Ashley Green and Glen Bates were interviewed by BBC TV during their 4:40:42 effort but 30-year-old Martin Rowe led the club home in 8,885th place in 3:33:56.

The Harriers' sole female competitor Anne Smith, 48, running in memory of her mother, clocked 4:28:49 to be the 3,120th woman home.

Duncan Byrne came home in 3:37:37, 12 minutes faster than his previous best, while one of the club's most prolific London Marathon participants Norman Hemming recorded 3:48:44. Ian Statter completed in 4:49:33 despite limited training through injury while Ken Woodhams finished in 5:45:17.

Perfect conditions greeted more than 350 competitors for the start of the Croydon 10k Run in Lloyd Park.

Several optimistic young runners went hard early but after about 10 minutes a group had established itself at the front, with 16-year-old Harrier Mathew Hall making the pace. Teammate Julian Dillow and Striders' Tony Sheppard, with his colleague Ciaran Osborne, were in close attendance.

Hall raced ahead down Upper Shirley Road and was 50m clear at one point along the Addiscombe Road but inexperience over the distance began to take its toll as he ran into new territory after 7km. Sheppard in particular, was relaxed and revelling in the conditions and, together with Dillow, steadily hauled Hall back until they went by him in Park Hill Road.

Forcing hard up Selborne Road, Sheppard made what was to prove his decisive bid for victory. The determined Dillow kept up his challenge, but could not deny the Strider his club's first victory in the event.

Hall dug deep to hang on and take third place together with the junior men's title. Strider Osborne, in his first ever Croydon 10km, finished fifth while teammate Neil Furze finished ninth.

South London Harriers' Gill O'Connor was the first woman home after finishing 13th while the women's runner-up was Katy McCandless who was 16th.

These two women were separated by the next Croydon male athletes home, Harrier Martin Rowe and Strider Joe Butler.

Many athletes were using the event as their final race before the London Marathon next weekend.

The Fun Run medals were kindly presented by Gina Regan, administrator for the Croydon Colorectal Charity, which, assisted by Croydon Harriers, will stage its 10k race on Sunday, June 9 from Addington Park.

2nd Julian Dillow 35.48 (2nd V40)

3rd Matt Hall 35.58 (1st U20)

14th Martin Rowe 38.18

36th Keith Brown 40.31 (12th V40)

52nd Duncan Byrne 41.54

57th Mark Elsworthy 42.10 (3rd U20)

62nd Robbie Powell 42.53 (4th U20)

74th Eric Campbell 43.40

80th Jake Elsworthy 44.26 (6th U20)

112th Peter Lill 46.13 ( 13th V50)

157th Mike Cauldwell 49.41 (5th V60)

159th Ashley Green 49.54

177th Alison Smith 51.14

191st Anne Smith 52.40 (4th FV45)

261 Peter Richardson (V50)

Meanwhile, several young Croydon Harriers were successful in the open meeting at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Their top performer was Emlyn Akoto who, in taking a good third in the under-15 100m, equalled his personal best of 11.7sec. Danny Doyley ran 12.5sec in his heat.

Fellow under-15 athlete Ashley Harris was very near his best when he took third in the long jump with a 5.16m effort.

Adebola Odusina clocked a pleasing personal best 13.6sec for sixth in the under-13 100m and Heaven Lee Roach looked promising at 14sec.

Croydon Harriers' young athletes rounded off the winter programme with success in the final fixtures of the Downs cross country league and the East Surrey league.

At Epsom in the last Downs league match, Tom Dean won the U13 category and the overall title. He was followed by Celestino Eningo, on his debut, in sixth place, just ahead of Josh Kelly (seventh).

The club's U11 and U15 squads finished runner-up in their team competitions, with Jack Shuard performing well for the U11s.

The U15s' Martyn Rooney also took third, just ahead of Matthew Thoroughgood, Sophie Bates and Robert Agnew.

With just the East Surrey League Road Race remaining, the U13s and combined U15s and U17s are in third and first place respectively following the Box Hill last month.

Tom Dean headed the U13s with third place over 2.1 miles. In the 3x2.1 mile relay, his older teammates, Robbie Powell, Jack Appleton and Matthew Hal took second place.

Two of Croydon Harriers' most promising athletes picked up medals at the National Indoor Championships last week.

Under 15 sprinters Emlyn Akoto and Jordan Roye won national bronze medals for coming third in the 60metres sprint and 60m hurdles respectively.

