We hope that you have been enjoying all the athletics on show over the last couple of weeks at the Olympics and that the occasion has inspired your athletes to dream of future success – be that at local, county, regional, national level or beyond (BTW, anyone else spot how similar the Team USA kit was to ours?). Closer to home we continue to see medal winning performances from our own Beagles at a variety of events and a whole variety of new personal best performances too! Well done everyone.
Colchester Friday Night 5K
A beautiful Friday evening in Colchester saw some brilliant Beagles performances at the Essex County Athletics Association 5K championships hosted by ATW
The evening kicked off with a mile race which saw four of our younger Beagles excel. Lianne Esterhuysen finished as first girl claiming the gold medal (5:58), with Emily Brewington picking bronze in third (6:18). Danel Esterhuysen made her debut over the distance (8:05) whilst Freya Brewington was second in her age group (8:11).
The main 5K races were run in different waves across the evening with the open race going off first. Huge congratulations to Aria Sabado who ran strongly in this race and picked up a huge 5k PB of over a minute which also saw her time put her second in her age group across all events – 21:01.
The second race was for men hoping to run 19-21 minutes and saw six of our Beagles involved. Running the early laps at the front, and finishing third in the race, Jake Mitchell started his 5k career in style with a great 18:14 (4th in age group). Orly Morton also made his 5k debut with a strong run of 19:17 (6th in age group). Ollie Johnson was running well with 19:37 (7th in age group) and Frankie Edwards went sub 20 for the first time with his run of 19:44 (8th in age group). Stuart Crowther also had a good run to finish 5th in his age group – 20:07 as did Matthew Jones – 22:16 (9th in age group).
Three Beagles took on the men’s 17-19 minute event. Mattie Delea took half a minute off his PB to finish second in his age group in 17:15. Reggie Edwards also picked up a PB with his run of 17:50 – 9th in age group. And Simon Knightbridge finished 4th in his age group (just 2 seconds off bronze) with his run of 18:08.
The elite women’s race saw our final set of runners. A strong performance by Olivia Forrest saw her hold her own against the lead runners to finish third overall / first in age group – 16:52. Jemimah Knightbridge ran really well to finish 7th in age group – 20:07. Whilst Amalie Twydell showed her strength to be first in her age group and with a big PB – 20:23.
Brilliant running everybody and thank you to everyone who spent the night supporting!
U13 Intercounties
Huge congratulations to Madison Kindler who made her Essex debut in the Derek Crookes U13 intercounties event. Having been picked for team due to her amazing performances this season, Madison gave another dominant display over 1500m to finish first in her race in 4:44.95 beating the top talent from other local counties.
Lee Valley Sprints
Another busy Lee Valley sprint event saw Tobias Maitland take on the 100m. With the event offering a double sprint opportunity Tobias saw consistent efforts of 12.34 and 12.30 across his two runs. Well done Tobias!
Watford Wednesday
Three Beagles made the trip to the latest Watford Wednesday event to take on the 800m. With weather much colder than expected and a downpour of rain whilst running, the girls did a great job. Heidi Woodley ran from the front and was rewarded with a new PB of 2:27.94. Amalie Twydell ran well but suffered from some congestion – 2:38.67. Isabel Forrest ran her best outdoor time of the season thanks to a strong finish – 2:34.25. Well done all!
Loughborough BMC
Also in action on Wednesday night, Owen Adams travelled to Loughborough to take part in the BMC races picking up a brilliant new 800m PB of 1:57.95.
SEAA Championships Day One
A mixed day for the Beagles competing at the first day of the South of England Athletic Association U13/U15/U17 Championships but ultimately an impressive one with two athletes qualifying for finals and 3 medals won!
The morning sessions saw U15 sprinter Stephanie Smith qualify third in her 300m heat – 42.32. U13 Madison Kindler also qualified easily in the 800m winning her heat in 2:28.88. Both will race in their finals tomorrow – good luck!
The afternoon saw Beagles beset by traffic problems with a late arrival by U15 Mattie Delea leading to no warm up and disappointment in his 800m race – 2:22.85. U15 thrower David Wilson had similar issues but aided by timetable changes which saw his event moved to later in the day. 5 good throws saw him in 4th place before a last round effort earned him a new PB and the bronze medal – 42.34m.
