Club and course records broken at Hercules Wimbledon-organised event
Battersea Park stood witness to some fast distance racing as club and course records were broken at the Podium Under the Lights 5k on Friday, writes George Mallett.
Healthy prize money attracted some of the UK’s best athletes with 67 men breaking the 15-minute barrier and a new course record in the women’s race for Revee Walcott-Nolan.
Walcott-Nolan, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian in the 1,500m, pulled away from fellow international athlete Calli Thackery over the final two kilometres, running 15:48 to break the previous women’s course record by two seconds.
With the race being organized by Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club coaches Ben Noad and Keith Scofield there was a suitably strong showing from the South London club.
In the men’s elite race, won by Thomas Kean of Cambridge and Coleridge (14:07), Jonathan Cornish was the first home for Hercules in fourth. His time of 14:14 betters his own club record by a single second.
Not far behind in 11th was Andrew Penney in 14:21, setting a PB over the roads.
This is all the more impressive given a heavy fall in the opening mile.
Charlie Eastaugh, racing for the third time in 10 days, finished 34th in 14:46.
Archie Walton ran a huge PB in the men’s elite race to finish second in 14:37. His time represented a 51-second improvement from his PB, set in April 2022.
George Mallett finished 15th in 14:51, seven seconds outside his own best, with Finn Johnson finishing 15th in race one with 15:12. It was just five seconds outside his 2019 best.
This is the second edition of the collaboration between the Podium and Friday Nights Under the Lights race organisers with the event drawing a number of sponsors. Elite Race winners took home £1,000, with prizes all the way down to 10th and a course record for Walcott-Nolan scooping her an additional £500 bonus.
Scofield said: “This year the sponsors wanted to hire a venue and create a community feel before and after the event, so people can chat and meet up for a pizza and beer. Lots of the runners couldn’t believe it was all free.”
In addition to the prize money, there was a DJ at the bandstand, passed twice by each athlete during the course, and the elite races were streamed for free to viewers around the world.
Scofield and Noad will look forward to the next edition of the event, to be held on Friday March 17, with plans to host a similar collaboration next year.
PICTURE: JERRY SUN
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