VPH & THAC NEWS

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VPH & THAC NEWS

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Circulation 212 dubose@enterprise.net www.vphthac.org.uk February 2002

23 Feb National XC Champs, Bristol

5 Mar Chingford League, Eastway

17 Mar Club 20M Champs

26 Mar Physical Shield

30 Mar VPH Open 5

7 Apr Southern 12-Stage Road Relay

20 Apr Club T&F Champs, Mile End

27 Apr Women's Southern League, Medway

4 May Men's Southern League

11 May County Championships, Mile End

12 May U13 County Champs, Perivale

18 May Men/Women Southern League

25 May SEAA U20, U17, U15 Champs

1 Jun SEAA Senior Championships

8 Jun Men's/Women's Southern League

(Women at King's Lynn with Men's A Team)

15 Jun County Schools Champs

22 Jun Men's Southern League

28-30 Jun AAA Jr/U23 Champs, Bedford

3 Jul Sefton Brancker/SEAX Trophies, Watford

6 Jul Women's Southern League, Mile End

12-13 Jul English Schools Champs, Nottingham

13 Jul Men's Southern League

14 Jul London Chest Hospital Fun Run

20 Jul BAL Cup Semi-Final

27 Jul Women's Southern League, Dartford

28 Jul U13 Inter Counties, Kingston

3 Aug Men's Southern League

10-11 Aug U15, U17 AAA Champs, Crystal Palace

7 Sep Women's Southern League, Southend

**Club Handicap races held on the last Thursday of each month

Joining two disparate organisations, with radically different traditions and practices, and getting them to knit together was always going to be a challenge. However, despite some minor teething troubles most VPH&THAC members probably haven't noticed too many changes to their existing athletic lives, with the majority of the re-jigging taking place behind the scenes. Over the next few years we will develop new strategies to recruit new members and retain our existing ones and expand our coaching and development schemes, which will enable all of our athletes to flourish. However, setting up a coaching structure, promoting athletics and building a strong social scene at the Club will take time and effort. The new management system consists of a Board of nine Directors who oversee the various aspects of the Club's activities. They are NOT expected to do everything themselves but are encouraged to seek out other VPH&THAC members who have particular interests, ideas or areas in which they wish to work on the Club's behalf. We now have a large membership of over 200 members and we ALL have particular skills (not just on the athletic field) that can assist the Club. VPH&THAC needs organisers, motivators, coaches, officials, volunteers, fundraisers, helpers, etc. to back up the athletic talent that we possess. So, if you have a thought or innovation that you feel would benefit the Club talk to one of the Board members or see me at the track on Tuesday nights or phone or e-mail me and we'll see how your ideas can be developed. This could range from helping to organise a social event, developing a contact you already have with a local school or youth organisation or keeping us up to date with any external funding opportunities. Please don't wait to be asked but please volunteer your services to the Club. The more we put in the more will be available to take out but it has to be a two-way process for VPH&THAC to succeed. Rich.

Richard J. Newbold

President & Chairman, VPH & THAC

0207254 4546 rich@steeplechase.org.uk

The other eight directors are:

1. Gary Bagnall - Director of HQ Development

2. Cecile Brugnoli - Women's Director

3. Wayne DuBose - Director of Finance 4. Veronica McCabe - General Secretary

5. Paul McKinley - Director of Public Relations

6. Tim Mitchell-Smith - Director of Athletics

7. Peter Snell - Director of Youth

8. Darren Stobbart - Director of

Entertainment

The next working party will be Sunday 24 March 2002 from 10.30am. This will get the garden and clubhouse ready for the Open 5.

U13 Boys
17 Ben Drew 15:30
19 Josh Wright 17:00
U15 Boys
5 Alfie Jackson 12:51
7 Leon Russell 13:32
8 Sam Guttmann-Hancocks 13:49

U13 Boys
20 Ben Drew 11:24
21 Josh Wright 11:27
U15 Boys
7 Leon Russell 24:56

1 A. Kelleher (Barnet) 16.03

2 Jim Roche 16.04

9 E. Thomas 16.24*

18 R. Newbold 16.59

29 J. Waters 17.48 PB

30 G. Bagnall 17.51

41 M. Penman 18.08 PB

58 G. Deathridge 18.43 PB

62 P. McHugh DeClare 18.49

63 J. George 18.49

64 T. Beackon 18.50

67 T. Mitchell Smith 18.52

70 M. Sutton 18.58*

74 M. Cairns 19.04

76 D. Robinson Sr 19.10

91 J. Collins 19.43*

96 D. Shortridge 19.54

97 S. Perham 19.56 PB

115 M. Parsons 20.46*

119 7 A. Gammon L7 20.52

144 P. Johnstone 22.06

155 G. Pettipher L21 22.42 PB

170 C. Brugnoli L23 23.40

176 D. Roche 24.03

177 D. O'Sullivan 24.07 PB

188 L. Bruce Burgess L32 25.37 PB

192 J. Sargent L36 25.56 PB

194 A. Fake L38 25.58*

196 K. Lord L39 26.02 PB

200 Jane Roche L42 26.13

206 A. C. Markiewicz L47 27.00 PB

212 D. Stobbart 27.26 N

213 V. McCabe L51 27.34

PB by 2:42

216 J. Cartwright L54 28.04 PB

218 K. Whelan L56 28.19

PB by 3:39

220 B. McHugh DeClare L58 28.40*

224 D. Dickens L61 33.12

225 S. Weddell L62 34.02

U15 Girls

5 Caroline Ross 13:18

U13 Boys

16 Josh Wright 14:42

U15 Boys

8 Alfie Jackson 13:01

12 Terry Patten 15:14

U17 Men

7 Darren Clark 12:33

Senior Men "A" Team (11 teams)

1 Barnet 54

2 Orion 117

3 VPH 129

4 Walthamstow 191

Senior Men "B" Team (9 teams)

1 Barnet 260

2 Orion 270

3 VPH 384

4 Eton Manor 728

Veteran Men (11 teams)

6 VPH 388

Ladies Team (8 teams)

5 VPH 83

Overall

Mens A Team

1 Barnet 47

2 Orion 45

3 VPH 38

4 Walthamstow 29

Mens B Team

6 VPH

Mens Vets Team

6 VPH

Womens Team

6 VPH

Individual

1 K. Turner (Barnet) 72

2 Jim Roche 71

3 A. Holt (Verlea) 68

(By Lydia Bruce-Burgess)

Before I joined Victoria Park Harriers, my athletic career was more renowned for its moments of comedy than for any great achievements. I ran a steady 10 minute mile. My Mum (and dogs) beat me regularly. As did the oldest member of my home club (85 years old). I was last in every race. On one memorable occasion, I was followed at a one-metre distance by an ambulance rammed full of eager First Aiders waiting to practice CPR. Another (particularly bad) day, I was pushed over at the starting line and trampled underfoot by a gaggle of over-eager children. The race compère insulted my dress sense. At this point, anyone with any sanity would have done a reality check and made a mental note to take up cross-stitch rather than cross-country! Undeterred, however, I moved to London and still pursued this dubious passion for cross-country. I dabbled with Dulwich Runners who clearly were not impressed with my past record. But when I moved to the East End, I decided to give VPH a go. I haven't looked back since. VPH has positively encouraged me to indulge my mud mania! Since last year, the number of women joining the club has really exploded. Many of them share my passion for mud. (Just watch Tracy Harding's eyes light up as she describes cross-country racing to you). Even those who fail to see the initial appeal soon succumb. It doesn't take long to unleash their inner mud-monster, especially when they discover you get to wear really sexy shoes with spikes! It was thus no surprise to find that at the North London cross-country championships at Horsenden Hill, there were more women than men representing VPH! This created a great feeling of team spirit as we commandeered an entire tube carriage. During the race, I gained some insight into what it would be like to be part of the Kenyan athletics team. Cécile, Kelly, Sarah and myself ran in a tightly-knit pack for the majority of the course (Cécile was quick to point
out that that unlike the Kenyans who train at high altitude we train at canal (or bar) level. The only similarity is that I have an afro - especially after a long hard cross country session...!) During this race, the feeling of camaraderie and team spirit among our team was amazing. It didn't matter that none of us were 6-min. miling like the winner. For most of us, racing is not about winning but about competing within our own personal bounds and for our team. Anyhow, none of us really wanted the winner's shield. You'd have to get an extension built to fit it in your house! With our new women's Director and an ever-burgeoning female membership, the Kenyans ought to watch their backs! First the Boswall League, then the world, hey girls!

Lydia B-B

5M Men's Champs

6th Eddie Thomas 30:28

7th Jim Roche 7th (non-scorer) 30:30

36 Mike Penman 34:08

39 Gary Bagnall 34:43

45 Peter McHugh DeClare 35:15

55 Tim Mitchell-Smith 36:01

(107 finishers)

Incomplete VPH Men's team

6000m Women's Champs

36 Lydia Bruce-Burgess 32:09

37 Sarah Johnsen 32:09

40 Cecile Brugnoli 32:27

41 Kelly May 33:23

49 Jane Roche 36:05

53 Aude-Claire Markiewicz 37:47

54 Tracy Trowbridge 40:12

55 Kathy Whelan 40:13

56 Deirdre Dickens 49:56

Women's Team Result

VPH A Team 10th

VPH B Team 11th

From: "Rob Daly"

<robd@rainforestuk.com>

Sent: Friday, November 16, 2001 Subject: Thanks...

