Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 30 July 2020

Posted on 30/07/202001/08/2020 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from this Thursday 30 July to Daniel Banyard, Rainer Burchett, John Dryden, Joshua Edwards, Evelyne Fonteyne, Martin Grey, Amy Holder, Leila Jenks, Tom Kearns, Adam Krzyzton, Zach Nicholls, Danielle Ojo, Victoria Pritchard, James Sarner, Sahib Singh and Kacey Walters

RECENT NEW MEMBERS – We wish you a very warm welcome, and a happy, healthy and successful time with Shaftesbury to EBENEZER JOSEPH, GIBRIL MANSARAY and KERSTIN POHLMANN.

LICC ON 1 AUGUST AND 2 AUGUST – On Saturday 1 August there are events for Under 15 and 17 and Sunday 2 August there are events for Under 20, Seniors and Masters. This is the link to Saturday and Sunday timetables – LICC YA MTG LV SAT 01.08.20 LICC MTG LV SUN 02.08.20
The cost for SBH members is £4 per event as compared to £8 per event for athletes from other clubs. Due to Covid-19-restrictions you can only enter 1 event, this is the link for entries – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2020/GBR/liccr1/

U17/U20 YDL INTER CLUB AND NATIONAL ATHLETIC LEAGUE FIXTURES CANCELLED – The U17/U20 YDL Inter Club fixtures on 2 August, 9 August and 23 August, plus the National Athletic League fixtures on 2 August, 15 August and 5 September have been cancelled, due to Covid-19-restrictions.

SOUTHERN AND ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS FIXTURES CANCELLED – The Southern U15/U17 and U20/Senior Championships on 5 September and 12 September, plus the England U15/U17 and U20/Senior Championships on 19 September and 26 September have been cancelled, due to Covid-19-restrictions.

BRITISH ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Friday 4 September and Saturday 5 September at the Manchester Regional Arena behind closed doors. The event will be televised on BBC2 on Friday 18.30-21.00 and Saturday on BBC1 13.15-16.30.

2020/2021 METROPOLITAN LEAGUE UPDATE – The fixtures are as follows 10 October at Hainault, 7 November at Welwyn, 5 December at Alexandra Palace, 16 January at Ruislip, 13 February at Trent Park. We have just been advised that the first 3 fixtures have now been Cancelled, and a decision later this year on how the fixtures will be restructured.

CAN YOU HELP PLEASE – During the period when all competitions are suspended, I will do my upmost in keeping the Newsletter information and other content going.
I would welcome any contributions From Yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents, also past warm weather training/holidays (No Club 24 please). Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.

TRAINING VIDEOS PRODUCED BY JADE LALLY – JADE has recently produced two videos relating to the basic fundamentals for Discus, this is the link to JADE’S first video on How To Hold A Discus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA9jyS4Wung&t=6s the second video is on Discus Basics: Foot Placement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8ahzDmrldk

YOU CAN JOIN TY HOLDEN’S CIRCUIT SESSION ON ZOOM – TY will be holding a circuit session on Zoom, which is a conferencing platform, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6pm. If you wish to join, please email TY at dtyholden@yahoo.co.uk and he will email you an ID number for you to join in. Zoom can accommodate up to 100 users at a time.

UPDATE ON PROCEDURES FOR USING ALLIANZ PARK FROM JEREMY SOTHCOTT – Which is now open to SBH members subject to the conditions below.
We have now negotiated the use of some Track & Field facilities with Saracens compliant with current guidance issued by the UK Government and England Athletics.
At the present time, the track & field groups will be limited to a maximum of five ‘Competing Club Athletes’ and one coach for each session e.g. 5 athletes on track and 5 athletes at the throws area.
Throws
Athletes should have their own implements. However, one implement of each weight will be left in the SBH store beside the sanitising equipment. Arrangements will have to be made in advance with TY HOLDEN.
Jumps
Following Government Guidelines up to 5 athletes with a suitably qualified coach can now undertake Jumps training utilising jump beds and sand pits. We have updated our guidance documents, based on information and advice from our partners and government, to include guidance specific to Jumps areas (such as Cleaning requirements before, during and after sessions). Athletes, coaches, clubs and venues must follow the latest guidance – please read our updated guidance documents at: ???? https://bit.ly/2ATiU7R
The indoor track and the clubhouse gymnasium cannot be used.
Athletes invited to train by their coach must be sent the attached Allianz Park Track & Field Agreement in advance of starting training at Allianz Park. The athlete and parent (if under 16) to sign and return to me and TY before they can train. Athletes should meet their coach promptly at their booking time outside the SBH Clubhouse where they will be asked to confirm that they do not have, and that no one in their household has, (or has had within the last 14 days) any of the symptoms of COVID-19.
The athletes will then be escorted using social distancing (2 metres) into the SBH Clubhouse to sign the attendance record with times in and out of the stadium (black A4 folder on photocopier). There is also some hand sanitiser on the table for use. Athletes must follow the instructions of the coach and observe social distancing during warm-up, the session and cool down.
Stadium Booking details
Please let me and TY know the names of the athletes and your preferred time slots for the following week (Monday to Sunday) before 6pm on the Saturday. We will confirm the availability and distribute the schedule to Saracens and to all coaches.
Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
All 1 hour 35 minute slots (Saturday & Sunday – last slot finishes at 7.20)
9.00 – 10.35, 10.45 – 12.20, 12.30 – 2.05, 2.15 – 3.50, 4.00 – 5.35, 5.45 – 7.20, 7.30 – 9.00
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
There are 3 x 1 hour 35 minute slots and 7 x shorter 50 minute slots
9.15 – 10.50, 11.00 – 11.50, 12.00 – 12.50, 1.00 – 1.50, 2.00 – 2.50, 3.00 – 3.50, 4.00 – 4.50, 5.00 – 5.50, 6.00 – 7.25, 7.35 – 9.00
There is a 10 minute gap between each session for transitioning.
If you haven’t got a key fob for gaining access through the clubhouse, then please contact GEOFF MORPHITIS Mobile: 07976 994302 who will arrange to issue one to you. Please do not enter the clubhouse until the coach/athletes from the previous session exit. No parents will be permitted to enter the stadium unless there is a child protection issue i.e. one coach and one athlete aged under 18.
There is a single disabled toilet (unisex) that can be used within the indoor area.
When going in and out of the Clubhouse from the carpark please make sure the door handle is left in the upward locked position at all times.
Link to the SBH Athlete and Coach Track & Field Training Agreement, which will sent to all participating athletes, and then to be returned signed by the athlete and parent – SBH – Allianz Park Track & Field Areement During Lockdown Period
Please let me know if you have any questions – JEREMY SOTHCOTT Mobile: 07764 621424 email jeremy.sothcott@btinternet.com

1990 SBH CENTENARY YEAR HIGHLIGHTS – On the 23 July Newsletter, I published Part 2 of the detailed highlights, which covered January to March 1990. Part 3 will be published in the 6 August newsletter for the months of April to May 1990.
Link showing the full list of SBH 1990 Centenary Year Highlights as published on the 9 July Newsletter – 1990 SBH Centenary Year Highlights

KINGSTON UPON HULL PILOT 2 – Took place at Hull on 25 July
Shot 7.26kg – SCOTT LINCOLN 1st (19.82m)

ALTERNATIVE TRAING PAYS OFF FOR SCOTT LINCOLN – The following was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently. Photograph taken by MARK SHEARMAN.

British shot put champion is in the shape of his life after lockdown and started his summer with a PB at Shaftesbury, from pushing a truck, to sessions in his ’emergency throwing cave’, SCOTT LINCOLN got creative when it came to finding ways to train during lockdown and his methods appear to be paying off. The British shot put champion started his summer with a PB at a pilot event at Shaftesbury’s Throws Fest earlier this month, throwing (20.41m) to add two centimetres to his previous best set in the Czech Republic last August. He believes there’s much more to come, too. “I feel there is a lot more in the tank,” he told Athletics Weekly after his season opener. “Big throws are coming, I feel!”

A bricklayer by trade, LINCOLN has been working for much of lockdown but says he treated a three-week furlough period as “like a training block”. He had already created his own gym at his workshop and then introduced other alternative training methods along with his coach, PAUL WILSON, such as truck pushing and net throws. “When lockdown first happened we were only allowed to leave the house for exercise so I was cycling down to my gym and we created a net in the doorway so you pulled the door up and it pulled the net up with it,” LINCOLN explains. “Just before lockdown I bought a sheet of plywood and made a circle out of that. We’ve got a bit of land by our workshop so I have been pretty lucky in that respect.”

LINCOLN, who won his 10th British shot put title in Glasgow earlier this year, also benefited from a virtual series organised by Wilson, which saw him team up with his fellow UK champion SOPHIE MCKINNA and take on a GB juniors team in three live-streamed remote contests. “We came up with the idea of doing these mock competitions and then one thing led to another and that’s what happened with the virtual competitions,” LINCOLN says. “It worked out pretty well, it was just something to keep us motivated more than anything. “I wouldn’t say I got fired up as much as I would in a proper competition but it was something to look forward to and train for.” Read more: Sophie McKinna and Scott Lincoln win virtual Valhalla shot put final

Something which has really been firing LINCOLN up, however, is the thought of next year’s Olympic Games, especially as the 27-year-old feels the qualifying standard of (21.10m) is now within reach. “It was all boding well to qualify for the Olympics, I felt I was in shape to do it and then obviously it was cancelled and everything was up in the air but it’s good to have targets for next year now,” he says. “I am in the shape of my life. I did pretty well indoors although I wanted to throw a bit further. It was more a mental barrier rather than anything physical. I’m working with a psychologist now, I feel like I am excited to get out there and try some new stuff. “I speak with some Americans that I went to train with who have done 22 metres and things and they say that I am capable of 21.50m-plus, at least, and I believe that, my coach believes that,” adds Lincoln, who spent time training in Arizona in 2018. “From now until the Olympics, every single throw I do means something. Whether it be a learning throw or a good throw, I have got something out of it.”

1998 GRE CUP FINAL – Many thanks to DANIEL REES for sending me the youtube video of the Cup Final. DANIEL is currently Shaftesbury’s No.2 400m Hurdler behind SEB RODGER and his personal best is (52.19) set at the England/Inter Counties Championships on 28 July 2019, in which he finished 6th in the final.

A great hour-long video of the GRE Gold Cup Final in 1988 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kGPoozcaUU&t=3s

The final took place at the New River Stadium on 20 August. GEOFF MORPHITIS wrote – All the old team spirit came to the fore at the New River Stadium on a blustery, rainy day. The contestants were the eight clubs of Division One of the British League, and we were out to show that out 6th place in the League was not a measure of our real strength. And so it proved! All afternoon we were never out of the leading three, and it was a fine performance to finish such a good runner-up.
For the first time this season our middle-distance squad did us proud. Pride of place to MIKE WILLIAMS who totally dominated the 5000m, beating and International field and the worst of the weather to record a personal best. JULIAN GOATER and JOHN SHERBAN also showed their tremendous abilities by winning against good opposition. Another hero, although not a winner, was NICK SMITH, who though still a Junior showed he is a man to watch for the future. He was given the same time as the winner, British International CHRIS MCGEORGE, but beat a host of other British Internationals.
The jumps were headed by the return of FRED SALLE from Boston University, who in his first competition of the season was only 2cm behind his club record, and beat JOHN KING, one of Britain’s three long jumpers going to the Olympics. FRED was also Seoul bound to represent the Cameroons.
Our four throwers were excellent, all performing at or close to their best. Pride of place yet again and a new club record for NEIL GRAY in the Shot. He has improved all year and has added one metre to his 1987 best. MIKE JONES was within one metre of his best in the Hammer, but still a tantalising 1.5m short of the Olympic qualifier of (72.0m). This was to be achieved one week later to give the club a third Olympic place. NEVILLE THOMPSON, have recovered from injury, threw a season’s best. In the Javelin, PAUL MORGAN, recovering from illness, was within a metre of his best.
Our two real superstars, DONOVAN REID in the sprints and PAUL HERBERT in the 800m, were side-lined by injury and illness. Thanks therefore to LLOYD STAPLETON and JOE DUNBAR for substituting so well. Typical of the club spirit was that shown by JASON CANNING, who turned down a GB Junior International vest to compete for the club, and similarly by NICK SMITH, who turned down a Scottish Junior vest.
Well Done everyone in the team and reserves, and all those who won the semi-final and ensured we reached the final. We are now third most successful club of all time (behind Wolverhampton and Haringey) in Cup History. Not bad for the only unsponsored major club in the country.

