Results round-up - September
With thanks to David Chalfen for writing this up, here's just some of the highlights from the last few weeks. Well done to everyone involved.
The Ladywell 10,000s offered a final hurrah to the mainstream track season, with Dave Morgan, late of this Parish, organising on behalf of Kent AC. Serpies dotted around the races include Jonathan Poole fast and controlled as usual, clocking 30.45 in the A race, and Martin O’Connell a fine PB of 32.08, both with slight negative splits by virtue of 24 laps of metronomy and a faster last lap. Recent standout elsewhere was Chris Oddy with another breakthrough with 14.58 to place 3rd in the York Bridge 5k on 13/8, the 7th Serpie to go sub 15 for 5k/5000 this year. One loses track of who is inspiring who these days.
It’s delightful to see people using those Tuesday rep sessions to fine tune themselves for parkrun. On 17th August, Serps’ fastest, after some months of injury and illness and gradual recovery, was Chris Wright, 4th at Dulwich in 16.04, whilst Hugh Torry was 2nd at Fulham Palace in 16.44. Fulham is the course where noone has yet had a conversation about its correct distance which lasts less time than it takes them to run the thing. We live in a fascinating sport. Ahlem Ben Gueblia won at Dulwich in 19.20, Anna Hollingsworth likewise in Tampere in 18.30, whilst Kit Grierson led everyone home through the lush verdant pastures of Highbury Fields in 17.10. Serpie parkruns were slightly less numerous on that day as several went for that left field outpost of the sport, track athletics, with Ben Tolputt and Andy Reeves heading the endurance crew at SAL with a 16.16 5000m and 7.06 2k steeplechase respectively.
Swiftest parkrunners, amidst a handful of event ‘winners’ over the Bank Holiday were Messrs Poole and Greenleaf at Gunnersbury Park, leading everyone home in 15.09 and 15.12 respectively. Leading Serpie at the August Last Friday was Ahlem Ben Guebia, trimming her PB to 18.54.
This is the final results summary posted by Tom Poynton before he stands down from the Committee. He’s probably set his own club record in Number of National Championship Medals he’s handled albeit in each case as intermediary between Governing Body and Athlete. He has been tremendously supportive and pro-active in adding to what is available in the club to for driven and talented distance runners and committed coaches, so many thanks from those who benefit from all his work on this.
David Chalfen
Tom Poynton
running@serpentine.org.uk
Submitted: 4 September 2019