On a wet and windy weekend, several ESM track athletes travelled to Lee Valley to compete in the Middlesex County Indoor Championships, writes Phil York. Those that warmed up on the outdoor track in the blustery conditions were glad to move back indoors to test themselves on the banked 200m track.
Nicola Ravenhill won the U20 1500m in 4:53.10, a championship best performance and only just shy of her personal best (indoors and out). The previous day Nicola had represented Middlesex in the English Schools’ Cross Country Championships in Norwich, finishing 66th over the 4km course.
Photo of Nicola reproduced by kind permission of Hazel Dunlop Photography (www.hazeldunlop.com)
Laura Stewart, coached by Pat Cornell, was the club’s other gold medallist, winning the U20 400m in a personal best of 62.12 (see photo below). In the U17 age category, Cameron Thomas qualifies to run the unusual distance of 300m, which involves an interesting lane break situation for the athletes. Cameron was unlucky to miss out on a medal, finishing fourth in 48.53 seconds.
Distance runners can be excused for feeling dizzy when competing indoors, as the races comprise twice as many laps as outdoors – go do the math! Lucy O’Brien was delighted to finish second in the U17 800m, but was a little disappointed with her time of 2:32.56 – this was partly due to an official forgetting to ring the bell with one lap to go.
Phil York finished fifth in Saturday’s senior men’s 800m, setting a season’s best and relieved that the race was run as a straight final. He returned the following day to snatch a bronze medal in the 1500m.
In the sprints, Desmond Ofasi was unlucky not to make the final of the U20 60 metre dash, recording 7.38 in his heat. 400m specialist William Lord set a PB of 7.17 in the heats of the senior men’s 60m, but also failed to make the final.
The Middlesex championships were held jointly with Herts and Kent, and provided a useful opportunity for the athletes to test themselves ahead of the outdoor season.
Full results here