Team Result – 1st Haringey (124 points), 2nd SBH (106), 3rd Wolverhampton (100).
Individual SBH Results – 100m LLOYD STAPLETON 7th (10.93), 200m LLOYD STAPLETON 4th (21.46), 400m JIM NICHOLL 6th (49.29), 800m JOE DUNBAR 7th (1:54.23), 1500m NICK SMITH 2nd (3:55.11), 5000m MIKE WILLIAMS 1st (13:58.46), 10000m JULIAN GOATER 1st (30:07.06), 3000m Steeplechase JOHN SHERBAN 1st (9:01.00), 110m Hurdles JACK MORGAN 6th (14.49), 400m Hurdles GREG DUNSON 3rd (52.82), High Jump TREVOR WHITTLE 6th (2.00m), Long Jump FRED SALLE 2nd (7.96m), Triple Jump FRANCIS AGYEPONG 6th (14.99m), Pole Vault TOM KINGA 4th (4.00m), Shot NEIL GRAY 2nd (17.57m), Discus NEVILLE THOMPSON 3rd (54.80m), Javelin PAUL MORGAN 3rd (66.54m), Hammer MIKE JONES 2nd (70.44m), 4x100m 4th (41.98) PAUL TANNER, JASON CANNING, LLOYD STAPLETON, JACK MORGAN, 4x400m 7th (3:16.88) JIM NICHOLL (49.0), MAURICE EVANS (49.2), BERNARD ATIE (50.4), GREG DUNSON (48.3)

BRITISH ATHLETICS LEAGUE 50TH YEAR BOOK – We are delighted to announce that a publication celebrating 50 years of British Athletics League history is now available to purchase.
Copies can be bought for £5, or £8 for two, and £10 for three, which is the maximum order. The cost includes postage and packing, with all money raised going to help young athletes through the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund, which has also supported many BAL athletes on their journey along the athletics pathway.
To order, simply email geoffrey.morphitis@capeandd.com with the details of your order and make an online payment of the appropriate amount to;
ACCOUNT NAME : SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS, BANK : HSBC, ACCOUNT NUMBER : 41308378, SORT CODE : 400426
The publication itself features a range of nostalgic contributions from athletes, committee members, team managers and officials. Olympic champion and President of World Athletics, SEBASTIAN COE said: “The competition has been of constant high standard and I remember fondly my own competitions as a member of the Haringey team that were not only important for the club and its status but were important stepping stones to championships later in the season.”
There are great stories of feats that will impress, surprise and amuse you, from exhausted athletes doubling-up to score points, to guitar sing-alongs on team buses. Liverpool Harriers’ MIKE HOLMES has provided a fascinating series of archive reports that bring the piece to life, as do images by MARK SHEARMAN and MELISSA GRESSWELL. Statistical information has also been compiled by PETER MATTHEWS, with a club-by-club directory of every team to compete over the last five decades put together by MIKE HEATH.
Please note that orders will be satisfied on a first come first served basis. No booklets will be sent until payments have cleared so allow please allow seven working days between order and delivery.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS CORONAVIRUS HELP FOR ATHLETES – Many thanks to TUNJI who as reported on the 19 March newsletter is the father of NIAH AKINTOKUN.
In these unprecedented times, I wanted to draw the club’s attention to some of the great resources available online. England Athletics is expanding its campaign to support Athletics and Running for everyone @home, with a focus on ‘Running @home’ support and advice. The homepage can be accessed here
There are many webinars, interviews and tips from top coaches and athletes on how to stay conditioned and focused.
In addition, there are some fantastic videos for 4-11yr olds on the Funetics webpage put together in conjunction with England Athletics. The videos demonstrate parents and children (aged 4-11) taking part in FUN activities based on fundamental core movement skills: running, jumping and throwing. Funetics is a programme that has been designed to reflect the requirements of the National Curriculum Key Stage 1 and 2. At this time when our children are currently schooling at home, we hope that these video activities will support the need for education to continue at home. You can access the videos here TUNJI AKINTOKUN MBE – Non Executive Director, England Athletics

THE FOLLOWING SBH DOCUMENTS/INFORMATION CAN EITHER BE VIEWED, DOWNLOADED OR PRINTED
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Front Sheet – Summer 2020 Fixture Card Front Sheet Final Issue 12-02-20
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Fixtures, Updated 15-07-20 LICC and YDL Fixtures 25 -26 July Rescheduled – Summer 2020 Fixture Card – Updated 15-07-20 LICC and YDL Fixtures 25-26 July Rescheduled (version 1)
Track and Field Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/track-field/team-managers/
Road Running Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/road-running/team-managers/

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION OF INTEREST CAN BE FOUND ON THE SBH HOME PAGE BY USING THIS LINK, THEN SELECT THE LEFT OR RIGHT ARROW – http://sbharriers.co.uk/
Allianz Park Membership, which gives SBH members 10% discount on entry to the Allianz Park stadium – Membership details and Form can be either printed or downloaded
Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Club Hoody, information on how to purchase one, please go to the bottom of this Newsletter

SBH MIDWEEK JUMPS CLUB AT ALLIANZ PARK – Currently Suspended. POLE VAULTERS REQUIRED FOR 2020 – Currently Suspended. STEEPLECHASE TRAINING AT ALLIANZ PARK – Currently Suspended.

PARKRUN 5K RESULTS – Currently Suspended

PARKRUN – Can you make sure that you are registered as ‘Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers’, as the link I use to select all results only shows SBH athletes. If anyone is also officiating can you please contact me, and advise me where and when.

UPCOMING SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS FIXTURES AND OTHER FOR THE NEXT 4 WEEKS – Currently there is a small number of fixtures planned to commence from Saturday 1 August, details to be published on the current status in the 23 July SBH Newsletter.

PHOTOGRAPH’S – From time to time we have photographs of our members taken at meetings or presentations which we would like to use both on the website or incorporated within our report to our local newspaper. Can you please let me know if you do NOT want your photograph to be used. Also, I would appreciate if you could send me any photographs, which I can then publish on the website and newsletter.

CLUB EMBROIDERED RED HOODIES – Currently there are now over 750 Hoodies in circulation, this is the link giving details on how you can order your Club Hoody for £35, which includes having your name embroidered on the front Club Hoodies Updated 01-07-19

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF SHAFTESBURY INFORMATION – Currently I notify members (by email) using “MailChimp”. The reason I changed, was in November 2017 “Gmail” put a limit of 100 addresses that users could send to in a 24-hour period, and currently I send to approximately 850 members each issue.

On seeking technical advice “MailChimp” was recommended as the best way for SBH to go forward. There is one thing you should be aware off is that when you receive an email from me, the footer at the bottom has 4 options, of which one is “Unsubscribe Me From List”. Could I ask you not to select this as if you do you will be automatically removed from my distribution list.

SBH PRIVACY STATEMENT – In becoming a member, SBH will collect certain information about you. Can you please read the attached ‘Privacy Statement’ which contains Information on General Data Protection Regulations – SBH Privacy Statement Final April 2018

ALLIANZ PARK – Main Switchboard telephone number is 0203 675 7250.

CHARGES FOR USING ALLIANZ PARK – Currently the stadium is open for limited use.

ALAN WELLER

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 23 July 2020

Posted on 21/07/202005/03/2022 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from this Thursday 23 July to Dylan Carlsson-Smith, Akin Coward, Victoria Dawes, Renee Diomar, Martin Grey, Mick Jones, Jonathan Klein, Calvin Lawrence, James Munyambu, Zach Nicholls, Victor Odiaka, Naomi Ogunniyi, Jack Redford and Gemma Sharp

RECENT NEW MEMBER – We wish you a very warm welcome, and a happy, healthy and successful time with Shaftesbury to AMY GODDARD

The cost for SBH members is £4 per event as compared to £8 per event for athletes from other clubs. Due to Covid-19-restrictions you can only enter 1 event, this is the link for entries – https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2020/GBR/liccr1/

ENGLAND ATHLETICS DRAFT COMPETITION PROGRAMME – England Athletics have just published May 2020 version 9 of The Draft Competition Programme for the period w/e 19 July to w/e 27 September. This sets the structure for joint men/women meetings which SBH hopes to follow. Fixtures below updated 24 June 2020 with Venue Confirmations and Dete Changes (these are shown in Red).

All the promotions listed below are subject to: –
1. Government lifting the present lockdown by 1 July so as to allow group gatherings
2. UKA issuing specific instructions to allow compliance with Government requirements
3. Obtaining a sufficient number of appropriately qualified officials from the participating clubs
4. Facility availability
5. Securing a suitable First Aid provision
6. Receipt of the appropriate licences from UKA

Saturday 25 July (Postponed to Saturday 1 August) – LICC (1) – Venue Lee Valley – all age groups, Sunday 26 July (Postponed to Sunday 2 August) – U17/U20 Southern Premier Division (1) – Venue Lee Valley – (Inter-Club competition featuring the 6 clubs which would have been the now cancelled YDL), Sunday 2 August – National Athletics League – Premiership Division (1) – Venue Lee Valley – U20 / Senior, Saturday 8 August – LICC (2) – Venue Lee Valley – all age groups, Sunday 9 August – U17/U20 Southern Premier Division (2) – Venue Lee Valley – (Inter-Club competition featuring the 6 clubs which would have been the now cancelled YDL), Saturday 15 August – National Athletics League – Premiership Division (2) – Venue Lee Valley – U20 / Senior, Saturday 22 August – LICC (3) – Venue Lee Valley – all age groups, Sunday 23 August – U17/U20 Southern Premier Division (3) – Bromley – (Inter-Club competition featuring the 6 clubs which would have been the now cancelled YDL), Saturday 5 September – U15/U17 Southern Area Championships – Venue TBA, Saturday 5 September – National Athletics League – Premiership Division (3) – Venue Chelmsford – U20 / Senior, Saturday 12 September – U20/Senior Southern Area Championships – Venue TBA, Saturday 19 September – U15/U17 England Championships – Venue TBA, Saturday 26 September – U20/Senior England Championships – Venue TBA

The British Championships are now being held in Manchester on 4/5 September, see report further down.

1990 SBH CENTENARY YEAR HIGHLIGHTS – In the 9 July I published a list of highlights that SBH achieved from January to December 1990. In the 16 July Newsletter, I published Part 1 of the detailed highlights which covered September 1990. This week is Part 2 for the months of January to March 1990.
Link showing the full list of SBH 1990 Centenary Year Highlights as published on the 9 July Newsletter – 1990 SBH Centenary Year Highlights

6 January – Ladies win Beryl Davies Cross Country Trophy which was held at Footscray, Bexley.
With 20 teams participating we won the overall trophy with (249 points) to Cambridge Harriers (382).
Seniors – 5th FREIDA BROWN, 7th SUSAN BROWN, 9th JOYCE SMITH, 14th ALISON BROWN. Teams – 1st Cambridge Harriers (15 points), 2nd SBH (35), 3rd Herne Hill (117).
Intermediates – 7th MICHELLE LEE, 11th TERESA WEBB, 18th RACHEL WHITBOURN, 21st SANDRA EWINS. Teams – 1st Thurrock Harriers (35 points), 2nd Cambridge Harriers (53), 3rd SBH (57).
Girls – 8th SHARON MURPHY, 20th ELSPETH LUMBY, 26th CLAIRE SPROUT, 32nd REBECCA WRIGHT. Teams – 1st Highgate Harriers (51 points), 2nd Parkside (59), 3rd Bracknell (71), 4th SBH (86).
Minors – 6th DONNA ROSS, 14th JACQUELINE CORTIE, 21st SOPHIE PRINCE, 30th KERRY MARTIN. Teams – 1st Thurrock Harriers (37 points), 2nd Bracknell (47), 3rd Reading (54), 4th SBH (71).
13 January – The Men’s Southern XC Championships was held at Parliament Hill on what felt like the first day of spring but was in fact the 13 January. The Juniors packed well to record a good 2nd place. Plymouth winning with 108 points to our 124, with Dacorum third with 167. ROBERT DRAPER currently at Cambridge University, was our first scorer 17th (33.07), 25th LAURENCE FREEMAN (33.31), 38th WAYNE DUMPLETON (34.03), 44th COLIN GODFREY (34.12), 56th JASON STUPART (34.57), 68th GERALD FOX (35.25), 77th MARIO DICESARE (35.53).
27 January – The Women’s Southern XC Championships was held at Coulsdon, Surrey in heavy rain with parts of the course in ankle-deep mud. None of which prevented splendid Shaftesbury performances, for our teams were 2nd in both Seniors and Intermediate races. KERRY MACKAY had another superb race to be 2nd to arch-rival GILLIAN STACEY of Bromley.
Seniors – 15th ANNE RIDLEY (25.16), 24th KAYE GILLINGHAM (25.38), 36th FREIDA BROWN (26.31), 50th SUSAN BROWN (27.03), 55th JODY ALLEN (27.14), 75th ALISON BROWN (28.10), 80th BARBARA KIRK (28.26), 90th IRENE PEATY (28.48), 149th SANDRA HARDY (33.42), 154th CAROLE BROWN (33.23), 164th ANGELA WOOLSEY (36.27). Teams – 1st Woking (99 points), 2nd SBH (125), 3rd Parkside (152).
Intermediates – 2nd KERRY MACKAY, 7th JOANNE BINNINGTON, 12th VICTORIA BOWLES, 36th MICHELLE LEE, 2nd TERESA WEBB. Teams – 1st Bedford & County (56 points), 2nd SBH (57), 3rd Ipswich Harriers (119).

10 February – The Southern Veterans XC Championships was held at Havering. The result was an emphatic win for Shaftesbury with 15 points. But the most remarkable was that we had four age-group champions. Winner of the race was GYLNNIS PENNEY of Cambridge Harriers (19.07), with JOYCE SMITH 2nd (20.09 1st O/50), JOYCE SMITH 2nd (20.09 1st O/50), BARBARA KIRK 6th (21.48 1st O40), CAROL GOULD 7th (21.55 1st O/45), CAROLE BROWN 27th (24.53), BETTY FORSTER 30th (27.48 1st O/55), JENNY EVANS 3nd (28.07). There was one black spot to mar such a splendid day, for JUNE ALLEN slipped on her was to the start and broke her arm.
10 February – Senior Men win the Metropolitan League at the final meeting at Hainault. The league was a two-horse race from the start, with Woodford winning the first two fixtures the Shaftesbury second. This order was reversed at the next two fixtures, so for the final meeting at Hainault, on Woodford’s doorstep, only one point separated the clubs. Woodford had a very big turnout, and Shaftesbury pulled out all the stops. The day went in our favour by 2858 points to 2763, and the title was ours. The team packing was significant, for we had, 2nd DOMINIC BANNISTER, 3rd MIKE WILLIAMS, 8th STEVE LOWE, 10th GRAHAM GETTY, 11th ANDY KELLEHER, 13th ALASTAIR MUNRO. How’s that for a scoring six? Highest individual overall places, DOMINIC BANNISTER with a 1st and 2nd, and IAN CORNFORD a 1st. PETE MALLOY was our leading Vet runner on four occasions.
Youths/Boys, PAUL RYAN ran in all 5 races and was our first home on three occasions, placing 7th twice, 8th and 9th. Colts, STEPHEN BERRY was twice 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
Seniors/Juniors – 1st SBH (13111 points), 2nd Woodford Green (13025), 3rd North London (10660)
Youths/Boys – 1st Ealing & Southall (938 points), 2nd Woodford Green (886), 3rd Verlea (872), 5th SBH (773)
Colts – 1st Highgate (937 points), 2nd SBH (765), 3rd Ealing & Southall (739)
Veterans – 1st Verlea (1079 points), 2nd Woodford Green (1066), 3rd SBH (971)
10/11 February – The UK Under 20 Indoor Championships was held at Cosford. There was an outstanding double from CATHERINE MURPHY, winning the Girl’s 100m (7.85) and then the 200m (26.27) a championship best performance. In the Youths, ONOCHIE ONUORAH won the Long Jump with (7.07m) a UK Youth indoor record and championship best performance.
17 February – The Women’s National XC Championships was held at Rickmansworth. In marked contrast to the Southern, the day was fine and mild, and the going on the scenic parkland course was good. The highlight was the Intermediate team winning the Silver Medals, with a great run by KERRY MACKAY to finish 4th.
Team Results – 1st City of Stoke (110 points), 2nd SBH (132), 3rd Bedford & County (150). Individual Results – 4th KERRY MACKAY (16.28), 13th VICTORIA BOWLES (16.57), 25th JOANNE BINNINGTON (17.35), 90th MICHELLE LEE, 131st TERESA WEBB, 199th SANDRA EWINS
17 February – The Omron Indoor Games featured NEIL WINTER cleared (4.85m) in the Pole Vault for a UK Youth Indoor Record and a Welsh Senior Record, indoor or out.
24 February – The English National XC Championships was held at Roundhay Park, Leeds. The great day of the cross-country calendar, the facilities were excellent, with good changing accommodation, firm going, and a fine day until the end of the Senior race, when the runners, officials and spectators got a soaking. A record field for the Senior race, with 2195 runners and 250 teams. JOHN SHERBAN was quickly with the front group and was always in the first ten, and it was a superb performance to finish 7th (49.90), ANDY KELLEHER 148th (49.90), NEIL WALKER 584th (53.44), ANDREW MILLETT 609th (53.54), JOHN KELLY 1224th (57.57), BOBBY BROWN 1352nd (58.41), MIKE MCQUEEN 1557th (60.22), ANDREW LEBOZER 1691st (61.26), PETER ORCHARD 1720th (62.45).
25 February – The Scottish National XC Championships was held at Aberdeen. On a heavy 3.7-mile course. ANNE RIDLEY a 24-year-old micro-biologist who graduated at Glasgow University, pulled off a great performance to win by 2 seconds from HAYLEY HAINING, a former GB Junior International. This win gained ANNE a place in the Scottish team for the World Championship trials.
25 February – The Shaftesbury Young Athletes XC Championships was held at Copthall. And did it rain, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the runners. In the Minor Boys/Girls race (2130m) DONNA ROSS (6.52) won the girls race with the team winning with (6 points) to Thomas More School (29), in the Boys SIMON WELLS was 5th (7.16) and the team won the team race (22 points) on count back from Old Gaytonians. In the Colts/Girls race (3200m) both STEPHEN BERRY (10.31) and ELSPETH LUMBY (11.43) both finished 2nd and the teams finished 2nd and 3rd respectively to Old Gaytonians and Middlesex Ladies. Finally, in the Senior Boys race (4000m) DAVID BULLOCK (13.13) finished 2nd with the team finishing 4 points in front of Old Gaytonians.