Just a quick note to say a big thanks to VPH for hosting the Rainforest Foundation 10k Fun Run on Sunday. We had 186 (3 DNF) people finish on the day and raised £773, which will go towards our work supporting indigenous populations of the world's rainforests to protect their environment and fulfill their rights to land and livelihood. Without the hard work of the volunteers and the support of the VPH'ers who ran on the day, the event wouldn't have been the great success it was. I'd like to say an extra special thanks to Paul and Tim for their hard work in putting the event together at short notice. They are a credit to the club. Globally, there were over 3,000 runners in places as far flung as Kathmandu and Manila, and we firmly put London on the World Run Day map. We have to finalise dates and details for next year, but I'm hoping we'll be back, even bigger and better. All the best, Rob

1 Eddie Thomas 35:58

3 Laurence Curley 36:15

10 Peter McHugh de Clare 38:25

14 Mick Cairns 39:47

15 Mark Sutton 40:06

16 Simon Perham 40:26

22 David Shortridge 41:12

45 Annie Gammon (L9) 43:47

150 Louise Guthrie (L51) 56:16

157 Janice Cartwright (L56) 57:51

165 Barbara McHugh DeClare (L60) 58:43

166 Fiona MacDonald (L61) 58:43

170 Judith Burns (L64) 60:06

(184 finishers)

4 Jim Roche 39:01 G

11 Eddie Thomas 39:50 S

17 Jon Cullom 40:25 B

31 Laurence Curley 42:31

38 Gary Bagnall 44:43

40 Tim Mitchell-Smith 45:30

64 Gary Deathridge 50:08

81 Pete Snell 58:31

Team Result

1st TVH 140

2nd VPH 141

3rd Serpentine 180

Full results not available.

Men (6M)
1 J. Downes (Lon I) 30:44

15 Jim Roche 33:16

21 E. Thomas 34:04
24 J. Cullom 34:15

R. Newbold

G. Bagnall

T. Lashmar

M. Penman

T. Mitchell-Smith

M. Cairns

D. Robinson Sr

M. Sutton

D. Shortridge

P. Snell

TEAM (4 to score): 1 Highgate 31; 2 London Irish 52; 3 London Heathside 65; 4 Highgate B 95; 5 Ilford 105; 6 Victoria Park Harriers 120; 7 Ealing Southall & Middlesex 133; 8 Barnet & District 155; 9 London Heathside B 189; 10 London Irish B 198

Women (5k) (incl. Club Champs)

A. Gammon G

L. Bruce-Burgess S

102nd S. Johnsen B

C. Brugnoli

A. Fake

K. Whelan

J. Cartwright

B. McHugh DeClare

S. Weddell

H'cap Actual

1 T. Rider 28:45 24:30*

2 F. MacGregor 28:54 26:39

3 B. McHugh de Clare 29:02 24:47PB

4 L. Bruce-Burgess 29:04 20:49PB

5 T. Harding 29:07 24:52PB

6 F. MacDonald 29:08 24:53*

7 M. Penman 29:43 16:43PB

8 J. Sargent 29:44 22:44PB

9 T. Wrzesien 29:47 18:32*

10 J. Waters 29:48 16:13*

11 M. Parsons 30:03 18:48PB

12 J. Burns 30:10 25:55

13 S. Weddell 30:15 30:15PB

14 D. O'Sullivan 30:18 21:03

15 F. Bray 30:23 18:08PB

16 T. Lashmar 30:24 16:49

17 A. Fake 30:25 23:25 PB

18 G. Deathridge 30:25 17:25 PB

19 S. Johnsen 30:27 21:12*

20 M. Sutton 30:32 17:32

21 S. Perham 30:39 18:24

22 D. Robinson Sr 30:40 17:25

23 A. Gammon 30:43 19:28

24 M. Cairns 30:48 17:33

25 D. Shortridge 30:52 17:52 PB

26 G. Bagnall 30:56 16:41

27 P. McHugh de Clare 31:29 17:54

DNF Cai Lewis 13:30 (2 laps)

It was a crisp, clear winter Saturday in Loughton. The setting was perfect for VPH&THAC to storm its way to victory in the Ware Cup for the third year in succession. It was an (almost) perfect success of a day. Although our men’s team was not full-strength, they still managed to take the first four places - an unprecedented event.   VPH&THAC had 8 runners in total among the first 12. Our ladies’ team beat rivals Loughton and Eton Manor, making it a double victory for VPH&THAC.  And not only did the club score a hat-trick, but it was also Jim Roche's third successive personal victory in this race. It was a first, however, for newly qualified van-driver Janice Cartwright. It was her maiden voyage as she drove the team to Loughton in a huge awkward tank of a minibus. Janice handled the unwieldy 16-seat vehicle with remarkable ease and confidence. The team seemed reasonably well psyched up for the race. Cécile admitted that she had prepared, not by doing her usual yoga stretches, but by spending the morning at the hairdressers. She obviously wanted to look good on that course. There was a slight hitch and a few tense moments before the van set off. The steering wheel locked itself irreversibly. Janice called upon Mike Penman for assistance. A derisory comment was heard from the deepest recesses of the "tank" - from somewhere near Tony Lashmar in fact. It sounded like "Women, eh?" It was duly ignored. When we arrived in Loughton, the course looked positively inviting compared with last year’s expanse of flooded land. This year there was no knee-deep mud and no "surprise pools" for Jim to plunge into. The long low rays of winter sun resting at hedge height set a perfect scene for us spectators. But it merely served to dazzle the runners at the beginning of the race. They found the back part of the course extremely difficult to navigate. According to Mike Penman: "The low sun on the first lap literally blinded us to the route ahead." And so on lap 1, leader Jim Roche took the race downhill one field too early. Fortunately for Jim, third-placed Richard Newbold spotted a course marker 30 yards to his left. Richard called Jim back into the fold. It is testimony to Jim’s talent this diversion didn't affect his lead. But 2nd placed Jon Cullom had been too hard on Jim's heels for his own good. Jon took the worst racing line back to the proper course and found himself back in 3rd position behind Richard. And Jim opened up a gap that was never closed…… On lap 2, Jon struggled after turning his ankle but he tucked in behind Richard until he'd recovered. Richard was suffering with a hamstring problem and wasn’t able to pull out the surge necessary to keep his second place. (The hamstring problem began on the first lap but wasn’t enough to pull him out of the race). So Jon pushed on at the beginning of lap 3 to gain a comfortable 2nd place. It was an altogether classy race up front, with Jim, Jon and Rich finishing first, second and third respectively. Laurence Curley had a very good tactical race. He picked his moments to go past Danny Rose of Walthamstow and then pull away from Michael Cates of Eton Manor on the run in to gain his 4^th place. And so 9 times winner Danny Rose was relegated to 6th position. As Mike says: "The best part of the Ware Cup tradition in recent years was upheld by Jim, Jon, Richard and Laurence – the sight of white & blue vests to the fore the whole way round." Not too far behind, Tony Lashmar, (just recovered from a groin injury) had a strong run considering his long break (and having competed in the London Championships at Parliament Hill the week before). On the first lap, Tony was running in 8^th place, with Gary Bagnall behind him in 9^th place and Mike Penman hanging in as 10^th. Gary, however, was on good form and he managed to overtake and shake off Tony by the final lap, coming in 7^th at the finish. He was happy to beat Mike Penman, who had been running very strongly prior to the Ware Cup. Mike had been looking forward to featuring in the top ten at Loughton, having had a totally unexpected PB in the last club handicap and some pleasing "scalps" in recent races. In fact, it was Tony who nailed the coffin-lid on Mike’s top ten hopes and came in 10^th. Mike also claims Dave Robinson Jnr "came from nowhere" (although he stealthily wound Mike in over some distance) and bagged Mike’s 11^th place from under his nose. Dave said it was his best cross-country run in a VPH vest. (He subsequently collapsed into a heap.) So Mike came in at a very respectable 12^th place, even though he bemoaned his own "lack of kick". As Richard said: "You spent it on Well Street Common." Richard himself looked unusually uncomfortable (almost pained) on the home stretch. However, he wasn’t particularly tired or out of breath at the finish "just a bit uncomfortable in the leg department". He says: "The real shock came when, after shaking hands with the other finishers, I went to pick up my tracksuit and I could hardly walk. I guess the competition induced adrenalin had died away." Les Austin and Gerry Franey performed well, coming in 15^th and 26^th respectively. The ladies also did us proud as winning team. Sarah was the leading lady for the duration and Cécile hung onto second ladies’ place. Anna Fake came in as 7^th lady. Cécile also retained her French chic and grooming throughout. She was barely glowing (let alone perspiring profusely) at the finish. Her hair-do was still in tact. All very encouraging for the ladies’ team. In fact, the plan is to inaugurate a women's team trophy for next year. So it should get even more competitive among the ladies  (especially with the hair-do’s……) - Louise Guthrie reports

