Summer League – Harrow – Sun 16 June 2013

ESM up to second!

ESM recorded wins in both the women’s race and tenderfoot race for Under 15s in the second Summer League race of the year at Harrow’s Headstone Manor Recreation Ground. Despite several absentees, we matched our promising 3rd place in the series opener at Dulwich earlier this month to keep the momentum going and move to 2nd place in the overall team standings.

The first win of the day came in the women’s 10K race, with Fiona Kennedy continuing her fine form and leaving most of the ESM men in her wake to be the first female over the line and claim an impressive 20th place overall in a field of 219.

With Ealing’s women’s team suffering the most from absentees, Patricia Thomas (9th, 45:10), Gill Morgan (40th, 53:10), Janice Newman – guided by Phil York (63rd, 58:51) and Dorothy Johnstone (71st, 63:27) all worked hard to score points and ensure the team remained competitive.

For the men, having been on a Stag Do the night before and only just making it to the race on time, Jon Ellis made a steady start but it wasn’t long before he was the leading ESM runner. Jon then pushed on, holding off the challenge of a group of runners from other clubs to secure 11th place in 38 minutes flat. He was followed over the line by Tom Yates, fresh from having competed for ESM on the track the day before, in 17th (38:52) and Andy Dodd in 21st (39:26).

That trio were backed up by Ciaran Eaton (28th, 40.21), Peter Drew (32nd, 41:15) and John McKim (56th, 44:18) – all of whom stepped up to record faster times than at Dulwich. Veteran Rob Howells made a welcome return to road running after a four-year break to come home in 66th (45:51), and was followed in by Andy Leung (85th, 48:11), Gary Stringer (92, 49.40), John Falvey (100th, 51:47), Laurence Messer (114th, 54:58), Bob Stanbrook (117th, 55:07), Ian Capon (125th, 60:52) and Dave Wiseman (130th, 64:40).

Ealing’s success wasn’t limited to Fiona’s victory in the women’s race however, with youngster Jack McKim pacing his effort perfectly to come home first in the mile race for Under 15’s, having bided his time before breaking clear of his rivals in the closing stages. Not far behind Jack was Ryan Leung, putting in another great performance to finish in 8th overall and claim 2nd in his age category.

The event was wrapped up with the traditional team relays, with vital contributions from the whole team meaning ESM earned the points they needed to stay in contention at the top of the league.

Overall, the strong performance across the board from ESM’s runners that means we now have a chance of challenging for the overall team trophy in August for the first time in several years.

The third fixture of the five race series takes place at Perivale Park on Sunday 7th July, where we will need to make the most of home advantage to close the gap on league leaders Mornington Chasers. The 5 mile race, also incorporating the club championship, starts at 11am, with the tenderfoot race of approximately 1500m starting at around 12pm.

Entry for both races is on the day, costing just £1 for adults and 50p for children. Let’s make sure we capitalise on the start we’ve had and get a great turnout for our home fixture!

Report by Andy Dodd. Photos of the main race by Jack McKim, others by Andy Dodd.

Full results here: Summer League Results Harrow 2013