SAL – Match 1 report – Hornchurch, May 20th

Runner in Hyde Park

On Saturday. we had our first 2023 SAL match and after getting promoted to division 2 at the end of last season, we knew we had to bring our A game.

Knowing that the level of competition would be quite high, we knew that our best chance to compete once again lies in filling as many events as possible and grabbing the points where we can. After a few weeks of busy Serpentine racing, we had a few late dropouts, but everybody who came on the day did a great job and we were able to have two scorers in the majority of the events. It was also great to see a few first-timers (Liam, Eoin, Victor) and familiar faces (Stuart, back from a short fling with Hercules Wimbledon last year).

Throughout the day. we had a close battle with old division 3 foes Highgate/Mornigton Chasers who had built quite a sizeable lead but Serpentine finished strong in the last round of field events, steeplechase and field events to secure 5th place overall.

Havering AC 341
Dartford Harriers 328.5
Thurrock Harriers 266
Kent AC 211
Serpentine 171.5
Highgate/Mornington 161


There were a number of excellent Serpentine performances, a special mention goes to Holly Woodhead who came within 1.3 seconds of the club record in the 800m and Stuart Leigh who barely had time to sit down all day as he competed in 7 different events including winning the 110m hurdles B string race. Also thanks to our officials George, Sammy and Steph.

At the end of the day we were also happy to announce the winners of last year’s trophies for the best men’s and women’s SAL athletes – congratulations to both Dave Robinson and Hel James, your trophies are on their way.

All in all it was an excellent start to the season, but there’s still work to do if we want to stay in division 2 at the end of the year. The next event is on Sunday 18th June in Hemel Hempstead. If you’re interested in competing, please get in touch with Frank or Holly

Frank Womelsdorf
Men SAL’s captain

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