Last week Tonbridge Athletic Club members returned to training in small groups, within a controlled environment, whilst quite a few distance runners returned to race action in force, after months without any competition to look forward to.
On Wednesday evening Battersea Park Athletics Track hosted a night of 5000 metres track races, in unseasonably balmy and perfect conditions. Two Tonbridge athletes reduced their personal bests by more than thirty seconds, with Kieran Reilly (photo above) running 14.11.23 to finish 6th in a top-class men’s A race. Miles Weatherseed ran 14.22.62 to finish 3rd in the B race and then returned to action on Easter Monday, in windy and freezing conditions, to run 14.34 in the 5 kilometres road race at Wigan, placing 8th.
There were eighteen runners from the club racing in the 5 kilometres road events at the South of England Showground, near Ardingly on Easter Monday. Alex Howard had a great run to finish 9th in the men’s A race in 14.24, improving his personal best by 25 seconds, with Corey De’Ath also setting a pb of 14.29 in 14th. James Kingston, who is in the under 20 age group, ran 14.56, whilst there were a host of other bests from Sean Molloy (15.12), Dan Bradley (15.16), Michael Ellis (15.51), Matt Dennis (16.30), Fenton Davoren (16.47) and Russell McIntyre (18.18).
In the women’s A race, Nicole Taylor finished 9th with 16.52, whilst Verity Hopkins had her best race since joining Tonbridge AC recording 17.12, to place 19th. Harriet Woolley slipped under eighteen minutes for the first time with 17.58 and under 15 age group runner, Lily Slack, recorded 18.05. Lily Stewart made her debut at the distance, recording 20.26.
In the USA, outdoor track action continued, with three Tonbridge members in action. Chris Olley finished 6thover 1500 metres, at the Stanford Invitational, in San Francisco with 3.49.03. James West and George Duggan were racing for their universities at the Hayward Premiere meeting, at Oregon. West ran 1.52.49 for 800 metres and Duggan 3.53.67 for 1500 metres, whilst both will be looking for improved form in the coming weeks.
Track meetings and road races are now starting to populate the Summer fixture list, with league meetings and championships included. Hopefully, a reasonably full Summer season will be possible compared to last year, when it was August before any competition could take place.