Shirley High School pupil Akoro clocked a personal best of 7.28 seconds in his semi-final, before running 7.32 for third in the final.

Hurdler Roye also recorded a personal best of 8.71s in the 60m hurdles.

Both runners had previously won silver medals in the Surrey indoor championships.

Young Croydon Harriers competed successfully in the recent Surrey county indoor championships at Crystal Palace.

In the under-15 section, Ashley Hamilton took the high jump title, soaring over 1.60m, with Emlyn Akoto and Jordan Roye bagging silver in the 60m and 60m hurdles respectively.

An injury-free Robert Williams narrowly missed out on the U17 60m title, with a run of 7.3sec.

Akoto and Roye then travelled to Birmingham last weekend, adding National bronze medals to their recent successes. Shirley High pupil Akoto clocked a 7.28sec personal best in his 60m semi-final, eventually taking third in the final with a run of 7.32sec. Hurdler Roye also recorded a personal best of 8.71sec over 60m.

More than 100 athletes ranging in age from 11-years to over 70 gathered in Lloyd Park on Saturday to contest a challenging program of events hosted by Croydon Harriers.

The multi-event meeting featured the club's championships, the Southern Vets AC championships, an inter club match and The Borough trial for aspiring London Mini-Marathon competitors.

Top man over the 10km test was inter-club match winner Andy Flett (Collingwood) who cruised home over a minute clear in 37:56.

Fourth-placed Eric Parker (Striders of Croydon) 39:53 was the first local finisher, with Croydon Harriers Julian Dillow 40:46 and Robert Langridge 41:37 in eighth and ninth respectively.

As the fourth veteran home, Dillow not only led the Harriers to second place in the inter-club event, which was won by Collingwood, but also helped the Croydon team to victory in the veteran's contest. Dillow also claimed the club's veteran's championship.

Jack Appleton, 17, took the Harriers' title as he headed the throng in the Mini-Marathon trial covering the 3.3km in 13:09. Mark Elsworthy was runner-up, 27 seconds behind.

Third-placed Nick Saunders continued his recent progress by claiming the under-15 title in 13:45 with the under-13 winner Glyn Appleton seventh home overall in 15:37.

Just two seconds behind Appleton was Jessica Goodwin, a winner of the under-15 girls title by almost a minute.

Gemma Regan (17th overall) was the second girl home followed by Harriet Cheeseman (19th), who produced a fine run for an 11 year old.

Meanwhile, Harriers' talented 18-year-old pole vaulter Cameron Johnston capitalised on an important indoor international opportunity at Cardiff on Saturday.

He finished an excellent third, with a personal best of 4.90m, a 10cm advance, and his third progression in as many competitions.

Cameron only missed second place on countback and as a result he has gained a Great Britain under-23 selection to compete again in Cardiff next weekend.

A mist-shrouded Lloyd Park was brought to life on Saturday, when Croydon Harriers lived up to their solid reputation event organisers as hosts of the eight event Championships in tandem with the County administration.

From 11am to 4pm a constant stream of colourfully clad athletes raced around the testing, and in places treacherous course, still frozen ground just beneath considerable stretches of deceiving mud.

By the end of the event 453 men, women, boys and girls had successfully completed their races.

The first county gold was struck by Daniel Sheppard of Guildford, who ran away with the U13 race very impressively for one so young.

The days final Champion was Herne Hills 37 year old international David Taylor who triumphed in similar swashbuckling style. Leading from the off, he stretched clear of all comers in the senior men's 12km, making the demanding terrain appear as testing as running across a bowling green and was only closed down to a 12 second margin in the final stages by South London international Gary Staines.

Croydon's young athletes were the host clubs most successful competitors. The clubs U17 captain Mathew Hall was the highest placed individual, 5th over 6.5km in 26:04. Had fellow Harrier Jack Appleton 9th not been running for Oxted School, Croydon would have won silver medals rather than finishing 5th. Martin Nelson 12th and James Harrison 27th completed the team.

Three other young Harriers excelled to make the top 10. Very promising U13 girl Phillipa Coates was a strong sixth, having given the leaders a scare early on. In the U15 category, Robbie Powell paced himself very well for another 6th and the highly competitive Jessica Goodwin snatched another well deserved 6th with a final 200m dash worthy of a sprinter! Sophie Bates ran well for twelfth.

The U15 boys with Nick Saunders second home in 23rd spot and Martyn Rooney steadily returning to form, finished 5th.

