Results for January-December 2020

• East Surrey League Cross Country, Lloyd Park, 24 October 2020 16-11-20
• European Masters Non-Stadia Champs, Madeira, Portugal 29-31 October 2020 3-11-20
• Cecil Gittins Memorial Walks, Cyclopark, Gravesend, 17 October 2020 19-10-20
• BMAF Indoor Championships, Lee Valley, 7-8 March 2020 27-06-20
• British Masters Cross Country Championships, Rhug Estate, Corwen, 14 March 2020 15-03-20
• East Surrey League Cross Country, Lloyd Park, 7 March 2020 12-03-20 
• EAMA Indoor Inter-Area Track & Field Challenge, Lee Valley, 1 March 2020 5-03-20 
• VAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, Lee Valley, 23 February 2020 8-03-20 
• Canons Parkrun Saturday, Harrow 22 February 2020 24-02-20 
• Men’s Surrey League Cross Country, Lloyd Park, 8 February 2020 11-02-20 
• VAC Cross Country Championships and Masters Open race, Wimbledon Common, 18 January 2020 21-01-20 
• Men’s Surrey League Cross Country, Oxshott Woods, 11 January 2020  15-01-20 

East Surrey League Cross Country, Lloyd Park, 24 October 2020

Clare Elms, Pippa Major, Lucy Woolhouse, Rachel Berry

This race was one of the few pilot events licensed by England Athletics to test the restrictions imposed to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. Nine clubs were invited to send teams of 18 runners. 160 men and women started in waves of ten, three minutes apart, on a single lap of 5.2km.

The event was a great success with some fierce battles within the seeded waves. It felt like a proper cross country race with mud and rain on a windswept Lloyd Park. VAC's women, led by Clare Elms, achieved a fantastic second place out of the nine teams. Clare (W55) was third woman overall and the first Masters woman. VAC's men were led by Rich Berry (M45) with Terry Booth (first M50) and David Ogden (first M60) not far behind.

Here are the individual results.

Team Results:

European Masters Non-Stadia Champs, Madeira, Portugal 29-31 October 2020

 
Above three photos from Nelson Martins Photography

This road race championship is held every two years (in Alicante, Spain in 2018) and finally went ahead after postponement from April this year. The rescheduling and continuing covid-19 problems meant that entry numbers were lower than usual. As an island with a test-on-entry regime, Madeira has low incidence of covid. Weather was sunny and in the 20’s C, as is normal for most of the year.

The walks (10k and then w20k/m30k) were based on a flat loop out and back along the elegant waterfront of the capital, Funchal.

The 10k run was over two laps, using the waterfront, a steady uphill by a river and then an out and back featuring many cobbles through the old town.

The cross country relays (3x2k) were around the top of a ridge, way over 1000m high, in a remote area of the Funchal Ecological Park.

The half marathon for 14k had repeated out and back sections on a road above the coast through the Lido hotel area, followed by a downhill to final out and backs on the waterfront.

VAC members (results below) made a good contribution to the GB team effort. All enjoyed the break in Funchal, despite athletes being quite sparse around town this time.

Andy Murray

10k walk (29 Oct 6.30pm)
M60 6 David Kemp 1:03:28

10k run (29 Oct 8.30pm)
M70 4 Mike Mann 52:44
M60 18 Ed Skinner 54:19 (in GB M40 team, 3rd)
M65 9 Andy Murray 55:25

XC Relay 3x2k (30 Oct 10.40am)
GB M55 team  34:59 (4th) inc Philip Cross, Mike Mann

Half Marathon (31 Oct 4pm)
M55 9 Philip Cross 1:44:14 (in GB M55 team, 4th)
M60 6 David Kemp 1:51:28
M65 8 Rob Sargent 2:05:14 (in GB M55 team, 4th)
M70 5 Mike Mann 2:06:02 (late to start)
W50 6 Elvia Acosta Bermudez 2:08:41 (in GB w50 team 1st)

Veterans AC were pleased to host the fifth running of this event on a dedicated cycle circuit much like a scaled down version of Brands Hatch course, on the first race walking road event in mainland Britain since lockdown was imposed, under the new regulations from the governing body RWA.
 
