The 2024/25 Club Championship is off to a flying start with the VPH Flowers Mile
Gavin LauOn the hot and humid evening of Thursday 29th August, 54 runners donned the jade and blue stripes to kick off 2024/25 Club Championship season.
As always, this popular event sees Road & XC runners, Juniors, Track athletes and Guests come together to race the iconic mile loop of Victoria Park.
The breadth and depth of the club was out in full force, with an age range spanning over 50 years. We also welcomed 11 guests and one second-claim runner from East London Runners.
Lydia Briggs ran a blistering 05:28 to take 1st Female and the 4th quickest ever time; the fastest winner since Rachel Thomas established her long-standing Club Record of 05:09 in 2019. 2nd Female went to U17G Monika Panoutsou in 05:44, and 3rd Female to Jo Hall in 06:12.
Dominic Howarth was crowned 1st Male in a lightning fast 04:27, the 3rd quickest time ever and the closest anyone’s come to troubling Paul Marteletti’s Club Record of 04:22 in recent years, which still stands from 2012. There must’ve been something in the London air that summer. 1st V35M and 2nd Male overall went to Kyalo Burt-Fulcher in 04:40, and 1st V40 and 3rd Male overall went to David Jones in 04:51.
The fastest Junior was U15B Khalid Hussein who ran a brilliant 05:04, followed closely by fellow U15B Aneirin Lessard in 05:05. 3rd Junior went to U15B Aidan Wolpert in 05:16, just ahead of 4th-placed U15B Max Robert Sancho in 05:17.
1st Junior Female went to U17G Monika Panoutsou (also placing 2nd Female overall) in a serene 05:44 – only 2 seconds behind Myla Stiling’s Club Record of 05:42. U15G Catrin Marsden took 2nd place in 06:23, followed by 3rd-placed U17G Guest Chloe Phillips in 07:11.
As always, these events couldn’t go ahead without our amazing volunteers. Thanks to James Hirst, Simon Wharton, Jade Dos Santos, Dave Robinson, David Wilkey, Mandy Dohren, Major, Agata Slota, Annie Trihan, Hetty Partington and Richard Parasram, and of course the kitchen and bar team who keep us fed and watered so brilliantly.
Words by Jo Hall