Lucy Chapman, the clubs sole senior woman in action acquitted herself well for 52nd over 8km in 44:58.

The men were better of numerically with five stalwarts competing, but with no aspirations of grandeur, ran competently, with the ever reliable Robert Langridge heading them home in 94th place. 169 finished.

Tom Dean in 33rd place was the first Croydon U13 home.

1 113 Daniel Sheppard (Guildford & Godalming AC) 12.35

2 101 William Lucas (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) 12.54

3 125 Michael O'Halloran (Hercules Wimbledon AC) 13.07

33 173 Thomas Dean (Croydon Harriers) 15.29

1 003 Louise Eley (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) 13.45

2 009 Zoe Shannon (Dorking & Mole Valley AC) 14.21

3 044 Leeanne Best (Crawley AC) 14.28

4 001 Kalina Nowak (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) 14.40

5 028 Helena Stegner (Herne Hill Harriers) 14.50

6 008 Phillipa Coates (Croydon Harriers) 15.03

27 006 Gemma Regan (Croydon Harriers) 17.25

1 003 Matthew Leslie (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) 15.03

2 002 Stephen Blake (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) 15.14

3 068 Steven Bruce (unattached) 15.32

4 001 Ben Wilson (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) 15.33

5 013 Oliver Ralph (Epsom & Ewell Harriers) H 15.36

6 007 Robbie Powell (Croydon Harriers) 15.40

23 010 Nick Saunders (Croydon Harriers) 17.37

29 006 Martyn Rooney (Croydon Harriers) 18.22

40 008 Nicholas Atkins (Croydon Harriers) 20.20

42 009 Robert Agnew (Croydon Harriers) 26.38

Team result:

1 Aldershot, Farnham & District AC 24 ( 1, 2, 3, 18, )

2 Herne Hill Harriers 39 ( 7, 8, 9, 15, )

3 Epsom & Ewell Harriers 54 ( 4, 12, 16, 22, )

4 South London Harriers 72 ( 6, 17, 23, 26, )

5 Croydon Harriers 79 ( 5, 20, 25, 29, )

6 Hercules Wimbledon AC 92 ( 13, 24, 27, 28, )

1 137 Danielle Christmas (Crawley AC) 16.53

2 132 Kiri Nowak (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) 16.58

3 131 Georgina Furze (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) 17.53

4 138 Hannah Brooks (Crawley AC) 18.15

5 143 Medina Knespl (Hercules Wimbledon AC) 18.19

6 145 Anair Beverley (Ranelagh Harriers) 18.20

7 136 Jessica Goodwin (Croydon Harriers) 19.23

12 134 Sophie Bates (Croydon Harriers) 21.18

1 129 P Canavan (South London Harriers) 24.51

2 153 Matthew Lawrence (Sutton & District AC) 25.20

3 124 F Bell (South London Harriers) 25.29

4 107 Paul Drake (Hercules Wimbledon AC) 25.46

5 102 Matt Hall (Croydon Harriers) 26.04

12 105 Martin Nelson (Croydon Harriers) 28.49

27 103 James Harrison (Croydon Harriers) 34.30

Team result:

1(South London Harriers 10 ( 1, 2, 7, )

2 Woking AC 28 ( 5, 9, 14, )

3 Hercules Wimbledon AC 30 ( 3, 10, 17, )

4 Oxted School 33 ( 6, 8, 19, )

5 Croydon Harriers 36 ( 4, 11, 21, )

6 Tiffin School 41 ( 12, 13, 16, )

1 165 Jo Kelsey (Army AA) 33.15

2 033 Emily Nelson (Epsom & Ewell Harriers) 33.25

3 159 Zara Hyde-Peters (Woking AC) 33.28

52 167 Lucy Chapman (Croydon Harriers) 44.58

1 145 Dave Taylor (Herne Hill Harriers) 41.51

2 239 Gary Staines (South London Harriers) 42.01

3 197 Alister Moses (Reigate Priory AC) 42.12

94 034 Robert Langridge (Croydon Harriers) 54.30

104 024 Keith Brown (Croydon Harriers) 55.47

114 033 Norman Hemming (Croydon Harriers) 57.25

Great performances by Dave Dymond in 4^th and Darren Bradley close behind set up an improved team performance on home turf. The U17 again excelled extending there overall lead in the league finishing a close 2^nd on the day.

