BY GEORGE MALLETT
Archie Walton headed to Wales for the Cardiff Metropolitan University Christmas Classic at the National Indoor Athletics Centre, competing over 3,000m, and took 12 seconds off his personal best to clock 8:26.86 and finish second.
Lining up in the afternoon’s second quickest race on Sunday, Walton, now based in Taunton, ran strongly throughout to move into the Hercules all-time top-30 for the distance.
Slotting in at 30th, he is one of only nine Hercules athletes this century to run below 8:28, making it a worthwhile trip up the M5.
Two further athletes in Charlie Wyllie and Charlie Eastaugh were meant to be competing in the fastest race but were denied boarding to their Great Western train, despite having seat reservations, due to overselling of tickets by the transport provider. They had to console themselves with some laps round Battersea Park instead.
Hercules juniors were seen competing in Lee Valley last Saturday.
Tommaso (Tommy) Crosara recorded yet another personal best lowering his 60m time to 7.58s. The U15 has recorded national qualifying marks for the 60m, 200m and 300m already this winter and will look forward to the National Indoor Age Group Championships in February with some interest.
U15s Beatrice Emerson and Amelia Barnes will join Crosara there. Emerson ran her first 800m of the indoor season to clock 2:27.71 with Barnes clocking running a new personal best of 200m (28.12s). Emerson’s 800m best of 2:21.93 from last season qualifies her this year with Barnes’ 60m mark of 8.38s good enough to earn herself a place too.
Freya McAndie (U15) opened her season over 300m, running 45.38s. Her time last season of 42.81 saw her already qualified to Hercules growing national championships numbers.
Melodie Humbert (U17), competing in her first indoors of the season ran a new personal best of 28.10 over 200m. Humbert would come back one week later at Carshalton to clock a new 60m best of 8.68.
In Malaga on Sunday, Stefan Shipp and Adam May ran sub-three hour marathons, running the whole race together to finish in 2:57:55 and 2:57:54 respectively. For Shipp it is a four time under the barrier, with May making it three.
At Hasting Parkrun on Saturday, Rhys Boorman ran 15:26 to record the seventh fastest parkrun in the UK this weekend.
Richard McDowell ran 15:26 to win the Reindeer 5k in Satsuma, Alabama, a time which would have been a state record for an individual aged 45-49 but did not count due to McDowell being from the more familiar grounds of South-west London.
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