Herne Hill Harriers

31/05/09 - Paul Oluyemi wins long jump at Bedford International Games

Star long jumper Paul Oluyemi proved himself to be in fine form ahead of next week's British League opener at Cardiff by winning the competition at the Bedford International Games with an effort of 7.35m. Idris Ojuriye also tops our 100m and 200m rankings for 2009 so far after performances of 10.71 and 21.84.

31/05/09 - Young athletes show Herne Hill's got talent

Our young athletes made the trip to Brighton for their latest fixture in the National Young Athletes League and, with a strong display of diversity across the various disciplines, emerged as the winners in their match for the third time this season.

Match result: Herne Hill Harriers - 458; Brighton & Hove AC - 391; Epsom & Ewell Harriers - 224; Ilford AC - 96

Click here to view the full results (hyperlink to www.natyal.co.uk).

31/05/09 - Men claim spoils at Dorking 10

Following success at the Eastleigh 10K at the end of March and our veterans' triumph at the British Masters relays a fortnight ago, the HHH road running machine turned up in strength at one of the south's most pictureseque 10 miles races at the Dorking and came away with another team victory. Gareth Price finished 2nd in 53:42 ahead of veteran Iain Lockett in 3rd in 53:55 to give the team an impressive advantage which wasn't relinquished.

Next home in 22nd place was Andrew Aitken in 60:30 before Rajdave Singh closed the winning team in 61:17 in 25th place. Ben Hallifax finished in 68:09 for 93rd place and relative newcomer James Wills produced a fine performance in the searing heat to finish 130th in 71:04 with Ed Barrow a few seconds behind in 71:18 for 134th spot.

Helen Sharp was the first female Herne Hill Harrier to finish clocking 73:04 for 160th place. Louisa Harrold then finished in 75:11 for 191st place before Rebecca Barrow recorded 77:33 for 225th, beating Debbie Jackson, who finished in 77:37 for 228th place to close the women's team, by only a few yards. Overall the combined efforts of this quartet were sufficient to claim 4th place in the women's team race.

After that, Suzanne Swaine was not far behind in 78:33 for 239th place while Glenn Burnip clocked 80:53 for 293rd.

Helen Carter finished 296th in 81:02, Sarah Allen 304th in 81:34 while Adam Gaabi struggled badly in the heat, weary from a 5K time trial the day before, finishing 313th in 82:02. Spencer Mason returned to racing after the London Marathon to record 82:09 for 319th position, Phillip Henwood clocked 85:38 for 387th and Roland Woodbridge 86:50 for 406th place before Sonia Williams finished 500th in 93:31. (James Ward)

30/05/09 - Understrength women place 3rd at Barking

The women's track & field team could only place 3rd in the Southern Women's League at Barking ahead of its debut in the UK Women's Athletics League next weekend. Denise Osei and Michelle Watson enjoyed successes in the sprints and Jennifer Honeyball competed in the numerous events in the quest for points, but the absence of a number of valued team members, possibly with next week's challenge in mind, put paid to any hopes of a morale-boosting match win.

Match result: City of Portsmouth - 100; Havering Mayesbrook - 93; Herne Hill Harriers - 74; Peterborough - 58

Click here to view the full results (hyperlink to www.thepowerof10.info).

27/5/09 - Lascelles Hussey continues to rewrite record books

The precocious talent that is Lascelles Hussey has claimed his second U13 boys' club record of the season with a stunning debut over 3000m in a Rosenheim League meeting. Competing against senior athletes, Lascelles showed no fear in edging to the front of the pack in the opening metres and maintained a consistent pace to remove over 30 seconds from the previous record which had stood for almost 30 years and set a new club standard of 10:19.6. (James Ward)

27/05/09 - Solid all-round show in Rosenheim League

A small contingent swapped the competing attraction of the Champions League final to ensure the club was represented in the Rosenheim League fixture at the Croydon Arena, achieving a number of solid placings to finish second overall.