3/4 March – The European Indoor Championships was held at Glasgow. Featured JACKIE AGYEPONG who in her 60m Hurdles heat ran (8.13) and the finished 4th in the Semi-Final (8.17). In the Long Jump EVETTE FINIKIN finished 6th setting a Club Record (12.43m).
9/10 March – The AAA/WAAA Indoor Championships was held at Cosford. And there was a fine Brother and Sister double, firstly JACKIE AGYEPONG had an impressive win in the 60m Hurdles (8.16). FRANCIS AGYEPONG had the hair-raising experience in the Triple Jump of five no-jumps before his final attempts, winning with (16.05m). In the Long Jump FRED SALLE who was in good form to take the Silver Medal (7.75m).
24 March – The World XC Championships was held at Aix-Les-Bains, France. Following her 4th place in the National, KERRY MACKAY was selected to represent GB in the Junior Ladies race, KERRY is in fact, was the first SBH runner to run for GB in the Championships, for up to the last two years runners from the UK represented their separate countries, e.g England, Scotland etc. In the race, held on a hard, dry racecourse in warm sunshine, KERRY finished 60th in the first half of the field. As one of the youngest runners, she is still eligible for this race next year.
24 March – The English XC Relay Championships was held at Mansfield. The Senior race consists of 4 stages of (5000m) of firm and fast going. A fine first leg by KIRK DUMPLETON (15.27) brought him home in 2nd place, on leg 2 there was a strong finish by DOMINIC BANNISTER and a time of (15.13) took Shaftesbury back in front from Tipton. ANDY KELLEHER (16.18) slipped us back to 5th with Salford back in front from Tipton. On the final leg JOHN SHERBAN ran (14.54), the fastest of the day, taking us up to 3rd place.
Team Results – 1st Salford (61.30), 2nd Tipton (61.47), 3rd SBH (61.52).

Congratulations to JOHN BROE and FIONNA on their marriage on 17 March in Manly, New South Wales, Australia.

SBH COMPETING AND OFFICIATING IN THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ – The following was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.
Olympic discus thrower JADE LALLY was among those to compete at the first official UK athletics meeting after lockdown. Photograph of JADE with STORMY and almost one-year-old daughter NYLA.

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers hosted Throws Fest, the first official athletics fixture in the UK since March, at Allianz Park last weekend and both athletes and officials were delighted to be back in action after months of lockdown, writes ROSALIND ZEFFERTT. The competition, a test event designed in conjunction with England Athletics to help the sport prepare for post-lockdown action, saw 45 invited entrants over the four events – discus, shot put, hammer and javelin – having to familiarise themselves with a number of new rules. These required athletes to remain in designated sections within the competition areas, use only their own implement which they, rather than an official, retrieved after every throw, and ensure that any accompanying individuals left their contact details with the organisers for Test and Trace purposes. It was a challenge to organise in just three weeks, as field referee STEVE MARSHALL, technical manager at the 2017 World Championships, readily admitted. “I’d gladly swap the preparation for Throws Fest for 10 days at the Championships,” he said. “I can’t pretend it wasn’t stressful. But it turned out to be one of my best days in nearly 40 years of officiating. “Since athletes had to stay within certain areas, they were paying more attention to other throwers instead of taking themselves away between throws to prepare for the next one. They watched and supported each other and offered positive advice. It was like one big family. The atmosphere was brilliant.”

Having gone through nearly four months of social distancing, athletes had no trouble adapting to the new measures. “We were so used to being careful anyway that it was natural not to get close to anyone,” said Olympic discus thrower JADE LALLY, who managed to throw (56.10m) despite suffering from a numb throwing hand after her one-year-old daughter fell asleep on her arm overnight. “But after having been segregated for so long, we really enjoyed finally being able to be together and to get out and throw.” JADE’S long-time connection with Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers added to the significance of the day. “For me it was particularly special because Shaftesbury is my club and it’s where I first broke 60 metres,” she added, “so it meant a lot for me to be there.”

Meanwhile SCOTT LINCOLN, now in his fifth season at the top of the senior UK shot put rankings, set a PB of (20.41m) in his final throw of the competition. “I actually felt that I wasn’t throwing at full capacity and that I had a lot more there,” he commented, “but once I work a bit on timing, it’ll be fine.” Other athletes to improve their PBs included Shaftesbury’s under-20 hammer thrower OLIVER GRAHAM with (63.96m) and ZARA OBAMAKINWA of Blackheath & Bromley, whose (47.14m) throw not only cemented her place at the top of the under-17 discus rankings but also moved her up to 12th on the UK all-time list. Link to SBH results – Allianz Park Throws Fest Results

NATIONALES MEETING, HELP AT CORONA – Took place at Osterode, Germany on 18 July
Discus 1kg – JADE LALLY 3rd (58.76m) adding 2.66m to her 11 July throw, and is ranked UK No.1 in 2020

JERSEY SUMMER THROWS MEETING – Took place at St Clement on 14 July
Discus 1.75kg – EVAN CAMPBELL U20 1st (40.54m)
Discus 2kg – NATHAN THOMAS U23 1st (SB 42.58m) and is ranked UK No.2 U23 in 2020, CAMERON CAMPBELL U23 2nd (SB 40.05m) adding 2.67m to his 7 March throw, and is ranked UK No.3 U23 in 2020

OJIE EDOBURUN AND CJ UJAH AMONGST SPRINTERS FOR BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS – The following was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

A further five athletes have been announced for the Müller British Athletics Championships taking place in Manchester on September 4-5. CJ UJAH, who claimed world relay gold in 2017, will bid for further national success having first medalled at the championships in 2014. He is set to be joined in competing at the Manchester Regional Arena by ASHLEIGH NELSON, IMANI-LARA LANSIQUOT and OJIE EDOBURUN, as well as hurdler JESSIE KNIGHT, who impressed during the indoor season when she won the British 400m title and claimed victory at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix. UJAH has also been announced for the Paavo Nurmi Games on August 11.

The British Championships had originally been scheduled for June 20-21 before new dates of August 8-9 were announced. The event was then further postponed and will now take place behind closed doors. Previously announced athletes include EILISH MCCOLGAN, HOLLY BRADSHAW, JAKE WIGHTMAN and NIAMPH EMERSON. READ MORE: Global finalists announced for British Championships

“It is great to announce another list of high-profile and successful athletes for the Müller British Athletics Championships,” said CHERRY ALEXANDER, major events director at British Athletics. “With invites officially going out, we are excited to be able to add even more of our best British athletes for Manchester. “The championships are fast approaching and we are continuing to work hard behind the scenes so that we can put on a truly world-class event for everyone competing.” The action is set to be shown on BBC Two from 18:30 on Friday 4 September and on BBC One from 13:15 on Saturday 5 September.

TOKYO 2020 CONFIRMS OLYMPIC SCHEDULES – The following was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

Athletics action at the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will take place over 10 days, from July 30 to August 8, 2021, organisers have confirmed. The schedule sees athletics competition commence on Friday July 30 with the opening round of the men’s 3000m steeplechase and conclude on Sunday August 8, which is the final day of the Games, with the men’s marathon in Sapporo. The action will be spread over 16 sessions at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium and for the first time in Olympic history the women’s and men’s marathon victory ceremonies will both be held during the closing ceremony. Athletics features prominently in both of the Games’ ‘Super Saturdays’, with three finals – the men’s discus throw, women’s 100m and the inaugural mixed 4x400m relay – scheduled for August 31. Another seven athletics titles will be decided on Saturday August 7, among 34 event finals scheduled for that day, the highest single day number during the Games. ‘Golden Sunday’ on July 31 will include 25 medal events, capped by the men’s 100m final. Click here to download a PDF of the timetable.

The Olympics will begin on July 23, while the Paralympics are now due to be held from August 24 to September 5 in 2021. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification system already in force was adapted to fit the new dates of the Games and in April World Athletics announced that the qualification period would be suspended until the start of December, ruling out any results which might be recorded from April 6 to November 30.

PARKRUN 5K RESULTS – Currently Suspended

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

ALLIANZ PARK – Main Switchboard telephone number is 0203 675 7250.

CHARGES FOR USING ALLIANZ PARK – Currently the stadium is open for limited use.

ALAN WELLER

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 16 July 2020

Posted on 15/07/202005/03/2022 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from this Thursday 16 July to Benjamin Bloom, Renee Diomar, Sarah Duodu, Ruben Hedman, Joshua Liburd, Leslie Odamtten-Addy, Yaroslav Poleukton, Hugh Richards, Paul Ruocco and Derek Surrey.

RECENT NEW MEMBER – We wish you a very warm welcome, and a happy, healthy and successful time with Shaftesbury to MITYRAE BROOKS

LICC ON 25 JULY AND YDL 26 JULY POSTPONED – England Athletics have been unable to agree with Government (DCMS) how events are to take place. Therefore, it was decided yesterday by the SBH promotions team that we could not promote the meetings due on Saturday 25 July (LICC) and Sunday 26 July (YDL) as there was inadequate time to produce an acceptable timetable and to notify both athletes and officials.
We hope to have the new regulations by the end of the week at which point we hope to be able promote the 2 cancelled fixtures on the weekend of Saturday 1 August and Sunday 2 August.

The British Championships are now being held in Manchester on 4/5 September, see report further down.

ALLIANZ PARK THROWS FEST – Took place at Allianz Park on 11 July
Shot 7.26kg – SMA SCOTT LINCOLN (HCA) 1st (PB 20.41m) adding 2cm to his 2019 put, and is ranked UK No.1 in 2020
Shot 5kg – U17MB JAMES ISAACS 1st (PB 13.65m) adding 33cm to his 2019 put, and is ranked UK No.7 U17 in 2020, GABRIEL LAMB 2nd (PB 11.13m) adding 71cm to his 25 January
Discus 1.5kg – U17MB JAMES ISAACS 2nd (PB 41.08m) adding 1.56m to his 2019 throw, and is ranked UK No.3 U17 in 2020, GABRIEL LAMB 3rd (PB 40.98m) and is ranked UK No.4 U17 in 2020
Discus 1kg – SW JADE LALLY 1st (SB 56.10m) adding 4.28m to her 7 March throw, and is ranked UK No.2 in 2020, SHADINE DUQUEMIN 3rd (SB 52.51m) and is ranked UK No.3 in 2020
Hammer 6kg – U20MA OLIVER GRAHAM 1st (PB 63.96m) adding 57cm to his 2019 throw, and is ranked UK No.3 U20 in 2020, JAMES LANCASTER 2nd (SB 58.46m) and is ranked UK No.4 U20 in 2020
Javelin 600g – SWB CRISTINA POTTER U20 3rd (SB 27.69m) and is ranked UK No.7 U20 in 2020
Javelin 500g – U17W ISABELLA BRUNSKILL 2nd (PB 37.87m) and is ranked UK No.2 U17 in 2020

JERSEY OUTDOOR OPEN MEETING – Took place at St Clement on 7 July
100m – SM2 EVAN CAMPBELL U20 2nd (SB 11.6 w2.5)

1990 SBH CENTENARY YEAR HIGHLIGHTS – Last week I published a list of highlights that SBH achieved from January to December. Over the coming weeks I will publish those highlights for each month, Part 1 this week covers September, which included one of Shaftesbury’s biggest promtion to date “European Junior Clubs Championships.”
Link showing the full list of SBH 1990 Centenary Year Highlights as published on the 9 July Newsletter – 1990 SBH Centenary Year Highlights

EUROPEAN JUNIOR CLUBS MEETING – Took place on 29 September at Barnet Copthall Stadium.
ROGER SIMONS who master-minded the whole operation, lifts the lid on some of the highs and lows behind the staging of the most important promotion of our Centenary Year.
I have been involved in this competition since 1984 when I successfully brought Shaftesbury into the competition in Liege. In 1985, after seven years of promotion by RFC Liege, the Belgian organisers, GEORGE MOUTON and GILBERT EVRARD, decided the financial and administrative commitment was too great. They asked me, on behalf of Shaftesbury, to join a committee of three countries, called the International Committee of the CJCE (European Cup for the Young), to organise the meeting on a triangular basis, Liege, London and Amsterdam.

