Hercules Wimbledon round up: Senior men set to end lengthy wait to win Open Track Surrey League title

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club’s cross country runners will be out in force in the final Open Track Surrey League meeting of the season on Effingham Common on Saturday with the senior men poised to lift the team title for only the second time since 1967, writes Tom Pollak.

Going into the fourth and final match of the season, they have an unassailable lead and only need to finish a team to lift the title.

The points position going into the final match is: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 526; 2 Belgrave 912; 3 Guildford & Godalming 1026; 4 Kent AC 1036; 5 Thames Hare & Hounds 1384; 6 South London Harriers1470; 7 Herne Hill 1539; 8 Ranelagh 1961; 9 Fulham Running Club 2431.

Three of Hercules Wimbledon’s top runners were among more than 22,000 competitors in the Miami half-marathon and marathon races with two of them achieving podium finishes.

Andrew Penney took the bronze medal in the elite race, clocking a PB of 1:11:43. Tom Jervis was second of 10,000 runners in the main race in 1:14:29.

“I’m so happy to have got a medal,” said Penney. “It was the most unbelievable running experience.

“The elite runners set off at a sensible pace so I was in a pack of 12 international runners for the first eight miles. Then, when some carried on to the full marathon course I realised I was in a medal spot for the half-marathon. One to remember.”

The club picked up a quartet of titles in the Surrey indoor championships at Carshalton over the weekend.

Florence Freeman won the U15 girls long jump with 4.71m, adding 24 centimetres to her previous best. She also took bronze in the 60m hurdles in 10.78.

Dylan O’Callaghan smashed his PB by more than half a metre in winning the U15 boys long jump with 5.48m.

All-rounder Mark Andrews gained a quartet of medals – winning the senior men’s high jump and shot, and finishing second in the 60m hurdles and triple jump. Antonio Douglas and Marcus Gayle took silver medals in the senior and U20 men’s 60m.

Jonny Cornish was the best of three Hercules Wimbledon runners in the Friday Night 5km under Lights road race in Battersea Park. He was 29th of 267 finishers in 14:17, just two seconds outside his best time. Charlie Eastaugh was 49th in 14:30 and Fred Slemeck 67th in 14:38, a four seconds improvement on his PB.

A trio of Hercules runners clocked PB 60m times in the South of England indoor championships at Lee Valley, north London. Fastest of the trio was Ryan Facey with 6.90.

Antonio Douglas clocked 6.96 and Freddie Arkell 6.97.

The club had four parkrun winners on Saturday. Alex Milne headed home a 191-strong field in Pitshanger Park, Ealing in 16:22, Robbie Hynes clocked 17:21 in beating 260 other runners to win in Edinburgh, while Chris Ore won in Grovelands, Enfield, in a PB of 18:35. Gina Galbraith was top woman finisher in Crane Park, Twickenham, in 19:15.