Match result: Belgrave Harriers - 72; Herne Hill Harriers - 53; Croydon Harriers - 50; Serpentine RC - 46; Striders of Croydon - 41; Hercules Wimbledon - 31; South London Harriers - 28

HHH results: High jump - Adam Gaabi - 1.35m; 400mH - Didier Sorel - 63.3; 800m - Mike Cummings - 2:04.3; 100m - Clark Barrow (U17)- 11.9; 400m - Louis Mayes (U20) - 58.6; 1500m - Simon Coombes - 4:13.8; Long jump - Thomas Ashby (U20) - 6.14m; Javelin - Didier Sorel - 38.95m; 200m - Kevin Burke - 24.9; 3000m - Chris Busaileh - 9:04.4

Non-scoring results: 100m - Kendrick Sinclair - 12.2; Michelle Watson 12.9; 200m - Michelle Watson - 26.2; 400m - Burton Dredge - 54.0, Kevin Burke 55.0, Kendrick Sinclair - 57.0, Clark Barrow - 57.8, Monique Davies - 59.5; 800m - Adam Gaabi - 2:25.8; Alexandra Shamloll - 2:32.5; Lucile Smith (U20) - 2:32.6; 1500m - Rebecca Barrow (W35)  - 5:34.6; 3000m - Tim Elsey - 9:06.6, Alan Wray - 9:24, Lascelles Hussey (U13) - 10:19.6

Click here to view the full results (courtesy of Pete Mulholland).

24/05/09 - U17 women's 800m record falls to Katie Snowden

Katie Snowden has became the latest young athlete to break a club record this summer. Katie's new record of 2:08.80 for 800m was set in the final of the U17 women's 800m at the SEAA championships. Further details of how this was achieved appear below. (James Ward)

24/05/09 - Julien Allwood claims No.1 ranking at SEAA U17 and U15 champs

Julien Allwood confirmed his ranking as the top U17 male triple jumper in the country by winning the SEAA U17 championship at Ashford. Julien dominated the event, jumping to 14.06m with his first jump of the competition and improving to 14.18m to add to his Surrey championship win earlier this month. Julien now heads national rankings in the U17 men’s age group.

Katie Snowden broke the U17 women’s club record in the 800m, setting a superb PB of 2:08.80 in finishing 2nd in a high quality U17 women’s race. Katie, in her first year in this age group, sat off a searing pace set by last years English Schools champion Georgia Bell and moved through to challenge with 250m to go as the leaders dropped back. She couldn’t catch another previous English Schools champion, Adele Tracey, but nonetheless became the first U17 women in the club’s history to beat the 2:10 barrier for 800m. Katie’s time was also inside the qualifying mark for the World Youth championships, but as she is only 15 years-old will be too young to compete. Herne Hill Harriers had a second representative in the final with Hannah Edwards finishing 6th in 2:15.

Funto Fabunmi-Alade also won a silver medal in a tight finish to the U17 women’s 200m. Funto’s lunging dip enabled her to just earn 2nd place in 25.49. Jonathan Grant was 3rd in the U17 men’s long jump with 6.68m and also reached the final of the 100m, but couldn’t recover from a bad start and he subsequently finished 6th, whilst Taj Johnson was held up by holiday traffic and arrived just as the U15 boys’ long jump had started. Taj had to record a mark to qualify for the final three rounds and snatched a bronze medal with his final jump of the competition for a new, recording a new PB of 5.70m. Later in the afternoon Taj finished 6th in the U15 boys’ 100m final.     

Several newcomers also had their first taste of high quality competition. Hazel Ashby set a new PB in the U15 girls’ 200m with 25.97, just failing to reach the final whilst throwers Daniel St Aubyn and Louis Keen, who only started competing this summer, performed very credibly. Daniel finished 7th in the hammer final with a throw 26.99m and Louis placed 4th in the shot with an effort of 10.61m. Sinead Worrell, also competing at this level for the first time, was 4th in the shot with 9.42m and Alex West knocked 6 seconds off her PB to record 5:06.16 in the U15 girls’ 1500m heats. (Steve Bosley)

23/05/09 - Vets amongst the spoils at Ewell in Surrey Vets championships

A number of the club's more senior competitors enjoyed success at the Surrey Vets championships at Ewell Court. Chris Daniels won the M40 5000m race while in the M45 category there were wins for Kwei Sankofa in the 100m, Masakatsu Kondo in the long jump with a championship best performance and yet another Surrey Vets title for Vic Maughn.