Evie Warn (U17) took on the 1500m steeplechase, using her flat pace strength and growing hurdling confidence to good effect to win a silver medal – 5:33.36.
A huge field faced the U15 girls in the 1500m event with 17 contesting the race. Heidi Woodley bravely stuck to the leading pack and challenging strongly in the home straight finishing with a brilliant bronze medal – 4:43.43. Isabel Forrest had a good fight in the pack to finish in 5:25.17. The U15 boys 1500 heats saw good early promise from Jude Hearn but ultimately disappointment as he pulled up with a twinge in his leg.
SEAA Championships Day Two
A sweltering hot second day at the South of England Athletic Association U13/U15/U17 championships saw further success for the Beagles with two more medals won.
Madison Kindler returned to the track following Saturday’s U13 800m qualification with an incredibly determined performance that saw her pick up both a new personal best and a silver medal – 2:19.71.
Also returning for a final after successful qualification, U15 Stephanie Smith ran another strong 300m race with an almost identical time to Saturday – 42.33 – to finish 6th.
U15 sprinter Poppy Horton took on the 100m with a strong performance in the heat to qualify for the semi final stage in 13.16. Taking to the track a couple of hours later, Poppy showed good consistency with another sprint of 13.22 to finish 7th in her semi final.
Finally, U17 Olivia Forrest raced over 1500m in a closely fought race that saw her ultimately take the silver medal – 4:32.37.
Well done to all – valuable experience of racing in extreme temperatures against tough competition!
BFTTA Open
Always a popular choice for our sprinters, the latest BFTTA event at Lee Valley saw Stuart Carter and James Gillingham taking the opportunity to sprint over 100m on two occasions on the same day. Stuart kicked his event off with a strong second place in his heat – 12.87 with his second run seeing a faster performance against the reseeded stronger competition – 12.79. Both runs saw new personal best performances! James kicked off his evening with a strong spring of 11.15 before returning with a blistering 11.04 to take first place in his heat marginally outside his PB. Well done both!
Wimbledon 5000m
En route to watch the Olympics, Olivia Forrest stopped off at Wimbledon for her first attempt at a 5000m track race amid scorching temperatures. Good experience gained and a strong debut of 16:59.
Parkrun and Junior parkun round up (Saturday 3rd / Sunday 4th)
Always pleasing to see another strong turnout of Beagles taking on their weekly parkun on Saturday. Starting at Brentwood, Phil Price finished 4th (20:55), Laura Durn was 24th just marginally outside her PB (24:44) and Bailee Abrahams had a good run too (31:57). There was a massive turnout of Beagles at the Raphael parkrun – leading them home was Simon Knightbridge* who finished 4th (18:59). Daniel Esterhuysen claimed a new PB in 16th (20:50) with Keith Thornton not far behind (21:22) and kindly pacing Lianne Esterhuysen (21:23). Ollie Johnson (21:29), just pipped Jemimah Knightbridge (21:30). Danel Esterhuysen (32:55) was also kindly paced round by Paul Johnson (32:56).
A family affair at Billericay parkrun saw Ethan Wilson visit the course for the first time with his mum and have a great run (24:05), as did Nora Heidemans (24:59) who was running with dad Yvo Heidemans (25:00). Erin McDermott* made the top 100 with her run (26:48), beating brother Pierce McDermott* (27:21). Over at Chelmsford parkrun, Reggie Edwards picked up a new PB in 4th (17:52), with Adam Armour in 72nd (21:01) and Frankie Edwards 93rd (21:41).
Harrow Lodge saw a good run by James Wilson* who finished 4th (18:52). Emily Brewington made her course debut (23:50) as did Rayan Sandhu (24:55) and Freya Brewington (30:31). Furthest parkrun award goes to Daniel Jaycock who was at the Carine Glades run in Perth finishing 3rd with a course PB (18:51).
Enjoying the Mersea Island parkrun were the Cottee’s with Matthew Cottee finishing 14th (23:40) and Owen Cottee also running well (29:29). And at the Ross-on-the-Wye parkrun, Robert Barke finished 33rd (24:38).