1 R Ward (HW) 28:35; 2 W Smith (Woking) 29:29; 3 P Garbe (E&E) 29:46; 4 D Dymond (Croy, M40) 30:21; 5 D Bradley (Croy) 30.22 ,24 I Wright (Croy) 32:19; 32 J Dillow (Croy, M45) 32:44;

1 Dulwich Runners 304; 2 Guildford & Godalming 318; 3 Kingston & Polytechnic 404; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 431; 5 Epsom & Ewell 476; 6 British Airways 497; 7 Croydon 521; 8 Woking 551; 9 Stragglers 593

Positions after three fixtures

1 Dulwich Runners 898; 2 Guildford & Godalming 900; 3 Kingston & Polytechnic 1230; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 1301; 5 British Airways 1347; 6 Epsom & Ewell 1475; 7 Woking 1657; 8 Straglers 1693; 9 Croydon 1798

1 O Ralph (E&E, U15) 15:46; 2 J Appleton (Croy) 15:53; 3 P Drake (HW) 15:58; 4 R Powell (Croy, U15) 16:04; 6 M Nelson (Croy) 16:22;

TEAM: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 38; 2 Croydon Harriers 41; 3 Epsom & Ewell 71; 4 Kingston & Polytechnic 115; 5 Guildford & Godalming 144; 6 Dulwich Runners 146

Standings after three matches: 1 Croydon 125; 2 Epsom & Ewell 235.5; 3 Hercules Wimbledon 236; 4 Woking 296; 5 Kingston & Polytechnic 319; 6 Guildford & Godalming 434.5

1 M Deane (HW) 17:43; 2 C Stanton (G&G) 18:30; 3 S Langley (Woking) 19:06; 7 T Dean (Croy) 19:50;

TEAM: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 40; 2 Guildford & Godalming 48; 3 Woking 119; 4 Croydon 123; 5 Dulwich Runners 125

Standings after three matches: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 190; 2 Guildford & Godalming 241; 3 Woking 312; 4 Kingston & Polytechnic 340; 5 Dulwich Runners 366; 6 Croydon 369

HOLLY RUN RACES

Priory Park, Reigate

U15

1 S Blake (AFD) 17:0-3; 2 M Jee (Craw) 17:37; 3 R Powell (Croy) 17:57; 4 A Denton (Craw) 18:10; 5 J Bright (CS Oxted) 18:42; 6 M Willis (CS Oxted) 19:08; 7 R Gunner (Orion) 19:12; 8 A Bryson (Tiffin) 19:21; 9 N Matharan (Orion) 19:31; 10 S Ryan (S Lon) 19:44

TEAM: 1 Crawley 17; 2 County School Oxted 24; 3 Croydon 32

1 I.Johnson STRG 30.12

47 M.Rowe CRO 35.33

51 K.Brown V CRO 35.58

79 E.Campbell CRO 38.38

111 C.Scott V CRO 46.00

116 K.Crooke V CRO 51.27

Several aspiring young Croydon Harriers athletes travelled to the Spectrum Sports Centre, Guildford on Sunday, where they competed in the second Surrey Sports Hall athletics meeting.

Tom Dean, the 12-year-old middle distance runner, turned in a solid all-round performance by showing a good turn of speed to finish third in his six-lap race before clearing a personal best 1.20m for fourth in the high jump.

Round one standing long jump winner Heaven-Lee Roche had to settle for second this time, although he did well to jump 2.17m. He also backed up with a solid third in his four-lap race.

The under-13 girls were also not to be outdone. Claire Wilkinson fought tenaciously to finish fourth in a tough six-lap event before contributing twice in the obstacle race, in which the Harriers finished third, alongside Kymberley and Odette Campbell and Dominique Gervais.

The club had two under-15s in action and both acquitted themselves well. Sophie Bates ran well to take third in her four-lap event while Daniel Pratt made a pleasing debut in the standing triple jump to clear 7.12m for fourth place.

Croydon Harriers' young boys and girls were well placed in the second of the five match series on Epsom Downs last Sunday.

Their mixed U13 team, admirably led home by Phillippa Coates, comfortably headed their race and retained their overall lead.

Tom Dean ran his customary competent race for a good second and the rest of the squad backed up well. They were Josh Kelly (5th), Chris Jordan (6th) and Kevin Clements (11th).

Both the U11 and the U15 team settled for second places in the eight-team event and also hold second places overall.

The U11s packed in very well behind newcomer Michael Kealy who was thirrd, closely followed by Jack Shuard fourth and Dan Hall sixth.

The U15s, struck by injury on the day, and light on numbers, did well in the circumstances to take the runners-up spot.

