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National Young Athletes League, Chelmsford
Wednesday 23rd June 2010
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA ATHLETIC CLUB CELEBRATES ITS 105TH BIRTHDAY – IN
CHELMSFORD!
Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club was founded in 1905 by George
Hogsflesh and Oliver Trigg – the year before the same two men
started Southend United Football Club and some 30 years before
some of its members, living in outlying districts, founded the
then branch-club of Chelmsford AC.
Eyebrows were raised when the Southend Club announced that, once
again, their home meeting was not going to be held at their home
track of Garon Park. The Club considers the very expensive
facility, to be an embarrassment and refuses to entertain other
clubs until they are able to host a meeting there without the
likelihood of visiting clubs complaining further about some
aspect of the venue.
Even a recent report on the facility was damning.
No. We’ve been driven to travelling 20 miles away to the Sports
Centre at Chelmsford. Chelmsford has trackside toilets, a
trackside Refreshments facility and a trackside
Announcers’/Recorders room – all brick-built and with power, a
covered stand, and dedicated, trained athletic ground-staff,
track and field event facilities which are maintained in tip-top
condition – and a Club house! Southend Athletic Club,
celebrating its 105th Birthday this year as one of the oldest
Clubs in the town (and one of the oldest athletic clubs in the
County) has none of this. But we do have the brand-new,
much-hyped diving pool next door just yards from the end of the
track.
The match we were obliged to move was an Under 17s’ National
Young Athletes’ League, divided into 6 age groups: girls and
boys, U17, U15 and U13. Despite being a double-header, there
were still only five clubs in attendance due to League
Administration re-organisation [and causing much disquiet
amongst the participating clubs], three in the Premier match and
two in Division 1 (our match).
National Standard performances are not easy to achieve and any
athlete raising their game to the extent of achieving any of the
four grades is really displaying great athletic promise, such
that one of the sport’s governing bodies recognises these gains
with certificates. In the absence of much opposition, the
youngsters went all-out for Standard performances and as a
result there will be no fewer than 34 certificates for the
Club’s athletes.
In the Men’s Under 17 age group Luke Oliver secured a Grade 3
(2,03.2) in the 800m and equalled his personal best 400m time of
53.6 for a Grade 4 while Alex Masterson who finished 2nd in the
400m (54.9) earned his 4 in the 800m (2,05.0). Jon Kerridge
(1500)m Oliver Kyriakides and Rhys Gillard (3000m) added to the
‘4’ tally with respective runs of 4,17.6, 9,35.9 (Ollie’s pb)
and 9,43.9. Over at the Hammer, meanwhile, Ash Dean was throwing
a winner with his life-time best 33.40m, for the squad’s 6th
grade 4 of the day.
Their female counterparts, while scoring lots of wins, were
unable to produce quite as many graded performances, but Sian
McCrory earned two: for her 44.2 in the 300m and a best of 13.0
in the 100m.
The talented Under 15s, not content with 4s, picked up some 3s
as well: in the Hammer Sam Grant (37.80m) and Josh Prentice
(34.60m- not far short of his pb) both earned 3s along with Pole
Vaulter Rob Frith just 4” (10cm) under his best ever leap, with
2.60m. The versatile Frith earned his ‘4’ with a 4,39.0 display
of front running in the 1500m.
Oliver Woodhouse won his 80m Hurdles with his fastest run to
date of 13.8.
But Kyle Marshall was on a roll: he won the 100m (12.2), the
200m (24.9) and the Shot (10.35m) – all Grade 4s. Scott Tansley
was chasing Marshall down in the 100m for the same time and
grade and leapt a winning 5.23m in the Long Jump for his second
4 of the day.
In a high quality sprint hurdles race over 75m, Abigail Frith
and Shannon Mackie returned 12.7 and 12.9 for a 3 and 4
respectively and Emma Jarvis produced a life-time best for her
G4 of 2,30.5 in the 800m. Frith (4.57m) teamed up with Rebecca
Withams (4.35m) in the Long Jump where the 4s were there for the
taking, and they did not disappoint.
