Hercules Wimbledon round-up: Seven runners selected by Surrey for action in Oxford tomorrow
Seven Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club runners have been selected to represent Surrey in the South of England inter-counties cross country championships which are being held at Shotover Common, Oxford tomorrow.
Ellen Weir, Georgie Clarke and Niamh Thompson are in action in the girls’ U17 race. Weir has enjoyed an impressive winter, mainly in parkrun events, but one of her best runs came in last month’s London Youth Games cross country meeting at Parliament Hill Fields, North London, where she was runner-up in the U17 girls race.
Clarke, who has also been enjoying a successful winter, won the second Surrey Ladies League race on Mitcham Common last month after finishing third in the opening league meeting at Reigate. She was fifth in the London Youth Games. Thorpe finished 11th in the London Youth Games.
Alice McCormack has been selected for the women’s U20 race with Lulu Weisz, who was fifth out of 221 runners in her London Youth Games race, and won the opening Downs League race on Epsom Downs, and Mollie Thorpe, 11th in her London Youth Games race, in the girls U15 championship.
Benjy Street, who won the Surrey schools title in January, and was second in the East Surrey League race at Croydon in October, runs in the boys U13 championship.
Emily Bokor-Ingram gained a hat-trick of medals in the London University indoor championships at Lee Valley. She won the 60 metres in a PB of 8.55 seconds, an improvement on her previous best of 8.72 set when she finished fifth in the British Masters Championships on the same track in March 2018.
She took the silver medal in the 400m in 60.57 after winning her heat in a slightly slower 60.86 and gained a second gold medal when she helped King’s College win the sprint relay.
Weir warmed up for this weekend’s Oxford race by winning the women’s race in last Saturday’s Wimbledon Common 5km parkrun. She finished seventh of a 449-strong field to cross the line in 18:53. She was just five seconds outside her best time for the course which was set at the end of October.
Jonny Cornish headed home a 1,281-strong field in the Bushy Park parkrun in 15:44 to complete a hat-trick of wins there this year.
His fastest win in 2019 was in February when he clocked 15:00. Justin Reid was sixth in 16:57 and David Grima ninth in 17:35.
Peter Giles – at 75 the oldest cross country runner at the club – finished 109th in 20:53 to post the event’s top age-graded performance.
Rob Tuer was third out of 305 runners in the Longrun Meadow parkrun in Taunton in 17:07 with veteran Kieran White finishing fifth out of 384 runners in the Dulwich Park event in 16:24.