1 J. Roche 31:23

2 J. Cullom 32:18

3 R. Newbold 32:26

4 L. Curley 32:51

7 G. Bagnall 34:04

10 A. Lashmar 35:12

11 D. Robinson Jr. 35:45

12 M. Penman 35:54

15 L. Austin 36:43

26 G. Franey 39:12

34 S. Johnsen (L1) 42:42

36 G. Brugnoli (L2) 44:52

45 A. Fake (L7) 47:53

Men's team result (6 a side)

1. VPH&THAC 27; 2. Eton Manor 71; 3. Loughton 123 4. Walthamstow 157

Women's team result (3 a side)

1. VPH&THAC 115; 2. Loughton 127; 3. Eton Manor 130

From: "Tim Mitchell-Smith"

Sent: Monday, December 10, 2001

Subject: Great Barford Half Marathon

Hi Wayne,

Thought you'd be interested to know that Jim Roche won the Great Barford Half Marathon yesterday in a new PB of 70:21. I managed a rather more pedestrian 88:09 with Jo Sargent, Anna Fake & Veronica McCabe all putting in fine performances on an undulating course. Big PB's for Jo and Anna. Conditions were good after the first 20 minutes. Before that, it was sub-zero and misty, but it warmed up and the lack of any real breeze made it quite an enjoyable race around a rural single lap course. Jim was delighted - now he's determined to get rid of the extra 22 seconds and make it sub-70. Tim

1 Jim Roche 70:21
52 Tim Mitchell-Smith 88:08
277 Jo Sargent 1:50:21
360 Anna Fake 2:02:02
410 Veronica McCabe 2:23:27
(418 finishers)

From: Alf Vickers

Sent: Wednesday, December 12

Subject: Middlesex AA Indoor Champs

6 indoor titles for the new club at the county indoors:

Millie Zah u/13 60 metre hurdles 11.2

Serena Robinson u/15 60 metre hurdles 12.1

Symone Belle u/20 60 metre hurdles 8.9 and 60 metres 7.9

Rikki Fifton u/20 60 metres 7.0

Darren Robinson Snr Men 60 metre hurdles 9.3. Alf

Rikki Fifton scorched to the under-20 60m title. He clocked 7.0 while all-rounder Symone Belle limited herself to the track and collected a 60m sprint sprint and hurdles double.

Other Result

u/13 Girls 60m - Millie Zah 9.8 (5th) 9.5 in heat

5 J. Cullom 30:35

16 J. Roche 31:43

17 L. Curley 31:44

36 T. Lashmar 33:15

37 G. Bagnall 33:17

42 M. Penman 33:38

47 T. Mitchell-Smith 34:07

63 P. McHugh de Clare 35:03

68 D. Shortridge 35:15

149 L. Bruce-Burgess (L11) 40:44

194 A. Fake (L30) 48:38

(202 finishers)

A Team finished 4th with 153 pts

B Team finished 4th with 634 pts

Vets Team finished 11th with 519 pts

Ladies Team finished 9th with 117 pts

League Positions after 5 races

A Team - 3rd of 11 (47 pts)

B Team - 5th of 11 (35 pts)

Vets Team - 10th of 11 (20 pts)

Ladies Team - 6th of 10 (29 pts)

H'cap Actual

1 T. Rider 23:10 22:55 PB

2 L. Bruce-Burgess 24:22 20:12 PB

3 T. O'Neill 24:24 16:34

4 B. McHugh DeClare 24:40 24:40 PB

5 D. Manning 24:44 16:24 PB

6 M. Fitzgibbon 24:45 19:25

7 S. Perham 24:46 18:11

8 F. MacDonald 24:47 24:47 PB

9 T. Lashmar 24:56 16:31

10 G. Bagnall 25:00 16:35

11 M. Penman 25:01 16:41 PB

12 J. Waters 25:06 16:16

13 P. McHugh DeClare 25:07 17:57

14 D. Robinson Sr 25:08 17:28

15 G. Deathridge 25:10 17:45

16 J. Bygrave 25:10 19:20*

16 Jim Roche 25:14 16:24

17 M. Sutton 25:17 17:37

23 T. Lashmar 28:37

24 T. McDowall 28:43

28 D. Manning 28:56

31 M. Penman 29:04

48 P. McHugh de Clare 30:13

52 T. Mitchell-Smith 30:41

84 D. Shortridge 32:29

141 P. Snell 37:16

163 A. Fake (L26) 41:39

172 B. McHugh DeClare (L32) 45:45

(182 finishers)

A Team finished 4th with 206 pts

B Team finished 8th with 957 pts

Vets Team finished 10th with 555 pts

Ladies Team finished 9th with 138 pts

League Positions after 6 races

A Team - 3rd of 11 (56 pts)

B Team - 5th of 11 (40 pts)

Vets Team - 10th of 11 (23 pts)

Ladies Team - 6th of 10 (34 pts)

Congratulations to James, Peter, and Barbara for not just getting out of bed on New Year's Day morning, but actually running 10K!!

16 James Waters 36:56

21 Peter McHugh DeClare 38:10

273 Barbara McHugh DeClare 56:48

(309 finishers)

A VPH men's team of Jim Roche, Laurence Curley, Gary Bagnall, Gordon Faulds, Jon Cullom, Tim Grose and Mike Penman would be expected to provide a strong showing at the county championships. Unfortunately for the Club, these athletes were all on the sick or missing list but those athletes who were present produced an excellent showing, with the men gaining a creditable 6th place in the team competition. Add in the seven participating runners to the list above, and half a dozen other possibles and gaining a place in the 12-stage team will be an achievement in itself this season. The women's race saw VPH&THAC an agonising one athlete short of a full team with Lydia-Bruce Burgess leading the way with 39th place, with Anna Fake 50th and Katy Lord 53rd. All three runners made light work of the leap across the ditch at the end of each lap and performed well in a very competitive race. Off to his customary fast start, in the three-lap men's race, was David Shortridge, closely followed by Tony Lashmar, Eddie Thomas, Rich Newbold, Damian Manning and Tim Mitchell Smith. After the first crossing of the stream at the top of the course Eddie became our leading athlete with David and Tony maintaining forward positions, with Rich and Damian moving through the field. Rich moved through into our second scoring position towards the end of the first lap, tucking in behind Eddie, with Tony comfortably holding our third place. On the final lap, Eddie picked up his pace, moving away from Rich and into the top-30, with Rich also gaining 5 places over the last two miles to gain a creditable 35th after recent injury and illness. Tony dipped inside the top-50 once again with Damian recording a great 55th, with Tim Mitchell-Smith and Dave Shortridge closing the team up in 62nd and 65th places respectively. VPH's 7th scorer was Pete Wright in a very solid 84th position and with no teams fielding 12 athletes the trophy for the best 12-man team was not awarded, perhaps something for us to aim for in 2003? Thanks to Jim Roche for driving the minibus and to Mike Penman for his support. (Rich Newbold reports)

Senior Men

29 E.Thomas 43:54

35 R.Newbold 44:18

49 T.Lashmar 47:02

55 D.Manning 47:46

62 T.Mitchell-Smith 48:25

65 D.Shortridge 49:01

84 P.Wright 51:28

Team Result (6 to score)

6. VPH & THAC 295

I’m not sure if it was the over indulgence of mince pies at Christmas and the need to shed a few extra pounds, or the obsession with the Boswell League (who me??) that was the main motivation for Katy, Lydia and I to turn out on this mild January morning to compete in the Middlesex County Cross country. Whatever the reason, we were there, raring to go for the first race of the New Year. We got there in just enough time for a quick warm up, strides and stretches and the obligatory whining about lack of training and recurring injuries (the list of excuses that we could fall back on as reasons for having a bad race). We donned our spikes and headed over to the start line where we were faced with a mob of lycra clad women, bikini tops and 6-packs (it’s unnatural!). I can’t speak for the other two, but I almost turned round and ran away. As we stood in the middle of this pack of clearly serious athletes I’m sure we all felt a little intimidated. The reality of the competition dawned on us, but in the true spirit of VPH&THACer’s, we gritted our teeth and thought about the curry we’d have when we’d finished. We all started well, running across the field to the cheers of the supporting men, but soon we were on our own running along the side of a hedgerow, the field soon separated and the leading

ladies went flying off whilst we happily plodded along at our own paces. Although the course was flat, it was by no means easy, with uneven muddy patches and the roots of huge trees that

kept leaping up and tripping us over. We were cheered on at various points by Jim (well equipped in his wellies, earning him the nickname "Farmer Jim") and Mike, who weren’t racing but came along to support and gave us encouragement when we most needed it. About half way round the course, we had to run through a little stream, which helped clean our spikes, if making our feet wet and cold at the same time. After more muddy woodland and a big oak tree that we had to run around (why are there always big trees you have to run round???), we were almost at the end of the first lap where more of the male runners were waiting for us cheering us on. Speaking for myself now, coming out of the woodland I heard Tim calmly say "There’s a bit of a jump coming up, don’t worry about it", not really registering what he’d said I carried on. I started feeling slightly apprehensive when the girl just in front of me suddenly stopped and I heard a distinct

"Oh Sh*t", but then I heard the booming words of Rich, " Don’t think about it, keeping running straight at it hard and just jump". Not having a clue what he was talking about, I increased my pace and just jumped over what felt like a 5 metre wide and 6 foot drop (in reality it was nothing like that, but allow me artistic licence, and if you ask any of the runners who were there I’m sure they’d agree with me!). After scrambling to my feet, I carried on running ready for the second and final lap convinced I was invincible after a leap like that! The three ladies that competed all did really well, Lydia came in at a very impressive 39th with an amazing time, I came in at 50th and Katy at 53rd , a brilliant result for only her second cross country race and gaining a PB...we were competing in a very strong field and many runners dropped out so even finishing was an achievement. Still slightly hyper after our run, we put our kit back on and started walking across the field to support "Our boys". As we were walking along, analysing our races stride by stride we suddenly heard a gun

shot, turning our heads we saw the entire field of men running towards us very fast...yes, we were walking straight through the middle of the senior men’s race just as it was starting...we quickly pegged it back across the field...well, we needed a warm down anyway! Thanks for all the cheering and support when we needed it most!