The Under 13s put on an exceptional display: Lucy Kidwell
collected a pair of 4s – as well as her more-favoured 1200m
(4,17.3), she earned her second grade in the less-familiar
surroundings of the 75m sprint (11.0); Sarah Weaver meanwhile
collected a winning 4 in the Long Jump (3.95m) and a 3 for her
12.9 effort in the 70m Hurdles.
The boys of that age group put on an amazing display – Joshua
Amofah collected the ‘only’ grade 4 in that age group – in the
200m where he clocked 28.9; however, he offset that with a Grade
2 in the 100m which he won in 13.3; Laurence Willmore (already
the holder of a Grade 1 in the 1500m) earned a 2 with his 4,56.2
just ahead of Adam Jordan (Grade 3) who ran 5,01.4. Luke Saville
earned a 3 in the Long Jump (4.38m).
But the Club’s “All-Star” for the day, was new signing Blessing
Mutazu who must be delighted with his performances: all personal
bests, they were two Grade 2s – Long Jump, 4.60m and 100m, 13.3
but an astounding Grade One 200m performance of 26.8 which puts
him straight in at 19th place in the Power of 10.
At the end of the day the seasiders had earned 558 points
against Herts Phoenix with 467.
Now all we want is a superb athletic facility to match these
superb athletes: it is understood that some improvements are on
the cards, but meanwhile we have to go elsewhere – and hire fees
go to Chelmsford instead of Southend. This ancient Southend club
deserves the best.
June Cork
Press Officer
Southend-on-Sea Athletic Club
23rd June 2010
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Success for the seasiders at the Essex Champs, Braintree
Tuesday 8th June 2010
Once again the Essex County Relay Championships were held at
Braintree; once again it would appear that support was very
thin. There are several factors at work here: firstly it is a
mid-week, rather than a weekend, fixture; it is during
school-term time and whilst the return journey of around 2 1/2
hours may b
e
acceptable at the weekend, it is rather challenging both for
working parents being available early enough to get their
charges to the meeting and for youngsters having to get up for
school the following morning. And, of course, unless the meeting
is run with military precision, it can run late - very late on
at least one occasion.
However, that aside, we did send fifteen youngsters along in
five teams of 3 - all two-lap specialists - with very
encouraging results:
The evening's All Stars were the Boys' Under 13 squad: Eddie
Cooper, Adam Jordan and Laurence Willmore, found that their
combined time of 7, 40.9 was faster than any other team and thus
were delighted to be awarded the County Gold Medal. The B team
of Charlie Baker, Eddie Morgan and Harrison Smith finished 5th
in 8,43.3.
The Girls' Under 13 trio of Lucy Kidwell, Rebecca Pearson and
Amy Smith became County Silver Medallists with their time of
8,02.9.
And the evenings third medal, and the Club's second set of
County Silver Medals went to the Girls' Under 15 squad of Emma
Jarvis, Sarah Imbush and Chloe Williams - they nipped around the
track in 7,45.7. The Under 15 Boys' team of Josh Mann, Ben
Cockrill and James Nadin, despite being a high standard crew and
despite their fast time of 7,16.2, had to content themselves
with 4th place on this occasion in a high quality race.
Well done everyone!
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Eastern Young Athletes League, Ipswich
Sunday 6th June 2010
Another battling performance by Southend’s boys and girls
resulted in their third excellent result, triumph evading them
by just 14 points. With only 16.5 points separating 1st and
3rd-placed St Albans, a 2nd place for the second time in this
league gave all concerned much to be proud of. The fact that the
margin was just 2 ½ points above third proved the value of each
athlete’s individual contributions.
U13 Sarah Weaver ran 13.4 for 2nd in the A string 70m Hurdles
along with a 3.50m Long Jump and another 2nd in the A Discus
(13.11m). Jade Packer claimed three 2nd places: A 100 (13.8), A
200 (29.4) events in which she currently resides in 32nd and
23rd on the Power of 10 listing respectively and the A string
Shot Putt 6.62m. Debutante Cydney Owen came in 2nd in the A800
with 2:38.5, 2nd again in the B Shot (4.61m) and a 1.15m high
Jump, and in the process collected three personal bests.
