Herne Hill Harriers round-up: Sprint duo star at London Indoor Games

Sprinters Michael Miller and Giuseppe Minetti were two of the standout performers for Herne Hill Harriers on Sunday at the London Indoor Games at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, writes Geoff Jerwood.

Miller ran a rapid 10.54 in the 100m last summer, one of the fastest performances by a member in Harriers’ long history, and kicked off his 2022 with a big PB for 60m.

His time of 6.76 at Lee Valley is an improvement of more than two tenths on his previous fastest and augurs well for good seasons this year, both indoors and outdoors. He is ranked in the UK top 15 for senior men’s 60m and top six among U23 athletes in the early year lists of fastest performers.

Minetti is towards the older end of the age spectrum as a M50 competitor, but is hardly slowing down. His 7.54 for 60m was among the 10 fastest of his long athletics career and his quickest since 2018. It was a big leap forward from his pre-Christmas indoor racing form.

Annabel Hobday was Harriers’ only middle-distance runner at Lee Valley with most others focusing on cross country and road racing.

She recorded a time of 2:14.02 in her 800m event – only 0.3 seconds outside the outdoor PB set by the U23 athlete in August of last year.

Hobday will now target the British Universities and Colleges Indoor Championship next month with keen optimism.

Harriers took home the most medals at the Veterans Athletic Club Championship on Wimbledon Common on Saturday.

Mike Cummings took the M35 silver medal, Oliver Morrison was first M45, Jonathan Ratcliffe was third M50, Mike Boyle finished first M60 and Tony Harran was third M60.

The women had three winning medals in the open category – Alex Marginean was second W35, Penelope Cummings finished third W45 and Eibhlin Ni Bhradaigh was second W40.

Former club president Keith Newton was part of a Brighton & Hove team who took bronze medals in the M50 age group at Lancing Manor in the Sussex Masters Cross Country Championship.

Newton has an impressive record of having raced in Sussex championships events in every decade between the 1970s to the 2020s.

Katie Moore will wear Herne Hill colours in tomorrow’s South of England XC Champs in Beckenham, but last Saturday she represented North Down AC at the World Athletics Northern Ireland International Cross Country meet in Belfast, placing 31st in an elite women’s field.

Second-claim Herne Hill men Joe Morwood and Andrew Grigg, who have both raced in Harriers Surrey League teams this season, were in the top 10 at the Farnborough Winter Half Marathon on Sunday.

Morwood placed fourth in a fast 64:53, with Grigg eighth in 71:47. Eric Dol was 21st in 76:32, Paul Calver 28th in 77:34 and Keith Collins-Achong clocked 85:54.

Aimee Hargreaves was 10th female in 86:03, Hayley Shearman 14th female in 90:23, while Olivia Zeltner completed the course in 1:46:31, great running for someone who is now six months pregnant and who also raced in last week’s Surrey League on Mitcham Common.

Simon Coombes was 13th overall and second over-40 in the Fred Hughes 10-mile road race in St Albans.

Jack Dickenson placed sixth in the colours of St George’s Hospital AC, chased home by Eoin Brady for Herne Hill in eighth place at the Box Hill Fell Race.

Lewis Laylee was first finisher in the Brockwell parkrun in 16:13.

Andrew Warburton was first on Tooting Common and Billy Herklots was ahead of all comers in Southampton in 17:08.