Senior Women

39 L. Bruce-Burgess 38:12

50 A. Fake 42:24

53 K. Lord 49:50

Over 70 runners toed the line for the annual Mob Match with local rivals Eton Manor AC on a cold January evening. Well over 40 of them came from VPH&THAC and over 1/3 of those were female. Well done to Tim and Cecile for mobilising so many runners; 2002 looks like being a great year for participation in distance running. In the absence of Jim Roche, with a rib injury, Eton Manor's Michael Cates must have fancied his chances but with Jon Cullom and Eddie Thomas having shown excellent form before Christmas, it was always going to be tight. With the big field spread across the road, the first Harrier to show himself at the front was James Waters who led the field for the first 3/4 of a mile and went through the first lap in just over 5 minutes, pulling Cates, Eddie, Jon and Richard Newbold with him. At the beginning of the 2nd lap, Cates tried to slow the race down but being outnumbered by a pack of Harriers meant that they were able to push on again, keeping the pace high with Rich towing his team mates along to a 2-lap split of 10:07. Cates took the lead again trying to get away but his move was followed by Eddie with Jon and Richard becoming slightly detached. At the top of the course, Eddie eased himself into the lead and opened up a winning gap with very little effort, striding down the home straight to victory in a very respectable 15:07. Eton Manor managed to fill 5th, 8th and 9th places thanks to a couple of Orion second claimers with Jon 3rd, Rich 4th, Tony Lashmar 6th, Gary Bagnall with a huge PB 7th, James Waters 10th and Tony MacDowall 11th. However, the VPH&THAC win was sealed by a huge pack of Harriers runners finishing in the teens and twenties, with Dan O'Sullivan closing-up the 24-to-score team in 37th place. Notable performances within the midfield came from PB-setters Mike Penman and Tim Mitchell-Smith and the very welcome return of Graham Bennett who recorded an excellent 17th place after a very long time out with injury, which required some serious surgery. For the women, there were two headline performances, with Annie Gammon chipping 1 second from her own course record as the Club's 20th scorer in 19:06, with Lydia Bruce-Burgess hacking a huge chunk off her own PB, which is now down to 19:42, whilst becoming the team's 22nd scorer on the night. Other PBs came from Sarah Johnsen, Anna Fake and Jane Roche. With VPH&THAC fielding so many women, it can only be a matter of time before we split the Mob Match into separate male and female sections, provided Eton Manor can field sufficient competitors. Thanks to Wayne DuBose, Roger Daniels and Deborah Handforth for their invaluable assistance at the finishing line.

1 Eddie Thomas 15:07*

3 Jon Cullom 15:17 PB

(by 84 seconds!)

4 Richard Newbold 15:25

6 Tony Lashmar 15:43

7 Gary Bagnall 15:50 PB

10 James Waters 16:12 PB

11 Tony MacDowall 16:15*

13 Mike Penman 16:32 PB

14 Tim Mitchell-Smith 16:36 PB

17 Graham Bennett 17:20

18 Mick Cairns 17:24

19 Gary Deathridge 17:29

21 Dave Shortridge 17:29 PB

22 Peter Wright 17:37

23 Dave Robinson Sr 17:40

24 Simon Perham 17:55

25 Mark Sutton 17:55

28 Michael Parsons 18:42 PB

30 Mike Abrahams 19:01*

31 Annie Gammon 19:06 PB

32 Francis Bray 19:15

35 Lydia Bruce-Burgess 19:42 PB

37 Dan O'Sullivan 20:20

41 Pete Snell 20:45

43 Paul McKinley 21:05

44 Sarah Johnsen 21:06 PB

46 Paul Johnston 21:37

48 Martin Danaher 21:49*

50 Cecile Brugnoli 22:00

52 Mick Wheeler 22:22

55 Anna Fake 23:03 PB

56 Maura Regan 23:09

57 Hashimi Yama 23:34*

58 Jane Roche 23:55 PB

59 Jo Sargent 24:02

63 Katy Lord 25:00

64 Tracy Harding 25:01

65 Darren Stobbart 25:21

66 Tracy Trowbridge 25:25*

67 Veronica McCabe 26:38

70 Sally Weddell 32:43

71 Deirdre Dickens 32:50

VPH & THAC 430 pts

Eton Manor 694 pts

(In 1997, we managed to turn out 6 men and 2 women for this race.)

Peter McHugh DeClare finished almost three minutes slower than would have been expected. Here's his story:

From: "Peter Mchugh"

Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002

Subject: Re: The old dog trick

Wayne,

Thanks for your email. In answer to your question, well, there are a number of rumours. The first one and certainly the one with the most backing, is that it's an age thing - I'm just too bloody old! The second and the one that I prefer is that it was a conspiracy. This story begins with the fact that the person left in charge of the dog was Simon Perham's wife, Judy. Now Simon, Mark Sutton, and I train regularly together on Monday nights. On this 12 mile run, absolutely no holds are barred and no prisoners are taken. Let's just say that it's competitive (Witness Gary joining us on a couple of occasions until Richard N banned him because Gary was too knackered for the Tuesday Track sessions!). Anyway, the rumour is that Judy let the dog go on purpose just to slow me down and for Simon to get revenge! The third is that I was obviously knackered after one lap and the dog who runs with me in training could see that - and decided to help by chasing me to make me stop! You can take your pick!

Whilst on the subject of running together. We ran on Sunday in the St Albans 10. Weather conditions horrendous in the wind, especially as part of the course was a straight of some 4 miles (into the wind) down an old railway cutting. Anyway, we all did well, I came away with the over 50 trophy and some money whilst Simon achieved a PB. Mark didn't do so well but then he had a cold. We couldn't drum up any more interest in the club to join us which is a bit of a shame because we probably would have won a 3rd place in the team race. Hope this helps, Best regards, P

18th Peter McHugh DeClare 62:05

(1st M50)

40th Simon Perham 66:08

67th Mark Sutton 67:57

138th Mark Fraser 73:42

(478 finishers)

From: Alf Vickers

Sent: Saturday, January 19, 2002 Subject: good news

Hi All,

It's good news day, 2 Gold 2 Silver at the South of England Indoor Championships:

Symone Belle wins Under 20 60 metre hurdles 8.9 2nd in the 60 metres 7.9

Richard Alleyne wins under 20 60 metre hurdles 8.4

Rikki Fifton 2nd at age 16 in the under 20 60 metres 7.0 (6.9 in semi final) winner was 19

One of my squad Katy Porter (Blackheath) 2nd in the senior 60 metre hurdles 8.8

Tower Hamlets sports council o.k's £600 for six coaches to go on Level 2 course in February. Alf

Another strong performance by the VPH&THAC contingent on a mild windy day at Wormwood Scrubs. With a pancake flat course, we were expecting fast times, but soft and sticky conditions underfoot sapped the leg strength considerably. The course had also been specially ploughed up - or so it seemed - by horses so there were some nervous expressions at the start. The ladies race (6k) saw two very gutsy performances by VPH & THAC ladies. Lydia Bruce-Burgess continued her run of storming form with a powerful run for 25th place - particularly pleased to pick off at least one scalp that had beaten her in the county champs two weeks previously. Anna Fake turned in a particularly brave performance, gritting her teeth and running through the pain of a dodgy ankle for 19 Boswell League points that puts her firmly in pole position to take the title at the end of the season. A strong headwind picked up just moments before the start of the men's race but it wasn't enough to prevent the in-form Eddie Thomas from putting in a great performance for 12th place. Second man home was Gary Bagnall who worked his way through the pack on the second lap for a top 25 finish closely followed by a terrific battle between the two Tony's - Tony MacDowall just edging past Tony Lashmar in the final stages for 27th and 28th places to close the 4 to score team. Another terrific run by Mike Penman brought him home well clear of Tim Mitchell-Smith. Mick Cairns put in a solid run as seventh man with Peter Wright closing the eight to score team. Paul Johnston made a welcome return to the team as final man home. (Tim Mitchell-Smith reports)

