Race Report: Southern Athletics League Race 1 – Lee Valley
Gavin LauWords by Tony MacDowall.
In a very tight match we finished second just 2.5 points behind the winners Cambridge Harriers. This is an impressive start to the new season and we can regroup and aim to fill more athletes in the steeplechase, 400m and some of the field events which ultimately cost us victory in the first fixture. Filling the events is the key to success in this league, so we encourage athletes of all abilities to sign up and speak to the team about what it is like to race for the club during the summer track and field season. It will not disappoint!
Link to results here.
On a warm but windy day in Lee Valley we kicked off our SAL season. The match started with our usual dominance of the sprints. Winning four of the six sprints and finishing second in the the two we didn’t win.
The middle distance kicked off with Dominic Baxter and Andy Waterman picking up points in very tight men’s 800m races. Eleanor Daglish and Lily Zechmann both finished second in the women’s 800m to significantly boost our score. Milun and Lewis finished 4th and 2nd respectively in the 1500m to pick up points for the team. They were joined by Gareth Evans who ran a seasons best. Lyra MacDonald ran a seasons best to finish second in a very fast 1500m. Eleanor Daglish also competed in the 1500m and finished 4th. In a very tactical men’s 1500m race with five athletes very close at the bell Joe Walker finished 3rd and Jamie Carnuaud finished 1st. Definitely more to come from both in a more evenly paced race. Neil Kirkham ran a seasons best to finish comfortably to break 10 minutes in the 3000m. Jade dos Santos and Ruby James both ran personal bests in the women’s 3000m to finish 1st and 2nd respectively. With Jade taking almost 20 seconds off her lifetime best of 10.44. The sole representative in the steeplechase was Team Manager Tony MacDowall, finishing 3rd. With only four athletes in the men’s chase and three in the women’s chase just filling the events would have given us 14 points.
In typical fashion we saved the best until last with the relays. First up was the men’s 4×100 with a few last minute changes no obstacle at all with the team finishing clear winners. The women’s 4×100 team were narrowly beaten in a photo finish. The 4x400m served up a grandstand finish with sprinters and distance runners combining to come home with two first place finishes. First up was the women’s team with the lead changing hands multiple times over the first two legs. An epic run from Lily ensured we retained the lead and never looked back. Similar drama in the men’s race with the lead changing hands four times before we eventually pulled away to win.
The next fixture are as follows. Athletes of all abilities are welcome, so please get in touch and sign up!
- Sun 18 June – Mile End
- Sun 9 July – St Albans
- Sat 19 August – Woodford
- Sat 9 September – TBC
Both athletes and officials are required, so please do get in touch with Lily Zechmann or Tony Macdowall if you have an interest in getting involved during this year.
- 2 scorers required for each event (separate men’s and women’s races). Additional runners can participate as non-scorers.
- Events include: 800m; 1500m; 3000m/5000m; 2000m/3000m Steeple Chase; throws; jumps; 4x400m relays.