In all there were 38 paid entries with 35 on the line, a slight increase from 2019, in good racing conditions on a mild cloudy day with wind speed 4 knots. The starter was George Nibre, former GB international.
 
The ladies’ 5k was won by Abby Hughes (Taunton AC) who achieved a new pb in 25:25, and a new course record, previously held by Olympian and Commonwealth Games medal winner Lisa Kehler (Wolverhampton & Bilston) since 2016 (26:26).

The men’s 5k was won by Christian Hopper (Cambridge H) who also achieved a new pb in 25:06, and a new course record, formerly held by Marshall Smith (Ashford AC) also since 2016 (27:22).
 
The winner of the ladies’ 10k was Millie Morris who had a significant new pb in 54:33, and took the course record from Emily Ghose (Tonbridge AC) held since 2017 (56:53).

The winner of the men’s 10k was Luc Legon with yet another new pb in 45:29, taking the course record from Jonathan Hobbs (Ashford AC) also held since 2017 (50:25).
 
The winner of the ladies’ 15k was Abigail Jennings (AFD) coming in at 1:24:36 in her first attempt at the distance, taking a new course record, previously held by Anne Jones (Steyning AC) since 2017 (1:43:16).

VAC were pleased to welcome Dan and Dominic King, who have been GB internationals for over 20 years, in particular Dominic participating in the Rio 2016 and London 2012 Olympics.

Dominic won the men’s 15k in 1:06:18, closely followed by his brother, and took a new course record from Luc Legon who achieved 1:15:10 in 2017.
 
In addition there were a number of pbs including those from participants in Barnet AC and Tonbridge AC.
 
Thank you all for supporting the event whether as competitor, official or judge.

British Masters Cross Country Championships, Rhug Estate, Corwen, 14 March 2020

 
Maggie Statham, Anna Garnier, Peter Giles                                        Ben Reynolds M55 Gold

Anna Garnier and Peter Giles tackle the water splash

Six VAC members made the trip to Corwen in north Wales for the BMAF cross country championships. Anna Garnier (W65) and Ben Reynolds (M55) won Gold medals in their age groups, with Peter Giles (M75) and Maggie Statham (W65) taking Silver and Bronze medals. Ed Skinner and Maurice Marchant completed the VAC line up. Here are the Individual Results.

BMAF Indoor Championships, Lee Valley, 7-8 March 2020

 
Clare Elms, double Gold                                   Joe Aspinall, 3000m Gold

VAC members took home a crop of medals and even two British records from the national Masters championships.

Peter Giles set a British M75 1500m indoor record of 5:36.94 on the first day of the event and returned the next day to post a new indoor 3000m record of 12:07.38 to add to his outdoor record. The previous indoor record of 12.12.72 had been set 23 years ago. Peter also won the 800m M75 Gold medal.

Double Golds were won by Clare Elms (W55 1500m and 3000m), Gary Ironmonger (M55 800m and 1500m) and Fiona de Mauny (W35 400m and 800m).

Others to win Gold were: Liz Amos (400m), Joe Aspinall (3000m), David Blunt (PV), Anna Garnier (1500m), Caroline Garratt (Javelin), Geoffrey Kitchener (High Jump), Pat Logan (200m), Mike Mann (3000m), Cara Maker (Long Jump), Giuseppe Minetti (200m), Chris Privett (Hammer), Ian Richards (3k Walk), Tony Richards (Javelin), Ed Roe (200m), Edmond Simpson (1500m), Laura Street (1500m), Lisa Thomas (400m) and Lisa Webb (1500m).

East Surrey League Cross Country, Lloyd Park, 7 March 2020

 
David Ogden, Gary Budinger, Maggie Statham, Andy Mitchelson

Four VAC members formed a team in the championship race for Croydon AC which was also an East Surrey League fixture. The Lloyd Park course was extremely challenging with swathes of sodden, muddy grass and trails. The individual results are here. 

