Results for July 2019 on

• BMAF Interarea Track and Field championships, Coventry, 6 July 2019 21-11-19 
• British and Irish Masters International Cross Country Championships, Aintree - 16 November 2019 18-11-19 
• Men’s Surrey League Cross Country, Epsom Downs, 9 November 2019  18-11-19 
• Enfield Open 7 Mile Race Walk, Enfield, 9 November 2019 12-11-19 
• Men’s Surrey League Cross Country, Richmond Park, 12 October 2019 14-10-19 
• Clapham Common parkrun 21 September 2019 26-09-19 
• European Masters Athletics Championships, Jesolo, Italy 5-15 September 2019 23-09-19 
• VAC 10,000 Championships, Millennium Arena, Battersea Park, 18 September 2019 23-09-19 
• VAC Battersea Park Snow Cup Grand Prix 2019 2-09-19 
• Veterans AC 5M Road Race and Race Walk, 27 August 2019, Battersea Park 2-09-19 
• Veterans AC 5M Road Race and Race Walk, 6 August 2019, Battersea Park 23-08-19 
• VAC 5,000m Championships, Millennium Arena, Battersea Park, 24 July 2019 28-07-19 
• VAC 10km road Championships, Caterham Rotary 10k, 21 July 2019 28-07-19 
• VAC Track & Field Championships, Kingsmeadow Stadium, 14 July 2019 23-07-19 
• Veterans AC 5km Road Race and Race Walk Championships, 9 July 2019, Battersea Park 23-08-19 

Results for January to June 2019  here... 

BMAF Interarea Track and Field championships, Coventry, 6 July 2019

Coventry ‘s Godiva’s sky blue track saw a small band of VAC athletes run, jump and throw with all their might in this year’s summer Inter area match.

800m experts, Lisa Webb, Anna Garnier and Margaret Moody all gained excellent second place, whilst Avril Riddell, Malcolm Davies and Trevor Solomon managed third places. Good points scoring stamina was also displayed by Ed Connolly, Helen Davies, Andy Gannaway, and Robert O'Rourke across the middle distance events.

The throwing squad of Peter Wishart, Caroline Garratt, Tracey Gould, and Kim Weir were powerfully productive all day with a win for Caroline in the Javelin, plus second and third in the Hammer for Tracey and Kim respectively.

Richard Weeks leaped to victory in the triple jump and was joined in sandpit events by debutant Vaughan Ramsay and experienced Timothy Carter, Allan Long and Jonathan Ashman. Glen Reddington combined running and jumping (well hurdling!) with third place in the 100m Hurdles.

Allan Long led the sprinters with the only VAC sprint victory of the day in the 200m, and a second place in the 100m. There were almost as speedy performances across 100m, 200m and 400m by Adrian Day, David Hinds, Nick Lauder, Paul Wignall, Philip Bell and Steve Roberts. The M35 4x100m relay team (Nick Lauder/Vaughan Ramsay/Steve Roberts/Alex Guest) managed third whilst our M60s (Adrian Day/ Timothy Carter/ David Hinds /Philip Bell) really deserved second place until one of the SCVAC sprinters who looks like one of the hairy bikers complained that Adrian Day was just too fast for him, or something like that, causing a dodgy late DQ. It was a decision that puts the Premiership VAR in positive light in comparison.

Nick Lauder (VAC team manager)

 

British and Irish Masters International Cross Country Championships, Aintree - 16 November 2019 

Peter Giles 1^st M75

 
Clare Elms 1^st W55

These championships are held annually with the host nation rotating. For 2019 it was the turn of England Athletics Masters Association to organise. The race venue was Aintree racecourse, a flat grassy course with the going described as ‘good to soft’! All the women, and men over 65, raced over 6k (3 laps), while the younger men (35 – 64) completed 4 laps to make 8k. There were 4 separate races, and for the first time a category was added for W75 runners. After initial transport problems, and a slightly delayed start the races all went well. The weather stayed dry and much milder than anticipated. The results team which included Peter Kennedy and Andy Murray provided an extremely efficient service. In the evening there was a meal and prize giving in Southport, attended by athletes and families/friends. Several VAC members were selected to run. Of these the following were medallists:

GOLD Peter Giles M75
GOLD Clare Elms W55
SILVER Sue McDonald W50
BRONZE Ben Reynolds M55
BRONZE Lesley Bowcott W75

Other VAC members were members of medal winning teams. England won the women’s, men’s, and overall championships. The women’s trophy was presented to multiple age group winner and VAC member Clare Elms.