FINANCIAL WORRIES – It was against this background that it was with some concern I learnt last February that our club committee had grave doubts as to whether we could put at risk £10,000 to £20,000, the amount needed to promote the meeting. There followed hectic budget calculations, with LYNNE MALLOWS the saviour of the hour by finding hotel accommodation at a very economical price. So at a special meeting of the SBH Council it was agreed to go ahead, restricting overseas clubs to 12 in order to limit costs.
WHAT WE WERE PROVIDING – The big financial commitment arises from having to provide accommodation for teams for two nights, all meals from Friday dinner to Sunday breakfast, transport from arrival in this country to hotel to stadium to reception etc, plus the whole cost of the meeting, including meals and trophies for each club.
PANIC ALMOST SETS IN – Deciding which teams should compete caused some hectic moments, especially when it was realised Switzerland and Eindhoven were at first omitted and should have been invited. Phone calls across Europe were frequent in spite of sending detailed information. ‘Allo-Allo’ conversations were taking place down in Somerset in various languages, sometimes at 6am or midnight, much to the amazement of the family. Some National Federations seemed to think my home was the headquarters of the CI-CJCE.
CLUB EXPERTISE – Club discussions and organising committee meetings followed in London. It was a pleasure to have within SBH so much expertise and willingness to tackle so many tasks. JOHN WRIGHT, TERRY BROWN and GERALD ALTERMAN were largely responsible for setting up the running of the meeting and finding about 100 officials and helpers.
INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE TO COMPETE – A couple of weeks before the match it was learnt that DRAGUTIN TOPIC, World Junior High Jump Champion and record-holder, and European Champion, would be coming. Did our stands go high enough for a World Record? BRYAN got the loan of a brand new ‘Cantabrian’ stand. Record forms must be on hand. The Sports Council drug testing team must be in attendance.
FLAGS AND ANTHEMS – Were required for all countries. JOHN PURNELL tackled this, together with presentations, and BRYAN SMITH and DAVE THOMSON raided Wembley Stadium’s supply. Iceland and Luxembourg caused problems. DAVE THOMSON looked after the programme (all those funny names!), and PEGGY BOWLER saw to these on the day. ERIC BURTON found liaison officer/interpreters, one being attached to each team for the whole weekend.
THE CLUB PRESIDENT – Invited guests from the Borough of Barnet and athletic associations, and with GWEN ASHTON and Past Presidents welcomed them at the meeting. EVE KEMP, besides much secretarial work earlier, ensured they appeared at the rostrum to make presentations at the required time.
THE MAKING OF LUNCH PACKETS – By my wife MAGGIE SIMONS, with the help of friend JILL MOORING, was another interesting exercise, requiring the purchase of 500 containers, boxes of Somerset apples, rolls and their fillings, drinks: these for all the athletes. MARGARET MORPHITIS was looking after the needs of officials from the clubhouse. DAPHNE WRIGHT and GWEN had been up at 6am to prepare food for the quests, which DAPHNE was to look after at the stadium.
TRANSPORT LOGISTICS – The role of transport manager was carried out by TONY SUNDERLAND. With two coaches and two minibuses (these driven by club members), all teams had to be met, collected and taken around. TONY’S master plane was a feat of ingenuity to find an honoured place in the club archives. Pity Swissair, Lufthansa and Olympic Airways didn’t have a copy or they might not have made so many late changes. JOHN and HAROLD spent a day at Heathrow watching the planes come in, locating missing luggage, and getting poles and javelins through customs. ERIC BURTON spent three hours at Mill Hill Station waiting for a Yugoslav team that didn’t arrive there. KEITH MOYSE organised the Friday evening meal at MacDonald’s at Colindale.
SATURDAY EVENING RECEPTION – Had been arranged at Trent Park College by GEOFF MORPHITIS, about the only place that could be found to seat 400 at a price we could afford. No least to TONY’S worries was to get them there quickly and away again afterwards, since some of the teams wanted to look around London.
THE OUTSTANDING FEATURE – Of the whole weekend was the tremendous sporting spirit and good fellowship, culminating in the jollity of the reception (streaker and all). The presentation of trophies to all the teams was made by Councillor LESLIE PYM, acting deputy for the Mayor of Barnet.
AFTERTHOUGHT – With grants from the Borough of Barnet, the AAA, and Southern Counties AA, plus some business sponsors DAVE BEDFORD and GEOFF had succeeded in persuading, together with careful budgeting, the whole cost was met without having to fall back on club funds.

MATCH RESULT – 1st Crvena Zvevda AK Yugoslavia (261 points), 2nd Panhellinios CS Greece (201), 3rd SBH GB (200), 4th Stade Clermontois France (187.5), 5th FC Bayer Verdingen Germany (184.5), 6th Blackheath Harriers GB (175), 7th AAC Amsterdam Holland (173), 8th Bagsvaerd AC Denmark (162), 9th PSV Eindhoven Holland (160.5), 10th LC Bruhl Switzerland (137.5), 11th Luxembourg National Luxembourg (118), 12th Iceland National Team Iceland (116), 13th Houltand AC Belgium (82), 14th RFC Liegeois Belgium (78).

SBH RESULTS – 100m SAM SEPTEMBER 8th (11.75), 200m MARTIN VENENDAYA 8th (23.59), 400m MATTHEW MACBETH 2nd (49.13), 800m WAYNE DUMPLETON 6th (1:57.49), 1500m WAYNE DUMPLETON 1st (4:03.10), 3000m JAMIE GODDEN 1st (8:45.00), 2000m Steeplechase STEPHEN MCHUGH 1st (5:59.46), 110m Hurdles GARY SMITH 5th (15.82), 400m Hurdles JASON TOAL 12th (60.77), High Jump STEPHEN FITZWILLIAM 6th (1.95m), Long Jump ENYINNA CHUKUKERE 5th (6.73m), Triple Jump HISHAM HUSAIN 7th (13.53m), Pole Vault NEIL WINTER 1st (5.00m), Hammer STEPHEN PEMBERTON 12th (31.72m), Discus OSITA IWENJIORA 5th (39.36m), Shot OSITA IWENJIORA 5th (12.50m), Javelin NICK NIELAND 3rd (59.64m), 4x100m SBH (DQ), 4x140m SBH 4th (3:24.06) MATTHEW MACBETH, RICHARD BUSH, NICK GILLINGHAM, PAUL EVANS.

It was fitting the Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers should host the European Junior Clubs Meeting in our Centenary Year, and this young team, with an average age of 17, responded by gaining 3rd place from the 14 clubs participating, only one point behind runners-up Greece. Yugoslavia were convincing winners with a strong team that included the star of the meeting, DRAGUTIN TOPIC. He is the holder of the World Junior and European Senior titles, with a High Jump best of (2.37m). Here he won with (2.15m), also took the Triple Jump with (14.88).
We had three fine wins in the distance events. In the 1500m WAYNE DUMPLETON proved too strong for the opposition in the finishing straight when 3 seconds covered the first six. JAMIE GODDEN won the 3000m when the Swiss runner crossed the line first, only to be disqualified for blatant obstruction in a neck-to-neck battle in the final straight. STEVE MCHUGH won by a distance in the 2000m Steeplechase, having led throughout. Our star Pole Vaulter, 16-year-old NEIL WINTER, did not come into the competition until everyone else was eliminated, and his (5.00m) equalled the meeting record.
MATTHEW MACBETH had a good 2nd place in the 400m, where the winner clocked (48.66). NICK NIELAND took the bronze in the Javelin, the winner, JAN BIELECKI of Demark, with a meeting record of (65.74m). All of our athletes gave of their best, and for some of our younger ones it must have been an awesome experience to face such competition. It was a pity the 4x100m disqualification denied Shaftesbury the runners-up position.
Next year the competition will be held in Greece, Where Shaftesbury and Blackheath will again be the British representatives. So potential supporters had better start saving their pennies – KEITH MOYSE.

REMAINING SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS – 1 September, Southern WAAA Club Trophy (KIMBERLEY-CLARK) held at Copthall, for Girls and Intermediates. Having bben second to Essex Ladies on the last two occasions we were determined to try that little bit harder in our Centenary Year. All the athletes responded in great style, and we won the Trophy from the 11 other clubs in an exciting contest which see-sawed between us, Ipswich and Essex Ladies. It seemed at one time Ipswich were going to win, but a great response from our relay teams and an inspired 200m from BIBI ENWONWU saw us through by 2.5 points from Ipswich (117.5-115), GEC third on (100), and Essx Ladies faded to fourth (95).

2 September, The Young Athletes League Final took place at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham. For the second year Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers performed brilliantly only to find that their old South London rivals Blackheath came through on the last event to win the title by 4 points. The Harriers collected 52 medals, but pride of place goes to NEIL WINTER who set a new British Age-16 record in the Pole Vault (5.20m). This was the best performance by anyone under 20 in the UK and was better than Britain’s representitives in the recent Europian Senior Championships. There were many fine performances and personal bests. In the Youth age group outstanding efforts from ONOCHIE ONUORAH in three individual and dominating victories. A personal best in the 3000m by DAVID BULLOCK was the pick of the middle distance strength. Fine hurdling from JASON TOAL secured two personal bests and two medals. HESHAM HUSAIN was a competent winner of the Long Jump, whilst brother KHAIRUI was collecting points all afternoon. The 4x100m team although only 4th, equalled the Club Record. The Boys section was dominated by fine trebles by MICHAEL PAGE and AHIB ABOOD in the 400m, 800m and 4x400m relay. The sprint hurdles duo of STEPHEN WATTS and PAUL CZARNECKI were in a class of their own collected a bag full of points. The Colts section was outstanding with all team members running personal bests. The only disappointment was the ever present JAI RAWAL who was bundled over in the 800m when in 3rd place. The sprinters were excellent and won the sprint relay by over 20 metres. Match Result 1st Blackheath Harriers (424 points), 2nd SBH (400), 3rd Borough of Enfield (354).

9 September, The 37th Shaftesbury Ten was held at Copthall Stadium. The day was hot and sunny, ideal for sunbathing spectators, but not conducive to fast times, and the runners were glad to make use of the watering stations at the end of the three laps. MARK MOUGHTON led at the end of the first lapin (16.40), with JULIAN GENTRY, ANDY CATTON, CHRIS TALL and ANDY KELLEHER in close attendance. Soon after GENTRY went through five miles in (24.56), and won the race by some 13 seconds (50.25). SBH Results – 4th MARK MOUGHTON (52.36), 5th ANDY KELLEHER (52.45), 15h RAY BROWN (57.24), 20th DEREK SURREY V (58.55), 27th MARK FOSTER (59.40), 28th REG BLACK V (59.42), 39th PETER ORCHARD V (62.29), 45th RUSSELL DEVITT V (64.33), 63rd CLIFF GOLDING (70.00), 72nd MICHAEL FOX V (77.07).

SBH SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS FROM THE NINETIES, NOUGHTIES AND TENSIES – Many thanks to GEOFF WILLIAMS for producing this outstanding table of SBH runners between 1991 and 2020.
GEOFF who now lives in Barnstable, Devon has attended the ESAA Championships almost every year since 1972; initially as a Middlesex Schools’, latterly Devon Schools’ and intermittently as one of the England Team Managers but always wearing my coach’s hat. I treasure some very happy memories, a fair share of disappointments but also many surprises as so often athletes rise to the occasion and perform above themselves.

For me the lead up to the English Schools’ AA Cross Country Championships is always exciting with so many young athletes and their coaches seeing this event as the culmination of a whole winter’s training. This year’s ESAA Cross Country Championships was the last major competition before the lockdown caused by the Covid19 virus. It was hugely disappointing that the pandemic prevented the Schools’ International scheduled for the next weekend in Scotland and the World Schools’ Championships due to staged in Slovakia in April had to be cancelled. Photograph taken at the 2011 European U20 XC Champs in Velenjie, Slovenian in December – my last event involving SBH athletes who were coached by me. On the right is NIALL FLEMING (GB Team Gold medal) and RICHARD GOODMAN is on the left (Silver Individual Medal and GB Team Gold Medal). At the meeting I was an accredited coach. I do not have a formal coaching group or club affiliation since retiring to North Devon. Intermittent health problems mean I have reined things back considerably but I still do lots of work with English Schools’ AA and timekeep regularly at meetings in the South West area and as often as I can for SBH.

For the majority of athletes simply being selected as a member of their school team and running with friends as a school team at the local district championships will be the pinnacle of their competitive running achievements. Some of the more gifted who choose to make running their prime sporting focus will no doubt train hard and progress further, aiming to run in their county schools’ championships and hopefully gain a county schools’ vest. It is a wonderful achievement to be one of the best eight runners in your county age group and to experience the unique challenge of joining the 350 plus competitors vying for honours in the National Schools’ Championships held in March each year. As befits a national event, this very often involves a long coach journey and an overnight hotel stay.
From this event the top eight finishers in the Junior and Intermediate age groups automatically gain England Schools’ representation which brings first international honours for an athlete.
Each year Shaftesbury has always had a healthy number of county school’s representatives (mostly from Hertfordshire and Middlesex Schools) so I felt we should formally record the achievements all of those youngsters who have gained such honours and had the privilege of experiencing the excitement and challenge of competing against the very best of their school peers. The attached spreadsheet records the 243 SBH athletes who represented their county schools’ teams on a total over 450 occasions at ESAA Cross Country Championships between 1991 and 2020. Where known, I have also recorded Schools’ International honours and positions. I do not have a list of the dates certain individual athletes may have joined Shaftesbury so there will be inaccuracies so if any of you have corrections/amendments to the attached spreadsheet please email me at geoff.williams1949@hotmail.co.uk so that the SBH webmaster can eventually publish the full list in the results archive of the club website.
Over the next few months I will endeavour to publish a list for the period 1971 – 1990. Records of these years can be difficult to find so any information would be most welcome. If any of you would like to share their memories of their School based competition I would be glad to receive them and to incorporate them into future reports.
In the meantime stay safe and keep running GEOFF.