John Garber won the M65 800m and 1500m races and followed this up with placings in the sprint races while Allan Long was successful in the long jump in the same category and achieved a placing in the 100m. Brian Shave achieved a hatrick of championship best performances in the M75 800m, 1500m and 5000m.

Although reknowned more for being a thrower, Barbara Macanas won the W55 long and triple jumps and achieved placings in all of the throwing disciplines while Sarah Allen won the W45 5000m. (James Ward)

Click here to view the full results (courtesy of Pete Mulholland).

17/05/09 - Thomas Ashby just short of HHH U20 decathlon record at Woodford

In a weekend dominated by HHH team successes in the British Masters road relays and senior men's and young athletes' league match victories, another performance of the highest order was produced on 16 and 17 May by a 19 year-old who is almost a one man team in himself.
 
Thomas Ashby placed 4th in the U20 Decathlon in the very high quality Woodford Combined Events meeting and fell agonising short of his own club U20 record as his score of 6,604 points was only 25 points shy of his best from last season. Although Thomas recorded only one personal best in the 10 events, this was an excellent all round display over 2 days in which the weather conditions were sometimes rather less than ideal, making his pb 3.89m clearance in the pole vault all the more commendable.
 
Ironically the event he would regard as a disappointment was a rain affected discus competition, an event in which he has been rewriting his own club records with every competitive outing before this one, as on this occasion he was restricted to 37.46m with an implement he has recently thrown well over 50m. This latest performance does nevertheless cement his position firmly as one of the top 4 or 5 U20 decathletes in the UK and illustrates his potential as an international all-rounder. (Geoff Jerwood)
 
Thomas' performances in the 10 events are listed as follows:-
 
100m - 11.45 (+2.0); long jump - 6.40m (+3.9); shot put - 14.36m; high jump - 1.88m; 400m - 54.21; 110H - 15.52 (+1.4); discus - 37.46m; pole vault - 3.89m; javelin - 43.32m; and 1,500m – 4:51.26.

17/05/09 - Young athletes win again

The club's young athletes followed up their victory in the opening match of the season with another win, this time at Bexley. (James Ward)

Match result: Herne Hill Harriers - 393; Bexley AC - 333; Herts Phoenix AC - 302.5; Hastings AC - 244.5

Click here to view the full results (hyperlink to www.natyal.co.uk).

16/05/09 - HHH are British Masters relay champions!

Herne Hill Harriers’ Masters (M40-49) confirmed their status as one of the club’s most successful teams in its 120 year history.  Southern Road Relay Champions (six consecutive times), Southern Cross Country Champions, British Cross Country champions, British Cross Country Relay Champions (twice) and, on 16 May 2009, the most coveted British Masters Road Relay Championship. 

Sutton Park, the home of British road relay running, provided the setting for the most prestigious title of all and, after two seconds in 2006 and 2007, the eight man team travelled to Birmingham with one objective, to win team gold.  They did not disappoint.

Starting cautiously on leg one, Kofi Agyei timed his run to perfection as he worked through the field during the second half of the three mile leg to finish 6th M40.  Just like his performance at Aldershot on the opening leg in the Southerns, Kofi ran a superbly judged race to put the club right in the mix.  Such was the quality of his run, he was within 10 seconds of distance legend Carl Thackery who has been showing excellent form recently.  Like Kofi, Francis Marsh is not short of track speed, and, having closed a number of the teams in the first mile, duly took off on the flat and downhill stretches of the course to equal Kofi’s time.  Both had recorded PBs on the course, and after two legs the Hill were 2 minutes up on defending champions and course record holders, Bristol and West AC, and leading the M40 race.     

On leg three, another long standing Herne Hill member and stalwart of many teams, Vic Maughn, demonstrated once again his ability to deliver on the big occasion.  Running around 30seconds faster than at the National 12 stage on the equivalent short leg, Vic used his speed, strength and experience, just losing out to Horwich who, momentarily led the M40 race.  Vic’s time was an excellent 15:59.  Roger Alsop has produced many outstanding relay legs during his senior and masters running career, and this was to be no exception.  Recent training and racing pointed towards a fast leg and, not slowed down by a heavy head cold, Roger truly delivered.  Equaling Kofi and Francis’ time of 15:29, Roger stormed back into the lead.  The engine room was really purring. 

