Track and Field
First YDL match of the year was the Lower (Under 15 and 13) on Saturday at Leeds.
It was hugely hard work for team managers to put a team together so early, and just 6 days after our trial/ practice event. Constant juggling of events (as availability changed) and as we tried to find people at training to fill the unfilled / unpopular events. But it all worked out great in the end, as we won by 99 points on the current results.
The athletes were brilliant, whether as “specialists” and winning, or as newer recruits and doing their best which turned out good. We started with 4 huge wins in the girls hurdles, and the boys having a good go at a difficult event – special mention to Kye for tackling the hurdles which are very high to him off only one training session, showing how to battle for points. Then 3 wins in the hammer for athletes who have only been doing it a couple of weeks. Fitting in 2 wins and 2 seconds in the discus for athletes who had done even less preparation. Many showed they had learnt quickly in the short time they had had, and a complete determination to do their best.
And the points kept rolling in, including A and B double in both Under 15 javelins and the U13 Girls. And A and B double in both Under 13, and the Under 15 Girls in the high jump. Six wins and 2 seconds overall in high jump. Finishing with 4 wins and 2 seconds in the six relay races.
It was a big “occasion” for our newer athletes, many were in their first club match and their first visit to a track away from York. A great achievement for our athletes, the new Managers who has assembled them, and the coaches who had got them to this level either experts winning, or new or filling in athletes learning the basics quickly.
Elsewhere at the Loughborough open track meeting on Saturday. Tommy Shaw ran 4.08.53 in the 1500m and India Ibbotson 2.33.24 in the 800m.
Road Racing
New member Sophie Cogan had a superb run in the London Marathon as she ran 2 hours 51 minutes and 1 second to place 60th in the mass start and 76th overall. This is the 2nd fastest ever marathon by a City of York female athlete behind Charlotte Mason’s 2 hours 43 minutes 57 seconds from last year’s London Marathon. Chrissie Dover paced the race very consistently to break the club vet 45 women’s marathon record with 3 hours 15 minutes 39 seconds. James Wisbey despite suffering with stomach cramps in the later stages still broke the 3 hours mark to ruin 2 hours 56 minutes and 16 seconds.
In the London Mini Marathon, that is held over the last 2.6k of the Marathon route, Lottie Langan finished a fine 18th in the Under 17 race,. In the Boys, Charlie Fielding was 43rd and Isaac Stabler 62nd. In the Under 13s James Bastow was 39th, a very good result at this level. A great experience for our athletes.
Charlie Wright took 22 seconds off his 5k PB as he ran 15.30 in the Dulwich 5k. Oskar Fraser-Kraus ran 16.25 and Maddie Mastrolonardo 17.26 in the same race.
The club 23 runners doing parkrun over the weekend. There were 1st places for Charlotte Mason (17.43 on the Knavesmire), Edan Petrie (15.50) and Megan Ledden (20.06) both at Heslington, William Keens (17.37 at Easingwold) with Isabel Madden (20.16) and Juliet Horne (21.11) coming 1st and 2nd at Selby. There were junior age group wins for William Hardy, Noah Stipetic, Josh Reid and Bethany Ellerker with veteran age group wins for Jon Blake, Dave Lancaster, Julie Mastrolonardo and Mike Raynes. Ted Elwell (7.24), Brodie Barrow (7.55) and Noah Stipetic (7.55) were the first 3 runners across the line in the York Junior parkrun.