Hercules Wimbledon AC round-up: New PB for Ed Mallett at Santa Monica Half Marathon
Athletes ran three laps of an out and back on the Broadwalk by the Pacific Coast Highway in the west of Los Angeles.
It was a lonely affair for the 27-year-old as he ran almost the entire race alone, eventually finishing more than 20 minutes clear of his closest competitor and clocking a new personal best by 47 seconds.
Mallett said: “It was steady splits for the first 19km before the pain hit and I slowed down a little. A sub-70 time was drifting away, so I pushed hard.”
His final sprint saw him creep under that barrier for the first time by just seven seconds.
The finance professional, who splits his time between Los Angeles and Southfields for a plastics recycling firm, will now look to contribute once more for the senior men’s team upon his return from the USA in the upcoming cross-country season.
Richard McDowell took silver in the Surrey Masters Cross-Country Championships on Saturday at Nonsuch Park.
McDowell, competing in the M40 class, ran alongside eventual race winner Duncan Woolmer for much of the early stages before the Walton AC athlete pulled clear towards the end.
McDowell finished in a time of 32:09, 27 seconds adrift and will see the race as encouraging after continual knee pain over the last few months.
He was followed home by Simon Woodley in 54th and senior men’s team manager Keith Scofield in 61st. The trio combined to finish fifth in the team competition, with Ranelagh Harriers taking the title.
Peter Giles, competing in the M75 class, took home yet another Surrey County title. Giles, 77, is the club’s oldest competing athlete and is a British record-holder in the age group’s 2,000m steeplechase. He won by more than two minutes from his nearest competitor.
Anna Garnier boasts similar pedigree and was a dramatic winner of her W65 class, finishing just three seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, Joanna Quantrill of South London Harriers. Garnier is also the team manager of the women’s junior squads.
Este Viljoen was fourth in the W60 race with Helen Davies fifth.
Hercules take three senior men’s teams to Mansfield for the English National Cross-Country Relays on Saturday, hoping to improve on last year’s best of 24th.
Competing over four legs of 5k through woods and on mud, the event sees the nation’s best cross-country runners link up for their respective clubs.
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