EAMA Indoor Inter-Area Track & Field Challenge, Lee Valley, 1 March 2020

Kim Saha Pole Vault

 
Giuseppe Minetti 200m  Anna Critchlow (55) Clare Elms 3000m

 
Wayne Lashley 800m  Richard Holland 1500m

 
Arthur Thomson, Chris Flint 2km Walk  Allan Long 200m relay

 
Keith Seldon Shot  Tony Richards Shot

Above photos from Cliff Hide. Cliff has more photos and is happy to supply J-Peg copies to VAC competitors. Email him at cliffhide10@aol.com  .

The VAC men's and women's teams performed magnificently at the Inter-Area Challenge at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre. For the men, fine wins were achieved by Giuseppe Minetti (200m Championship Best Performance), Peter Giles (1500m), Tony Tuohy (3000m) and Allan Long (Long Jump). For the women, Fiona de Mauny (400m), Anna Critchlow (1500m) and Clare Elms (3000m) had great wins. Every point was valued for the teams. We were rewarded by an excellent third place in the men's competition and a creditable fifth place in the women's. Overall, VAC was fourth.

Here are the Results of the 2020 Inter-Area Challenge.

VAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, Lee Valley, 23 February 2020

1500m. From left to right: Heather Graz, Anna Garnier, Peter Giles, Richard Mangham, Mike Mann

 
Anna Critchlow 800m  Bryan Camfield 3000m

 
Joe Aspinall 3000m  Liz Sissons Shot

 
Lisa Thomas 800m  Chris De Mauny 1500m

Above photos from Cliff Hide. Cliff has more photos and is happy to supply J-Peg copies to VAC competitors. Email him at cliffhide10@aol.com

The South of England Indoor Championships at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre were well attended with athletes from EMAC and SCVAC participating in addition to VAC. VAC members first in their respective age categories and therefore overall South of England champions are shown below. There were three wins for Joanna Flowers (W50) and Peter Giles (M75) and two for Fiona De Maunay (W35), Nikki Sturzaker (W45), Joan Trimble (W65) and Mary Axtell (W75). In the women's 1500m there was a clean sweep of VAC winners from W35 through to W65.

Results are available on the BMAF website and on Power of Ten

Mike Mann 

The most recent VAC parkrun meetup was at Canons Park – a small park in Harrow once belonging to a monastery and including an old walled garden. The course is 3 flat laps. Half of each lap is through woodland and that sheltered us from the wind. The 3 VAC members were made welcome – Martin is a regular runner there. The venue is easily accessible – a short walk from the Jubilee line station.

The next meetup for VAC parkrunners is on Saturday 13 June at Lloyd Park. We are not expecting mud. I hope lots of you will be able to join us.

RESULTS
Andy Murray 26.40 2nd M65
Ros Tabor 27.31 1st W70 and new age group record
Martin Garrett 28.25 3rd M65

Men’s Surrey League Cross Country, Lloyd Park, 8 February 2020

Andy Murray, Darren Franks, Ian Strong, Gary Ironmonger, Gary Budinger, Bruce McLaren, Trevor Robinson
Andy Mitchelson, Liam O'Hare, Barry Attwell, Paddy Clark
Photo by Maggie Statham-Berry

 
Gary Ironmonger                                                            Bruce McLaren

 
Darren Franks                                                                Steve Clancey

Liam O'Hare and Gary Budinger

 
Trevor Robinson                                                  Andy Mitchelson and Barry Attwell

Above photos from Cliff Hide. Cliff has more photos and is happy to supply J-Peg copies to VAC competitors.
Email him at cliffhide10@aol.com

A strong turnout of 14 for our final match of the season saw us achieve 8th place on the day of the 12 teams and 7th overall for the season (up from 8th after 3 matches). Although Division 3&4 was the opening league race of the day, the earlier parkrun - also run as a warm-up by Andy Mitchelson - had used half of the course and Lloyd Park was extremely muddy beyond the first field, making it very draining on runners’ energy. Gary Ironmonger was first home for us in 11th, also for the second match in a row he was first over-50 in Division Four.

The best VAC category positions in the division for the season were achieved by Gary Ironmonger who was first in the V50-59 category and by Barry Attwell who was second V60+.