Gabriella Pearson won the B 800m with 2:40.7 (pb) and ran her
first 200m in 30.00 for 2nd. New signing Natasha May ran well
for 1st in B 1500m (5,48.0) behind Lucy Kidwell’s 3rd in the A
string (5,37.4). It took Lucy, Gabriella, Sarah and Jade just
59.6 seconds – their season’s best run - to navigate the track
in the 4 x 100m relay giving them 2nd spot to match their
overall team place of 2nd (92 points).
The hard working U15 girls team contributed 80 valuable points
in a very competitive age group. There was a 300m pb of 45.6 in
the A string by Hannah Maslen while Emma Jarvis won her A800m in
2:32.2, took 3rd in the B High Jump and threw 14.83m in the
javelin. In the B 800m a second for Annabel Matthews-Smith with
2:43.6 and a 3.69m 3rd in the Long Jump capped a good first
outing while Sarah Imbush won the A 1500m with 5:14.9. In the
Shot Abigail Frith ran third in the 75m Hurdles with 12.8.
There was considerable point-scoring support from all-rounders
Tinashe Mutsure, Kerry McCrory and Olivia Smith in the sprints,
jumps and throws while Emma, Kerry, Olivia and Tinashe rounded
off their day with a 57.9 sprint relay.
The U17 women were very much under strength with just six
athletes to cover all the events, bearing in mind the
limitations imposed by UKA Rules - maximum: 3 events + 1 relay -
to contribute to the team effort, finishing third in their age
group with 87 points. A 4th and 3rd in the 100m from Leanne
McCrory and Zoe Fisk (13.6 & 14.0) was followed by two firsts in
the 200m from Sian McCrory and sister Leanne (27.3 & 28.2). As
the rain came down Sian and Sophie Jarvis collected another pair
of clear 1st places in the 300m (44.9 & 46.9), Leanne jumped a
season’s best 4.00m for third in the B Long Jump with Jarvis
third in the A with 4.20m along with a first in the high jump
(1.55m). A cameo from Camilla Smee produced a 1.25m 2nd in the
High Jump while Chloe Williams ran in third in the 800m with
2:33.3 before helping in the Javelin with a third place. With a
final clear win in the 4x100m relay with 54.2 (Zoe, Leanne,
Sophie and Sian) this small squad finished on a high.
It seems to have been a meeting of high drama for the boys – and
not just the boys of Southend either – for it would seem that
while the Pole Vault competition was in progress they were
extremely rudely interrupted by a party of huge American
footballers walking right through the athletes, along with their
hangers-on. What they were doing in an athletics arena in the
first place is somewhat puzzling; the thoughts and reactions of
the organisers are not known at this stage! However, whether or
not this ill-mannered display affected Robbie Frith’s
performance, he still managed to finish only 4” (10cm) under his
life-time best of 2.70m, his 2.60m giving him a convincing 2nd
place.
Late into the afternoon, more drama unfolded when unfortunately
somewhere along the line both the Under 15 Boys and the Under 17
Men relay squads saw the red flag raised against them dashing
the Club’s hopes of a points rally.
However, the Under 13 Boys’ Relay was another story. Despite the
very modest numbers in this age group, with some memorable
performances and one of our new signings in that age-group,
Blessing Mutazu, proceeded to shatter everyone’s illusions in
the relay.
Along with Joshua Amofah, Blessing displayed supreme dominance
of the sprints and both ran two storming races in the 100 and
200m. For Blessing, it was his first ever time in spikes –
always a very strange sensation at first. With Joshua on 2nd leg
and speedy contributions from Laurence Willmore and Ben Pearson,
by the time the baton reached Blessing, they were in pole
position but a fumbled exchange meant that he dropped it thereby
losing the hard-won lead – and leaving the rest of the squad
groaning in anguish. However, that was definitely not that! He
turned round, retrieved it, turned back again, then proceeded to
turn the 5m deficit into a 5m clear win!! Superstar!!! His 100m
split would have made very interesting reading!
But the glory didn’t just rest with the sprinters: the 1500m due
of Laurence Willmore and Edward Cooper proceeded to show the
rest of their opponents two clean pairs of heels with
race-winning performances of 4,51.8 and 5,29.4. Charlie Baker
ran a life-time’s best time in the 800m of 2,46.2 while Pearson
cleared 1.35 for2nd in the High Jump.
