Track, Tri, Trains and Inflatables: Race Report 7 - 8 August

Did you know that on this day in British history (8 August 1963) 15 men armed men carried out a robbery of £2,600,000 (mostly in used bank notes) from the Glasgow–London Royal Mail Train? The event became famous as the Great Train Robbery and took place in Buckinghamshire.​

… But what was most certainly not ‘a steal’ were the hard-fought and trained-for results achieved by Chiltern Harriers runners in this week’s Race Report!

Yes, ok… tenuous at best.​

And on with the important stuff, and we’ll kick things off with 5ks. Richard Slade was in fine action on the track last night, 7 August, running a 20 second PB of 14.51 at the Hercules Wimbledon 5000m Festival night.

Whilst - completely understandably - no other Harrier could match that blistering pace during parkrun events yesterday, there were, nonetheless, some fabulous runs. At Black Park there were all-time parkrun PBs for Thomas Emery (who was also rewarded with a 1st place finish for his 17.04), Thomas Askey (17.14) and Abi Askey (22.31). Joining them to earn a new all-time PB were: Alex Hughes (17.53 at Ricky); Maddie Hughes (18.36 at Ricky and also 1st female); Neil Walker (20.05, Ricky); and Jacob and Isaac McCall (22.13 and 22.54, respectively, at Casiobury Park). Also coming away with 1st place were Charlie Wood (18.09 in his debut at Gadebridge) and Fabian Downs (16.07 at Western Springs, New Zealand). And finally, Grant Whitaker earned a new course PB (20.51 at Tamar Trails), as did Richard Lloyd (27.15 at Rickmansworth), and Ian Lawson (19.03 at Wycombe Rye).

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Meanwhile, Julia and George Aliaj smashed the Inflatable 5k yesterday, in Bicester, raising money for the Chiltern Toy Bank in the process (not too late to donate via Julia’s Facebook page). Well done guys! Looks amazing fun too.

In 10k news, Claire Dickinson and Mike ‘Tiny’ Turney took on the St Albans 10k today, 8 August, in windy conditions. Tiny came home in 38.04 and Claire in 54.48. Hannah Wardley completed the London Triathlon (Olympic Distance), describing the 1500m swim in the Royal Victoria Dock as a ‘washing machine experience’. Sounds horrid, that’s all I can say. But you are one tough lady, Hannah! I couldn’t find results, but here’s a great pic :-)

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Here’s Alden Collier on his way to take the win in 4.07.56 (unofficially) in the U15 1500m at the England Athletics U17 and U15 Championships in Manchester. Pic courtesy of @EnglandAthletics.

And finally, Hywel Thomas, one of the Club’s resident ultra aficionados completed the gruelling North Downs Way 100 (miles) by Centurion, clocking a great time of 26.58.03. Well done, Hywel!

AN IMPORTANT NOTICE: entries are open for this year’s Shardeloes 10k on 19 September and, unlike in previous years, there will be no entries on the day. So please do get organised and enter now.​

COMING UP LOCALLY: the next match of the Southern Athletics League in Oxford, Burnham Beeches 10k & Half, the Coombe Hill Fell Race, Bedford Run Fest, Youth Development League Lower Age Group at Bracknell, Bovingdon 10k, Hillingdon 20 and the Maidenhead Half Marathon. Check out the Club Calendar for more info and further events.

AND: Book your tickets now for the Club Social on 24 September. They are an absolute bargain at just £13 for seniors and £8 for juniors, including BBQ. Go on!

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