Relative newcomer Nick Atkinson capitalised in the circumstances to head the rest home in sixth.

Meanwhile, it was left to the Croydon Harriers' young athletes to strike gold in the Sweatshop Surrey Cross Country League on Saturday in Richmond Park.

Headed by the consistent Mathew Hall, who was fourth over the 2.4-mile course in 15:08, the combined Croydon under-15 boys and under-17 men all finished in the first 16.

Nick Saunders ran his best race of the season to take eighth in 16:03 with newcomer Joe Ive 33sec and one place further back.

The Harriers' other youngsters, led by James Harrison (13th in 17:23), finished one after the other in 14th, 15th and 16th places. They were Nick Atkinson, Matthew Thoroughgood and Robert Agnew.

Tom Dean, the club's sole under-13 competitor, did well to place eighth.

The team is comfortably in the lead with 48 points after two matches.

The undulating 4.8 mile course proved a daunting test for most of the Harriers' men, except for Darren Bradley apart, who took it in his stride.

He finished eighth in a field of more than 150 in 28:01. Next was the consistent Ian Wright (27th in 29:29) with Robert Langridge next Croydon finisher in 31:55.

Jessica Goodwin, 14, was the only Croydon representative in the Surrey Women's' League at Tilford, where she produced another very respectable run to finish ninth.

Croydon Harriers' young athletes struck gold in the Sweatshop Surrey Cross Country League on Saturday in Richmond Park.

Headed by the consistent Mathew Hall, who was fourth over the 2.4-mile course in 15:08, the combined Croydon under-15 boys and under-17 men all finished in the first 16.

Nick Saunders ran his best race of the season to take eighth in 16:03 with newcomer Joe Ive 33sec and one place further back.

The Harriers' other youngsters, led by James Harrison (13th in 17:23), finished one after the other in 14th, 15th and 16th places. They were Nick Atkinson, Matthew Thoroughgood and Robert Agnew.

Tom Dean, the club's sole under-13 competitor, did well to place eighth.

The team is comfortably in the lead with 48 points after two matches.

The undulating 4.8 mile course proved a daunting test for most of the Harriers' men, except for Darren Bradley apart, who took it in his stride. He finished eighth in a field of more than 150 in 28:01. Next was the consistent Ian Wright (27th in 29:29) with Robert Langridge next Croydon finisher in 31:55.

Jessica Goodwin, 14, was the only Croydon representative in the Surrey Women's' League at Tilford, where she produced another very respectable run to finish ninth.

Men

1 W Smith (Woking) 27:34; 2 P Garbe (E&E) 27:34; 3 A Eynon (BA) 27:36; 8 D Bradley (Croy) 28:01; 27 I Wright (Croy) 29:29;

TEAM: 1 Guildford & Godalming 260; 2 Dulwich Runners 280; 3 British Airways 342; 4 Kingston & Polytechnic 379; 5 Hercules Wimbledon 512; 6 Woking 545; 7 Stragglers 550; 8 Epsom & Ewell 567; 9 Croydon 660

Positions after two matches: 1 Guildford & Godalming 488; 2 Dulwich Runners 594; 3 Kingston & Polytechnic 846; 4 British Airways 865; 5 Hercules Wimbledon 885; 6 Epsom & Ewell 1007; 7 Stragglers 1110; 8 Woking 1114; 9 Croydon 1281

U17

1 P Drake (HW) 14:34; 2 J Hempsted (Woking) 14:46; 3 K Parnham (E&E, U15) 14:52; 4 M Hall (Croy) 15:08; 8 N Saunders (Croy, U15) 16:03; 9 J Ives (Croy, U15) 16:36;

TEAM: 1 Croydon Harriers 48; 2 Woking 62; 3 Epsom & Ewell 84; 4 Kingston & Polytechnic 93; 5 Hercules Wimbledon 131; 6 Guildford & Godalming 145; 7 Dulwich Runners 147

Positions after two matches: 1 Croydon 84; 2 Woking 136; 3 Epsom & Ewell 164.5; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 198; 5 Kingston & Polytechnic 204; 6 Dulwich Runners 313; 7 Guildford & Godalming 390.5

U13

1 M Deane (HW) 16:34; 2 S Langley (Woking) 18:01; 3 O Richards (G&G) 18:03; 8 T Dean (Croy)

TEAM: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 60; 2 Kingston & Polytechnic 96; 3 Guildford & Godalming 99; 4 Woking 99; 5 Dulwich Runners 122; 6 Croydon 124

Positions after two matches: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 150; eq2 Guildford & Godalming/Woking 193; 4 Kingston & Polytechnic 195; 5 Dulwich Runners 238; 6 Croydon 246

Several young Croydon Harriers travelled to the Westcroft Sports Centre, Carshalton on Sunday to compete in the first of this winter's three Surrey AA competitions.