Without doubt the strength of the opposition in the Under 17
Men’s events brought out their competitive spirit since,
although recording very few outright wins, every single one of
them produced a best-ever or equalled their best – and a Team
Manager can ask no more of his or her athletes.
Oliver Kyriakides and Rhys Gillard, however, made it a double
victory in the 1500m with respective life-time bests of 4,21.2
and 4,30.3. Ashley Dean’s best-ever occurred when he won the B
string Javelin (26.23m) behind Paul McCluskey’s best of 29.32m.
Dean’s 2nd placed High Jump was an improvement to 1.50m. Alex
Masterson claimed a pair of bests in the 800m (2nd in 2,06.2)
and Triple Jump (3rd with 10.44m).
Tom Glover and Jake Inwood covered the remaining throws with
respective pbs in the Shot (7.75m and 6.62m) and Discus -
18.54m(3rd) and 17.63m (2nd).
Glover, however, had to have produced the team’s performance of
the day. He unleashed a mighty life-time’s best effort of 40.18m
in the Hammer shooting him straight in at no. 40 on the Power of
10 listing.
Pole Vaulter Rob Frith cleared 2.60m, finished in runner-up spot
and currently resides way up in 18th on the Power of 10 Rankings
while Sam Grant who is currently 15th place in the Hammer
Rankings won his event with 34.45m. Grant, along with Oliver
Woodhouse, claimed two further personal crowns with 2nd/1st
finishes in the 400m of 62.0 and 62.3 – so a future head-to-head
could produce some interesting results.
June Cork
Asst Gen Sec/Press Officer
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British Athletic League
Saturday 5th June 2010
This was the first in a series of four fixtures between the
leading Men’s clubs in Britain. Southend has been in this
prestigious league for five years.
It was a full team; it was a good team, but was it up to seeing
off the likes of near-neighbours Havering Mayesbrook, or the
southern group of Bournemouth, Exeter, Southampton or Yeovil?
Kingston & Polytechnic Harriers took an early lead and were
never headed although an early surge from Exeter suggested
trouble for the leaders, and an incomplete and under-strength
Southampton soon assumed sweeper position, leaving the remaining
6 clubs to jockey for position. It was everything to play for!
Although the seasiders were not awash with winning events, there
were sufficient 2nds and 3rds to keep them almost permanently in
the top half of the results and those results represented many
superb performances, although that position was threatened
half-way through the proceedings when Southend found itself
behind both Havering and Bournemouth – by one point. However,
with a few more events completed, their points took them back up
to the top half.
Top pairing of the day had to be the Hammer where both the big
men, HCAs Rob Earle (49) and Malcolm Fenton (50) dominated
proceedings. Earle’s season’s best 55.30m and Fenton’s 43.34m
were clear winners by 4m and 2m respectively. And the host team
declared Earle the Man of the Match for this performance for
which the League also awards a £100 prize. He notched up further
wins in the A string Discus (42.41m) with Pat Halcrow, competing
in one of his myriad events, finishing with 36.49m. The tables
were turned in the Shot: Halcrow was runner-up in the A string
with 13.55m while Earle produced his 3rd win of the day with
12.32 in the B.
4.60m seems to have become Aaron Kaye’s bête noir - it has been
his best official height since the beginning of the year
although he has cleared 4.70m in training. Steve Brown’s
long-standing Club Record of 4.61m continues to stare him in the
face. But he finished an excellent 2nd in the A string. Jason
Fry, who has not trained over this winter, defied the odds and
won the B with a superb 4.20m. The Triple Jump also produced a
Seaside champion in Kevin Brown whose 13.86m was 35cm ahead of
the second best of the day.
400m into the 3000m and Adam Hickey was in a commanding lead.
Six laps later and the Swansea runner had broken loose from the
pack, threatening Hickey’s position. With about 600m to go the
Welshman started closing the gap. By now the Southend team was
on its feet. With 80m to go it suddenly became an open race –
but Hickey heard the clamour, responded and snatched victory by
just half a second with 8,39.05. Ben Hunter, gradually regaining
his form, ran in the B recording his fastest 3000m so far this
season with 9,11.75.
