Photo -Adrian Whitwam in Florence, Italy
Tonbridge Athletic Club’s distance runners were competing on several fronts, across the weekend, notably with a number producing excellent veterans’ performances.
On Friday evening, Ben Cole finished 27th in one of the highest quality 5k road races of the year, where he ran 14.24. This set a new Tonbridge AC over 40 men’s record. It is also the fastest time recorded, in the UK for that age group, this year and third on the UK all-time rankings. Also at Battersea, Max Selby returned to top form, after a year of injury struggles, by finishing just in front of Cole with a personal best time of 14.20.
On Saturday, two cross-country events took place at Greenford, West London, with the Southern Inter Counties and Veterans Championships. Phoebe Baker was one of twenty-three Tonbridge runners representing the Kent teams and placed 2nd in the Senior Women’s race. Florrie McIver-Hall also had a notable race being 12th in the under 20 women’s event. The highlights in the veterans’ categories were Mat Smith finishing 2nd in the men’s over 45 race and Mark Pitcairn-Knowles 4th in the over 60 men’s event.
On Sunday morning, Adrian Whitwam ran the Florence Marathon in Italy, taking 14 minutes from the Tonbridge AC over 50 men’s record, with a time of 2.44.37. Whitwam spent his formative years with Tonbridge before moving away for much of his career and only returning to the club this year.
Another 5k road event was held in Battersea Park, London, on Sunday morning, with the British Masters Athletic Federation taking place, featuring many top veteran runners. Nichola Evans was the only Tonbridge medallist, as she finished 2nd in the over 40 women’s race, with a personal best of 17.56. Dan Bradley and Jay Smith finished 5th in the over 35 and 40 men’s categories, respectively, with times of 15.43 and 16.06. Alan Buckle ran 20.47 in the over 65 men’s event, which is also the fastest time by a Tonbridge athlete in that age group.