Members of the boys and the girls teams featured in several events.

Phillippa Coates, a Croydon High pupil, strode away with the under-13 girls four-lap race and later lost second place in the shot by a centimetre in which she achieved a personal best of 7.83m.

Cecilia Barriga was also successful in the six-lap event in which her sound pace judgement paid off for another impressive victory. She also contested the standing long jump in which her 1.87m leap took third place. Finally she made a key contribution for the Croydon team which finished fifth in the obstacle relay.

Emlyn Akoto looked very impressive in the under-15 boys two-lap race which he won with ease. Later he took a good second in the standing long jump with a 2.45m effort.

Danny Doyley won the under-13 two-lap race and he and Heaven Lee-Roach teamed up in the paarlauf in which they finished a fighting fifth. Heaven had earlier finished second in the standing long jump with his 2.27m effort.

Long-serving Croydon Harriers club president Don Webb was unanimously re-elected for a record-breaking fourth term at Monday's Croydon Harriers AGM. Linda Harrison, Nina Jenner and Robert Elsworthy were elected vice-presidents.

Two other long-term club officers, secretary Mike Fleet and assistant secretary Ken Crooke, were also re-elected.

In the South of the Thames junior five miles cross country race over South London Harriers' tough Farthing Downs course, Croydon Harriers were represented by seven of their most enthusiastic members.

In a field where more than 160 finished, the first Harrier home was 40th-placed Ian Wright in 32 minutes 10 seconds.

Ian travelled from Pinner in Middlesex for the race and Robert Langridge, coming up from Folkestone to give support, was pleased with his time of 35:37 for 94th spot.

Veteran M45's Norman Hemming and Keith Brown resumed their battle for places and this time it was Norman's day when he took 106th in 36:31 to Keith's 36:35 for 108th to complete the scoring four for Croydon.

Their points total of 348 placed them 20th in the team's event.

Non-scoring support came from Gary Lomas( 125th, 38:23), Mike Caudwell (155th, 46:43) and Ken Crooke (160th, 50:51).

U15 Boys

1 M Rooney (Croy) 12:00; 2 J Hodges (K&P) 12:16; 3 N Atkinson (Croy) 12:45; 4 M Jobson (E&E) 12:51; 5 M Huntley (K&P) 13:01; 6 H Waddington (K&P) 13:31; 7 R Agnew (Croy) 14:16

U13

1 T Dean (Croy) 12:07; 2 A Makkar (E&E) 12:01

TEAM

U15 Combined: 1 Kingston & Polytechnic 22; 2 Croydon 26; 3 Epsom & Ewell 42; 4 Kingston & Polytechnic B 46

U13 combined: 1 Croydon 16; 2 Kingston & Polytechnic 17; 3 Epsom & Ewell 17

The annual three part battles for the Croydon Harriers Sprint and One Mile Handicap titles reached a fitting climax at the Albert Road Arena last Tuesday evening.

The last race for the "Jack Lisney" sprint title, over 200m or less, was won narrowly by 16-year-old scratch-marker Martin Nelson.

Nelson dug deep to hold off Eric Campbell, 20 years his senior, who had made the most of a 25m advantage.

Russell Burgess, off 20m, was a seriously challenging third and Robert Langridge, making a welcome return from his new home near Folkestone, did well off 5m for a close up fourth.

In the final outcome, youth prevailed over experience, with Nelson taking the title by a single point, 57 to 56, ahead of Burgess, who rewarded for his consistent efforts by gaining the runner-up spots.

Third and fourth placegetters Jack Appleton and Eric Campbell were well adrift of the leaders but closely locked in their own personal battle on 37 and 36 points.

Martin Rowe made the third mile handicap his own with a solid solo run of 5:03.7, finishing over 40 seconds clear of Nelson (5:47.1), who backed up from his sprint win with a gallant runner-up finish.

Eric Campbell, thirrd in 6:00.2, registered a 25sec improvement on his PB.

Behind him the wily Burgess did sufficient with his 6:46.0 to win the title and the Ashby Cup by two points from Rowe, 55 to 53.

