Herne Hill Harriers round-up: Phoebe Anderson lands GB slot for the European Cross County Championships
BY GEOFF JERWOOD
Phoebe Anderson has been selected for the Great Britain Juniors team for the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin on December 12.
Anderson secured her automatic place in the team by finishing fourth in the U20 women’s race at the British Athletics Cross Challenge and European Trials meet on Saturday at a very windy Sefton Park in Liverpool.
The race capped off a busy week after competing seven days earlier at the NCAA Division 1 Cross Country final in Florida, then flying back from Columbia University in the USA. After a brisk start, Anderson faded a little in the middle of the 4.4km race, but rallied very strongly to finish just outside the individual medals, but within the first five places which guaranteed her selection.
This will be Anderson’s second major championship of the year, as she also raced for Team GB at the European U20 Championship on the track in Tallinn during the summer. She is ranked second in the UK at 5,000m for the year in her age group and holds the Herne Hill club U20 women’s record at this distance.
The only Harriers female member to have run a faster 5,000m time than Anderson is Saskia Millard, who raced in the senior women’s 8.1km event in Sefton Park. Competing as an U23 among the seniors, Millard finished 38th overall.
Jeff Cunningham placed 57th in the Marathon de La Rochelle in France with a time of 2:37.34. Tom Irish clocked a PB of 3:14.06 in the Firenze Marathon in Florence, Italy, to place 427th. Keith Collins-Achong was 34th in a PB of 36:48 at the Ranelagh Harriers Richmond 10K.
Brandon Dewar was fifth in 33:19 at the RunThrough Chase the Moon 10km in Battersea Park. Aimee Hargreaves ran a huge PB of 38:27 to finish sixth female.
Simon Coombes was second in 16:21 (and first M45) at the Last Friday of the Month Serpentine 5km in Hyde Park. Other club entrants were Jonathan Ratcliffe, 27th in 18:13 and first M50, Mike Boyle (34th in 18:31 and first M60). Tim Kerr was 38th in 18:40 and Julia Wedmore – second female finisher – came 43rd in 19:04.
Photo: James Rhodes
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