Chingford League Race 5
On Saturday 20th January, Orion Harriers played hosts to race five of the six-race Chingford League series at their HQ in Epping Forest. The race took place on the woodland trails behind Chingford Golf Course.
It was a dry and overcast morning and the course had plenty of ankle deep mud, puddles and hills to challenge the athletes! Going into the race WGEL juniors held top spots in both Boys and Girls U11&U13 team competitions. WGEL athletes also held podium positions in the individual competitions. The start line was set in a narrow wooded section and, with U11 and U13 races setting off as one, it was going to be a frantic start. The question was who could get out fastest!
U11 Girls
WGEL had 14 girls in a total field of 24. Five clubs competed. WGEL athlete Emily Mathias (1st) took victory for the second time this season. Emily ran the 2.1km course in 9mins 24s. This was a fantastic run, improving on her Met League outing last week. On that occasion, Emily finished behind three WGEL team mates in the A team. On Saturday her fast start got her out and away from them all! WGEL’s Eva Prince (2nd) was just 2 seconds behind Emily and, with teammate Zoe Wright (3rd) next to finish, these three completed a clean sweep of the podium!
Sophia Parker (4th), Marissa- Higgs-Smith (5th) and Sofia Sneath (6th) were the next WGEL athletes to cross the line and, with team mates Isla Barron (8th), Grace Cherry (9th) and Gracie Fayinka (10th) just behind, WGEL had 9 athletes home in the top 10!
Bridey Kelly (11th), Hannah Richards (16th), Maia Laiani (19th), Amelia Rodrigues (20th) and Alice Mackenzie (21st) completed the squad. These girls are learning fast and enjoying their running. Their fine runs capped a great days racing for WGEL U11 Girls.
U11 Boys
WGEL had 11 boys in a total field of 27. Five clubs competed. Rory Willis (Heathside) took victory in 9mins 02s. Willis finished 10 seconds ahead of WGEL athlete Eric Frith (2nd), who fell at the start but showed great composure to get up and chase the pack! Oskar Prince (3rd) continued his great winter season finishing just behind Eric. These three sit top of the individual competition and are battling it out in the Met league as well!
Tayo Adetona (4th) was just 5 seconds behind Oskar. This was a great run and Tayo is improving with each race. WGEL’s Toby Taylor (6th) was next. His brilliant consistency this season sees him currently sit in fourth place overall.
WGEL young athletes Okkie Lee (9th), Henry Richards (10th), Edward Sheridan (12th), Jack Tonge (14th), Elijah Waterfield (18th), Harry McNally (22nd) and Daniel Hayden (27th) flooded in behind the leaders. A number of these boys are lower age group U11s and all of them are progressing well, gaining experience and enjoying their racing!
U13 Girls
WGEL had 8 girls in a total field of 19. Five clubs competed. Autumn Le Chevalier-Jones continued her comeback from a “spiking” injury at the Essex CC in December with a fine victory for WGEL. Autumn ran the course in 8mins 54s. Autumn looked strong driving through the mud leaving the field in her wake!
Faye Owers (2nd) was next home for WGEL in 9mins 15s. Faye had a huge smile after the race. It was a fine performance and it needed to be with WGEL debutant Daisy Anderson (3rd) one second behind and completing another clean sweep of the podium for WGEL. These two were closely followed by current league leader Pia Trautmansdorf (Orion). This result throws the competition is wide open with one race to go!
Next, it was great to see a return for Amber Higgs-Smith (5th). Amber has been unlucky this year with health. This was a fine run and shows the potential given a fair wind! Ella Traynor (6th) followed Amber and should be pleased with a top ten finish after recovering from illness. Lila Vadher (8th) put the disappointment of hurting her ankle in the last race to finish in the top ten with teammates Chloe Jennings (9th) and Darcey Mackenzie (10th). They completed the squad with all 8 WGEL girls finishing in the top 10!
U13 Boys
WGEL had 6 athletes in a total field of 22. Five clubs competed. WGEL’s Harry Stockill (1st) was at his best, powering through the mud to victory. Harry ran the course in 8mins 09s. There was also a great run from WGEL’s Oliver Brown (2nd) who finished 2 seconds behind Harry. Oliver finished like a train and looked controlled and at home in the mud!
Teddy Newson (3rd) was next home for WGEL. In his Chingford League debut Teddy finished strongly, opening a 10 second gap on fourth placed athlete Freddie Holling-Yates (Orion) in the last 300m. Holling-Yates is currently fourth in the overall table. This is a good sign for Teddy who completed another clean sweep of the podium for WGEL!
WGEL’s Thomas Kirkland (5th) ran with one shoe after losing one in the mud at the start. Despite this he finished right behind the leading pack. Thomas recently long jumped 5m 38cm to win Gold in the South of England indoor Championships at Lee Valley. Even with one shoe the puddles were no match for Thomas and his elastic legs!
Yuvan Kumar (27th) was next home for WGEL. Yuvan was unable to train over New Year but was pleased to be back racing and will kick on from here. Team mate Luke Stoneham (22nd) completed the squad. Luke fell and hit his knee.He finished at a walking pace but was determined to cross the line!
U15
The U15 race was run over a tough, hilly course of approx. 4.5km but arguably produced two runs of the day!
First home in U15 Boys was WGEL athlete Aidan O’Driscoll. Aidan ran the course in 22mins 23s. He finished one minute ahead of Max Bell (Orion) in second and Bruno Stubbs (Loughton AC) in third. Aidan was nervous at the start.The U15s went off with all the seniors, but he held his nerve and looked fantastic coming up the last hill into the final 400m. It was great to see him smile after the race with a look of “how did I just do that!”
WGEL athlete Matilda Frith also ran fantastically to take victory in the U15 Girls. Matilda ran the course in 22mins 32s and was in full flow over the final 400m where she opened a huge gap of over a minute back to Charlotte Palmer (Loughton AC) and third placed Lizzie Knapman (Loughton AC).
These two athletes capped off a fine days racing. The Chingford league continues to provide WGEL athletes with a fun and competitive environment to race with a warm welcome from all the league organisers. The final race is at Victoria Park on Saturday 5th February.