Link to table from 1991-2020 – SBH E SAA XC Representatives (2)

FASTEST AND TOUGHEST UK PARKRUNS – The following was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

New stats reveal which parkrun courses are best for a PB and those ranked most difficult. Ever wondered how fast or tough your local parkrun is, or where you should head if you are on the hunt for a parkrun PB? Some new stats have revealed the fastest parkruns in the UK, as well as the slowest.
Using the same runner handicap system that is behind the RunBritain rankings, statistician and keen runner TIM GROSE has rated the relevant difficulty of every single UK parkrun by way of the ‘SSS’ (standard scratch score) to identify the quickest and slowest since 2019.
According to GROSE’S stats, Berkeley Green’s disused nuclear power station site in Gloucestershire is now the place to be on a Saturday morning for parkrunners targeting a PB, while the slowest course is considered to be that of the Great Yarmouth North Beach parkrun, which takes place on a mixture of shingle and sand.
The fast or slow nature of each course is based on the difficulty of the terrain and undulation, typical weather, how busy the event might be and whether the course is either a little shorter or longer than the advertised 5km distance.
The lists below provide an update to the 2018 rankings which we published here, with Berkeley Green replacing Victoria Dock (pictured) as the fastest parkrun and Great Yarmouth North Beach replacing Woolacombe Dunes as the slowest of the 692 UK parkrun events.
Both of those top 2018 parkruns now rank second on the respective lists, although Grose does highlight that Berkeley Green and Great Yarmouth North Beach are new events and therefore the data may be slightly skewed. There are plenty of fast and tough parkruns to choose from, however, as the lists below show!
When it comes to elite action, GB internationals ANDY BADDELEY and CHARLOTTE ARTER set the men’s and women’s parkrun records of (13.48) and (15.49) at Bushy Park in 2012 and Cardiff earlier this year, respectively.
Read more: CHARLOTTE ARTER ‏improves parkrun record in Cardiff
While parkruns are currently suspended due to coronavirus restrictions, New Zealand events are set to resume soon and World Athletics recently announced a new partnership which will see a series of permanent parkruns created for the host cities and countries of world championship events, including the World Championships Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023.
For runners in the UK, do let us know where your local parkrun ranks or tell us the courses you will be targeting when restrictions are lifted.

The Top 30 fastest parkrun courses in the UK.
1 Berkeley Green 0.48, 2 Victoria Dock 0.89, 3 Aberbeeg 1.03, 4 Pegwell Bay 1.18, 5 The Wammy, 1.23, 6 Walsall Arboretum 1.24, 7 Isabel Trail 1.26, 8 Dulwich 1.27, 9 Belfast Victoria 1.31, 10 Market Rasen Racecourse 1.33, 11 Groe 1.36, 12 Burgess 1.38, 13 Eden Project 1.39, 14 Swansea Bay 1.39, 15 Stretford 1.39, 16 Hackney Marshes 1.40, 17 Worthing 1.42, 18 Rother Valley 1.43, 19 Torbay Velopark 1.44, 20 Long Eaton 1.44, 21 Morecambe Prom 1.45, 22 Stratford-upon-Avon 1.47, 23 Alexandra 1.47, 24 Great Denham 1.47, 25 Bakewell 1.49, 26 Riverfront 1.50, 27 Cassiobury 1.52, 28 Southend 1.52, 29 Hartlepool 1.52, 30 Blandford 1.53.

The Top 30 slowest parkrun courses in the UK.
1 Great Yarmouth North Beach 9.92, 2 Woolacombe Dunes 8.86, 3 Whinlatter Forest 8.68, 4 Watergrove 8.60, 5 Millom 7.63, 6 Mount Edgcume 7.34, 7 Squerryes Winery 7.13, 8 Churchfields Farm 6.79, 9 Coed Cefn-pwll-du 6.58, 10 Storthes Hall 6.57, 11 Lanhydrock 6.52, 12 Gainsborough 6.43, 13 Flatts Lane 6.43, 14 Stratford Park, Stroud 6.42, 15 Lyme Park 6.40, 16 Faskally Forest 6.40, 17 Uckfield 6.34, 18 Lullingstone 6.17, 19 Chadderton Hall 6.14, 20 Parke 6.08, 21 Fort William 5.99, 22 Bevendean Down 5.99, 23 Lanark Moor 5.97, 24 Itchen Valley Country 5.93, 25 Drumchapel 5.88, 26 East Grinstead 5.79, 27 Wepre 5.74, 28 Windy Nook 5.56, 29 Hafan Pwllheli 5.46, 30 Guernsey 5.37.

WHEREABOUTS SYSTEM “REALLY NOT THAT COMPLICATED” – The following was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently. World Athletics president SEB COE says athlete status is irrelevant when it comes to anti-doping, following high-profile cases involving world champions CHRISTIAN COLEMAN and SALWA EID NASER.

World Athletics president SEB COE has expressed surprise that any athlete “hanging by a thread” with missed test strikes against them would risk further failures and a potential ban.
Recent high-profile cases have seen world champions CHRISTIAN COLEMAN and SALWA EID NASER provisionally suspended after they each logged three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period.
Coleman heavily disputes his third whereabouts failure, while Naser was quoted as saying that she “would never cheat”.

“I don’t think it is that complicated, I really don’t,” said COE. “The athletes are asked to give their whereabouts for one hour a day and there’s plenty of scope if that one hour suddenly becomes a problem. You know, you turn up and the track has got something else on or you get caught in traffic. It’s really not that complicated.”
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules require athletes to submit their whereabouts for one hour every day in case they are needed for out-of-competition testing. An athlete is said to have violated anti-doping rules if they have any combination of three missed tests or filing failures within 12 months.
“I was comforted by the observations made by athletes who just made the point that this is the world they live in, they accept it and they’re actually quite grateful that we’ve got systems in place that are actually protecting them,” COE added. “So yeah, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
“If you’re hanging by a thread on one or even two of those, my instinct would be to sit by my front door for that hour. You wouldn’t risk not being there.”
The two-time Olympic champion also admitted that athletics is facing significant challenges to restart traditional competition, with a trimmed down Diamond League now slated to kick off in Monaco on August 14.
“There may be some restrictions on athletes being able to travel. I am sure there will be,” he said. “But we’ve seen there are things we can do to make sure that takes place.”
Coe was speaking before it was announced by British Athletics that the Müller British Athletics Championships would be further postponed to September 4-5 and take place behind closed doors, with the Diamond League in Gateshead also delayed, while there is clearance to resume elite sport behind closed doors in all parts of the UK starting from next week.
Growing annoyance from some athletes at lingering aspects of the lockdown is understandable, Coe conceded, with 2011 world 400m hurdles champion DAI GREENE having expressed his frustration at not yet being permitted to use hurdles and blocks.
“In some countries, they can,” COE said. “In France and Spain and Italy and Germany, they are now back in training. So, it’s difficult for me to make judgements across different jurisdictions. There are different health and safety protocols.
“I am in Monaco. Our restaurants are now open. I have 20 people back in the office. I have my mask and wipes and hand sanitisers. It is difficult. There is always an element, sometimes you have to make judgements. We have to be guided by the science. We have to take advice from authorities. But there are a lot of smart people in our sport to make some of these judgements.
“I was pleased to sit down with our guys about getting the Diamond League back in Monaco,” he added. “Most days of the week they are trying to figure that out. Of course, we need to be cautious. Every country has different ‘R’ numbers. We can’t play fast and loose with the health of the athletes.
“We have to be careful of communities as well. We don’t want communities in our stadiums if there is a risk they also will be under threat. It’s quite hard. But I do understand athletes and sportspeople watch one sport deal with something in a different way to another one. I do share the slight frustration that DAI GREENE has shared.”

PARKRUN 5K RESULTS – Currently Suspended

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

ALLIANZ PARK – Main Switchboard telephone number is 0203 675 7250.

CHARGES FOR USING ALLIANZ PARK – Currently the stadium is open for limited use.

ALAN WELLER

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 9 July 2020

Posted on 07/07/202008/07/2020 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from this Thursday 9 July to Carol Backhouse, Euan Dickson-Earle, Rebekah Gardiner, Alyson Harvey, Uriel Hirsch, Zharnel Hughes, Gerald Matthew, Nengi Ossai, David Smith and Haydn Taylor

Saturday 25 July – LICC (1) – Venue Lee Valley – all age groups, Sunday 26 July – U17/U20 Southern Premier Division (1) – Venue Lee Valley – (Inter-Club competition featuring the 6 clubs which would have been the now cancelled YDL), Sunday 2 August – National Athletics League – Premiership Division (1) – Venue Lee Valley – U20 / Senior, Saturday 8 August – LICC (2) – Venue Lee Valley – all age groups, Sunday 9 August – U17/U20 Southern Premier Division (2) – Venue Lee Valley – (Inter-Club competition featuring the 6 clubs which would have been the now cancelled YDL), Saturday 15 August – National Athletics League – Premiership Division (2) – Venue Lee Valley – U20 / Senior, Saturday 22 August – LICC (3) – Venue Lee Valley – all age groups, Sunday 23 August – U17/U20 Southern Premier Division (3) – Bromley – (Inter-Club competition featuring the 6 clubs which would have been the now cancelled YDL), Saturday 5 September – U15/U17 Southern Area Championships – Venue TBA, Saturday 5 September – National Athletics League – Premiership Division (3) – Venue Chelmsford – U20 / Senior, Saturday 12 September – U20/Senior Southern Area Championships – Venue TBA, Saturday 19 September – U15/U17 England Championships – Venue TBA, Saturday 26 September – U20/Senior England Championships – Venue TBA

The British Championships are now being held in Manchester on 4/5 September, see report further down.

30 YEARS AGO – SBH CENTENARY YEAR – 1990 was the year when our old and new members celebrated 100 years of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers. From that day in 1890 when a group of young men met at the Old Jubilee Hall at Hornsey and decided to form a running club – Shaftesbury Harriers was born.

This report highlights the many events and achievements that took place in 1990, the year highlight was the club’s ‘Centenary Dinner and Dance’ which took place on the 17 March at the Civic Centre, Borehamwood.
The event started to be planned in 1988 and predominately DAVE BEDFORD organised the Dinner with numerous members helping him. Also, club stalwart and President HAROLD ASHTON was planner for 1990 which included him writing and producing the ‘Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Centenary Year Book’.
Firstly, I will elaborate on the ‘Centenary Dinner and Dance’, following this the ‘Centenary Year Highlights’. Which features the many successes the club had throughout the year, also another major event we hosted was the ‘European Junior Clubs Championships’ at Copthall, with 14 clubs, 12 from overseas.

Centenary Dinner and Dance – 300 members and guests assembled at the Civic Centre. And it was well and truly worthy of such a great occasion. All sections and age-groups were well represented, from those who were competing long, long ago, to some of our youngest boys and girls. For many it was indeed a reunion, with some who now live well away from our area making a special effort to come, and stay overnight with friends.
DAVE BEDFORD proposed the toast of the guests, getting in many names at breakneck speed. SIR ARTHUR GOLD, CBE, Chairman of the British Olympic Association, Life President of the European Athletic Association, but better known to most of us as a Middlesex man and good friend of Shaftesbury, replied to the toast, and went on to propose the toast of the Club.
It was the turn of the Club President HAROLD ASHTON to reply, and to emphasise that though we were one of the strongest all-round clubs in the country, our ideal was still the Olympic ideal: “The important thing is not winning, but taking part.” Councillor MRS DOT BENSON, Mayor of the London Borough of Barnet, was thanked for all the work that has been done to bring Copthall Stadium to such a high standard, and was assured the Shaftesbury would make excellent use of the facilities.
The Mayor then presented the awards to athletes and wished the club success. There were a number of presentations, including one to the President and to our most senior member CHARLES HARRISON. There were flowers for the Ladies; there were special editions of the Centenary Book, subtitles “The Story of an Athletic Club.”
The remainder of the evening was given over to dancing for some, but to many it was renewals of friendships and memories and recollections. This was especially so when gathered around the photo display that went back to before any of those present were members and continued right up to the present day. For such a splendid and memorable function, the club’s thanks must go to DAVE BEDFORD as organise, to ERIC BURTON as toastmaster as well as for assembling the phot display, to EVE KEMP for gathering together all the trophies among those things, and to the social committee.
A last thought. What would the group of lads who founded the club have thought of it all? What would ERNEST REAVELL and ATHUR KENDALL have thought? For the two gentlemen, more than any others in the history of the club, were responsible for Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers reaching its Centenary.

CENTENARY YEAR HIGHLIGHTS – The following gives highlight details of SBH events and achievements throughout 1990. In next week’s newsletter, I will include full details of some of the highlights shown below.

1 January – Inauguration of the Centenary Year of SBH at Barnet Copthall Stadium. Over 200 members and friends attended, with 100 taking part in cross-country races, many in fancy dress.
6 January – Ladies win Beryl Davies Trophy.
13 January – Men’s Southern CC Championships at Parliament Hill. Junior win 2nd place team medals.
27 January – Women’s Southern CC Championships at Coulsdon. Senior and Intermediate teams both finished in 2nd place, with KERRY MACKAY 2nd in the Intermediates.

10 February – Southern Veterans CC Championships at Havering. Ladies 1st team, with four Individual age-group champions.
10 February – Senior Men finish top of the Metropolitan League.
10/11 February – At the AAA/WAAA Under 20 Indoor Championships. CATHERINE MURPHY wins Girls 60m and 200m titles, and ONOCHIE ONUORAH Youths Long Jump, his (7.07) a UK Youth Record.
17 February – Women’s National CC Championships at Rickmansworth. Intermediate win 2nd place team medals, with KERRY MACKAY in 4th place.
17 February – At the Omron Games NEIL WINTER clears (4.85m) in the Pole Vault for a UK Youth Indoor Record.
24 February – English National CC Championships at Leeds. JOHN SHERBAN 7th in Senior race.
25 February – ANNE RIDLEY wins Scottish CC Championships.
25 February – 35th Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers YA CC Meeting at Copthall. Shaftesbury win one Individual and three team titles.

3/4 March – JACKIE AGYEPONG, 60m Hurdles, and EVETTE FINIKIN, Triple Jump, represent Great Britain in the European Indoor championships in Glasgow.
9/10 March – At the AAA/WAAA Indoor Championships. FRANCIS AGYEPONG wins the Triple Jump and JACKIE AGYEPONG the 60m Hurdles. Silver Medal for FRED SALLE in the Long Jump.
17 March – Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Centenary Dinner.
24 March – In the World CC Championships at Aix-Les-Baines, KERRY MACKAY runs for Great Britain in the Junior Women’s race.
24 March – ECCU National CC Relays at Mansfield. Senior Men finish 3rd, with JOHN SHERBAN fastest of the day.