Nelson took third with 49 points and the ever-improving Ashley Green took fourth with a well-earned 38.

Not even the incessant downpour could dampen the spirit of over 250 drenched enthusiasts in the Croydon Harriers/Croydon Cultural Services 10 kilometre event as they gathered in Lloyd Park Avenue on Sunday.

One of several previous winners in action, Barry Cooke (Bromsgrove & Reddich) came down from the Midlands only to be deprived of a second victory by another visitor, Alex Rowe (Wesham R Are) from Lancashire.

These two soon detached themselves at the head of the steaming throng. Rowe went on to win in splendid isolation in 34:36 with Cooke coming in to finish 58sec later. Tom Sheppard (Striders ) thwarted a clean sweep by runners from beyond the borough, taking third place another 58 seconds back.

Rosalind Lewis (Shaftesbury Barnet), another previous winner, took her second women's title in fifth place overall, with a 37:20 effort. Steve Trimmer (SLH), was the next local finisher, sixth in 37:23.

Croydon Harrier Duncan Woolmer, just back from injury, ran a controlled race and did really well to make the top 10 in 37.50. He was followed 15 seconds later by the women's runner-up Meredith Pannett (Dulwich Runners)

V50 men's winner Martin Preston (SLH) finished12th overall with Croydon Harrier Martin Rowe hot on his heels in 38:36.

Fifteen-year-old club colleague Mark Elsworthy ran a promising 39:34 effort to win the under-20 prize.

A few yards back came Strider David Bell, 39:39, who had the edge by a single second over third placed woman Alison McKenzie (SLH).

There were many interesting tussles further down the field. Fun runner Jessica Goodwin, 14, battled with fellow Croydon Harrier Paul Weston, the club's joint young athlete's team manager. Youth prevailed, with the youngster showing no respect in the final stages, sprinting clear to finish 91st in 46:59 with Weston 96th in 47:12.

Eleven Woodcote Junior School supporters, organised by Bernadette Blackwell in their quest for funds, were led home by Albert Baldock, 73rd in 45:42 with Bernadette appropriately leading the ladies home 183rd in 55:48.

Two hundred and fifty-two runners completed the course, assisted by stewards from the Harriers, their friends, including a retired GP, and the reliable Croydon Lions.

The next Croydon 10k Road Race and Fun Run will be held in April 2002

Men

1 A Rowe (Wesh RR, M40) 34:36; 2 B Cooke (B&R) 35:34; 3 A Sheppard (SoC, M40) 36:32; 4 L Gomez (Lon Hth) 36:49; 5 S Trainer (S Lon) 37:23; 6 S Hancock (E&E, M40) 37:30; 7 K Dunning (Coll) 37:34; 8 P Gasson (Arena, M40) 37:48; 9 D Woolmer (Croy) 37:50; 10 M Pannett (DPR) 38:05

U17: M Elsworthy (Croy) 39:34

M50: M Preston (S Lon) 38:36. M60: P Turley (E&E) 41:36

Women

1 R Lewis (SB) 37:20; 2 A McKenzie (S Lon) 39:40; 3 V Mitchell (S Lon, W35) 40:48; 4 M Johnston (unatt) 40:07; 5 A Thornhill (unatt) 44:46

U20: H Hart (unatt) 45:04

Croydon Harriers' young athletes took the limelight from their senior colleagues at the weekend, when the club's Surrey League programme opened at Guildford for the men and on Wimbledon Common for the women.

Led by captain Mathew Hall, the Harriers' combined under-15/under-17 team stormed to an excellent victory.

Hall, took charge of the race and produced one of his best performances to win over the 2.5 miles by two seconds.

Just as impressive was the club's second athlete home, 14-year-old Robbie Powell, whose sixth place was a fine achievement. Jack Appleton (eighth), Mark Elsworthy (10th) and Nick Saunders (11th) also performed well.

The club men faced the five-mile Merrow Downs course for their Division II Match and despite solid runs from all -round, could only finish in sixth place.

