South Of England 5k road race championships U15/U17

After being local to us last year it was back up the M1 to Milton Keynes for these championships. It was quite cold with the main feature being the strength of the wind which meant times were probably around 30/35 seconds slower than normal.

In the Under 15 boys race Harry Stockill and Oscar Eaton followed Essex XC champion George Watkins out of the stadium until the race settled down with a group of five athletes breaking clear. On entering the track Harry was just a few yards down on Seth Noott from Winchester with Oscar in 4th spot close at hand. Noott held his advantage to take the title with Harry 5 seconds down in 2nd spot, recording 16 mins 39 secs. Oscar was closing fast on the Hercules Wimbledon runner Wharton, but had to settle for 4th spot in 16 mins 43 secs in his first ever 5k. Daniel Arnold placed 9th in 17 mins 47 secs, again showing great consistency for another excellent run. This enabled WGEL to retain the title they won last year. Josh Stephenson continues to show improvement  with another fine run of 18 mins 37 secs for 16th spot.

Under 15 girls 

We had just two Woodettes on the line, but what fine club athletes these two are. They both played a big part in our Junior Women placing 2nd in the Met League recently. Ella Traynor, enjoying a fine season, placed 12th in 21 mins 12 secs, a PB for 5k. Had it not been for the wind, Ella may well have broken 21 minutes for the first time. Juliet Taylor, caught in traffic problems, had little time to warm up but still did well and recorded 23mins 38 secs, placing 15th.

Under 17 men

A reasonably sized field for this age group was led out at a rapid pace. William Muffett, hoping for a sub 16 mins 30 secs clocking, may well  have got that but the wind played its part by slowing the times. William was happy with 20th spot, 16 mins 55 secs being his time. Aidan O’Driscoll, now free of breathing difficulties, again had a good run for 27th spot, with the wind robbing our lad of a sub 18 minutes effort. Aidan had to settle for 18 mins 24 secs. Nate Harding, who has been excellent in training in recent weeks, just had one of those days, finishing in 30th 18 mins 39 secs. Nate has reacted really well, putting this run behind him and just focusing on the next race. WGEL were 6th in the team race.

Under 17 girls 

From a WGEL perspective Anaand Tratts' run for 5th spot was the run of the day. Not only did she set a PB of 19 mins 12 secs, she was actually over two minutes faster than last year at the Olympic Park and it sets her up nicely for the forthcoming track season. A great effort indeed! Next in was Molly Sherrin in 6th in 20 mins 39 secs. Molly does so well in regularly supporting WGEL despite all her engagements in a football academy. Completing the team scoring for WGEL was our finest club girl, Matilda Frith in 7th spot in 25 mins 12 seconds. It was great to see these girls get silver medals behind Windsor Slough and Eton.They were very well deserved.

Overall a good showing from our youngsters once again supporting this event.