News

I hope that everyone has warmed up by now! There was a period in the day where it was really quite beautiful, the heavy frost everywhere and the sun, not warming you up, but peaking through a patch of blue sky….but that was about halfway through the men’s race, so not many got to experience that! Just seeing where you were going because of the fog was a challenge to the earlier starters, certainly for the spectators anyway, and yes that was ice in the standing water / puddles on the course!

It very much looked like the experience of last month’s race proved beneficial to our athletes. Their grit, determination and efforts go without saying (how impressive), but most seemed to be much happier with their own individual performances today which was brilliant. I think that anyone who got round deserves a medal, really well done.

Please see see the results page for a superb set of results once again. It is also notable how good our turnout is as a club, with far more runners at this stage of the season than for a very long time.

Final thanks need to go to those particularly cold volunteer marshals, who did the business at the furthest away point on the course. We really couldn’t have done it without you (and I am not even joking, some of us go to the Chiltern League AGM!!!)

Beforehand, the League told us that “the rain should stay away, and that the ground would be muddy underfoot”….well they were sort of right!
It was cold, and at least the rain did stay away….a bit like the Portaloos which unfortunately didn’t arrive despite being ordered by the race organisers! The ground was soaked and the bits of the course that were not muddy to start with quickly churned up, becoming a worsening quagmire for runners, particularly as the day went on. Thus, the races were not at all like the usual canter around a park, it was incredibly heavy going, and really hard. All our athletes did really well as this was not for the faint hearted. A particular mention must go to all 1st-timers, a tough way to start, it will get easier with subsequent races (fingers crossed)! And some finished high up in their respective races too, well done!!!
Great stamina and effort was on display as usual. It was great to see so many out representing the club; our Juniors must be one of the strongest teams now in the League.
Individual results are on the results page.

Last night England Athletics hosted their annual volunteer awards evening for the Eastern Region in the glamorous surroundings of the Ball Room at the Athenaeum in Bury St Edmunds. SNHAC have a history of success in these awards and 2023 was no different. Libby Taylor won newcomer to volunteering for her work coaching and managing the EYAL team. Alan Ephgrave was rewarded for his tireless work as a field official and particularly the support he gives to athletes and new officials as he won official of the year. The final award of the evening was for services to athletics which rewards those who have volunteered for decades and this was won by Norman West who has been a starter for over 40 years. Well done to you all!

The going was good at Keysoe in Bedfordshire this Saturday for the first Chiltern Cross Country League match of the season! All the components for a successful match were there: the weather was ideal and the course was exciting, with the added jeopardy of an equestrian water jump for the athletes to run through. A strong contingency came out to represent SNHAC with a number of first- time runners amongst them. Well done to everyone who ran; each of you played a significant part in the club’s success. We came 6th out of 25 in the overall team scoring: 4th in the male category, 11th in the female, 8th in the seniors and, most impressive of all, 2nd in the juniors.
…And they were off! Just to explain how the results listed below are recorded: positions for Under 11s show where they came overall in the race, whereas all other age categories are shown within the two divisions entering the races. SNHAC are in Division 2.
U11G: Haysan (7th) and Harriet (30th) U11B: Daniel (49th) and Ralph (52nd) U13G: Hazel (5th), Evie (13th) and Neve (15th) U13B: Oliver (10th), James (12th) and Luke (13th) U15G: Sarena (4th), Eleanor (5th), Juliet (9th), Esme (11th) and Hannah (13th) U15B: Aubrey (2nd), Karol (4th), Matthew (7th) and Evan (10th) U17G: Abigail (2nd) U17B: Tommy (5th), Daniel (16th), Calum (17th), George (18th), Thomas (19th) and Edward (21st) U20F: Amelie (4th) U20M: Will (1st), Isaac (2nd) and Owen (3rd) Senior Female: Chris (32nd) Senior Men: Adam (17th), Phil (96th) and Ed (98th)
So many thoroughbred performances: 11 top five placings; impressive first-time runners; a magnificent U17B team and a photo-finish between our top two U20M with just two seconds separating them over the 49.71 furlongs (or 10K in running terms)!
Got plenty more ‘horsey’ puns in the (nose)bag, but don’t want to ‘stirrup’ any trouble! See you in Milton Keynes for next month’s race.

Jockeying for position

On a warm Sunday morning 9 SNHAC athletes lined up amongst over 1000 local runners in the Standalone 10k race in Letchworth. First home was Adam Searle (40 mins 44 secs). He was just 3 seconds ahead of under 20 man Daniel Gill who was making his debut in SNHAC colours.

Next to finish was U20 woman Abigail Manson who followed up her impressive performances in the Midweek League with a win in her category (44.41). Senior woman Alex Gates (46.51), under 20 men Edward Turner (48.51) and Oscar Whitley (50.34), senior woman Rebecca Pickard (51.50), V40 Phil Turner (57.24) and V50 Paul Pickard (58.53) made up the rest of the SNHAC contingent.

Thanks as always to North Herts Road Runners for their excellent organisation and our own Alan Ephgrave who marshalled and offered encouragement, and Eleanor who popped up to take the photos!