The Club’s Under 20 distance star, Tom Frith currently 25th on
the Power of 10 Ranking, lined up in the 1500m slightly in awe
of the size and reputation of his opponents. The spike had
shifted to the other foot by the finish: it was a tough run down
the home straight with five runners including Frith jostling for
the crown, but he successfully used his light frame to negotiate
the space and with just 2 seconds separating the first five
home, Frith snatched victory in 3,59.29.
At this stage of the season, one-lapper Markus Hunt should have
been looking at low 48s, but 3 months out of action at the
beginning of the year put his plans on ice, so he was delighted
to have finished 3rd with 49.58.
In the short sprints, Jake King’s 22.78 gave him 2nd place as
did James McLean’s 100m. He arrived back in England from his
successful trip to the famous Bislet stadium in Oslo where he
broke the Club’s Age 19 110m Junior Hurdles record with a
stunning 13.97. Despite having touched down at only 2am that
morning, he still managed 11.14 for the 100m.
However, as with all League matches, this was not just about
winning performances but also about team effort and support: the
Smale brothers, David and Peter both ran sub 2 minute 800ms
(1,59.02 and 1,58.17), Roy Scott’s 10,05.66 puts him at 85th in
the Power of 10 Listings while invaluable contributions were
made by Kyle Aldridge in the 3k Steeplechase, Brown and King in
the Long Jump, Kaye and Fry in the Javelin. The Senior Hurdles
over 110m were taken on by Simon Hemmings (16.3) and Greg
Goodrem (2nd B 16.67). Multi-eventer Goodrem also busied himself
in the B Triple Jump (11.00) and 400m Hurdles along with Kaye
(59.66 and 59.64).
The team effort extends also to those helping to keep the
meeting running smoothly – Brian Cox on the stop-watch, Mike
Jeffery, Starters’ Marksman all afternoon and in his late 70s,
probably one of the most senior people on the field, John Tyler,
who was on his feet throughout the entire competition judging
one field event after another.
The sprint relay team of Markus Hunt, Kevin Brown, Jake King and
James McLean on anchor clocked the fastest time of the season,
and of many seasons with 43.57 to finish 2nd behind Kingston and
point 36 ahead of Havering.
The 4 x 400m relay – always the spectators’ highlight of the day
– got the Southenders to their feet for the second time in the
day. It had been a close race for most of the journey and whilst
Exeter had more-or-less sewn up the race, second place was not
so secure. However all-out efforts by Jake King, James McLean
and Kevin Brown, in a very tight race, put three clubs in
contention. Anchor Markus Hunt took the baton in 3rd place –
just the encouragement he needed to get his “low 48” (48.2) and
to produce the result:
1st Exeter 3,20.57;
2nd Southend 3,23.1;
3rd Yeovil 3,23.4;
4th Kingston 3,23.49
At the end of the day, Team Manager Keith Palmer declared
himself “delighted” with the result and with the efforts of his
men.
Kingston 344; Exeter 320; Southend 315; Bournemouth 282.5;
Havering 272; Yeovil 265; Swansea 241.5; Southampton 141.
June Cork
Asst Gen Sec/Press Officer
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Eastern Vets' League Match, Lee Valley
Wednesday 2nd June 2010
With Chelmsford bringing out all the big guns, it was the
battle between Loughton and Southend that kept everyone on their
toes, with most events resulting in just a one point difference.
Winning performances came in the shape of the 1 Mile Walkers
represented by Chris Cattano (V40 - 9,53.4) and John Brock (V60
– 10,17.7), the Club’s leading two performers in this event so
far this season, and sprint Coach Keith Palmer’s 24.8 in the
200m. An array of runner-up spots added to the squad’s tally:
Tony Hyde in the 800m (2,25.7), Cattano’s 10,23.0 in the 3K,
John Clark’s 1.60m Vault, Club Vets’ Secretary Pete Binns’
Triple Jump (7.58) and V40 Paul Ffrench’s 24.25m Discus
Binns added 6 more points with his 31.2 200m, 11,25.4 3k and
2,36.8 800m while Brock’s contribution in the 3k (17,18.3) and
6.52m Triple Jump, added to Cattano s 1.60m Pole Vault and 24.40
Javelin, Ffrench’s 400m Hurdles (73.5) and Palmer’s 9.96m Triple
Jump added a further 18 points to the rising score.
