Woodford men on the Olympic podium

Two Woodford men made the very first podium at the new Olympic Stadium at Stratford following today's National Lottery 5 Mile Run. Tomaz Plibersek was 2nd and Tom Beedell 3rd and were awarded their prizes by Princess Beatrice. We believe 10 of our members ran the race in all.

This was a trial event to test out some of the Olympic facilities, and entry was by ballot. 5000 participants were accepted, and each lucky runner was given two guest passes so that around 10,000 spectators were expected in the stadium. The course wound around the Olympic Park, and there were many food and drink outlets open.

The first man home was Cardiff AC's Tommy Davies in 25 minutes 11 seconds. Around 300m back came our Tomaz Plibersek, who lives in Leytonstone and was 4th in the Slovenian National CC Championship last weekend. 3rd place looked to be going to Oz Ellis of Abingdon/Royal Air Force but, as he waved to the crowd, Epping-based Tom Beedell took advantage and pipped him. Beedell was part of our 12 Stage relay 'A' team last weekend.

Each of the first 3 men home was designated a 'hostess' who accompanied them as they located their supporters and were taken to the Hospitality Suite where there was a buffet. Tom Beedell's supporters were his mum Cindy and uncle Craig, while Tomaz, whose girlfriend Klara also ran the race, had invited Men's CC Team Manager Terry McCarthy and training partner Jim Roche. They were able to rub shoulders with the likes of Roger Black, Steve Backley and Jamie Baulch. Plibersek and Beedell were then taken back into the arena and led to the podium to be presented with glass trophies in the form of the National Lottery logo.

The club's finishers were: 2, Tomaz Plibersek 26.09; 3, Tom Beedell 26.11; 22, Andrew Clare 28.14; 47, CJ Shepherd 29.08; 252, Bernadine Pritchett 33.00; 389, John Wallis 34.07; 834, Michael Murphy 36.48; 1070, Vic Wilson 37.51; 1731, Adrian Russell 40.31; 2539, Stef McCarthy 43.33.