Roger finished just behind the Salford M35 team who at this point completed their 4 leg race, leaving Keith Newton to head off in first overall.  Having been an ever present in  the Southern and National winning teams, Keith knew that leg five was loaded with Brian Rushworth (14:54), Ben Reynolds (15:03) and Gordon Lee (14:48).  The latter was running for Leicester Coritanian AC who by this stage were emerging as the main threat to Herne Hill’s charge for gold.  All were seen on the out and back section beyond jamboree stones, giving extra impetus during the latter stages, and fortunately Keith was able to produce another PB of 15:22.  Whilst a number of clubs had sent out their big guns on five, Herne Hill’s was on leg six.  Iain Lockett, for many years the Club’s top senior as well as top vet, produced an excellent solo 15 minute leg and was flying as he passed ‘Keepers’, having stretched the lead to over 2 minutes at the change over.  There have been very few if any times when Iain has failed to deliver over the last 5 years, and his consistency at the very highest level is a benchmark for all. 

Following a withdrawal during the week by Mike Boyle due to injury, Dave Adam stepped up at short notice and undertook an epic round trip from north of Inverness.  Without him the team was incomplete, but Dave was running with a dodgy hamstring and had the unenviable job of defending a substantial lead.  On at least two occasions the stride faltered as his hamstring tightened, yet Dave ran a heroic 17:04 leg to bring the team home 44 seconds ahead of Leicester on the penultimate stage.  This was a very strong Leicester team who, once aware that defending champions Bristol were below par, had strong aspirations to win.  Several former top seniors have joined them over the last year or two, and it is a measure of our own performance that we were able to withstand their strong efforts. 

As with previous victories, Dave Robinson had the job of finishing off the performance, and he did not disappoint.  Despite running with a heavy chest infection, Dave produced a controlled piece of running, and was moving very strongly during the latter stages; so much so that the two fastest HHH guys on the day were unable to get near him in the sprint from Keepers.  Dave’s run of 15:46 brought the Club home 18 seconds ahead of Leicester, with Bristol closing strongly to finish third.  Credit to Leicester for producing what would have in many years been a winning performance, and to Bristol for their outstanding record of four consecutive wins, including the course record, followed by this third place.  Well done also to our rivals Thames Hare and Hounds for their 5th place with a tea that featured two Herne Hill ‘track members’.  For the record, Herne Hill were 36 seconds quicker than their previous fastest time from 2007 and therefore recoded a new club record.  . 

Two members of the team suggested that had it not been for Geoff’s persistence in cajoling them into running, it was unlikely they would have made it to Sutton Park, due to illness and injury.  It is a credit to Geoff, during what has been a difficult past few weeks, that the Club were able to turn out a winning team, and with unanimity the Herne Hill eight dedicated this victory to the man who has contributed more than anyone to the success of Herne Hill senior men’s teams for as long as most of us can remember. (Keith Newton)

Click here to view the full results (hyperlink to www.joelee.co.uk).

16/05/09 - HHH regain that winning feeling in Southern Men's League

After 7 Southern Men’s League fixtures without a match victory, the team finally returned to winning ways with a nail-biting victory over Blackheath & Bromley Harriers, Bracknell AC and Serpentine RC at Battersea Park. Having clung to Blackheath’s coattails throughout the afternoon, we didn’t actually seize the lead until the 3000m steeplechase had concluded, but by then had generated sufficient momentum to ensure that the much craved match-win would be achieved.

Match result: Herne Hill Harriers - 110; Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC - 107; Serpentine RC - 65; Bracknell AC - 53

Click here to read James Ward's full report and view the results.

13/05/09 - Soild placings snatch second in Rosenheim League

Strict adherence to the golden rule of always filling every event bore fruit in the opening Rosenheim League fixture of the season as the team snatched second place despite being considerably understrength. Consistently churning out mid-range placings or better, the team spirit was emphasised by the willingness of a pole vaulter and 3 middle and long-distance runners, 2 of whom had just completed the 3000m, to form a scratch 200m relay quartet at the end of the evening as darkness fell to grab the points which secured an excellent position on the night. (James Ward)

Match result: Belgrave Harriers - 72; Herne Hill Harriers - 53; Hercules Wimbledon - 52; Serpentine RC - 45; Striders of Croydon - 36; Croydon Harriers - 36; South London Harriers - 8

Click here to view the full results (courtesy of Serpentine RC).