Sunday’s junior parkrun also saw brilliant runs by our younger Beagles. At Harrow Lodge, Summer Smith finished first with a sub 7 minute run (6:54). Jude Deal* was 4th just one second off his PB (7:57) with Blossom Smith also running close to her best in 7th (8:10) and Emily Brewington finished 9th (8:16). Lily Tyler led a run of Beagles PB’s – (8:54 PB), Olly Deal* (9:02 PB) and Ethan Wilson (9:03 PB). Willow Smith was 21st (9:18) with Ezra Gooch two places behind her (9:57) and Freya Brewington also running close by(10:25).
At Lake Meadows, Isaac Norris picked up a new PB in 3rd (7:51) whilst at Maldon junior parkrun Amalie Twydell was first overall with a course PB (7:49). And at Hutton Rec juniors, Frankie Edwards was first home (7:53), Max Morris was 4th (9:52), Alexandra Johnston 6th (10:02), Daniel Smith 8th (10:53) and Taylor Connolly 27th (12:31).
Parkrun and Junior parkun round up (Saturday 10th / Sunday 11th)
We start our 5k round up in Australia where Dan Jaycock (19:34) took part in the Carine Glades parkrun in Perth, finishing 7th overall. Closer to home at Raphael, we had 5 runners with Emily Brewington (23:01) taking 3rd female while Matthew Jones (23:47) was a little further back, just outside the top 50. Pierce McDermott made his course debut (24:56), Freya Brewington (29:28) was 146th and race walker Stuart Bennett (31:06) 177th. At Harrow Lodge Rayan Sandhu picked up a new course PB (23:43).
At Billericay, Yvo Heidemans* picked up a new course PB (20:34) with his 11th place finish, Laura Durn (24:14) finished 58th, Daniel Smith (25:07) 71st and Nora Heidemans (28:00) 111st. At Chelmsford Isabelle Young (21:25) ran strongly to finish 2nd female in a field of 799 runners. Cameron Young (22:11 PB) and Alex Young (22:12 PB) also enjoyed good runs picking up course bests.
Just 4 runners at Brentwood with Elliot Worth (21:44) taking 11th, Francesca Gordon taking first female, 15th place and a new PB (22:29), Sarah Goodey 57th (28:00) and Bailee Abrahams* (29:18) who took 60th. At Wickford Memorial Scott Brooks (18:32) took 1st place, closely followed by brother Kurt Brooks (19:57) who finished 6th. Finally, at Chalkwell Beach, Keith Thornton (21:43) finished 43rd.
On Sunday, a warm morning greeted our 2k runners at Hutton Rec. where we had 4 runners. Liam Worth (09:07) was just a few seconds behind the leaders in finishing 3rd, Alexandra Johnston picked up a new PB in 7th (9:39) to be first female, while Camila Nash (11:18) ran well to take 16th and 3rd female with Margot Zaayman just behind (11:26).
At Harrow Lodge, a big turnout with 13 Beagles taking part. Ollie Johnson (07:33) took 1st, just 1 second ahead of Matthew Jones (07:34) who in turn was just 4 seconds in front of 1st female, Isabel Forrest (07:38). 5th went to Aria Lily Sabado (07:59 PB), who broke 8 minutes for the first time,6th was Jude Deal* (8:15), 7th Emily Brewington (08:21), 17th Finley Smith* (09:14), 25th Harry Collier* (09:50 PB), 26th Lily Tyler (09:58), 28th Isla Smith (10:20) 31st Freya Brewington (10:36), 49th Olly Deal* (12:51) and Jack Collier* (13:59) 55th.
Finally at Lake Meadows, Isobel Larner (08:01 PB) continued her impressive progression in times to take 3rd and 1st female and a new 2k best with brother Jack Larner* also collecting a new PB (9:45).
Well done to all our runners this weekend. Can we please remind you that we can only pick up your results in the parkun club report if you register yourself as being part of the club in your parkrun profile. Unfortunately the club report only works on the Saturday parkruns so we are unable to spot performances at junior parkruns behind the local ones. Feel free to contact us if you need help setting up your profile or if you want to tell us about your run.
Coming up
Another quiet August week coming up with several Beagles heading to the 5k Crown to Crown event on Wednesday night. Good luck to all competing. We will provide our next news round up in a fortnight!