In addition Zoe Doyle won the open race, held after the 4 championship races.

Men’s Surrey League Cross Country, Epsom Downs, 9 November 2019 

The start in front of the iconic Grandstand

Gary Ironmonger leads the way

Darren Franks at the finish

 
Andrew Mitchell, 1st VAC Martin Garrett

Above photos from Fiona de Mauny and Cate Berry

The non-stop pouring rain did not deter the 15 VAC men who battled it out in the combined Division 3/4 race which attracted 337 finishers. VAC, as in the first fixture, finished fifth team out of 12, a great result, boosted by some excellent individual performances.

Andrew Mitchell, a nationally top-ranked M50, placed second in the Division Four race, followed by top-50 placings for Gary Ironmonger, Bruce McLaren, Darren Franks and Tony Harran. Good packing saw Barry Attwell, Peter Giles, newcomer Gary Ribbons, Steve Clancey, Carey Gray and Lloyd Bevan all finish in the next two minutes, with team spirit upheld by Andy Mitchelson, Gary Budinger, Martin Garrett and Ian Strong.

Individually, VAC runners creamed off the age-group positions, with top places for Andrew Mitchel (M50), Gary Ironmonger (M55), Gary Ribbons (M60), Barry Attwell (M65) and Peter Giles (M75).

Thanks go to Paddy Clark, the VAC team manager, who brought the VAC team together under the shelter of the gazebo and got very wet marshalling up on the hill. Another hero has to be Ian Kitching who was recovering from a nasty cold but turned up to support and was then commandeered for the VAC recording team, getting drenched in the funnel, as the skies darkened in late afternoon as the last finishers came in.

The full results are on the Surrey League website 

Men’s Surrey League Cross Country, Richmond Park, 12 October 2019

The start of the combined Division 3/4 race

Gary Ironmonger (1821)

 
Gary Budinger (1811)  Ian Strong
Above photos by Fiona de Mauny

There was an excellent turn out of VAC men for the Surrey League’s opening match at Richmond Park. The 5M, undulating, two-lap Isabella Plantation course was tough enough without incessant rain but this did not deter the 324 finishers in the combined Division 3/4 race. VAC achieved a magnificent fifth place out of 12 teams in Division Four, our highest position for several years. The result was due to having fast men high up in the field and strength in the middle.

VAC were led home by first-timer, Chris Beecham (M50) who placed a fantastic fifth in the Division, followed by Gary Ironmonger (M55) in 12th. Bruce McLaren (M50), another welcome newcomer, was our third finisher, followed by Ian Kitching, Tony Harran and Darren Franks within the next minute. Great packing! The team was closed by good runs from Andy Mitchelson, Lloyd Bevan, Gary Budinger and Andy Murray, with Ian Strong in support.

Unfortunately, there was some misfortune too. Carey Gray, ever-present for the last seven complete seasons, got stuck in horrendous traffic coming from Oxfordshire and arrived after the start. Similarly, Liam O’Hare was late and set off in chase four minutes after the hooter had blown. Unluckiest of all was Tony Austin who tripped on a tree root and fell heavily on his shoulder. He was helped by Liam who had caught up with him, and the two of them valiantly finished the race, taking the last places. Tony’s injury was later diagnosed as a fracture. We wish him well.

Thanks go to Paddy Clark, the VAC team manager, for his organisation and encouragement, and for providing the very welcome gazebo to protect the runners and kit from the heavy rain.

The full results are on the Surrey League website

Maggie Statham, Andy Murray, Liam O'Hare, Ros Tabor, William Fordham, Martin Garrett, Bruce McLaren, Trevor Solomon, Mike Mann, Alan Davidson

On what may well have been the last hot day of summer, we had a good turnout of 10 members enjoying the early morning sunshine on Clapham Common. With 760 finishers, the first kilometre over stony and dusty surfaces was congested, and it was necessary to take care to avoid tree roots and low hanging branches, but the field spread out thereafter. Ros Tabor set a new W70 age group record for the parkrun to accompany the W65 record she already holds. She also achieved the highest age-graded performance on the day.