Men 8k

12th Eddie Thomas 32:02

25th Gary Bagnall 33:22

27th Tony MacDowall 33:47

28th Tony Lashmar 33:53

34th Mike Penman 34:55

38th Tim Mitchell-Smith 35:38

54th Mick Cairns 36:47

73rd Peter Wright 39:09

110th Paul Johnston 45:22

TEAM: 1 Thames Valley Harriers 44; 2 Ealing Southall and Middx 55; 3 Serpentine 82; 4 Hillingdon 83; 5 Victoria Park Harriers 92; 6 Shaftesbury Barnet 104; 7 London Irish 143, 8 Thurrock Harriers 158, 9 Queens Park Harriers 186

Ladies 6k
25th Lydia Bruce-Burgess 33:09
51st Anna Fake 40:15

Congratulations due to Tony, Gary and Mike on their championship results
(and truly excellent runs through a quagmire!). As for the ladies, it was an excellent performance by Lydia & Sarah to get round in truly atrocious weather conditions. Cecile completed one lap before pulling out. Anna Fake & Jane Roche stepped over the start line to ensure that there were Gold & Silver medals up for grabs. Lydia & Sarah deserve platinum medals for even contemplating running in such a downpour as far as I'm concerned!! (Tim Mitchell-Smith reports)

Men's 6-to-Score Team Result 27th / 64

(281 finishers)

H'cap Actual

1 L. Carr 24:24 24:24*

2 M. Felce 25:42 23:42*

3 T. Rider 25:59 21:44 PB

4 G. Prince 26:02 24:02*

5 M. Guthrie 26:07 20:07*

6 M. Chambers 26:32 24:32*

7 F. MacDonald 26:34 24:34*

8 D. O'Sullivan 26:37 21:22

9 M. Parsons 26:54 18:39 PB

10 D. Stobbart 27:01 25:01

11 P. McHugh DeClare 27:04 17:19

12 S. Perham 27:10 17:55

13 T. Wrzesien 27:15 18:30 PB

14 T. Mitchell-Smith 27:15 17:00

15 D. Robisnon Sr 27:22 17:52

16 G. Deathridge 27:39 18:09

17 M. Fraser 27:42 20:12*

18 M. Sutton 27:52 18:22

19 T. Lashmar 27:58 16:43

20 K. May 28:04 22:04

21 C. Brugnoli 28:55 23:40

22 M. Penman 29:19 20:04

A strong gusting south westerly wind made fast times impossible at Victoria Park in the seventh round of this year's Chingford League. However, there was an impressive turnout of 29 runners from the Club with the men's A and B teams gaining 2nd places with the women's A and B teams gaining 5th and 9th places on the day. These performances consolidated the men's 3rd position and the women's 6th position in their respective leagues. Leading home the men's team was John Cullom but only by a second from Laurence Curley. Neither athlete has had the best of Januaries with illness and too much work to enable consistent training, there should be much more to come from them both. Tony Lashmar continued his return from injury to form with a solid 19th place with Tim Grose making his illness-delayed VPH&THAC debut in 22nd place just ahead of Gary Bagnall in 23rd position. Closing up for the 'A' Team was the well below-par Richard Newbold who just managed to get past the fast-starting James Waters halfway round the last lap. James faded slightly over the second lap but was rewarded with his best ever finishing position in the League and looks well set for a 12-stage leg in April. Next home for the Club in 41st position was 20-year-old Tony MacDowall, in his first proper winter season since converting from 400m hurdles to the longer distances, just ahead of Mike Penman in 42nd place. Coming home shortly after Mike was the classy Graham Bennett, in 49th place, who continues a strong comeback after long-term injury. Closing up for the 'B' team were veteran Peter McHugh DeClare and Tim Mitchell-Smith in 58th and 71st positions respectively. Not much further back were Gary Deathridge in an excellent 78th place, just ahead of Simon Perham in 79th and Gordon Faulds whose 84th place was a great performance in only his third run this year. With all these athletes, plus others like Eddie Thomas, Alastair McCall, Terry Beackon, David Shortridge and Jim Roche in the wings selection for the prestigious 12-stage team is beginning to hot up, time to get training gentlemen! Leading home the women's team was Annie Gammon in 135th place (11th female finisher) a minute clear of Lydia Bruce Burgess in 154th (14th lady) with Sarah Johnsen in 196th (L31) place. Pleasing to see was another scoring four which was the 2nd

'B' team on the day. Leading home the team was Boswell League leader Anna Fake (L37), closely followed by Jane Roche (L39) with Polly Fitch (L44) and Katy Lord (L48). The afternoon couldn't have been a success without some help behind the scenes, with Mrs. McKinley and Doreen having done sterling work preparing and serving the teas and sandwiches; Wayne DuBose, Tracy Harding, Garry Walker and Mick Cairns having marshalled the races; and Rich Newbold and John Cullom having constructed a finishing funnel without the aid of a mallet! Yet again Eton Manor let us down wrt helping with marshalling (fourth year in succession) - next year they can do it all themselves.

15 J. Cullom 26:51*

16 L. Curley 26:52*

19 T. Lashmar 27:02

22 T. Grose 27:28 *

23 G. Bagnall 27:30 PB

27 R. Newbold 27:45

28 J. Waters 27:49 PB

41 T. MacDowall 28:44*

42 M. Penman 28:44 PB

49 G. Bennett 29:02

58 P. McHugh DeClare 29:35 PB

71 T. Mitchell-Smith 30:11

78 G. Deathridge 30:32 PB

79 S. Perham 30:34 PB

84 G. Faulds 30:51

105 D. Shortridge 31:39*

135 A. Gammon (L11) 33:40

147 J. Bygrave 34:23*

154 L. Bruce-Burgess (L14) 34:40 PB

(By NINE minutes!!!!)

178 T. Wright 36:08*

182 P. Johnston 36:24

186 D. O'Sullivan 37:14*

188 D. Danaher 37:24*

191 M. Wheeler 37:35

196 S. Johnsen (L31) 37:53*

212 A. Fake (L37) 41:21 PB

214 J. Roche (L39) 41:49 PB

222 P. Fitch (L44) 43:46

227 K. Lord (L48) 44:28*

(233 finished) * First time over course

29 VPH&THAC runners (22 men (3 vets), 7 women)

Men's A Team - 2nd 122 pts

Men's B Team - 2nd 289 pts

Vets Team - 10th 556 pts

Women's A Team - 5th 81 pts

Women's B Team - 9th 168 pts

Overall (after 7 races)

Men's A Team - 3rd 67 pts

Men's B Team - 5th 51 pts

Vets Team - 10th 26 pts

Women's A Team - 6th 42 pts

Women's B Team - 9th 168 pts

Dear Mr. Watson,

Enclosed is the completed form for renewal of discretionary rates relief for St. Augustine's Hall, Cadogan Terrace, London E9 5EG. As you will have noticed from the changed letterhead Victoria Park Harriers has now merged with Tower Hamlets Athletics Club to create the borough's only athletics club. We believe this only emphasises how vital the receipt of rates relief is to the continued promotion of the sport in the local community. We urge you to give Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets AC the strongest consideration possible for funding. We feel that we are a progressive sports club, which should be viewed as a valuable and unique resource within the borough. We have a solid membership representing many areas of Tower Hamlets, including those neighbourhoods not geographically close to our clubhouse. And such is the reputation of VPH&THAC that long-term members, even those who move away from the area, tend to remain loyal to the Club. This includes
three Life Members who joined in the 1930's. As a well-established organisation (over 100 years of experience in athletics between the two clubs it was formed from), VPH&THAC is the only club in Tower Hamlets and one which offers the full complement of athletic disciplines:

Track and Field

Promoted to Division 3 in Southern Men's League, as runners-up, in 2001. Second team (former THAC) managed 4th place in Division 4E and will continue in 2002.

VPH women's team and THAC women's team will combine to form a single stronger united team in 2002.

Road Running , the most popular form of athletics in the UK, VPH hosted this year's Middlesex 10k Road Race and Young Athletes' Relays Championships winning Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in a range of categories from U15 to Senior level. Hosts of London Colleges League 10k, First Freight International Open 5, Hackney Gazette and Franey Associates Junior Races, Rainforest Foundation Fun Run and London Chest Hospital Fun Runs, Chingford League Races, two Assembly League Races and a Sunday Parks League Fixture in the last year.

Cross-Country Running

VPH hosted this year's Tower Hamlets' Schools XC Championships and is providing coaching for the runners selected for the Tower Hamlets team for the Heathrow Youth Games. VPH also had four senior representatives for Middlesex this year including the first two finishers in the prestigious Sefton-Brancker Trophy vs. RAF and Civil Service.

To maintain our standing in this sport, we're affiliated to the following:

Furthermore, we're committed to improving the performance of the Club within the athletics community. In the last five years, the former VPH achieved the following:

Add in the achievements of individual athletes from the former Tower Hamlets AC, which include:

4 Junior GB Internationals

11 AAA Titles

25+ SEAA Titles

100+ County titles for younger age group athletes and you can see how the coming together of the two clubs will provide Tower Hamlets-based athletes with an excellent environment in which to succeed provided the Club continues to exist.