11/05/09 - Vets win by a hair's breadth

On our first visit to distant Uxbridge, I wrongly predicted that the host club would win. However, on a cold and windy evening our vets responded magnificently to the challenge. We managed to field a decent-sized team, and a determined all-round performance saw us victorious by a single point over Hillingdon. The importance of filling every event and the value of each and every team member were obvious.

That being the case, everyone must now get a mention. We have been in need of some talented young blood and Paul McKay is just that. The cautious team manager entered him as the B string in the M35 100m and he left the others standing with a time of 11.8. He also won the 400m B string and took part in the 4 x 400, in which we finished second.

Another newcomer, Chris Daniels, came along to our rescue to compete in the M35 1500m. He paced himself perfectly, won comfortably, and kicked off the relay shortly after. Still on the 1500m, I want to thank Tony Harran for responding to a late request to come along – he was second in the B string. Another debutant, Tim Ridley, who does not pretend to be a 400m runner, nobly filled a gap in the relay team, after his non-scoring 1500m. We also welcomed M60 Derek Ambler, who was an encouraging fourth in the M50 shot.

A remarkable feature of our win was that we had only two bona fide M50s – Steve Knight and Waldy Pauzers. Steve came second in the 1500m, despite a nagging injury. Waldy came a close second in the M35 2000m walk after battling the Hillingdon walker for much of the race. Though he only recently recoverd fron illness, he also covered the M50 discus, high jump and long jump, none of which are his normal events

Allan Long delivered the goods as he has done so often. He won the M60 high jump and long jump and was a remarkable second in the M50 100m. John Garber won the M60 1500m and was a fine third in the M50 400m. And they are both towards the top of their age range - Allan is 66 and John is 67.

Masakatsu Kondo won the M35 long jump by nearly a metre in 5.83m and was second in the A string 100m. Kwei Sankofa showed that his injury concerns of last season are behind him. He won the A string 400m in 55.6, anchored the relay team and proved a passable imitation of Akin in the high jump (without reaching Akin’s heights). Captain Garry Power achieved a convincing double in the M35 discus and shot. His discus performance was modest by his standards but he showed good early season form in the shot with 10.48m. Finally, the team manager swallowed his pride and took part in the walk. I  enjoyed the banter with two other walkers at the rear of the field – obviously I wasn’t trying hard enough. (Dave Wilson)

Match result: Herne Hill Harriers - 132; Hillingdon - 131; Serpentine RC - 106; Metros - 60; Ealing Southall & Middlesex - 58.5; St Mary's Richmond - 50; Hercules Wimbledon - 40.5 

Click here to view the results.

10/05/09 - Julien Allwood claims U17 men's triple jump club record

The third club record to be broken at Surrey championships fell to Julien Allwood in the U17 men's triple jump. Julien claimed the record by adding 8cm to the previous record to set a new standard of 14.40m in winning the competition. (James Ward)

10/05/09 - Lascelles Hussey demolishes U13 boys' 1500m club record

It may not have been a winning performance, but that doesn't make Lascelles Hussey's performance in the U13 boys' 1500m at the Surrey championships any less sensational. In recording 4:40.95 to win the silver medal, Lascelles - still only 11 years-old - destroyed the previous record of 4:47.1 which had stood since 1977. And all this after competing in the 800m the previous day! (James Ward)

10/05/09 - County crowns continue to come on day two at Kingsmeadow

The medal rush at the Surrey championships continued of the second day of competition at Kingsmeadow one another golden day Herne Hill Harriers. The most dominant event was surely the senior men's 100m where Jeffrey Ocrah claimed the prize in 10.74, edging out Sammy Mensah who recorded the same time. Completing a clean sweep of medals was Robert Graham in 10.82 in 3rd. Sammy did still come away with a gold medal after winning the 400m in 49.7.

Under 17 men enjoyed further success too. Julien Allwood won the triple jump with 14.40 and Jonathan Grant won the long jump with 6.58m. Taj Johnson won the U15 boy's competition with 5.57m and also finished 2nd in the 200m in 24:48. Though he only finished 2nd, Lascelles Hussey's 4:40.95 in the U13 boys' 1500m bettered the club record by almost 7 seconds.