Men

1 T Weeks (E&E) 26:13; 2 R Ward (HW) 26:24; 3 M Goatley (G&G) 26:27; 6 D Dymond (Croy, M40) 27:22; 30 D Bradley (Croy) 29:43; 40 I Wright (Croy) 30:13;

TEAM: 1 Guildford & Godalmimg 228; 2 Dulwich Runners 314; 3 Hercules Wimbledon 373; 4 Epsom & Ewell 440; 5 Kingston & Polytechnic 467; 6 British Airways 523; 7 Straglers 560; 8 Woking 569; 9 Croydon 621

U17

1 M Hall (Croy); 6 R Powell (Croy, U15); 8 J Appleton (Croy); 10 M Elsworthy (Croy); 11 N Saunders (Croy, U15); 13 M Nelson (Croy); 15 N Atkinson (Croy)

TEAM: 1 Croydon 36; 2 Hercules Wimbledon 67; 3 Woking 74; 4 Epsom & Ewell 80.5; 5 Kingston & Polytechnic 111; 6 Guildford & Godalming 145.5; 7 Dulwich Runners 166

U13

10 S Elsworthy (Croy)

TEAM: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 90; 2 Woking 94; 3 Guidford & Godalming 94; 4 Kingston & Polytechnic 99; 5 Dulwich Runners 116; 6 Croydon 122

U15/U13

1 M Knepsl (HW, U15) 14:19; 2 J Goodwin (Croy, U15)

Teams of Croydon Harriers boys and girls gave scant regard to atrocious conditions at Stoke Park, Guildford, on Sunday, when they competed in the Surrey cross-country relay championships.

Fielding teams in three events, the Harriers came home drenched but content with two sets of bronze medals to their credit.

First to strike bronze were the Under-15 girls, who were given a strong start by Sophie Bates, who finished fourth, clocking nine minutes 23 seconds for her 1.25 miles.

Next off was a very determined Jessica Goodwin, whose enthusiasm and gritty running was rewarded by the team's fastest time of 8:46 in third place, just six seconds adrift of second.

Phillippa Coates on anchor leg had travelled back from Cornwall the previous night after representing Croydon High in a national tennis tournament. If she was tired, she certainly gave no indication of it and did everything but snatch the silver medal, with an excellent 8:59.

The valiant Croydon team was credited with an overall time of 27:08, the same as the runners-up.

Croydon Under-17 men were given the perfect start by Mark Ellsworthy, who came home second in 7:33.

But to his delight, Mark saw that the first runner had no squad, so Croydon was in the lead. He handed over to James Harrison, who ran a courageous 8:10 to close in second.

Last leg responsibility rested on the shoulders of the fast improving Martin Nelson.

The Selsdon High boy gave the established Woking runner behind him a battle to remember, before conceding the silver by four seconds.

The Harriers Under-15 boys finished seventh of 10.

Meanwhile, at the East Surrey League Cross Country relays at Wimbledon Common, Croydon's Under-17 trio took a pleasing second while the Under-15 team finished fourth

The Croydon Harriers' track and field season of 2001 entered the home straight at the Arena last Tuesday evening when they staged the first of their three traditional handicap competitions for the coveted Lisney Memorial Sprint Cup and the Ashby Mile Cup.

The relaxed nature of the events traditionally attracts a wide range of challengers and last week's launch proved no exception, with aspiring teenagers mixing it with established athletes and "super vet", 73-year-old Ken Crooke.

Seven hopefuls faced the starter for the 100m.

Senior Russell Burgess put former schoolboy glory as a slow bicycling specialist behind him to win with an impressive turn of speed.

He capitalised on a more than generous 20m advantage, heading 16-year-old James Harrison.

Other seemingly harshly treated young middle distance runners, "scratch men" Martin Nelson and Jack Appleton, were close up with the sprightly septuagenarian Crooke giving them no chance to relax.

The sealed handicap mile event attracted a field of a dozen, which accordingly set off from the home-straight start.

Handicaps apart, it soon became clear the race would be between under 17 middle-distance prospect Jack Appleton and fast-improving senior Martin Rowe. Appleton showed dogged determination in finishing first by five seconds in 5:04.8 but could do no better than eighth on handicap, with Rowe just one place behind.

The versatile Burgess, aware doubtless of the handicappers' generosity, trotted around purposefully and despite closing in near the rear of the field, achieved a rare double, snatching his second win of the evening in 6:38.0.

Ashley Green, a minute slower, benefited similarly to snatch second, while 16-year-old Nelson's promising mile debut of 5:20 earned him third. Veteran Keith Brown was fourth and newcomer Nathnel Atnafu placed an encouraging fifth.

The second round of the series will be held at the Arena this Thursday evening, when the "sprinters" will face the tougher test of 150m or less (depending on their perceived speed and the handicappers judgement).

The Harriers handicaps will then miss a week to accommodate athletes competing in the Croydon schools Cross-country Championships and will reach their climax on Tuesday, October 16.