 2
Race 2
Harrison Lawrence    U16               4.20.74               PB
Jack Turner                  U20               4.32.71
 
Race 5
Tom Ford                     U18               4.10.06
 
3000m
Aran Davidson            SM                 9.19.30

A Wycombe and Chiltern team slightly stronger than that in the first match competed in the second Southern Athletics League match at Chelmsford on Sunday. The team were third from six and, in warm, sunny conditions, several Chiltern athletes contributed to the good performance.
 
Euan Pinder was second in A string 400m in 50.4 and Isaac Jessop-Tranter was second in B string 800m. Back from University of Massachusetts (Amherst) Archie Pinder was third in A string 1500m and Aran Davidson was second in B string 3000m.
 
Jess Orr won B string 800m and Issy Robinson scored good points being third in A string 400m hurdles and second in B string 1500m. Katie Royals was third in A string 3000m. Sarah Cross won B string pole vault with an excellent 3.15m and also contributed with second in A string javelin and fourth in A string high jump. Issy and Euan were in the mixed 4 x 400m A team that came third, Sarah was in the B team that was also third. Sarah was also in the women’s 4 x 100m team that was fourth.

Chiltern Harriers were still out in force across a range of events, collecting podium places, age-group victories and some impressive performances.

Misbourne 10K – 20 June
With no major competition to contend with (she says), Jenny Bizley was able to take the win at the Misbourne 10K on Saturday morning, crossing the line in 51:18. Helen Hinde was also in action, finishing in 1:07:21, while Jack Turner produced an excellent run to take second male overall in a speedy 41:53. 
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A big thank you also goes to Doug Smith and Mike Shrive, who helped with the results on the day. Events simply couldn't happen without volunteers.

It’s been another action-packed weekend for Chiltern Harriers, with racing across road, trail and track – and if there’s one theme tying it all together, it’s this: hills were unavoidable.