However, we're not resting on our laurels. We continue to explore new ways to recruit new members of all ages and abilities. The front of our application brochure reads "All ages, all standards welcome" and our membership profile stretches from promising youngsters to elderly but sprightly keep-fit enthusiasts. Our current strategy for reaching all residents of Tower Hamlets in order to increase our membership is as follows:

Apart from our sports development and recruitment programme, we also devote considerable time and effort in assisting local organisations with charity and fund-raising events and in improving the health and fitness awareness of the local community. In 2001 these have included collaborations with:

Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets AC attempts to live within its means to the greatest extent possible and this we have achieved with some success. However, the service we can provide to the local community can only continue with renewal of the discretionary rates relief. Without this invaluable assistance from the Council, it is our belief that the Club would fold within two years ending organised athletics within Tower Hamlets. This may seem extreme, especially considering the apparently healthy state of the Club's bank balance. However, this should be viewed in conjunction with the current state of the property in question, St. Augustine's Hall, which was built in the 19th century and still has (just about) the original roof. The Clubhouse provides an excellently located facility within Victoria Park but needs in excess of £200,000 spending on it to make it watertight and bring it up to even basic conditions. If you would like any further details then please do not hesitate to contact me - e-mail is often the fastest and most convenient method of tracking me down. Yours sincerely, Richard Newbold (Chairman, VPH & THAC)

Editor's Note: Tower Hamlets Council granted us rates exemption.

Teenage sprint star Rikki Fifton turned his back on a promising kick-boxing career to switch to track. But the 16-year-old Victoria Park Harriers and Tower Hamlets athlete has not regretted the move after climbing to second in the UK all-time under-17 rankings behind a certain Mark Lewis-Francis last summer. Rikki recorded a blistering 10.56 in an international match in Dole, France to move to within a quarter-of-a-second of Lewis-Francis's 10.31 clocking. The Chinney Oputa-coached athlete showed promise at secondary school but he was also a gifted young kick-boxer and rugby winger. But injuries took their toll on his young body and he quit kick-boxing to concentrate on his athletics at the age of 13. "I kept getting injuries to my feet and ankles when I was kick-boxing," he explained, "I thought track would be a bit safer." Rikki knuckled down to serious track training and despite "hating" bounding and the hill sessions, nine months' hard work paid dividends when he swept to a silver medal in the 100m at the English Schools' Championships at Bury St Edmunds in 1999. And his burgeoning talent was in evidence again 12 months later, when he landed a second successive silver medal in the 100m at the English Schools' competing against athletes a year older. Delighted to perform with distinction in 2000, he was confident silver would turn into gold in this year's English Schools' Championships. But he was gutted to 'only' collect 200m bronze behind Chesterfield's Simon Farendon in 21.67. "I ran a technically bad race and I was very ragged coming off the bend," he admitted. "It was probably the pressure of the situation." He was also disappointed with the way he performed in the World Youth Championships in Hungary and had to settle for sixth in the semi-final--despite the fact that he was up against men two years older. But in the second half of the season, he made amends for his perceived failings during the early part of the campaign, and stormed to that 10.56 clocking in Dole to climb to second on the UK all-time under-17 rankings. He then went on to earn double gold at the AAA Championships and victories over 100m (10.60) and 200m (21.67) at Sheffield. But does the tall willowy athlete hope to follow in the footsteps of Mark Lewis-Francis? "Definitely, although Dwain Chambers is my inspiration," he said. "I know I've still got a lot to work on and I've got to try and stay relaxed during races." So, kick-boxing's loss was athletic's gain and the Alf Vickers-managed athlete could be the latest big name sprinter to join the clutch of world-class sprinters from these shores in the next few years.

(article written by Steve Landells and appeared in the 5 Dec 01 edition of Athletics Weekly)

1974 J. Anstey 10:16.8

1975 J. Anstey 10:28.2

1976 J. Anstey 10:05.4

(no water jump)

1977 J. Anstey 10:23.6

1978 K. Lowe 10:24.0

1979 K. Lowe 10:10.6

1983 K. Lowe 10:40.1

1984 P. Read 10:22.1

1997 R. Newbold 10:24.2

1999 R. Newbold 10:32.7

2000 R. Newbold 10:40.2

2001 R. Newbold 10:10.8

100
Symone Belle 12.4
Patricia Alexander 12.5
Banke Olofinjana 12.7
Marie Ayoola 13.5
Sarah Anibaba 13.8
Omoye Egboh 13.8
Doyin Amoye 14.1
Rebecca Peterkin-Belle 14.3
Sarah.Shesanya 14.5
Louise Blake 14.5

200
Banke Olofinjana 25.1
Patricia Alexander 26.5
Doyin Amoye 28.5
Charlotte Mensah 29.0
Sarah Anibaba 29.3
Omoye Egboh 29.9
Elizabeth Ali 30.9
Rebecca Peterkin-Belle 31.7
Cai Lewis 32.3
Louise Blake 32.5
Millie Zah 32.6
400
Michelle Bishop 66.5
Larraine Bishop 68.2
Annie Gammon 75.9
Sarah Johnsen 76.4
Georgia Pettipher 77.1
Cai Lewis 79.0
Kelly May 79.3
Lydia Bruce-Burgess 82.9
Aude-Claire Markiewicz 84.2
Anna Fake 86.9

800
Larraine Bishop 2:33.9
Michelle Bishop 2:33.9
Maura Regan 2:52.9
Louise Blake 2:55.5
Cai Lewis 2:55.7
Sarah Johnsen 3:00.6
Kelly May 3:02.5

1500
Georgia Pettipher 6:06.2
Cecile Brugnoli 6:14.6
Sarah Johnsen 7:04.1

3000
Sarah Johnsen 14:42.9

100H
Symone Belle 15.2

(Under 17 UK No.3)
Cai Lewis 24.3

400H - No competitors

LJ
Symone Belle 6.09

(Under 17 and Under 20 UK No.1)

Banke Olofinjana 5.58
Sarah Anibaba 4.51
Amy Clough 4.03
Elizabeth Ali 3.98
Marie Ayoola 3.97
Louise Blake 3.92
Cai Lewis 3.92
Cecile Brugnoli 3.67
Millie Zah 3.59

HJ
Shub.Jala 1.55
Vernet Gachette 1.50
Charlotte Mesah 1.41
Cai Lewis 1.40
Symone Belle 1.35
Patricia Alexander 1.35
Rebecca Peterkin-Belle 1.25
Sareena Robinson 1.20
Anna Fake 1.20
TJ
Cecile Brugnoli 7.02
Georgia Pettipher 6.75
Sally Weddell 3.85

PV
Cai Lewis 1.00

SP
Banke Olofinjana 10.28
Karenate Songhoron 8.20
Vernet Gachette 7.34
Amy Clough 6.86
Cai Lewis 6.86
Marie Ayoola 6.37
Doyine Amoye 5.78
Aude-Claire Markiewicz 5.50

DT
Karenate Songhoron 25.27
Banke Olofinjana 23.03
Cai Lewis 19.40
Aude-Claire Markiewicz 14.82
Lisa.Nassuna 14.40
Sarah Anibaba 14.16

JT
Banke Olofinjana 31.51
Amy Clough 12.35
Lisa Nassuna 8.94
Sally Weddell 8.88
Sarah Anibaba 8.60
Doyine Amoye 8.57
Georgia Pettipher 7.85
Cecile Brugnoli 7.02

HT
Sally Weddell 6.47
Cecile Brugnoli 4.60
Aude-Claire Markiewicz 3.92

U15
Claire Walker
Shot 6.14
Discus 17.00
High Jump 1.00

75m/80m
Millie Zah 11.6/12.6

70m Hdls
Rebecca Peterkin-Belle 13.4
Sareena Robinson 13.6
Louise Blake 13.7

75m Hdls
Rebecca Peterkin-Belle 14.8
Sareena Robinson 15.3
80m Hdls
Symone Belle 11.27

(Under 17 UK No.1)

100
Rikki Fifton 10.56

(U17 UK No. 1; 2nd fastest ever U17)
Toleme Ezekiel 11.1
Chris Musa 11.18

(U15 UK No. 4)
Marc Malone 11.3
Abdul Buhari 11.5
Dean Kosoko 11.5
U.Ezekiel 11.6
Randal Porter 11.7
Fola Orilonishe 11.8

200
Rikki Fifton 21.4w

also 21.67/21.48w/21.5 - U17 UK No. 2

Darren Robinson 22.6
Toleme Ezekiel 22.8
Chris Musa 23.0

(U15 UK No. 16)
Marc Malone 23.7
Abdul Buhari 23.8
U.Ezekiel 23.8
Dean Kosoko 24.0
Randal Porter 24.2
Joseph Ogundemuren 24.7

400
Darren Robinson 52.3
Simon Middleton 53.2
Tosin Ogundere 53.5

Marc Malone 53.5

Terry Beackon 54.0
Randal Porter 54.3
Abdul Buhari 54.9
Alastair McCall 55.7
Lourens Malan 56.3
Richard Saunders 57.5