1 April – AAA Young Athletes Road Relay Championships at Sutton Park. Boys team finish 3rd.
7 April – Southern 12 Stage Road Relay Championships at Wimbledon. Senior Men finish 3rd.
16 April – Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Open Throws Meeting at Copthall.
28 April – In the London Marathon, MIKE O’REILLY finishes 5th in a new Club Record (2:11.05).
28 April – National 12 Stage Road Relay Championships at Sutton Park. Senior Men finish 4th.
28 April to 12 May – Shaftesbury stage five home league fixtures at Copthall Stadium in the space of 15 days, including BAL Division One fixture with the top eight clubs in the UK.

19/20 May – Middlesex Championships held at Copthall. SBH have 23 County Champions.
27 May – MARY BERKELEY, EVETTE FINIKIN, FRANCIS AGYEPONG and MIKE JONES competed for Great Britain in a Field Events International at Portsmouth.
27/28 May – Southern Under 20 Championships held at Copthall. SBH have 5 County Champions and two 2nd places.

2/3 June – UK Championships held at Cardiff. Gold Medals for FRANCIS AGYEPONG (Triple Jump) and MARY BERKELEY (Long Jump), and Silver Medals for MIKE JONES (Hammer) and EVETTE FINIKIN (Triple Jump).
7 June – MARY BERKELEY, COURTNEY RUMBOLT and MIKE JONES competed for Great Britain v Finland in Helsinki.
30 June-1 July – AAA/WAAA Under 20 Championships at Stoke. Gold Medals for NEIL WINTER (Junior and Youth Pole Vault), NICK NIELAND (Junior Javelin), ONOCHIE ONUORAH (Youth Long Jump), KERRY MACKAY (Junior 3000m) and CATHERINE MURPHY (Junior 200m). Silver Medals for MARK STERN (Junior 110m Hurdles) and CATHERINE MURPHY (Junior 100m).

7 July – Official reopening of Barnet Copthall Stadium by SIR ARTHUR GOLD CBE, on the occasion of the Schools Cup Final. Reconstruction included re-laying of track, updating of field events facilities, bringing stand up to Home Office safety regulations, and re-decorating.
7 July – AAA/WAAA Championships at Stoke. Gold Medal from EVETTE FINIKIN (Triple Jump).
8 July – Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers stage UK Women’s League Division 2 fixture at Copthall, and with a convincing win practically ensure promotion to Division 1.
13/14 July – English Schools Championships at Derby. There were Gold Medals from ONOCHIE ONUORAH (Intermediate Long Jump), KERRY MACKAY (Senior 3000m) and CATHERINE MURPHY (Junior 200m) and MARK STERN (Senior 110m Hurdles).
15 July – Gold Gup and Jubilee Cup Semi-Finals. Shaftesbury organised the meeting at Copthall. The Men at Birmingham and the Women at Copthall, finished first to qualify for the Cup Finals at Gateshead.
15 July – Centenary Family Day held following the Cup Semi-Final, with over 250 attended the Family evening, including Cllr ROY SHULTZ Mayor of Barnet 1990-91. A fine warm evening was enlivened by children’s races, fun and games, raffle, barbecue and disco.
22 July – Young Athletes League Southern Premier Division. SBH finish 3rd, to qualify for the League Finals Meeting at Birmingham for the 13th consecutive year.

3/4 August – At Stoke. MIKE JONES is 2nd in the Hammer, MARY BERKELEY is 2nd in the Long Jump and JACKIE AGYEPONG is 3rd in the 110m Hurdles.
11 August – British Athletic League Division 1, final fixture SBH finish 4th, in top half of the table.
12-16 August – NEIL WINTER (Pole Vault) competes for Great Britain in the World Junior Championships at Plovdiv.
18 August – Gold Gup and Jubilee Cup Finals at Gateshead. An outstanding achievement that both sections of the club should be in the Final. In the Gold Cup the Men finished 5th, and in the Jubilee Cup the Ladies finished 6th.
26 August – UK Women’s League Division 2, final fixture at Coatbridge. LUCY ELLIOTT is ‘Athlete of the Meeting’, SBH finished 3rd and gain promotion to Division 1.
27 August-1 September – MARY BERKELEY (Long Jump) and JACKIE AGYEPONG (110m Hurdles) compete for Great Britain in the European Championships at Split.

1 September – Southern WAAA Clubs Trophy (KIMBERLY-CLARK) for Girls and Intermediates is held at Copthall. SBH win the trophy for the first time.
2 September – Young Athletes Final at Birmingham. SBH finish 2nd. NEIL WINTER ‘Man of the Match’, his (5.20m) Pole Vault a UK Youth Record and Welsh Senior Record.
9 September – 37th Shaftesbury 10m Road Race and Southern 10m Championships at Copthall. SBH 3rd team in both.
29 September – European Junior Clubs Meeting. The athletic high spot of our Centenary Year, held at Copthall, with 14 clubs, 12 from overseas. SBH finished 3rd, and we were responsible for staging the meeting, and the transport, accommodation and feeding of all the teams.

20 October – Southern Women’s Road Relays Championships held at Aldershot. Seniors 3rd team.

10 November – National Women’s Road Relays Championships held at Sutton Park. In the Senior race LUCY ELLIOTT hands over a winning lead on Leg 1. Two weeks previously LUCY ran for Great Britain in the Ekiden Road Relay in Paris.
17 November – North of the Thames Championships at Hainault. Youth team finished 1st.
24 November – London CC Championships at Parliament Hill. Ladies finish 2nd team, with FREIDA BROWN 3rd.

December – NEIL WINTER awarded the ‘JACK CRUMP’ Memorial Trophy by AAA as the outstanding Youth athlete for 1990.
1 December – Women’s Southern CC League final fixture held at Copthall. 500 runners from 35 clubs take part, SBH Seniors are 2nd at the end of the league season.
9 December – Women’s Middlesex CC Championships held at Copthall. SBH athletes win 7 Individual and 4 team titles.
13 December – Centenary Christmas Party with seasonal fare, fun and festivities.
26 December – The Curtain comes down with the Boxing Day races at Copthall. Cross country races, reunion of members and friends, prize winners announced for our Grand Centenary Draw. By every stand our Centenary Year must be rated a great success. Farewell 1990 with happy memories!

PROFILE ON GRAHAM GETTY – GRAHAM contacted me recently offering to produce an article of his career with the club, which I was only too pleased to publish. He has been a member of two clubs in Scotland and SBH – Bellahouston Harriers 1975 – 1989, Cambuslang Harriers 1989 – 1995, Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers 1985 to present. Graham is third from the left 0112.

GRAHAM joined SBH in 1985 following qualification as a Scottish Chartered Accountant and relocated from Glasgow to London. He now lives in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
The main reason he joined SBH was because of the “big name” members at that time e.g. JULIAN GOATER, DAVE BEDFORD and STEVE HARRIS. Turned down offers from Thames Valley Harriers, Ealing & Southall and GEC Invicta!
Prior to joining SBH in 1985, I had gone under (2.20) in the marathon for the first time, on 2 occasions in 1984; firstly in London (2.19.34) and then a few months later in Glasgow (2.19.24). Within weeks of joining SBH, I finished 3rd in the SAAA 1985 Marathon in (2.23), thereby earning a Scotland vest for the International Marathon in Glasgow later that year. As it turned out this Glasgow international Marathon was to be my penultimate marathon, with my last one being London 1986. In hindsight, my running career was “back to front” with me running my first marathon at the age of 20 and my last marathon at 25, before turning to the shorter distances primarily on the country and road and, to a lesser extent, on the track. In total I ran 10 marathons over a 6 year period from 1980 to 1986, running under (2.26) on 8 occasions, with a PW of (2.33). If there was one thing I would change about my running career it is that I would now have concentrated on shorter distances (and hence speed) early on in my career before moving up to the marathon. But I got caught up in the marathon boom of the early 80’s so it was logical to jump on the bandwagon!
When I joined SBH in 1985, I was surprised that there wasn’t a group of runners who were focussing on marathon – on the contrary everybody seemed to be focussing on the 12 stages! Of course, being the competitive person that I am, I wanted to make the SBH team, even though I realised that if the “big names” turned out it would be difficult for me with my marathon background.
My first 12 stage appearance for the club was in 1986 when we won the Southern, and when I made the team only when STEVE LOWE pulled out shortly before the event. A good winning start to my SBH 12 stage career!
Over the next 7 years (until 1992), I ran in every Southern 12 stage (the only person to do so!) and several National 12 stages. My last Southern 12 stage in 1992 was another win for SBH – so out of 7 Southern road relays, I finished with 2 golds – from my 1st and my last 12 stages; a good way to finish!
Highlight of the National 12 stages was undoubtedly 1991 when SBH won its first ever medal in the event, finishing 2nd. I surprised myself by running one of the fastest short stage times that day (not bad for an ex marathon runner!).
Other highlights of my SBH career were winning the Southern XC team championships in 1991 when SBH packed 6 in the first 28 (I finished 28th, being the 6th and last counter for SBH, not far in front of KIRK DUMPLETON: fortunately, JULIAN GOATER did not finish that day, as otherwise I would have missed out!) and the 1991 National XC Championships when we finished 4th team. SBH won the award for the best club over all age groups, I was very proud to step up and receive the award on behalf of SBH!
In between 12 stages, I participated in many other events including Metropolitan Leagues, Cross Country Relays, not to mention the various Middlesex/London/National Championships. I represented Middlesex at the Inter Counties XC championships in 4 successive years (1988-1991). I also participated for SBH on the track in the Southern and British Leagues (at 5,000m).
I also regularly participated in the Scottish XC Championships, being a member of the winning teams in 1979 (with Strathclyde University in the Junior Men’s Event) and in 1989 and 1992 in the Senior Men’s Event (with Cambuslang Harriers).
My last race for SBH was in 1995 by which time I was beginning to suffer from persistent injuries. In 1999 I relocated through work to the Netherlands, where I was based for 8 years. While in the NL, I of course, had to buy a bicycle (everyone in the NL has a bike, if not 2!). Cycling then became my means of keeping fit!
I returned with my employer to the UK in 2007 and took early retirement in 2017, with the aim of seeing a bit more of the world and to improve my cycling! I currently cycle on average about 200 miles per week – not too bad for a Golden Oldie?! Last year, I participated in the Ride London 100-mile event and was pleased to record a new PB for the event – in a time of hours 4 hours 36 minutes an improvement of about 34 minutes. Hopefully with some more focussed training I can improve further upon that, notwithstanding that I am now 60 two weeks ago – age needn’t be a barrier if you look after yourself and work hard!
As for my years as a member of SBH, they were great years – SBH is a great club with a lot of great members! Up the Stripes!

Best moment in sport – Personal –The first time I went under (2.20) for a marathon- London Marathon 1984. General – Andy Murray winning Wimbledon in 2013.First Brit to win in 77 years!
Also, golden Saturday at the 2012 Olympics (I was there!) When JESSICA ENNIS, MO FARAH and GREG RUTHERFORD all won gold medals, as a distance runner, clearly I particularly enjoyed MO winning the 10k.
Worst moment in sport – Personal – Failing to win the Edinburgh to Glasgow road relay in 1984 when we were clear favourites. Our 8 man team had a real off day (One of our runner on one of the closing stages went off far too fast and blew up!). General – Any time Glasgow Rangers get beaten by Glasgow Celtic (and that’s been happening a lot in recent years!).
Favourite Country – Portugal – have spent quite a few holidays there!
Favourite City – Barcelona: it has everything. Weather/ beach/ culture/ shopping/ football/ good food (I love the garlic bread there!)
Favourite Food/Snack – Nothing beats a good steak!
Music/Artist – Abba/ Elton John / Status Quo
Favourite Film – Chariots of Fire (I was offered the chance of a place in this film, as one of the runners, but had to turn in down due to University exams!).
Hobbies – Cycling / overseas travel. Have visited China/ India/ South Africa/ Kenya/ Israel /USA in recent years, some on business. Australia/ New Zealand and Canada are on the list of next countries to visit!
Dislikes – Being in lockdown! Poor food.
Likes – Good food! Quiet nights out with my wife

Scottish Distance Running History website included an article on GRAHAM in 2015, which was written by GRAHAM’S ex-coach BRIAN MCAUSLAND, this is the link to the website article http://www.scottishdistancerunninghistory.scot/graham-getty/#:~:text=In%20summer%201980%20Graham%20ran,a%20very%20creditable%20outing%20indeed.

GRAHAM had sent me 4 reports/results from either Athletics Weekly or Athletics Today, there are the details from them.

1986 Southern 12 Stage Road Relays – Took place at Wimbledon on the 6 April. The team proved far too strong for the opposition, recording a time of (4:04.05) over 4 minutes ahead of Luton AC (4:09.02) and 3rd was Aldershot, Farnham & District (4:12.19).
SBH result KINGSTON MILLS (24.30), GARY HARMER (16.29), JOHN SHERBAN (24.34), STEVE HARRIS (14.48), MIKE PUDDIFOOT (25.28), GRAHAM GETTY (16.32), KIRK DUMPLETON (24.53), ANDY KING (16.15), JULIAN GOATER (24.17), BOB MALLOWS (16.15), GARY HUCKWELL (24.56), JAMES ESPIR (15.48).
Link to reports/results – A Southern 12 Stage Road Relays1986

1991 Southern Cross Country Championships – Took place at Parliament Hill on the 12 January. It was published before the race that it was going to be a North London battle between SBH and Highgate Harriers. This turned out to be the case with Shaftesbury finishing 46 points ahead of Highgate, in which our 6th scorer was 28th.

