Perivale 5 – Perivale Park – Sun 06 Dec 2015

Our Perivale 5, Ealing’s longest established road race, was a sell-out for the third year running, with 400 signing up in advance. Runners had to contend with a challenging westerly breeze but luckily it was mild, and we escaped the gale force winds and floods which hit the north of the country.

At the start, ESM veteran Simon Shaw set off “like a greyhound out of the traps” according to Lead Bike Martin Wilson. He stayed in front for the first of the two laps, tracked closely by Faye Fullerton of Havering AC. Faye then took over, and there was a Real and Present Danger (man’s perspective) or Mouthwatering Prospect (woman’s perspective) of the race being won outright by a female. After half a mile or so, however, Andrew Pickett of Dartford Harriers moved ahead and he held that position, crossing the line in 27:04. Faye was just 50 metres behind in a personal best of 27:16, placing her second on the UK rankings this year and beating her own course record set in 2009. By this stage Blake Vivian of St Albans Striders was also just 10 seconds from the finish, depriving local running clubs of the top three places.

Simon held on well, finishing just half a minute behind the winner, and took the M40 veteran’s prize. Team-mate Jon Ellis followed in fifth. With James Hughes in tenth, trimming his PB by half a minute, ESM took the men’s team award, with Ealing Eagles second.

A notable veteran performance came from M50 David Annetts, who ran 28:20 to finish eighth overall. Ric Berry of West 4 Harriers took the second M40 prize, while Steve Paull of Metros RC was the first man over 60.

The second woman was veteran Vicky Carter of Thames Valley Harriers, with the fast-improving Lydia O’Donoghue of Ealing Eagles just 50 metres adrift. With Nichola Anderson seventh woman to show, and Kerstin Luksch twelfth, Ealing Eagles took the women’s team prize. ESM’s women were second, so the race proved a good local derby, the women’s team results reversing those of the men.

Veteran Sasha Birkin of Metros produced a PB to take the W35 prize seven seconds ahead of West 4’s Rachel Badham. Rachel had the consolation of a PB, and her team-mate Rose Lewis took honours in the W45 category. Fiona Kennedy, newly-appointed President of ESM, was first in the W55 category.

It was great for ESM to see so many members out in support, both running and volunteering. The young athletes were represented in the race by 15 year olds Luke Adar and Roisin Lynch, along with Erica Wallace, now 16, and 18 year olds Manish Kunwar and Billy Kelly. The seniors included plenty of the “Old Guard”, but also new members from the Couch-to-5k course, the Intermediates course and the Ealing Half Marathon training group. At one point, nine club members crossed the line in the space of 43 seconds, Paul Tavener spearheading the charge, with Luke Adar at the back of the cluster.

Two-fifths of entrants were Ealing residents, and there was good support from the West London running scene. ESM itself fielded 62 runners. A further seven came from next-door-neighbours Ealing Triathlon, based at Gurnell Pool, with former members Matt Savory and wife Helen travelling all the way from Pocklington in Yorkshire to support their old club. There were 33 Ealing Eagles, 17 Metros, 15 West 4 Harriers and 15 from Shepperton Running Group. Many others travelled from across London and the Home Counties to take part, with North London club London Heathside sending 15 members.

One in three were casual runners, including a good number of unaffiliated runners from nearby Northala Fields parkrun. The fastest female in the Borough unattached to a club was in fact Sangnuma Rai, one of the Run Directors at the parkrun, who finished in 46:05. The parkrun has strong links to the local Nepali community, and thanks are due to them for turning out in force to volunteer. The fastest unattached local male was Nick Steel in a highly respectable 29:32.

The youngest runner was 15 year old Henry Dadswell of Ealing Eagles, and the oldest was 78 year old Jeanne Coker of Metros.

The 5 mile race was followed by the 2km Fun Run Challenge for Under 15s and the results can be found here. Thirty-nine youngsters took part, with ages ranging from four to 14. Jonathan Martin of ESM led them home in a little outside seven minutes, only just holding off team-mate Kane Foster. Kane’s younger brother Dylan was third home just ten seconds later.

The first girl was ESM’s Anisa Ibrahim, followed by team-mate Cameron Thomas, while Fun Run regular Lani Charles took third. Lani’s younger brother Maceo was well placed in the boys’ field, despite being only 10, while 11 year old Christopher Hudson of Metros showed promise with his sixth place. The seven young members of Shepperton Running Group were led home by 8 year old Finlay Diamond, who was the first U10 to cross the line. The group somewhat stole the show, dressed in their purple team T-shirts and high-fiving team-mates.