With invaluable further support from Clark in the Javelin and
Discus the points were perilously close between the embattled
clubs.
With just one event to go, everything hinged on the sprint relay
since it was now a 47 point tie between Loughton and Southend.
Unfortunately for the Seasiders, Loughton had saved some energy
for this event and in the process of beating the other three
teams, also put Southend in 3rd place - despite finishing a
valiant second in the relay – by just one little point.
The third round is scheduled for Wednesday 7th July.
June Cork
Asst Gen Sec/Press Officer
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UKYAL - McCain Young Athletes League R1
Sunday 2nd May 2010
UKYAL match 1 at Walthamstow, Sunday 2nd May 2010
Despite some excellent performances and a great team effort from
those in attendance, a large number of gaps courtesy of Day 1 of
the County Championships the following day, left the Southend
squad with too much work to do leaving them in 3rd place by the
end of the day.
Chloe Williams and Sarah Imbush put on a fine display of front
running for their double-headed win: 5,24.4 and 5,27.5
respectively in the U15 1500m while Lucy Kidwell and Gabriella
Pearson put on a similar display in the U13 800m with impressive
times of 2,43.2 and 2,49.0. Abigail Frith beat all the other 75m
Hurdlers with her 13.1 as did Scott Tansley in the 80mH (13.5)
and similarly Jade Packer in the U13 75m (11.3) and Rebecca
Withams in the U15 100, 14.5, and Zoe Fisk in U17 200, 30.3. In
the 800s there were victories for U15 Callum Pastfield (2,25.7)
and U17 Camilla Smee (2,29.1).
Even the huge raft of 2nd spots failed to overcome the vacant
places on the team sheet:
In the 100s they were: Kyle Marshall, 12.4; Harry Cameron 14.0;
Leanne McCrory 14.0; Fisk 14.5 and Olivia Smith 14.8. Rebecca
Pateman and Brogan Smith ran the U13 150 in 23.5 and 25.8. There
were 3 runners-up in the 200m: Charlie Crow, 28.6; Harry
Cameron, 30.2 and Sian McCrory, 28.3. Jon Kerridge placed 2nd In
the U17 800 (2,04.3) while Edward Morgan did likewise in the U13
event (3,18.2); Jordan Lacey’s 5,29.5 gave her 2nd in the U17
1500 as did Smee’s run in the B string (6,13.8); the 3000m
produced a further pair of 2nd spots – Lacey again with 11,34.3
and Rhys Gillard with 9,48.3. Withams collected 2nd in the 75m
Hurdles with 13.0.
Not even the back-up of four relay wins at the end of the day
could stem the tide:
U17 (Fisk, McCrory, Jarvis and McCrory);
U15 (Mutsure,Frith, Kerry McCrory and Smith)
U13 (Smith, Pateman, James, Packer)
Boys U15 4x400m (Joe Beard, Pastfield, SamGrant and Tom
Metcalf).
[Results of the Field events were unavailable at time of going
to press due to a technological blip]
June Cork, Press Officer, 06.05.2010
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Eastern Young Athletes League
Sunday 25th April 2010
Eastern Young Athletes League– 25.04.2010
Three local teams travelled to Bury St Edmunds to take part in
the first of the season’s Eastern Young Athletes’ League matches
– and it was a County walkover with Southend finishing 2nd
behind Havering Mayesbrook, with Basildon in 3rd.
Despite it being the first match there were large gaps across
the board for all the clubs but the seasiders were particular
hit in the Under 13 Boys where just two boys were in attendance
(Harrison Smith and Edward Morgan).
Individual wins came from:
Under 17 Men: 1500m Oliver Kyriakides 1500m 4,27.6 and Harry
Grose 4,38.4; Sam Brown B800 2,10.3;
Under 15 Boys: Kyle Marshall 100m /200m/Shot 12.3/25.0/11.06m
and Scott Tansley 12.4/ 25.6; Tate Baron B 1500m 4,54.1, Tom
Metcalf Javelin 36.50, and the relay squad of Marshall, Tansley,
Cameron and Metcalf;
Under 17 Women: Leanne McCrory B200 28.7; Sophie Jarvis
300m/High Jump 46.3/1.55m; Camilla Smee and Emily Crow 800m
2,30.6/2,33.5; Alex Morgan 1500m 5,23.1 and the relay squad of
Jarvis, Law, McCrory and Sian McCrory 53.4; although Jordan
Lacey finished only 3rd in h er 1500m she had, the day before,
placed as runner-up in both the 1500m and 3000m in the Southern
Women’s League match – so a hard weekend for her!