 

Ros Tabor at Caorle cross country

 
Portugese marathon legend Rosa Mota at xc with VAC member Steve Smythe, Clare Elms leading the 1500m at Eraclea track

The latest European Championships followed those at Aarhus two years ago. This time the venue was the flat coastal area just east of Venice, with three tracks being used at Lido di Jesolo, Eraclea (10k away) and Caorle (another 20k further away). Whilst the organisers provided transport it was only for those buying expensive season tickets. Public buses were available but slower and with confusing timetables as we entered the autumn schedules. Seemingly to please the relevant three mayors, events were split evenly between the venues over a long time period, meaning that each often had only a half day’s events... so much head-scratching was needed each day as athletes and spectators tried to work out how to get to races and where would be good to spectate. With spectators and athletes spread out so much the atmosphere was good but not as lively as at previous championships.

Multi eventers and then field eventers were first to start. The first main track finals were the 1500m, held for men at Jesolo, women at Eraclea on a warm Saturday evening. The next day saw much worse weather, with the cross countries going ahead in showers but lengthy thunderstorms then disrupting later events and standing water creating problems in and out of stadia. From Monday onward the weather was increasingly fine and sunny, allowing us to appreciate between events the beaches, cafes and restaurants of this popular Northern Adriatic resort area. Many people visited Venice by bus and boat on at least the Tuesday rest day. Road walks were held in warm conditions near the Eraclea track. On the final weekend were team relays, 4x100m, then 4x 400m and road races of 10k and half-marathon, the latter a team event.

Athlete of the games was VAC’s Clare Elms, who won five individual golds, a team gold and an individual silver. Ian Richards won five walks golds, three individual and two team.

The next European championships outdoors will be in Tampere, Finland in 2020. Other forthcoming championships are listed on the BMAF website.

Report by Andy Murray

VAC Gold Medal Winners, i.e. European Champions

Women 40: Zoe Doyle 1500m
                    Susie McCloughlin team 4x100m

Women 50: Lisa Thomas 2000m steeplechase

Women 55: Clare Elms 1500m, 5,000m, 10,000m, 10k, XC, team XC.

Women 70: Ros Tabor 1500m, W65 4x400m

Men 45: Simon Baines 10k

Men 55: Andrew Ridley 800m
                Ben Reynolds team half-marathon

Men 70: Ian Richards 5000m walk, 10k walk, 20k walk, team 10k walk, team 20k walk.

VAC 10,000 Championships, Millennium Arena, Battersea Park, 18 September 2019

 
Ben Goddard (46), overall winner, leads Aaron Burgess                                     Aaron Burgess, VAC Champion

 
Terry Booth, M50 Gold                                                   Sam Holland, M40 Gold

Race 2 start

 
Andy Bowen, Race 2 winner                                                           Sue McDonald, first VAC

 
Kay Trinder (40), Helen Pool (36)                                                                   Joanne Burkett

 
Robert Nagorski, Race 1 winner                                                              Caroline Helder, first W55

 
Rhiannon Needham, Andy Mitchelson                         Bill O'Connor, Alan Davidson and Joe Aspinall

Above photos from Cliff Hide. Cliff has more photos and is happy to supply J-Peg copies to competitors.
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Here are the results of the three 10,000m races.

Here are the results by age category.

VAC Battersea Park Snow Cup Grand Prix 2019

 
Penny Elliott, Snow Cup winner  Peter Giles, 2nd place
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Congratulations to Penny Elliott (W75) the worthy winner of the Battersea Park Grand Prix with an excellent average age grading of 92.86%. Penny competed in all five Battersea Park races and her best 5 mile time of 41:29 set a new VAC W75 5M record, beating Pam Jones's W75 best of 43:03 set in 2012. Penny tops the runbritain W75 rankings for 5M and 5km. Peter Giles, new to the M75 age group, was second with an average of 89.81%. Peter also broke the VAC M75 5M record and tops the runbritain rankings for 5M. Lynn Wilson, W60, was third with 85.00%.

Twenty one VAC members qualified for the 2019 competition. To be eligible, members had to register times in at least three of the five road races. The person with the highest average of his or her three best age-graded performances is awarded the Snow Cup, a beautiful trophy which dates to 1950.

Thanks go to all the VAC members and guest runners who competed in the five races over the summer. A summary of the age-graded performances for each VAC member who ran at Battersea in 2019 is here. The series resumes in April 2020.