Hazel Ashby completed a sprint double, winning the U15 girls' 100m title in 12.94 to complement her 200m crown claimed the previous day, while Lakesha Abrams-Quamina bagged gold in the U15 girls' discus with a throw of 26.10m, while Sinead Worrell won the U17 women's shot with a mark of 10.08m as Angharad Seaton won the pole vault in the same category with a clearnace of 2.40m. In the U20 women's triple jump Asha-Leigh Ford-Scille won gold with 11.38m as Charlotte Nyame-Koomson finished 2nd with 11.23m, Jenny Honeyball won the senior women's pole vault, clearing 3.00m and Briony Phillips won the senior women's shot put with 11.37m.

Katie Snowden claimed another medal, this time in the U17 women's 200m where she won silver with a time of 26.05 and Jade Phillips claimed a medal of the same colour in the U20 women's 100m with 12.50. In senior women's competition, Harriet Owles placed 2nd in the 1500m with 4:48.26 and Karen Ellison's effort in the 3000m of 10:43.82 saw her finish 2nd also. (James Ward)

Click here to view the track results for both days. Click here to view the field results for both days. Both are hyperlinks to the Surrey County AA website.

10/05/09 - Wilder third in Ranelagh Half Marathon

In an early morning half marathon, Brian Wilder crusied round the course to finish an excellent 3rd in 1:11:05 and claim the Surrey and club championships. Helping the men's team to 8th place overall were Kieren Allen who was 72nd in 1:25:49 and Ben Hallifax who was 95th in 1:28:40. Next home was Toby Clarke in 1:32:27 for 161st place followed closely behind by Helen Carter in 170th place in 1:33:20. Glen Keegan recorded 1:40:01 for 292nd place and Phillip Henwood made light of having completed the London Marathon 2 weeks' earlier by finishing in 1:49:20 for 476th place on a warm day. (James Ward)

09/05/09 - Ashby continues to go from strength to strength

Club records appear to be in danger every time Thomas Ashby competes. Last week Thomas extended his U20 club record with the senior implement and no sooner had he done that he proceed to revised his mark with the 1.75kg version at this weekend's Surrey championships at Kingsmeadow. His winning throw and new record of 52.25m was almost twice as far as that of his nearest challenger. (James Ward)

09/05/09 - Medals in all age groups on day one of county champs

Herne Hill Harriers of all ages came away from Kingsmeadow clutching medals after a successful first day of the championships for the club. Paul Oluyemi claimed gold in the senior men's long jump by the narrowest of margins as a single centimetre separated his winning jump of 7.11m from that of second-placed HCA member Royden John, who was competing for his first claim club Hercules Wimbledon, while Idris Ojuriye won the 200m in 21.88 and James McMullan followed up his excellent recent run at the University of Birmingham to win the 5000m in 15:04.00. Thomas Ashby won the U20 men's discus with 52.25m (a new club U20 record).

Not to be outdone, Matthew Walcott set a new championship best performance to win the U20 men's 110m hurdles in 14.74 and Samuel Adeyemi roared to victory in the 400m in 50.51 in the same age category. Charlotte Nyame-Koomson won the U20 women's long jump with 5.35m.

In one of the most keenly awaited and keenly contested races of the day, the U17 women's 800m, Katie Snowden claim gold with 2:15.77 to edge out Hannah Edwards who finished 2nd in 2:16.79 as both beat another hugely promising talent, Emelia Gorecka of Aldershot, Farnham & District into third place. Andre Thomas-Richards provided further hurdling success in the U17 men's 100m hurdles, winning in 13.98 as Blade Ashby finished 3rd in 14.39.

Hazel Ashby became the second member of the Ashby family to win gold as she triumphed in the U15 girls' 200m in 26.29.

Although not quite good enough to win, Lascelles Hussey was nontheless hugely impressive in finishing 2nd in the U13 boys'  800m in 2:20.11 despite being one of the youngest competitors in the race and Rachel Mayhew finished 3rd in U17 women's 100m in 12.90. Denise Osei finished second in the senior women's 100m in 12.41 and Briony Phillips placed 3rd in the senior women's discus with a throw of 35.33m. Lakesha Abrams-Quamina placed 2nd in the U15 girls' shot put. (James Ward)

03/05/09 - Youngsters start promotion bid with victory

We began our league campaign with an impressive win as we look to bounce straight back into the Premier Division, beating a solid St Albans side which could also challenge for promotion.