Thanks to Maggie Statham-Berry and Ros Tabor for officiating on the day, plus Tony Austin for marshalling, and especially to Paddy Clark for providing numbers, shelter and bag store through the season, as well as marshalling for every match. The full results are on the  Surrey League website

VAC Cross Country Championships and Masters Open race, Wimbledon Common, 18 January 2020

The start, with race winner, Mike Cummings (No 55), to the fore.

 
Mike Cummings tracked by Richard McDowell  First woman, Megan De Silva

 
Robin Jones, M45 Gold  Sue McDonald (No 33), Alice Riddell-Webster

 
Jay Hadfield, W45 Gold  Marie Synnott-Wells

 
Mike Mann, Mary Setyabule  John Grigg, Jacqui McCarron

Martin Garrett, Maurice Marchant, John Carter

Above photos from Cliff Hide. Cliff has more photos and is happy to supply J-Peg copies to competitors.
Email him at cliffhide10@aol.com

Conditions were good for VAC’s last ever race on Wimbledon Common’s 4.5 mile “Thatched Cottage” course and it was fitting that a sparkling new course record was set by the winner, Mike Cummings of Herne Hill Harriers. For 2021, we are required to devise a new course which does not encroach on the fairways of Wimbledon Common’s two golf courses.

Fifty four members and guests competed on some very muddy stretches, but also firm tracks. Mike Cummings (M35) and Richard McDowell (M40) were locked together for the first lap and well into the second, until Mike pulled away at the top of the horse ride, to win by 16 seconds. Both men were inside the previous course record of 24:48, set in 2016, and Richard’s time was also a new M40 course record.

Megan De Silva of Ranelagh Harriers, 10th in the race and first woman, set a new women’s record for the VAC Championships of 28:08. However, the record for the course still belongs to Clare Elms who posted a time of 27:44 at the Inter-Area match in 2016.

VAC Gold medals were won by Robin Jones (M45), Andy Bowen (M50), Gary Ironmonger (M55), Tom Morris (M60), John Grigg (M65), Mike Mann (M70), Peter Giles (M75) and Doug Milsom (M80). Peter Giles’s time of 33:32 rewrote the previous M75 record of 39:06 set by Doug Milsom. Doug however had the consolation of similarly breaking the M80 record by nearly six minutes.

For the women, VAC Gold medals were won by Jay Hadfield (W45), Sue McDonald (W50), Lucy Woolhouse (W55), Carol Jones (W60), Jane Georghiou (W65) and Lesley Bowcott (W75). Sue McDonald was the first woman for VAC and won the women’s trophy, as well as setting a new W50 championship record. Lesley Bowcott, already the W70 record holder, posted a great time of 44:54 which will serve as the inaugural and all-time W75 record for the course.

Here are the records for VAC’s “Thatched Cottage” course.

 Men’s Surrey League Cross Country, Oxshott Woods, 11 January 2020

Andy Mitchelson, Ian Strong and Andy Murray

 
Gary Ironmonger  Eddie Lambert

 
Bruce McLaren  Steve Clancey

 
Gary Budinger  Carey Gray, Andy Murray

Above photos from Cliff Hide. Cliff is happy to supply J-Peg copies to competitors.
Email him at cliffhide10@aol.com

Conditions were good at Oxshott for the three-lap, 5 mile, Division 3 and 4 combined race which features a testing hill and rough, stony ground. Gary Ironmonger ran well in 11th position in Division Four to lead the team in, with Eddie Lambert not far behind, still in the top twenty. Bruce McClaren ran strongly through the field to take VAC's third spot. Barry Attwell edged Peter Giles after a close battle and Andy Mitchelson wasn't far behind, showing impressive improvement over the season. Steve Clancey was standing by to marshal, but was freed up to run - and went well, which was a bonus. Gary Budinger, Andy Murray and a poorly Carey Gray completed the scoring, with Ian Strong giving us a B Team presence.

The VAC team finished 10th on the day, and we've dropped to 8th overall after three matches. It's close, though, and a good turn out for the final match at Lloyd Park on 8 February would see us move up a few places.

The full results are on the  Surrey League website