Results 1st ANDY BRISTOW Brighton & Hove (44.09), 2nd JOHN DOWNES London Irish (44.25), 3rd JOHN SHERBAN (44.31), 11th DOMINIC BANNISTER (45.40), 15th IAN CORNFORD (45.47), 16th MIKE WILLIAMS (46.06), 27th MARK MOUGHTON (46.41), 28th GRAHAM GETTY (46.44), 29th TONY JACKSON was with Hillingdon (46.50), 34th KIRK DUMPLETON (47.02), 78th NICK SMITH (48.09), 94th NEIL WALKER (48.36), 193rd BOB MALLOWS (50.40).
Team Results 1st SBH (100 points), 2nd Highgate Harriers (146), 3rd Boxhill (253).
Link to reports/results – C Southern XC Championships 1991

1991 National 12 Stage Road Relays – Took place at Sutton Park, Birmingham on the 21 April. Tipton Harriers made it 3 wins in a row (4:04.13), The humbugs finished in 2nd place (4:05.57) which was our first top 3 finish since the relays started in 1967, this was a pre-cursor to our outstanding win in 1993. In 3rd place was Swansea Harriers (4:06.17).
SBH result MARK MOUGHTON (26.26), STEPHEN MCHUGH (15.12), KIRK DUMPLETON (26.34), MIKE WILLIAMS (15.05), DOMINIC BANNISTER (26.43), JAMIE GODDEN (14.41), IAN CORNFORD (25.28), GRAHAM GETTY (14.32), JOHN SHERBAN (25.14), ANDY KELLEHER (14.40), JULIAN GOATER (26.40), NICK SMITH (14.33).
Link to reports/results – B National 12 Stage Road Relays1991

1992 Southern 12 Stage Road Relays – Took place at Wimbledon on the 4 April. This was the final time the relays were held at Wimbledon, I was there on previous and this occasion. The course compared to nowadays was nowhere near traffic free, but the atmosphere especially outside the Pub close to the changeover was electric, plus there were numerous viewing points you could move too during each leg.
Justifying their tag as favourites, SBH won with a time of (4:07.58), 2nd were London Irish (4:09.00) and 3rd Brighton & Hove (4:09.08).
SBH result MARK MOUGHTON (24.52), JOE DUNBAR (15.49), PAUL SIMONS (26.14), DAVE THOMSON (16.19), ANDY BEATTIE (25.04), ALISTER MUNROE (16.29), KIRK DUMPLETON (26.12). BOB MALLOWS (16.18). JOHN SHERBAN (24.08), GRAHAM GETTY (16.17). IAN CORNFORD (24.16), STEVE GOSS (16.20).
Link to reports/results – D Southern 12 Stage Road Relays 1992

ALLIANZ PARK THROWS CAGE RETURNS TO USE – ANGUS MCKENZIE has been leading a team with STEVE MARSHALL and KEITH DAVIES for most of the week repairing and upgrading the throws cage ready for the “THROWSFEST” on Saturday 11 July. In addition to the 3 people, we had a contractor building the tower and had to purchase several new parts.

OLYMPIC QUALIFYING PROCESS – An updated Olympic qualifying process which can be found here.

THE FOLLOWING SBH DOCUMENTS/INFORMATION CAN EITHER BE VIEWED, DOWNLOADED OR PRINTED
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Front Sheet – Summer 2020 Fixture Card Front Sheet Final Issue 12-02-20
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Fixtures, Updated 24-06-20 Showing Proposed Fixtures From 25 July 2020 – Summer 2020 Fixture Card – Updated 24-06-20 Showing Proposed Fixtures From 25 July 2020
Track and Field Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/track-field/team-managers/
Road Running Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/road-running/team-managers/

PARKRUN 5K RESULTS – Currently Suspended

UPCOMING SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS FIXTURES AND OTHER FOR THE NEXT 4 WEEKS – Due to the Coronavirus situation, all fixtures further notice. All fixtures have been Cancelled until the Tuesday 30 June, this is the link to the SBH Fixture Card updated on the 30 April – Summer 2020 Fixture Card – Updated 30-04-20 Showing Cancelled & Postponed Fixtures

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

ALLIANZ PARK – Main Switchboard telephone number is 0203 675 7250.

CHARGES FOR USING ALLIANZ PARK – Currently the stadium is open for limited use.

ALAN WELLER

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Weekly Newsletter Thursday 2 July 2020

Posted on 01/07/202005/03/2022 by sbharriers

Happy Birthday from this Thursday 2 July to Mohammad Ahmadzai, Brenda Atkinson, James Aulis, Columba Blango, Martina Dvorakova, Jack Fitzpatrick, James Jenks, Conor O’Keeffe, Louann Lamy, Avi Miller, Esther Olatunde, Thomas Patrick, Ray Tucker, Geoff Williams and John Wright

RECENT NEW MEMBER – We wish you a very warm welcome, and a happy, healthy and successful time with Shaftesbury to RUBY VINTON.
RUBY will be 14-years-old on the 7 August, and has had an outstanding career to date. In 2019 she won the Inter County, Southern, English Schools Cup Final and Suffolk Cross Country Championships, also winning the Virgin London Mini Marathon. In 2020 RUBY retained her Suffolk title, finished 6th in the English National and in her final race was 4th in the English Schools XC Championships.

The British Championships are now being held in Manchester on 4/5 September, see report further down.

BRENDAN GALLAGHER RECALLS SHAFTESBURY’S LONGEST DAY – The following report was published in the Shaftesbury Harriers Quarterly Magazine for December 1983, and was written by BRENDAN who was the Team Manager and runner in the SLH/Nescafe 24-hour relay which took place at Barnet Copthall Stadium on 8/9 October 1983.
BRENDAN who passed away in May 2011 aged 60 – tragic, was for many years was the inspiration in getting athletes to compete especially in the Metropolitan League. On speaking to BRENDAN, came over as a gentle giant, but his technique in getting you to run was truly masterful and this showed in the success the club had during those years. He worked for Janes’s Defence Review Magazine, and was the correspondent on the Corporate Air affairs division, which included reporting on the numerous Worldwide Air Shows.

It all started one evening last January. I was slumped at the back of the Copthall Hilton Conference Centre – sorry the clubhouse committee room – pondering solutions to an urgent problem. Indoor shot-put training facilities were in short supply.it seemed. How to stop the 16-pound spheres splintering the precious parquet? Fit them with ostrich feathers and turn them into giant shuttlecocks? Or retro-rockets like Russian space capsules? We Homebrew Harriers are resourceful lads who relish an intellectual challenge, and I was confident of cracking the problem before the end of the meeting.
It was not to be, and my creative reverie was shattered by a crisp command from our Chairman, “Achilles MORPHITIS”. “you at the back there! Yes you, the Rasputin look-alike, pay attention” by now my curiosity was thoroughly piqued. “You and your home-brewing mates are none too bright, barked Achilles. “I’ve got just the job for you.”
And so the nightmare began. The job in question was to assemble a team for the inaugural SLH/Nescafe 24-hour relay at Copthall on 8/9 October. Naturally enough, faced with the prospect all day and all night scuttling around Copthall like a squirrel in a drum, Shaftesbury’s bravest and best all found pressing reasons to be out of the country that weekend. So where to find nine other mugs to participate in the Lunacy? In a flash, it came to me; So I put into place a plan to convince the Homebrew Harriers, “Right!” chorused the Harriers dubiously.
“Well then, we can settle down comfortably at the back of the pack and party the night away. I’ll lay on the ale and barbeque, and there’s sure to be lots of autograph-hunters from Parkside and Barnet Ladies, know what I mean.” “We’ll have a bit of that!” replied the Harriers as one man.
And so it came about we assembled ready to wear their mint Humbug vests to uphold the honour of the club. In wee JOHN BROE and JOHN LAMONT we had two genuine speedsters. There were two valiant new Vets DAVE MASHITER and DAVE ALLEN (who can throw the Hammer further than any other marathon runner in the world). The remaining six ordinary chaps who run their miles, drink their pints and don’t bother anyone: CHRIS IRELAND, JOHN KELLY, RAY POWELL, DAVE MACDIARMID, RUSSELL DEVITT (a late sub for CHRIS WELCH with a respiratory problem) and myself.
The rules were simple and merciless: running order to be declared and stuck to throughout the 24 hours, each runner to cover exactly one mile at a time, if you fail to complete your mile, you’re out and the team has to carry on without you.
Come the morning of the 8 October, the squad assembled in the clubhouse and it was time to size up the opposition. To my utter dismay it quickly became clear that the field was not made up of North Country super-clubs who would zip off in pursuit of world records, leaving us to funster on in peace. “Stap me, we could win this,” said the Flying Dwarf (JOHN BROE), his pink little pot-hunter’s eyes glinting with greed.
Needless to say, JOHN took not a blind bit of notice, blazing through the very first mile in (4.37), which turned out to be the fastest of the event. Then came JOHN LAMONT, who isn’t completely impervious to reason but on this occasion seemed fatally infected with the gong-fever. He cracked through his opening mile in (5.03), just one second over his average for the entire race. Now we were truly in stuck, leading the field and all thoughts of a good whoop-up firmly out of the window.
For a while Burnham Joggers led by admirable JIM MOUT took over the lead, until JOHN LAMONT regained the lead on his next leg and we never subsequently lost it. Burnham pushed us every step of the way though, occasionally regained ground and end up less than five miles short of our 262 miles 230 yards, which is a photo-finish by 24-hour standards.
The technical details of pace, diet, physical and mental reactions are worth recording. Organiser JOHN WATKINS pre-race publicity referred to the “beneficial effects” of 24-hour relays. Certainly if you look at it as one huge interval session – 28 x 1 mile in (5-5.30) with 40 interval – then it’s feasible that the race might have some subsequent good effects. Anyway, here are a few of my observations. Photograph’s of DAVE MASHITER, DAVE ALLEN, CHRIS IRELAND, JOHN BROE handing over to RUSSELL DEVITT, RAY POWELL handing over to DAVE MACDIARMID.

PACE – JOHN BROE and JOHN LAMONT averages (4.58) and (5.02) respectively. Most of the rest of us hit (5.20-5.30), with the exception of DAVE ALLEN who has been concentrating on his Hammer throwing lately, and did well to average to just inside (6.30) for the 28 miles. Most of us did our fastest times between the first and fifth miles, levelled out for the next half-dozen, declined gently until the last hour, and then put in a big effort on the final mile. JOHN LAMONT, as befits someone with a monster mileage background, was the most consistent, with times varying by just 25 seconds from (4.49 to 5.14).
DIET – As soon as it became obvious that we had a race on our hands all thoughts of swilling homebrew and swallowing hamburgers were forgotten. Most of us settled on sticky bars, biscuits, coffee, tea and fruit juice. However, CHRIS IRELAND, dubbed the “The Golden Wonder” by the Burnham camp, stuck to his cheese-and-pickle sarnies and was later to regret his conservatism, while the Galloping Pipsqueak seemed to set great store by an outsize Spanish onion.
PHYSICAL EFFECTS – First of all, I don’t think any of us suffered the glycogen depletion that makes the last few miles of a marathon such a tiresome business. We were tired all right, but nothing like a few extra hours sleep couldn’t fix. JOHN BROE after going home, bolted his dinner and slept for a straight 15 hours. JOHN KELLY nodded off twice in the pub, walking with a start each time and demanding hysterically “Have I missed my turn to run?”.
Aches and pains seemed to be concentrated in the Achilles area, though DAVE ALLEN and I suffered an inexplorable tightening of all muscles in the back of the legs from calf to upper thigh. In DAVE’S case it was so bad that for the first lap of his last few miles looked more like a slightly suspect walker than a runner, which makes his achievement in finishing the course all the more remarkable. The fact that JOHN LAMONT had run a (2.25) marathon the weekend before seemed to have no effect at all on his performance. Some of us appeared to thrive on it though: DAVE MACDIARMID ran a (54.50) PB in the Walton 10 the following weekend, and I was only 27 seconds off my best in the same race. And in my case that came after a week of trying to shake off that muscular tightness, which persisted for four or five days.
MENTAL EFFECTS – Probably the most interesting area of inquiry. In answer to the most obvious question, boredom wasn’t a problem. Having done your mile, wound down, visited the ablutions, changed kit and taken on any necessary fuel, you were left with just 10 or 15 minutes before you were out again. Your quiet quarter-hour was generally spent watching Rocky 1, 2 and 3, Mad Max on DAVE ALLEN’S giant sense-surround video machine. In general, the dominating sensation in between runs was one of increasing numbness and wobbliness, which was at its worst at about five of six in the morning. Photographs – Team Photo left to right JOHN KELLY, PHIL CUNNINGHAM, BRIAN CAKEBREAD, DAVE MACDIARMID, RAY POWELL, BRENDAN GALLAGHER, VIC GILLICK, DAVE MASHITER, DAVE CHALFEN and CHRIS IRELAND. Next BRENDAN after receiving the winner’s trophy. Finally RAY POWELL handing over to JOHN KELLY.

There was also the loneliness that afflicted me regularly as I found myself the only runner on the back straight, engulfed in the clouds of fine drizzle sweeping in out of the darkness.
The setting of a world best by the Hillingdon Ladies Vets team revealed another of the effects of sleeplessness and physical effort combined. The record finally went after a struggle that was sometimes painful to watch. We applauded the ladies with real warmth and there was scarcely a dry eye in the house – not even among the big butch Harriers.
I seem to have broken new ground in sports journalism by writing an account of a 24-hour race that will actually take 24 hours to read, so I better bring these memoirs to a close. But first I would like to thank five unsung members of squad, the officials who carefully recorded our every lap, mile, lap time and mile time throughout the race. If you hunger to know what it feels like to do non-stop mental arithmetic for eight hours at a stretch in the middle of the night, just ask MADELEINE ALLEN, LEIGH LAMONT, MARY POWELL, BRIAN CAKEBREAD and CHRIS WELCH.

NEW DATE FOR BEHIND-CLOSED-DOORS BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS – The following was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

Event now scheduled for 4-5 September at the Manchester Regional Arena, while the Müller Grand Prix Gateshead will no longer take place on 16 August.
With those August dates now not feasible, British Athletics said: “The format and shape of the competition and guidelines that will be adhered to for competitors and those helping to stage the championship will be subject to the government guidelines in place and will be communicated in due course.”
UK Athletics CEO JOANNA COATES said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our athletes an opportunity to compete and still become British champions at the end of the summer in what has been the most unprecedented of circumstances for all sport.
“People will be aware of my passion for women’s sport and I am grateful that the gender mix in athletics means everyone gets to return to the field of play. However, for those sports where men and women compete in separate structures, I urge those organisations to ensure efforts getting women’s sports back up and running are championed with the same passion and sense of urgency.”
The championships will be broadcast live on the Friday night on BBC Two from 18:30 and the Saturday afternoon on BBC One from 13:15.
“Thanks to the BBC for supporting us to showcase our sport under the Friday evening lights, and also to Manchester City Council for their investment into the facility and working with us to confirm we could stage this event in such challenging times,” added Coates.
“We are sorry that we cannot host our brilliant athletics supporters this year but hope for a healthy return for fans at sports events next year and to welcoming spectators to next year’s Olympic trials scheduled for 26-27 June.”
British Athletics also confirmed that the Müller Grand Prix Gateshead will no longer take place on 16 August. The event forms part of the Wanda Diamond League series and on Friday there was also confirmation that the Meeting de Paris an Eugene’s Prefontaine Classic meetings have been cancelled.
12 September has been marked as a possible alternative date for the Gateshead event, which would also be held behind closed doors, and British Athletics says that discussions are ongoing.