 
Chasing pack: Robbie Cox, Jonathan Ratcliffe, Robin Jones, Matthew Munro

 
Andrew Mitchell, race winner  Helen Taranowski, first woman

 
Dave Annetts, race walk winner  Maureen Noel, race walk

 
Tom Cheetham  Karen Samuel

 
Dave Cox  Edwin Bartlett, ever-present

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Race winner, Andrew Mitchell, was only five seconds short of the M50 course record on a hot evening in the busy park. He clocked 27:34 to finish well ahead of the chasing pack of six "28 minute" men which was led by Matthew Munro, closely followed by Rich Berry, making a welcome return to racing. Helen Taranowski was the first woman in a fast time of 32:49.

Here are the age-graded results for VAC members. Penny Elliott once again topped the table with an impressive percentage of 90.90%.

This was the final fixture of the 2019 series. Thank you to all who took part, especially the five VAC members who competed in all five races: Joe Aspinall, Edwin Bartlett, Tom Cheetham, Penny Elliott and Terry O'Neill. Thanks also to our reliable and trusty team of officials, helpers and marshals.

5 mile Race Walk
Category B
Race Permit No: RWA9041-5

The race was convincingly won by Dave Annetts, who continued his form, improving his personal best set in April at the same fixture by about half a minute.

Belgrave’s new signing Alicia Drenda had a good result in just outside 11 minute miling in only her second race; with ever present Maureen Noel, the return of Mark Culshaw, and the newer members such as Stefano Zennaro & Maddy Shott, Belgrave team look set for the future.

Paul King was the only walker who improved on his previous race time despite the dramatic rise in temperature as he gradually regains his usual fitness.

Officials:
Clerks of Course: Dennis Williams, Mike Mann
Starter: Dennis Williams
Timekeepers: David Harris, Tom Richards
Recorders: Ian Isherwood, Carl Lawton
Walk Judge: John Hall
Entries: David Hoben, Maggie Statham,
Marshals: Martin Berry, Peter Torre, Maggie Statham
Drinks station: Andy Murray, Alison Jones
Results: David Hoben, Maggie Statham
Photography: Cliff Hide
First Aid: Alison Jones

Veterans AC 5M Road Race and Race Walk, 6 August 2019, Battersea Park

The start: Ian Kitching (54), Darren Franks (57), Martin Murray (59) and race winner Stewart Overton (55) to the fore

 
Stewart Overton, race winner  Penelope Cummings, first walker

 
Patricia Thomas ahead of Lynn Wilson  John Foss

 
Terry O'Neill  Penny Elliott and Sarah Allen

Ealing, Southall & Middlesex club mates: Martin Daoud, Patricia Thomas, Lynn Wilson, Carol Jones, Martin Wilson

Above photos from Cliff Hide. Cliff has more photos and is happy to supply J-Peg copies to competitors.
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The age graded results for VAC members are here  . Penny Elliott, W75, topped the table with a percentage age-graded performance of 93.89%, followed by Tony Tuohy, M55, with 91.62%.

After four fixtures, Penny Elliott also tops the Grand Prix table, with a best-of-three average of 92.82%, followed by Peter Giles with 89.70%. Here is the summary table.

5 mile Race Walk
Category B
Race Permit No: RWA9041-4

The fourth fixture of the season had a lower than expected attendance on a moderately sunny evening giving an ideal temperature for racing once again.

Penelope Cummings from AFD followed up her 5k win from the previous meeting and had another success in a time only a few seconds outside her PB from a few years ago.

The remainder of the field achieved times in line with present form.

Officials:
Clerks of Course: Dennis Williams, Andy Murray
Starter: Dennis Williams
Timekeepers: David Harris, Cate Berry
Recorders: Ian Isherwood, Carl Lawton, Tom Richards
Walk Judge: Shaun Lightman
Entries: David Hoben, Maggie Statham, Cate Berry
Marshals: Martin Berry, Maggie Statham
Drinks station: Alison Jones
Results: David Hoben, Maggie Statham, Cate Berry
Photography: Cliff Hide
First Aid: Alison Jones

VAC 5,000m Championships, Millennium Arena, Battersea Park, 24 July 2019

 
Start of Race Three: David Robinson (54), Race winner, takes the lead

 
John Herbert, winner of Race 1  Matthew Munro (32), winner of Race 2 

 
Lucy Woolhouse, first woman  Jim Brown (66), winner of Race 4

Start of Race Four
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Here are the results of the four races

Here are the results for the four races showing individual times, lap times and age category positions.

. 

