Lydia Hallam was an impressive eleventh place clocking 12:55 in the junior girls' race for Essex in yesterday's English Schools' Cross Country Championships at Nottingham.  She was joined in the gold medal-winning county team by debutant Sarah Wilson who impressed with her 57th place finish (13:34) in a field of over 300. It was Lydia's second Schools' team gold as the Essex squad won last year as well. Hoseah Gikungu was a fine 16th in the Intermediate Boys' event crossing the line in 18:29 as the first Essex finisher. Jamie Buckley-Stanton improved on last year to finish 83rd (22:58) in his final Schools' Championship, and Bethaney Hall placed 86th in the Inter Girls' competition to help Essex earn team silver. added 20/03/11 

The senior ladies team led from start to finish to add to a golden weekend for club athletes when they won gold in the Essex Cross Country relays at Highams Park hosted by Woodford Green on Saturday. Robyn Matson built up a substantial lead on the first leg which never looked threatened clocking 12:18 which proved to be the second fastest of the day.  Strong running from Jo Sullivan (13:53), Lauren Deadman - with the fastest leg of 12:15 - and Debbie Appleton (12:51) maintained and built on that lead to come home in first place. The senior men’s team earned a very good third place in their event.

The gold rush continued at the second & final day of the Essex & Eastern Counties Indoor Championships at Lee Valley. There was a trio of hurdles gold medals. Josh Olawore improved his PB & club U17 record to 8.19s in taking the 60m hurdles in a new CBP and added long jump gold with a 6.48m winning leap. There were also hurdles victories for Chloe van Wulven who clocked her fastest time for several years in winning the senior event in 9.06s, while Jack Edgar-Hill returned from injury to win the U20 event in 8.46s. Alex Law made it a hat trick of golds taking the U15 200m in a fast 24.35s. Bethan Siddons showed she is back to her best by equalling her high jump PB of 1.66m in winning the senior women's event. Massi Dendani battled hard to take U20 800m silver with 1:58.72s and Emmanuel Quarshie won Essex silver with a 14.10m shot put effort in the U20 shot event, as did Ben Thompson with his 10.52m U17 shot putt. Nicola Hill's 8.04s PB in the senior 60m also won silver, as did Somma Power's 11.57m senior shot put. Karl Tucker won U17 high jump bronze with a 1.70m PB clearance and also improved his hurdles best to 8.87s for sixth in the final. Hannah Connor won senior long jump bronze with 4.65m. added 13/03/11  

Kate Cowley added two centimetres to her day old club record when she cleared 3.62m at Sutton today.

There was a glut of gold medals at the first day of the Essex & Eastern Counties Indoor Championships at Lee Valley today. There was a fine U17 Men's 400m county victory for Danny Wilson who clocked a personal of 52.02s for gold, after earlier improving his PB to 53.1s. George Hadler was fifth after equalling his indoor best with 54.1 heat. There was a one-two-three for club athletes in the senior 400m as Richard Morrissey too gold in an indoor PB of 48.88s from Isaac Ogunlade & Shaun Stewart. Alex Law continued his fine form with two U15 Boys' gold medals, taking the 60m hurdles in 8.93s after a PB equalling 8.87s heat, and winning the long jump with a 6.06m leap. Nicola Hill put her injuries behind her with victory in the senior women's 200m with her fastest ever indoor clocking of 26.07s. Another senior gold medal came from Kate Cowley who again increased her club record to 3.60m in the pole vault, ad Mercy Gutteridge won Essex gold with 2.20m in the U15 vault.. Kiera Law won Essex silver in the U13G shot with a 5.48m PB.  added 12/03/11  Pic: Danny Wilson (via Facebook)

Alex Law posted a near-perfect performance with personal best in four of the five disciplines as he won silver in a new club best at the U15 National Indoor Pentathlon Championships at Sheffield on Sunday. It completed a full set of medals for the Upminster 14 year after after individual national gold & bronze medals the previous week. Alex opened with a new 60m hurdles club best of 8.87s and was close to his long jump best to record 6.13m to take the lead. A shot put PB of 9.68m saw his lead reduced and despite a massive 1.72m PB from Alex in the high jump Ireland's Sam Healey took the lead. A fourth PB of 2:25.85s from Alex in the final event the 800m clawed back the Irish boys' winning lead to just seven points to finish with a points score of 2789 points - 12th best all time by a UK Under 15. added 7/03/11  

Faye Fullerton was the highest placed club runner in Inter Counties action on Saturday as ten club athletes toed the line in Essex colours. Faye's sixteenth place finish in the senior women's event in 29:20 led home the Essex contingent, with Harriet Scott in 35th (30:10) and Robyn Matson 127th (32:34) as Sara Luck finished 158th (33:20). Jamie Buckley Stanton was a fine 29th (27:16) in the U20 men's event and Lydia Hallam placed 32nd (16:46) in the Under 15 girls race. Sarah Wilson finished 57th (12:19) for the Under 13 girls while Hoseah Gikungu was 67th (20:28) in the Under 17 Men's event. Completing the club contingent were Bethaney Hall who came home 125th (22:16) for the Essex Under 17 women and Andrew Holland placed 245th (17:53) in the Under 15 boys competition. added 7/03/11         Photos: Jane Hallam