Our strongest area was the U17 men's age-group where we covered most events. We did especially well in the throws where Khalil Njoya and Marlon Douglin both had triple wins, the sprints where we had A and B string wins from Michael Bennett, Rorie Robinson and Sylvester Akpalara and the middle-distance races where Lewis Lloyd, Sylvester and Billy Holmes all won events. Blade Ashby had a good day, winning the 100m hurdles and setting a PB in the long jump with 6.34m, an event in which Jonathan Grant also won the B string. Both Blade's and Jonathan's performances were Grade 1. 

We also scored well in the U15 girls' events with Hazel Ashby winning 3 events - both sprints and the long jump with a PB of 4.85m - and was supported by Zoe Doran who won two B string events and Melissa Roberts who won the B string 200m. Karyn Muya won the 800m in a good PB of 2:25.5 with Ashleigh Campbell winning the 800m and Lakesha Abrams-Quamina won the discus with 24.70

Our U17 women's team was weakened but still supplied some good points with Funto Fabunmi–Alade and Rachel Mayhew winning both sprints and Katie Snowden completing a 800m/1500m double. In the field Sinead Worrell won the shot and the high jump.

Our U13 teams showed promise for the season with debut wins from Ibraham Belal in the 800m and Garfield Francis and Chidera Ojemere in the 75m hurdles. Perhaps the best performance of the day was by Lascelles Hussey who just missed the club record which has stood since 1977 when winning the U13 boys' 1500m in 4:48.9. In the U13 girls' events Jessica Barnes won the 75m and recorded a PB of 4.25m when winning the long jump. Rashaan Williams won the B string 75m hurdles.

In the U15 boys' events Taj Johnson won both A string sprints, Daniel St Aubyn and Louis Keen won both strings of the hammer and Zach Weller-Davies and Nicholas Grant won both strings of the javelin.        

Thanks to all the parents who helped us score maximum points for officials. A large proportion of the team were making their debut for the club so we expect that we will improve as the season develops. We have a lot of athletes to return to the team and improve the squad in the coming weeks. St Albans may well be rivals for promotion if they travel well, so this was a good start to the season. (Steve Bosley) 

Match result: Herne Hill Harriers - 431; St. Albans AC - 406.5; Eastbourne Rovers AC - 257; Lewes AC 4th with 197.5.

Click here to view the results (hyperlink to www.natyal.co.uk) and click here to view the relay results (hyperlink to www.natyal.co.uk).

03/05/09 - Road runners enjoy blustery day in Beddington Park

A contingent of the club's road runners attended the Sutton 10K in Beddington. Coping with the occasional strong gust of wind admirably, Vic Maughn lead the red and black crusaders round to finish as 2nd vet in 6th place overall in 34:49, followed a few minutes later by Ben Hallifax whose determined late charge saw him slice a second from his PB in placing 50th in 39:19. James Wills, enjoying one of his first outings for the club was 68th in 40:36 and evergreen Tim Ridley closed the scoring team in 74th place in 40:57. The efforts of this quartet were sufficient to claim 7th place in the final team standings.

The women's team finished third overall. Helen Carter was first to finish in 40:44 for 71st place overall and 5th in the women's race followed by Helen Sharp in 92nd overall and 9th woman with 41:41. Sarah Allen was the team's final counter, placing 167th in 45:49.

Ed Barrow was not at his sharpest, but strong in the final stages and recorded 41:40 for 91st place while Adam Gaabi completed his first 10K race in 42:10, a time he will quickly improve as his fitness level rises. Domenika Goliat was 177th in 46:26, Rebecca Barrow was 6 seconds behind in 46:32 for 179th spot, Amelia Hickman continued her comeback after injury with 47:04 for 186th place and Glenn Burnip was another enjoying his first 10K, which he completed in 48:12 for 206th place. Roland Woodbridge ran a very solid race to finish in 50:10 for 235th place and Sonia Williams was 285th in 52:42. Photos from the race appear in the Photo Gallery. (James Ward)

02/05/09 - Thomas Ashby extends U20 discus record

The season may be less than a month old, but Thomas Ashby has already improved his club U20 discus record with the 2kg senior weight implement twice already. His latest mark was set in the 5th round of the Southern Men's League fixture at Kingsmeadow where he was competing as a non-scorer, throwing 48.36m to add just over 3m to own record. A further improvement of similar magnitude would see him very close to the club senior record. (James Ward)

02/05/09 - Southern Men's League team show their spirit

After a disappointing 2008 campaign which could so easily have ended in relegation, the Southern Men’s League delivered a much needed and much improved performance to finish a morale-boosting second in the opening fixture of the 2009 season.