Under 15 Girls: Olivia Smith B100m/Long Jump 14.5/4.22m; Olivia
Tidd B800m 2,40.2; Sarah Imbush B1500m 5,29.3 and a double
header in the sprint hurdles from Shannon Mackie 12.7 and
Abigail Frith 12.8; Emma Jarvis B Javelin 13.40;
Under 13 Girls: Jade Packer 100m/200m 13.8/28./5; Sarah Weaver
13.4 Hurdles and the relay squad of Pateman, Weaver, James,
Packer.
June Cork, Press Officer
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Eastern Vets' League Match, Chelmsford
Friday 9th April 2010
The Southend men travelled to Chelmsford last night for the
first round of the Eastern Vets Athletic League.
At the end of the day Southend tied with Chelmsford courtesy of
some winning performances, mostly in the “younger” age group of
M40, but many sterling contributions from the M50 and M60 squads
added valuable points to the final score.
Multi-eventer Paul French took top honours in the 110m Hurdles
which he won in a nail-biting fight to the tape clocking the
same time as 2nd man (21.5), but he won the High Jump with an
outstanding 1.45 and despatched the opposition in similar
fashion in the Long Jump with a superb 5.13m. Rob Earle put on a
demonstration of class throwing in the Hammer which he won by an
enormous margin with 34.21m and unsurprisingly was a clear
winner also in the Shot (12.13m). Keith Palmer was not under too
much pressure when winning the 400m in 57.4 while 11,19.9
secured the Seasiders’ leading Walker, Chris Cattano (also M40)
an overall win in the 2k Walk, an event in which all the age
groups, both Men and Women, compete together. Palmer clocked
12.2 for 2nd in the 100m in a very close finish. Tony Hyde, also
M40, clocked an impressive 4,59.4 for 2nd place in the 1500m
while John Clark (M60) made further useful additions to the
points with two good 3rd places in the Shot (7.05m) and Hammer
(19.39m)
John “I’m here for points” Brock representing the M60 age group
had an exhausting evening finishing 3rd in the 100 (16.8), and
Long Jump, 4th in the 400m (83.8), but runner-up in the 2kWalk
with 12.54.3.
Multi-talented Club Vets’ Secretary and Team Manager, Peter
Binns, covered no less than six events whilst dashing from point
to point dealing with questions and queries: 100m/400m/1500m –
2nd place in all three with 15.0, 1,07.7 and 5,14.1
respectively, with 3rd place finishes in the High Jump (1m),
Long Jump (3,06m) and a 6.75m Shot.
The Medley relay squad (200, 200, 400, 800) won the final event
of the night with a blistering 4,27.4.
June Cork, 06.05.10
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Seasiders strike County GOLD & County BRONZE!
Friday 26th April 2010
The Essex County Road Relays were held at Chelmsford and set
on a 3 1/2 mile course. For the Seasiders' A team, Paul
Whittaker threw down the gauntlet with a cracking opening run -
and ultimately the fastest of the day - at 18m10s. Whittaker
passed the reins to Adam Hickey who took just 18m25 for his leg
before Roy Scott, clearly putting in a bit of pre-marathon
"sprint" training, maintained their lead position with his
19m20. Ben Hunter, who must have been delighted with his 19.01
following a recent spell of illness maintained the unassailable
lead to earn the fearsome foursome the County Gold Medal.
The fastest lap for the B team went to Howard Clarke (20.18) on
the opening leg; Alan Millar clocked 22.37 before passing over
the David Smale (20.55); Peter Smale's 20.43 on the anchor leg
brought them home in 8th place.