800
Simon Middleton 2:01.0
Terry Beackon 2:06.9
Alastair McCall 2:07.5
Gordon Faulds 2:09.6
Tony McDowall 2:10.2
Eddie Thomas 2:10.3
Mark Topham 2:11.1
Lourens Malan 2:11.5

1500
Eddie Thomas 4:18.7
Jim Roche 4:21.5
Gordon Faulds 4:22.4
Tony McDowall 4:23.0
Jon Cullom 4:24.4
Rich Newbold 4:25.3
Simon Middleton 4:32.1
Gary Bagnall 4:33.1
Mark Topham 4:34.6
Alastair McCall 4:35.7

5000
Jim Roche 15:42.8
Sam Pullan 15:49.0
Eddie Thomas 16:21.4
Tony Lashmar 16:33.6
Gary Bagnall 16:49.3
Gordon Faulds 16:50.3
Mohammed Adan 17:22.2
Paul Readaway 17:26.6
Jim Waters 18:08.8
Mike Penman 18:30.1

110H
Darren Robinson 16.7

Dave Robinson 18.2
Lourens Malan 18.5
Richard Saunders 19.4
Fola Orilonishe 19.8

400H
Darren Robinson 56.9
Lourens Malan 60.5
Dave Robinson 61.4
Richard Saunders 63.4
Rich Newbold 66.0

3000SC
Rich Newbold 9:59.28
Gary Bagnall 10:18.3
Eddie Thomas 10:56.9
Dave Robinson 11:21.0
Colin Oxlade 11:33.6
Paul Reddaway 12:12.8
Tim Mitchell-Smith 12:16.8

Long Jump
Marc Malone 6.59
Abdul Buhari 6.31
Kelvin Richards 5.70
Dave Robinson 5.58
Richard Bruce 5.49
Randal Porter 5.47
Jeff Schollhammer 5.36
Terry Beackon 5.21
Kwame Peters 5.21
D.Fox-Huxley 5.21
High Jump
Marc Malone 1.80
Fola Orilonishe 1.70
Lourens Malan 1.60
Dave Robinson 1.60
Richard Bruce 1.60
Terry Beackon 1.50

Triple Jump
Fola Orilonishe 12.30
Marc Malone 12.08
Randal Porter 11.91
F.Okersa 11.76
Dave Robinson 11.50
Terry Beackon 10.94
Simon Middleton 10.62
Chris Murtagh 10.62
James Schollhammer 10.45

Pole Vault
Wayne DuBose 3.25
Mark Topham 2.80
Chris Murtagh 2.60
Terry Adams 2.40
Mike Wheeler 2.20
Lourens Malan 2.20
Marc Malone 2.00
Darren Robinson 2.00

Shot Putt
Tony Alexander 10.98
Wayne DuBose 10.76
Richard Tufft 10.72
Lourens Malan 9.80
Randal Porter 9.40
Kelvin Richards 9.25
David Burns 9.12

Discus
Wayne DuBose 32.31
Tony Alexander 31.67
Richard Tufft 28.99
David Burns 28.13
Kelvin Richards 28.05
Chris Murtagh 25.94
Jeff Schollhammer 25.08
Lourens Malan 24.14

Javelin
Wayne DuBose 47.86
Tony Alexander 38.53
Jeff Schollhammer 36.91
Randal Porter 34.32
Lourens Malan 34.26
Darren Stobbart 32.03
Kelvin Richards 31.04

Hammer
Tony Alexander 35.95
David Burns 31.42
Wayne DuBose 27.11
Jeff Schollhammer 26.99
Richard Bruce 26.52
Richard Tufft 23.93
Kelvin Richards 21.96
Terry Adams 20.35
Peter Murtagh 19.50
John Schollhammer 18.47

Dear Wayne,

A belated thank you for organising the VPH 75th anniversary dinner. It was an excellent evening which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was good to see so many of the athletes who I ran against in the 1950's and to meet Richard Newbold and Major Carr. Yours sincerely, Les Williams

From:david.lorraine@uk.pwcglobal.com

Sent: 11 December 2001 16:18

Subject: Baby!!

Dear All,

Lesley gave birth to a baby girl on 20 November weighing in at 7lb 12oz. We have named her Eleanor Margaret. Mother and daughter are doing fine. Lesley is on maternity leave so please e-mail any messages and I'll print off and take home. Sorry for delay in this e-mail but things are a bit hectic at the moment! Regards, David

From: "Peter Snell" <peter.snell@virgin.net>

Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001

Subject: A big, big Chrissy present for VPH&THAC

London Marathon decided to give us the full £20K we asked for. So please
phone me Darren on 079 4114 9129 to arrange to get the last signature I need
for the charity registration document. And get working on the schedule of
works, Gary. Who knows? We might get the Club repaired before it collapses
around us! Regards, Pete

From: Alf Vickers

Sent: Friday, January 04, 2002

Subject: Middlesex Championships

Having gained Middlesex AA's support for their championships to be held at Mile End Stadium, I have now received a cheque from Canary Wharf plc for £2,000 as sponsorship. This will support the whole package i.e..track, numbers, medals, officials food, St Johns, posters, programmes and hopefully physio. The only remaining obstacle is the stadium providing the promised new equipment. On our part, we are asked to provide stewards for car parks (officials, public) on the day and also help the meeting run smoothly. Canary Wharf Management will be in attendance. It will be in our interest to make the meeting a huge success. Perhaps they may wish to continue in future years, and even more importantly I am currently talking to them about the possibility of an indoor training arena; this is a serious proposal and is under urgent discussion. more as it comes to hand. Alf

From: "Barbara McHugh de Clare"

Sent: Friday, January 04, 2002

Dear Wayne,

We had a really good Christmas party organised by the social committee, everyone involved does really work hard to make the club successful and although I have only been a member for a few months I would just like to say how much I enjoy it and what a great bunch of people VPH members are. Many thanks, Barbara

From: "Richard Newbold"

To: "Wayne DuBose"

Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2002

Alf is looking to getting out a British born but often Barbados-based sprint hurdler who clocked sub 15 over the 3'3" 110m hurdles as a junior last year. He reckoned that he might not be around for the opening match but would hopefully be around after that..... apparently he can high jump 1.90 too. Looking to the spring, I'm confident of us getting a solid 12-stage team out on April 7th. With luck, it might even be a competitive one.... I'd love to make the top-20 and get to the National version and that is an outside
possibility if we got our best team out. Some interesting results on
Tuesday and I'll be working on James Waters to see if I can get him to Mile
End - he has potential. Gary seems to be showing some form at last and Jon
and Eddie are in decent nick, with Tim Grose aiming to be back for the
Chingford League at the beginning of February. Great to see Graham running
again. He's completely changed his running action following the operation
so it may take him some time to get used to it but good to see him back
after so long. Not heard from Simon Middleton but he's out in Grenada for a few months so hopefully will come back in good shape. Alastair McCall should have started back after a busy few months, Terry Beackon's in good shape and Tony MacDowall looks to have good stamina considering the training he's been doing. Just need to track down Gordon and get Jim healed up and we'll have a decent squad middle distance to work with. Rich.

From: Anna Fake

Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002

Wayne - I never really thought about the Boswall League until suddenly I found that I was second and if I kept on competing in the races and improving I had a chance of actually coming first. It is a goal and it's something I really want. I'm never going to be the best runner but even doing all these races has helped with my confidence in running. I didn't feel like I was improving at all until Tuesday at the Mob Match when I found I'd knocked another 30 seconds off my 2.9M time, and as I was running I kept on thinking to myself "I have to stick with Cecile, I have to stick with Cecile, I can't let any VPHer's come between me and her, I have to get those points." So although I joke about it, I'm really glad that the league is set up. And regardless of whether I actually win or not, I know that at least I've tried my hardest and I've had a goal to aim for. The reason it's become a bit of a joke is that I kept on saying I wasn't competitive until I realised that I was going out of my way to do the races and get the points - running with the mother of all hangovers after my work Christmas party and I even cut short my Christmas holiday to come back to London to compete in a race. Mock sympathy when Cecile and Lydia say they can't run in certain races and I've even started looking at other people's results to see who I need to beat to get the points!!! Someone just needs to mention the Boswall League and my head turns! Now I've found this competitive streak, I'm going to use it to its full potential...turn out for all the races, perfect the sprint finish and if I don't get the Boswall League this year then you just wait until next year!!!! Thanks! Anna

From: "Gary Bagnall"

Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002

Subject: Working Party

A big thank you to all the those who turned up on Sunday to help tidy the garden and clear the gutters. The role of honour; Mick Wheeler and son Michael, Pete Snell, Dan, Aude-Claire, Tony, Georgia, Sally, Roger and Chris Murtagh. This was back breaking work and we ended up collecting 50 bin bags of leaves and rubbish. Pete Snell the hero also scraped up and bagged a dead fox and Mick cut his arms to ribbons attacking the rose busuhes. Some new faces at the next working party would be greatly appreciated. As incentive, we'll have tea and Sandwiches and the dead fox has now been removed. Regards, Gary

From: Michael Wheeler

Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002

Wayne,

Further to Gary's e-mail regarding working party. Whilst everyone's presence was greatly appreciated, special mentions to Pete, Dan and Aude-Claire, who despite suffering from food poisoning worked like a Trojan.....whatever that is. Mike

From: Richard Newbold

Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002

Dear All, VPH&THAC has been awarded £2,500 as a Mainstream Grant (I applied for nearly £4,000) to promote training opportunities for women at the Clubhouse. The money has to be used to buy indoor equipment aimed at our female membership, so get your shopping lists out now! In previous years, the cash has arrived in 4 cheques (one each quarter), so we should get £625 every so often. Best wishes, Rich.