TOM MCNAB’S HUSPLEX TO STARTING BLOCKS – I recently posed a good friend of mine, a fine sprints coach, a few questions on his event. When, I asked him, was the crouch start invented? My friend was about twenty years out, and no wiser about the date of the invention of the starting block.
Before answering either of these pressing questions, let me say that I believe that any coach with a passion for his event should immerse himself in it. That interest should surely travel far beyond the most recent Powerpoint presentation or the latest drills, and involve at least a passing interest in the history of his event. Perhaps that is just the opinion of an old fogey, but that’s the way I feel.
The crouch start was invented in 1887 by the Irish-American coach Mike Murphy (father of the film star GEORGE MURPHY), and presented a year later on 12 May at the Rockaway track to a bewildered starter by the sprinter CHARLES SHERRILL, who was advised to adopt a proper position. I have the 1888 photograph to hand as I write. There are three other sprinters, all adopting various versions of the standing start. These were the ”lunge”, (a half-twist), a basic standing start, and the “dab” start, which meant that the front foot came down first. And then there is our man SHERRILL, knuckles on the ground, toe on the line and wearing a woollen hat, with left knee way out of line.
By the first Olympics of 1896, the crouch start had begun to establish itself, but even in the 100m. final only one runner adopted it. Another had a semi-crouch, supported on high pegs, the rest simply stood.
There was little in the way of technical development of the crouch start in the next forty years, when the starting block was invented. But hold on, I am getting ahead of myself. For the Ancient Greeks had invented a starting-sill, probably before the birth of Christ, with grooves set a few inches apart in the stone sill. And they also invented a starting-gate, the husplex. This was a right -angled gate, with the runner crouched on the starting sill behind a horizontal wooden slat, held up by a string which passed down the vertical post into grooves on the sill, back to the starter, who held the strings for each husplex. When he dropped the strings, the horizontal slats fell, allowing the runners to surge forward.
Alas, there is no visual representation of the husplex in Greek pottery or sculpture, only verbal description and, of course we have the starting- sill and grooves.
What happened before the husplex? Simple. False starters were summarily whipped. I have put this idea to the Technical Committee of the IAAF, but perhaps not surprisingly have so far received no reply.
The modern starting block was invented by the American GEORGE T. BRESNAHAN in 1927, was called “the G.T. BRESNAHAN Foot Support”, and given Patent Number 1701026 on 29 April 1927. Within a year, GEORGE SIMPSON had run (9.4) for 100 yards using it, a time which was not accepted as a world record.
By the 1948 London Olympics starting – blocks were accepted. I remember them well, heavy cumbersome things, with coconut matting to cover the block- surfaces. The 1980 Games saw the introduction of pressure-sensitive starting- blocks.
So there we are, from husplex to starting- blocks, but that isn’t all. For what happened before the starting gun? In rural sports, starts were made using a drum or even a trumpet. In professional betting-based two man match-races, starts were “by consent”. This meant that they were rather like a Western gunfight, the only difference being that if one runner was unhappy, then the whole process had to be repeated. This led by the middle of the 19th century in contracts insisting on a gun-start if consent was not secured within a given time, and soon consent had virtually vanished. By the 1860s match-races had, in any case, begun to fall out of favour, and handicap-based “Pedestrian Carnivals” began to dominate, making consent redundant.
So we are now at end of this particular story, from husplex to starting- blocks, from “consent” to gun, from the “dab” start to the crouch. Perhaps it doesn’t matter, what happened way back in the distant past, though there is a saying that those who know nothing of the past are lost in the present.
And this article would not be complete without some mention of timing. Here things are a little less certain. The first use of the word “stopwatch” is surprisingly early, 1737. By 1790, precision had reached ½ second, fine for distances, but useless for sprints. It was ¼ sec. by 1844, 1/5 by1865, 1/10 by 1924, 1/100 by 1932. A crude form of electrical timing was deployed as early as 1874, at Lillie Bridge, as an experiment at the Oxford- Cambridge Sports.
But hold on. The Australian professional sprinter JACK DONALDSON ran (9.3/8) for 100 yards and (21.1) 220 yards at least ten years prior to 1924, so how was he timed? The last performance was remarkable, in that it was run in Scotland in 1913, on grass, in a handicap race, at Shawfield Stadium, on a track which must have been less than 300m. I say this because I ran at Shawfield, the home of Clyde F.C, back in 1955, and the greyhound track around the pitch was about that distance. I doubt if many of our present crop could run as fast as that under such conditions.
All of the above may seem to many of you as the ramblings of an ancient nerd, and perhaps they are. But our leaders clearly think that the past is of some importance, for in a recent high jump instructional poster it states in the historical section that the Greeks “probably” practiced high jump. No, they did not. And that women first competed in Olympic athletics in Paris in 1924. No, that was 1928, in Amsterdam. But that was all a long time ago, so what does it really matter?

FOOTBALL TRANSFER PAYS OFF FOR FORMER SBH MEMBER KIRSTY LAW – The following was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

The Scottish athlete switched goalkeeping for athletics and has rediscovered her love for discus after teaming up with SBH member and coach ZANE DUQUEMIN. KIRSTY LAW admits nothing can top running out to the Hampden Roar, even though she feels ditching football for athletics was her best free transfer.
The 33-year-old claimed two caps at under-18 level for Scotland as a goalkeeper before throwing all her energies into launching the discus.
It has won the Highlander a record 12 Scottish titles but turning out at Glasgow 2014 on Mount Florida did make her think what might have been, she reveals.
“I do miss football. At 18, I made the decision to go to athletics and I stopped completely. A couple of years ago, I joined a team in Loughborough, the Foxes, because I missed it so much. But I went back to athletics and had to give it up again,” she says, speaking on a Scottish Athletics webinar.
“I go to Hampden a lot to watch the football team so to get on that field (at the Commonwealths) and compete was phenomenal. I was competing at the time when EILIDH DOYLE won her silver medal so they were playing The Proclaimers when I went into that circle. It gave me that buzz and it couldn’t have happened at a better time. It gave me my love and excitement back for the sport.”
The GB & NI international, who won her only outing of 2020 before the sport shut down, has edged back to full training after her Loughborough base reopened.
Working as a nurse, she has her ambitions firmly set on reaching the Olympics next summer after stepping back from the brink of retiring in 2017 when she dropped US-based coach JOHN GODINA and persuaded current thrower ZANE DUQUEMIN to guide her career.
“I was getting so frustrated with my throwing that I started crying,” she says. “That’s not me at all. But I was getting myself into a lull and a bad place that I didn’t want to do it anymore. I took a couple of weeks off.
“ZANE lived in Loughborough and I thought I was going to retire but I said to him: ‘can I come work with you?’ He said no bother and I started to enjoy it again.
“I didn’t know if it was because JOHN was so far away but ZANE found my love for discus again. We started working together in the January of 2017 but I got the love back and I knew that’s what I wanted to do and I’ve had it ever since.”
Although ZANE has relocated to train in Qatar, he has the practicing nurse itching to make her mark once competition restarts.
“I’m in the best shape of my life,” she adds. “I was ready to compete at the start of this year. But me and ZANE and SBH member JADE LALLY, we Skype and we’ve been doing that since he moved to Doha last year. Everyone else has been doing all these online sessions but it’s not new to us.”

HOW TO CALL A RACE – The following was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently. TV coverage legend STUART STOREY gives budding broadcasters some tips on how to commentate.

What follows is a process of coverage when in the stadium. Waiting for the race to begin. Let’s start at the top as an example: “The Olympic men’s or women’s 100 metres final”. Remember that you as the commentator will say what the picture does not say.
What follows assumes that you have done your homework and have researched the work presented by the appointed statistician.
MARK BUTLER is the best statistician and has been a part of many major athletics championships over the years for the BBC and others and can be trusted to give you valuable backup.
Once you have taken on board the most relevant information in addition to what has been learned from your own experience including chats with athletes over the years, then you are ready to begin.
Here is a 10-step guide to calling a major event such as an Olympic 100m final.
1 – Study the race line up and know your athletes. At a major international event it is important that you have practised the correct name pronunciations. There were 11 million BBC viewers watching the men’s Olympic 100m final from Sydney in 2000. No pressure then!
In the case of the 100m final the start list must be learned. Both men’s and women’s finals are over so quickly there is no time to look down at the information in front of you. The heats, quarter-finals and semi-finals will have given you a good idea of what is likely to happen but assume nothing and the outcome may not come from the seeded centre lanes.
2 – The studio will lead to you as commentator. Use voice intonation and intensity along with a pace of delivery to create a pre-race atmosphere in both the race introduction and beyond because an Olympic final is special. Use words in a way that there is no doubt that this is a moment of Olympic history in the making. Many times the picture alone will create a special moment, don’t ruin it with too many words … good pictures have a great atmosphere of their own so no words is sometimes good commentary.
3 – The production team can talk to you and you can talk to them. Listen carefully to instructions from the producer of the event as they are an integral part of creating the moment with pictures. You will have to be able to cope with listening to instructions from time to time when commentating.
4 – There are several parts to the pre-race build-up for you as the race commentator.
(a) General introduction – paint the pictures with words commenting on your thoughts on the probable race outcome taking account of performances in the previous rounds but don’t go too heavy on the outcome because surprises do happen. Comment on individual athlete preparations. Some athletes will display nerves and some will appear cool and in total control. It is said that some races are won before the gun goes.
(b) The 100m final’s athlete line-up caption will appear on screen and is usually on screen for 10 seconds but in an Olympic final it may be a bit longer. There is time to give information in the next part so just read through the names within the 10 seconds offered.
(c) You will then be guided through the lane-by-lane athlete introduction. You will have about eight seconds in which to give a background to each athlete. The fewer words the better but once again use intonation and emphasis where appropriate as part of the race build up.
(d) The next part of the race introduction after the lane by lane introduction is just to go through the line up once again and then silence.
Remember to give just a couple of seconds between each of these parts which will not be noticed by the viewer but it will give the editors an opportunity to electronically cut clean for the highlights of the event for either on the news channels or on the follow up highlights packages. To talk continuously over the parts will make the editors job very difficult.
5 – There’s silence before the gun goes, but before the race gets underway let me emphasise that despite the technical underpinning of all athletics events, technical terminology should be avoided and you should use language that the general viewer can understand throughout the live part of the race.
Pick up commentary at about 10-15 metres after the point at which the start can be assessed. The start can be so important and make a real difference to the outcome but not always. In the big finals the margins of error are so small.

6 – Keep an eye on all lanes throughout the race. The middle four lanes are the seeded lanes, that is to say those athletes with the fastest qualifying in addition to race finish position.
Never assume that the winner will come from the seeded lanes, keep an eye on all lanes as sometimes the Olympic champion has come from an outside lane. Sometimes the athlete in lane eight will appear to be down but this can be an illusion with the athlete in that lane well in contention.
Add to the atmosphere with your voice increasing intensity as the finish line approaches. Sometimes the athletes will be within one hundredth of a second of each other (unless Usain Bolt is in the race!) so try to identify the gold medal winner because you are identifying the Olympic champion and catch up with silver and bronze when the replay is on screen later.
If it is so close then don’t take a chance on crowning the Olympic champion – wait for the photo finish to come up on the screen. That doesn’t stop you speculating on a possible outcome. The computer in the commentary box should be watched carefully for the formal result to appear.
7 – There will be a period of celebration post-race with live commentary with reference to the big names and how they performed but once again this is a part where pictures without words can be so powerful so don’t overdo the words.
8 – The next stage of coverage will be to assess the race with slow motion footage. Normally there will be a backup commentator who will take on the job of evaluating the race. It’s important that once the slow motion line up is on screen he or she should give it a couple of seconds before beginning to talk over the pictures. Remember the editor at all times.
The good commentator will put himself in the position of the viewer at home answering the sort of questions that the viewer would want to ask. There is always a danger that too much technical jargon is used in the slow motion phase. If a technical term is used then it should be explained.
9 – Finally run through the formal result caption on the screen. The studio will then take the coverage back for more assessment from the studio panel.
10 – Get ready for the next event on the programme.

From 1976 to 2012 STUART STOREY covered 10 summer and winter Olympics, nine with the BBC and one for the Olympic Broadcasting Service. He retired formally in 2017 but has since made appearances as a commentator at the Diamond League and events like the Berlin Marathon.

THE ATHLETICS MUSEUM A AAA LEGACY PROJECT – In summer 2018, AAA formally identified the project of creating a museum of athletics as part of their legacy to the sport. Since then, a small team has been working to put this plan into action. Thank you for your interest in and support for the project; this is the link to the current newsletter – TAM Newsletter Winter 2019 2020

OLYMPIC QUALIFYING PROCESS – An updated Olympic qualifying process which can be found here.

THE FOLLOWING SBH DOCUMENTS/INFORMATION CAN EITHER BE VIEWED, DOWNLOADED OR PRINTED
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Front Sheet – Summer 2020 Fixture Card Front Sheet Final Issue 12-02-20
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Fixtures, Updated 24-06-20 Showing Proposed Fixtures From 25 July 2020 – Summer 2020 Fixture Card – Updated 24-06-20 Showing Proposed Fixtures From 25 July 2020
Track and Field Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/track-field/team-managers/
Road Running Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/road-running/team-managers/

PARKRUN 5K RESULTS – Currently Suspended

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

ALLIANZ PARK – Main Switchboard telephone number is 0203 675 7250.

CHARGES FOR USING ALLIANZ PARK – Currently the stadium is open for limited use.

ALAN WELLER