Being weakened by injuries leading up and even during the fixture, this result says much about the team’s new found strength in depth and sense of spirit which has perhaps replaced the brittle confidence and uncertainty that pervaded of so much of last summer. No longer were we struggling simply to hang onto the coattails of other competing clubs; no more were middle-distance runners forced to demonstrate a lack of technical ability in field events; in a highly competitive fixture, we were competitive in every event bar none.

Gavin Johnson-Asson, a promising decathlete, who missed the whole of the 2008 season with injury was a revelation in the javelin and the discus and even willingly volunteered to throw the hammer, claiming maximum points in the B string in the process. Des Austin, too, scored valuable points in the hammer, discus and shot, while Matthew Conway and Chris Christou performed sufficiently well enough in the shot and javelin respectively to enhance their status as valuable additions to this season’s squad.

Another making a very welcome return to the fold after missing last season was Adam Davis. Although not yet at his sharpest in the early season, Adam delivered a very respectable performance in what proved to be a controversial 400m race. Kevin Burke had been nominated as our B string runner but was mistakenly allowed by officials to start the A string race in other match at the same venue, leaving little time to find a suitable replacement for the proper B string event. With an impressive display of resilience and defiance, forward stepped Josh Dada to fill the void and claim more than the solitary point his team manager would realistically have earned.

As is so often the case in the first of a season’s fixtures, the team included several making their track debut in club colours. The newest member of them all, Peter Phillips, impressed in winning the B string 200m and showed that he has quickly grasped the importance of team competition by running solid legs in the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relay teams. Iain Yates may have won consecutive club one-hour track titles, but until yesterday had yet to display his talents on the tartan. Interrupting, or perhaps more likely escaping the demands of moving house, Iain open his track season with 2nd place in the A string 1500m with an accomplished effort which suggests there is much more to come from him over the course of the season. Equally, Chris Busaileh comfortably won the 5000m by over a minute, but saw his time – 15:41.8 – as no more than an early season which will be lowered as his fitness progresses. His teammate in the 5000m, Aogan McDomhnail, was also an easy winner of the B string race but the absence of any serious challengers did not prevent him from running sufficiently hard enough to cause him to withdraw from the 3000m steeplechase, thereby prolonging the career of his team manager who really should have known better than to announce his retirement as last season closed.

For so often the pole vault has been an event which the team has largely ignored for this is surely the most difficult of the technical events, yet suddenly selection poses dilemmas. Pablo Sisca – yet another welcome addition to our ranks – cleared 2.80m while Sarwar Khan bolstered his credentials in this event with a clearance of 2.20m.

In the triple jump, Shola Olojo seems destined to become a very worthy successor to Akin Oyediran as this team’s leading triple jumper, leaping 13.78m to win the A string event. Akin himself had been due to partner Shola in the triple jump, but sustained a hamstring injury in the long jump which brought his program for the day to a premature end. Fortunately, though, Alex-James West was present and finished 2nd in the B string with hastily borrowed equipment.

So, where does this leave us? Well, by the end of the afternoon the team had scored 95 points which placed us second behind a South London Harriers outfit which could well emerge as a serious contender for the league title if such shows of strength are regularly repeated. After bi-polar seasons in 2007 and 2008, it would be easy to proclaim that, with our new-found assets and continued organic growth, we will not return to the old boom and bust, but surely only the most foolhardy man would dare to preach such belief. The team isn’t going to save the world, but with eager reinforcements ready and waiting for the next fixture, I can perhaps say that we are better-placed than our competitors to deal with the inevitable peaks and troughs inevitably lie ahead this summer and really mean it.

Match result: South London Harriers - 109; Herne Hill Harriers - 95; Tunbridge Wells & Langton - 77; Haywards Heath/Lewes - 65

Click here to view the full match results.