Caroline Wood (SCVAC), Jane Georghiou, Ros Tabor, Malcom Davies, Helen Davies, Tony Tuohy, Helen Pool, Maggie Statham

Eighteen VAC members took part in the Caterham Rotary 10k which was well supported by Masters athletes as it had been designated as one of the qualifying races for selection for the England team for the annual Masters International cross country match to be held in November near Southport. It was also the VAC 10k road championships. The weather was fine and warm. The single lap course on pleasant country roads around Redhill aerodrome was relentlessly undulating and many found it tough.

VAC had four runners in the top ten, and seven in the top twenty. Andrew Mitchell was the first VAC finisher in fifth place in the race, and first M50, with a chip time of 34:57. Only 15 seconds behind was Richard Tomlinson in 7th place and second M50. Tony Tuohy (M55), David Ogden (M60) and Peter Giles (M75) all won their age groups.

The first VAC woman was Helen Pool who was the fourth woman in the race and first W45 in a time of 42:49. Jo Quantrill (W60) and Jane Georghiou (W65) won their age groups.

The first VAC woman was Helen Pool who was the fourth woman in the race and first W45 in a time of 42:49. Jo Quantrill (W60) and Jane Georghiou (W65) won their age groups.

Here are the Full Results.

Dion Panambalana, Pat Logan and Donald Brown, 100m

 
Peter Wishart, Shot  Joan Trimble and Helen Godsell, 100m

 
Andrew Waddington, Javelin  Rob Sibley, 100m Hurdles

 
Helen Davies, 800m  Catkin Shelley (126) and Anna Garnier, 1500m

Richard Pitcairn-Knowles (107) and Brian Shave, M80s, 1500m

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Full results

Awards Summary

Thank you to all the competitors, officials and helpers for contributing to the VAC Championships and making the events run smoothly and the atmosphere friendly and supportive.  Medals were awarded on the day but there were some delays. If you were unable to wait, and would like your medals, please contact the Entries Secretary (entries@vetsac.org.uk).   

Veterans AC 5km Road Race and Race Walk Championships, 9 July 2019, Battersea Park

The start

 
Richard Tomlinson, race winner, leads Robin Jones and Ian Johnston  Hannah Roberts, first woman

 
Penelope Cummings, VAC walk champion  Lucy Woolhouse

 
Bob Bradbury, top ranked M65  Peter Giles

Above photos from Cliff Hide. Cliff has more photos and is happy to supply J-Peg copies to competitors.
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We are sorry to report that we have reviewed the lay out of the 5km course and discovered that a mistake was made in positioning the start and finish lines. As a consequence, the course was short by around 50 metres and did not conform exactly to the map provided by our official course measurer. The race cannot therefore retain its full UKA licence and the times achieved are not valid for the runbritain rankings, although the results will still appear on Power of Ten. The VAC Championship awards and medals are not affected. We are taking steps to ensure that this does not happen again, including double checks and clearer documentation.

The age graded results for VAC members are here  . They have been adjusted to take account of the short course. Penny Elliott, W75, topped the table with a percentage age-graded performance of 90.79%, followed by Peter Giles, M75, with 90.69%.

5k Race Walk Championships
Category B
Race Permit No: RWA9041-3

The third fixture of the season had an attendance in line with past experience on a cloudy evening giving an ideal temperature for racing once again.

There had been many VAC 5k championships previously in conjunction with other organisers’ races, but this first stand-alone event made Penelope Cummings from AFD a new VAC championship winner.

Runner up Dan Maskell from Surrey Walking Club won for the men and continued his success from the 5 mile championships the previous month.

The overall winner for the second month running was Belgrave’s Stefano Zennaro, who also chopped over two minutes off his PB which is becoming a habit, more remarkable given that Stefano does not come from a running or walking background.

Maureen Noel also from Belgrave and Tom Casserley did their usual respectable times; a personal best from Tom by about 20 seconds.

Square brackets denote championship placing

Officials:
Clerk of Course: Dennis Williams
Starter: Dennis Williams
Timekeepers: Don Turner, Cate Berry
Recorders: Carl Lawton, Ian Isherwood, Andy Murray, Anna Garnier
Walk Judge: John Hall
Entries: David Hoben, Maggie Statham, Anna Garnier
Marshal: Martin Berry
Drinks station: Alison Jones
Results: David Hoben, Maggie Statham, Anna Garnier, Cate Berry
Photography: Cliff Hide
First Aid: Alison Jones