Senior Men's 100m - Rikki Fifton (U17) 10.56 (ranked 23rd)*

Senior Men 200m - Rikki Fifton (U17) 21.67/21.48w (ranked 46th)*

Senior Women's LJ - Symone Belle (U17)* 6.09m (ranked 11th)

M45 Veterans JT - Wayne DuBose

47.86 (ranked 4th)**

* THAC ** VPH

Many thanks to Danny Parsons for his recent £60 donation to the Club.

[Tim Grose] Is there a VPH club senior club record for 1200m?

[Wayne DuBose] 3:03.8 (3/4 mile) converted to 3:02.6 Fred Millward 1954
[Tim G] 1500 'chase

[Wayne] I think Rich may have run one, but that's all I've come across.

[Rich Newbold] Not since I was 16! I've done quite a few 2000m sc - best here 6-14 in 1993. Only managed 6-28 last summer.

[Tim G] Is there a club champs 1500 record? Indeed, is there a 1500 club champs?

[Wayne] Club Mag dated Dec 2001 shows 1500 champs record as 4:20.3 Graham Bennett 2000. I'm not so sure that we should have a club mile and club 1500m champs each year. They're more or less the same .

[Rich] The 1500m is part of the pentathlon competition, so we always have a 1500m at the main Club Champs. This tends to be very early season (April or May) so is a good way of blowing the cobwebs away. The Mile Trophy has been competed for since 1928 and should be one of the bigger races of the Club Champs calendar and usually takes place in July.
[Tim G] Can we arrange flat races for 1000m?

[Wayne] Men’s Club record is 2:34.6.
[Tim] 2000m?

[Wayne] Men’s Club record is 5:41.6

[Rich] No reason why we couldn't set one up on a Wednesday or Thursday evening in mid-summer. You need someone to get you to the 700m point of the 1000m in around 1-45 and to the 1500m point of the 2000m in 4-15...
[Wayne] How about club champs 10000 record of 32:22.

[Rich] Can bill as club record attempts!

[Wayne] I'm all for club records being broken.

[Tim G] Also the road records are a bit odd in that there appear to be no records for set distances in any race. One could have (as common events):

1 Mile

[Wayne] 4:26 Steve Mahon

[Rich]I wish I'd known about this when I was young and fit - I did a fairly easy 4-30 for the Club Mile in 1994 (well, easy once I'd got rid of Danny Wing at halfway) and although 4:26 would have been pushing it I'd have fancied getting within a second or two of Steve's time. Interestingly, that run was all off steady running, no track work (I missed the track season that year after a viral problem in May and an achilles problem in July).

[Tim] 2 Miles

[Wayne] No recorded record.

[Tim] 5K

[Wayne] No recorded record.

[Tim] 5 Miles

[Wayne] See road records on my part of VPH web site. Mike Quanne has run 23:29 for short course (by a couple hundred yards) and Jim Roche has run 26:17 for accurate course.
[Tim] 10K

[Wayne] Jim's record of 33:21 at VP course during Middlesex AA.
[Tim] 10M

[Wayne] No recorded club record, although Jim has the fastest time over the accurately measured VP 10M course. Doesn't mean others haven't run faster elsewhere.

[Tim] Half Marathon

[Wayne] No recorded club record.
[Tim] 20M

[Wayne] No recorded club record.
[Tim] Marathon (that's in track records though)

[Wayne] Geoff Iden 2:25:51.

[John Anstey] I'm fairly certain that Mike Quanne has run open 10m & 1/2 Marathons, I have a vague memory of a 68-69min time for the latter. Keith Lowe ran 71-? for the East London 1/2M. Both Alan Barber & Keith Lowe went through 20 miles in the London Marathon around 1-53, I think if they have noted this time one of them should be classed as the record holder if MQ has not run faster. I can't believe that Geoff Iden has not run low 1-50s, his best Marathon must be superior to 1-50. Although MQ ran his best mark at 1 mile (I saw the race), I believe he ran better than 3-56 for 1500m. Terry Ford ran around 2-02 for the Spen 20 when he was a vet, shortly after he ran about the same for the Club 20! Believe it or not the fastest time that I remember for sure that anyone ran for an Open 10 was 54-02 by me, although as I have said I'm fairly sure MQ has run much faster, also our original Club 10 around both parks was supposed to be accurate and I think the best 50-51min.

[Wayne] There's no reason that we can't maintain records over some of these distances. It's just that over the decades, we haven't.

[Rich] Just need someone dedicated to keeping these up to date - could do an all-time top-25 of VPH&THAC like the one John did for VPH and include the road race distances too.

From: Tony Macdowall

To: dubose@mail.enterprise.net

Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2002 Subject: Thank you

Hi Wayne,

I'm really excited by the merger and the increased competition that has come with it. Everyone at the club is so friendly and I really enjoy competing for the club even when I run bad. Everyone in the club is so well organised in terms of sending information and arranging events particularly yourself with all the work that you have to do, you still manage to keep everyone well informed. I just can't wait till the track season starts because it's going to be great summer for the new club. Tony

May 4th at Thurrock against Thurrock, Harrow, Newbury, Reading

May 18th at Bath against Wessex & B, Rich & T, N Devon, Great Yarmouth

June 8th at King's Lynn against Ryston R, Kent AC, Hercules Wimbledon, Tonbridge

June 22nd at Walton against Walton, Met Police, Hunts, Braintree

July 13th at Milton Keynes against Milton Keynes, Hillingdon, East Grinstead, Hav M

August 3rd at Mile End against Newquay, Havant, Diss, Stev NH

DIVISION 4 EAST

May 4th at Colchester against Colchester Harriers, Invicta EK, St Albans, Blackheath

May 18th at Watford against Watford, Harlow, Highgate, Dartford

June 8th at Walthamstow against Walthamstow, Dacorum and Tring, Ashford, Chelmsford

June 22nd at Horsham against Horsham, Luton, Enfield and Haringey, Barnet

July 13th at Ware against Hertford and Ware, Brighton, Bexley, West Suffolk

August 3rd at Mile End against T Wells and L, Colchester and Tendring, Eastbourne, Paddock Wood

Dear all,

We trust that you are all having a great day despite the miserable weather! If the weather is getting you down, well don't worry, for the VPH&THAC Entertainment Committee has something to brighten up your day! On March 2nd 2002 we have organised a 'COMEDY NIGHT' at VPH&THAC Hall, Cadogan Terrace Hackney Wick E3. Two top class comedians (as featured on TV). Names to be confirmed. Pukka disco, free food, bar, from 8pm till late......tickets are only £10, and are strictly limited...so first come first served, don't be disappointed, book early, tickets on sale from Thursday 7th February from the following committee members: Darren Stobbart, Sally Weddell, Janice Cartwright, Lydia Bruce-Burgess, Paul Johnston, Dan O'Sullivan. We promise a 'top' night of entertainment so come along and have a laugh!!!!!!!

Darren Stobbart,

Director of Entertainment

Forbanks 4th or 11th April 2.9 miles

Dome 2nd or 9th May 5k

Victoria Park 6th or 13th June 3.5miles

Dulwich Park 4th or 11th July 5k

Victoria Park 1st or 8th Aug 3.5miles

Forbanks 5th or 12th Sept 2.9miles

Congratulations to Cecile Brugnoli, our latest club member to qualify as a Level 1 Coach.

From now on, please make all cheques payable to Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets AC

We need sponsorship for our 30 March 5 mile race, the Open 5. If you think you can get, say, £100 from your company, please ask. Need your help on this one. Ideally, we need £1,500 total.

Paul McKinley, our Director of Public Relations, has revamped our web site. Check out www.vphthac.org.uk.

VPH vests are almost gone. Just 3 small and 2 medium left. Contact Wayne immediately to reserve one. No more will ever be made after these five are gone.

We never have enough van drivers to

transport athletes to meetings. If you can help by getting qualified through Tower Hamlets Community Transport, please let a Board member know so that we can provide you with the details.

1st Brian Devereaux £100

2nd Gavin Stewart £50

3rd Les Vialls £20

Those of you who are receiving this copy in the post are reading it ten days after those who receive it by e-mail. If you want to receive quickly, contact Wayne at dubose@enterprise.net

I encourage anybody to write an article for our Club magazine. E-mail me, write me (St Ives address below), hand your article to Rich Newbold at the track on a Tuesday. I publish everytime I hit 16 pages. I can hit 16 pages quicker when you all write.

Richard Alleyne and Rikki Fifton Win South of England Titles