The Club's three-Woman squad was delighted with the County
Bronze Medal they earned for their efforts: Sarah Jeffery on
lead leg finished in 23.43; Jo Bradford followed with 23.03 and
Kerry Holland anchored with 23.08. Their finishing time of 69.54
was just 19 seconds behind Benfleet.
The Club was also involved in two Half Marathon events - the
Brentwood and the Hastings.
In the run-up to London perfect running conditions met the 2,000
competitors at Brentwood - no wind, dry and cool air.
Maintaining his position at the helm, Terry Craven cruised round
the course in a life-time's best of 1h26.24, followed a little
while later by Ana Ockendon (V35) who demolished her previous
best t
ime
by all of 9 minutes to record a new best of 1h34.26 putting her
in the top 10 women to finish out of a field of 677; just over 4
minutes later James Campion finished with 1h38.46. Matt Gillard
and Glen Taylor found themselves in a head-to-head at the
finish, Gillard (V40) getting the verdict over Taylor (V50) by
just 4 seconds (1h43.59 to 1h44.03)! Gillard was just outside
his best time while Taylor has a much faster time to his credit.
Ian Millar, also a V40, clocked 1h53.46 while Debbie Friswell
(V45) was delighted with her clocking of 2h14.14 for her
first-ever half marathon.
Down at the other seaside, Hastings, the quartet of Graham
Hilbery (M60), Fiona Hawkins (V40) and mother-and-son Sue and
Josh Crompton (V45 and U20) had entered the even more popular
event - almost 4,000 exhausted warriors crossed the finish line.
In his first-ever "Half" Josh Crompton finished in an impressive
1,44.10 - with a couple more under his belt, a Craven-Crompton
match should make for an interesting race.
Just over a minute behind him, Fiona Hawkins ran in with a time
of 1h45.37. Hilbery declared himself a little disappointed with
his 1h52.59 despite his age-group. Sue was rather less than 2
minutes behind him in 1h54.28. All four were well inside the top
half of finishers.
All-in-all an excellent day for the Seaside Crew.
June Cork, Press Officer
Graham’s Vie
I have run this half marathon 3 times previously - and the
centenary Marathon in '08 - and whilst it always clashed with
Brentwood, I would prefer it as the sun always would shine. So
what happened this year? The day started off lovely in Essex and
deteriorated as we drove though Kent into East Sussex. The sun
had been ordered, but was a little while coming, the steward
said..............It was damp underfoot, though not raining and
did actually cheer up a bit. In fact it was really quite warm
during the run.
Fiona (Hawkins) and I travelled down in one car, with Sue
(Crompton) and her son Josh in another. We all sported our SAC
vests. We lost each other in the crowded start at the western
end of the promenade and soon we were climbing the worst of the
hills - although virtually the first 5 miles is uphill, the
worst part is "3 mile hill" which starts at about the 3 mile
marker and continues to the 5 mile marker. An absolute killer.
In 2007 when I ran a PB, I covered this section at an average of
8 1/2 minute miling. Imagine my disappointment this year as the
9 minute miler pace maker sailed past me in between the 3rd and
4th mile markers. One on The Ridgeway going East after 5 miles,
the terrain settles to a flattish course with only one or two
slight inclines to bother you. I felt quite stong and overtook
that silly 9m/m pace maker. Then at about 8 miles, you turn to
the South to follow a downhill course, heading towards the
coastline. There are some nastie uphill sections, but in the
main, all downhill and I was in my element. I seem more capable
on the downhill parts. I passed Sue as we returned towards the
Old Town to the East of the promenade. Then within a mile and
back on the flat section by the beach, Sue overtook me. I took
advantage of runners being in front of Sue. As a perfect
gentlemen, I pushed forward to close the only gap and then
onwards alone. A fellow lady Leigh Strider passed me at about 11
miles, but foolishly took on water at the last water station
allowing me to physically pip her to the post.
Josh was home first with a commendable 1:44.10 for his first
Half, followed by Fiona with a good 1:45.37 (PB I think) then me
at a miserable 1:52.59 which although 2 minutes faster than last
year is some 12 minutes slower than PB set in '07 (well, I am
getting older) brought up finally with Sue on 1:54.28 who has
been running so well, but on the day felt unwell.
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News Archive
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| September 2009 - February 2010 |
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