An eleventh place finish in Sunday's Essex Half-Marathon Championships held in conjunction with the Roding Valley event, earned Simon Hart a county gold medal as he was the first county veteran across the line.  His 78:10 clocking shaved 11 seconds off his best set in the equivalent event two years ago. Trevor Keys returned to club colours with his first race for several years finishing 18th in 79:37, and Graham Hogan came home in 42nd with a new best of 82:27. added 2/03/11  

Alex Law won gold & bronze and Josh Olawore silver at this weekend's National U15-U17-U20 Indoor Age group Championships at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena. Alex found a leap of 5.85m good enough for Under 15 long jump gold and added a bronze medal in the 60m hurdles with 9.01s. Josh Olawore's last round jump of 14.02m won him silver in the U17 triple jump and lifted him to third on the club all-time U17 list. He returned to improve his club U17 60m hurdles record to 8.25s in winning his heat but hit hurdles in the final to finish fourth in 8.36s. Also competing in the heats were Massi Dendani who clocked 1:58.69s in the U20 800m and George Hadler who was timed at 9.01s in the U17 60m hurdles.    added 27/02/11  

Faye Fullerton & Richard Morrissey helped London North to victory in the Indoor City Challenge. Faye improved on the first round match to place third in the 1500m with 4:23.96s and ran the 800m opener in the medley relay, while Richard won his heat of the 400m in 49.24s.

Imperial student Harriet Scott found the conditions under foot much firmer than her senior colleagues had the previous day when she struck gold in the 3000m at today's British Students Championships at Sheffield. Harriet tracked Loughborough's Abbie McGhee who set a fast early pace for much of the race before she overtook the leader with 500m to go to kick on for victory in her fastest indoor time of 9:20.53, some seven seconds clear of the Loughborough athlete. added 20/02/11  

Faye Fullerton placed eleventh, as did the senior ladies team, at yesterday's English National Cross Country Championships at a very muddy Alton Towers course. She crossed the line in 25:19 and was ably supported by Lauren Deadman in 29th (26:20), Robyn Matson (88th - 28:14) and Jade Edwards (219th) in a field of 552 finishers. Lydia Hallam was 48th in the U15 girls' race clocking 16:29 but was the only club runner on show , as was Jamie Buckley-Stanton who was 66th in his first  Junior men's national event (31:48). Sarah Wilson (70th - 15:46) and Heidi Surman-Wells (126th - 165:16) were the U13 girls' competitors while Patsy McWeeney in 186th (29:45) ad Shannon Sullivan (202nd) in 31:06 were in action for the U17 ladies. One week after 14 senior men lifted the Essex League title Rob Warner was left without any teammates at the Staffordshire venue which he completed in 43:29 for 270th, with over a thousand runners battling behind him in the terrible muddy conditions. added 20/02/11  

The Essex Cross Country League finished on a high note for club teams with two individual and team victories, as the senior men carried off the league title for the first time at Epping Forest on Saturday. Team manager Pete Warner's squad rallied to the cause to win on the day and come home comfortable winners of the league title notching up three wins and two seconds in the five fixtures. Grant Twist in fifth capped a great team display which saw the scoring six inside the top 22 and eight inside the top 30. Harriet Scott won the senior women's race for the second successive meeting with Alexa Joel's returning to racing in second as the ladies win earned their third spot in the table. Another win came from Hoseah Gikungu who was victorious in the U17 Men's event. Lydia Hallam's second place led home the second placed U15 Girls on the day and the league and won her league bronze. Sarah Wilson's third place was best for the second place U13s and also won her league bronze. added 12/02/11 & updated 13/02/11  & pics

At last evening's 2010 Havering Sports Council Awards ceremony held at Upminster Golf Club, the Club won the Club of the Year award for the fourth year in succession.
Another winner was Club Treasurer/Membership Secretary Irene Brennan who won the Volunteer of the Year award. Under 15 Georgie Taylor was runner-up in the Young Female Sports Competitor category for the second year in succession and Faye Fullerton was also runner -up in the Sports Competitor of the Year category.
Congratulations to all of them.  added 08/02/11 

Eight Havering Mayesbrook young athletes ran well in Essex Schools’ colours in this weekend’s South Eastern Counties Schools Championships at Prospect Park, Reading. Jamie Buckley Stanton showed great form finishing fourth in the senior boys event, clocking 24m 24s to cement his selection for the National Schools.  Hoseah Gikungu continued his comeback after his injury earlier this winter, with his fine eighth place finish in the Intermediate Boys’ race in 16:50. There was a strong club presence in the Junior girls’ race as a quartet of Havering athletes pulled on Essex vests. Once again in-form Lydia Hallam led the way in sixth (10:25) while Sarah Wilson’s 19^th place finish, and fifth Essex scorer secured her place in the eight-strong Essex Schools’ junior girls’ team for National competition after she had missed one of the automatic top six selection places in the county event.  Francesca Smith (52^nd - 11:12) and Heidi Surman-Wells (58^th – 11:18) represented their county with pride. Bethaney Hall & Lindsay McLachlan were the club runners in the Intermediate Girl’s’ race, with Bethaney finishing 25^th with 14:12 and Lindsay 41^st in 14:36. added 08/02/11