It’s been a busy early season so far for Loughton AC’s athletes, with medals, club records and PBs galore.
The ‘Unto the Fields’ runners assemble pre-race - photo credit: Lorraine Gosling
First up were our marathon heroes, who reaped the rewards for a hard winter’s training bloc.
Vicky Thompson, who qualified for London with a ‘good for age’ time based on last year’s result, ran 3:29.01 for a club record and PB. Amanda Overy scored a V50 club record, and Nico and Rob enjoyed fine runs.
Vicky celebrates her new Marathon PB
Meanwhile, in Brighton, Nick Barker executed a near-perfect race, running a well-deserved PB of 2:53.58. Everyone at the club is thrilled for Nick - his dedication to his training has been second to none this season.
Melanie Peddle has long been the jewel in Loughton AC’s crown and started her spring campaign with a bang. Competing against Europe’s best in Madeira in the European Masters Non-Stadia Champs, she notched up a silver and a bronze in the 20k walk and 10k walk respectively, in tough conditions.
Melanie receives her silver medal
At the other end of the distance spectrum, our Eastern Masters (EMAC) and Southern Athletics (SAL) teams enjoyed a successful start to the league season.
Our women - competing in a joint team with our friends at Thurrock Harriers - won their match convincingly. Pick of the bunch was Kristina Siupsinskaite, making her debut for the team.
The SAL at Watford brought PBs for athlete-of-the-match Alan Fricker (high jump, 1500m), Gabriel Buckley (800m) and Aiden Buckley (1500m). It’s a joy to compete in a joint team with our friends at Orion Harriers. There’s more to come from this team and we look forward to finding out what the rest of the SAL season has in store.
The 4x400m SAL team
Another club record fell at the Woodford Graded Open Meeting when George Abbott (U20) ran a solid 9:57.26. George has shown excellent progress over the past 2 years following injury and his coaches are thrilled with his commitment to his training and his well-deserved results.
George, pictured with Nick Barker
Two of our U15 athletes, Henry Hurley (long jump, 100m, 200m) and Owen Williamson (1500m), put in very respectable performances at the Essex County Athletics Champs. We are very proud of them for representing their club so well.
Henry in action in the long jump
Although the cross-country season ended in March, we like to cater to all our athletes’ tastes. So, as well as road and athletics opportunities, we hosted our popular ‘Unto the Fields’ races in mid May - complete with cross country weather! (Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of the event - marshals, officials, course markers, refreshments team…)
Around 60 Loughton AC athletes ranging from age 8 to age 60+ competed against counterparts from local clubs over a tough course. Pick of the bunch was Ali Trauttmansdorff (1st lady) and the LAC women’s team (1st), although the men had their best showing for some time with an excellent team finish. They are going from strength to strength and we look forward to seeing what they can do come the autumn!
Finally, a word for our officials, without whom we could not host races or compete in the various leagues: Peter Cassidy, Catherine Gurney, Doug Bliss, Tony Maycraft, David Hobbs and Kerrie Colyer-Kirk. We are so grateful for your time and expertise.
Bring on the rest of the season!
If you’d like to join us for any or all of this, visit www.loughtonac.org.uk/join-us
We’d love to have you along!