Chingford League - Final Race at Victoria Park
Chingford League Race 6 – Victoria Park
On Saturday 5th February, VP&TH AC hosted the final Chingford League race of the six-race winter series in Victoria Park. The race took place on the flat, tarmac paths and tree lined boulevards around Victoria Park. It made a nice change for the athletes to wear racing flats and not contend with muddy spikes! U11s ran one lap of the one mile course. The U13 ran two laps (2 miles). All juniors set off together.
Race conditions were perfect, and the fields were swelled by athletes battling it out for medals and newcomers attracted to the location. Ahead of the race WGEL juniors held top spots in U11 & U13 team competitions and had a number of athletes in contention for medals in the individual competition. It was set to be a fine morning of racing!
Results: http://chingfordleague.co.uk/this-years-results/
U11 Girls – Race Report
WGEL had 14 girls in a total field of 26 athletes. Six clubs competed. WGEL athlete Zoe Wright (1st) ran a well-judged race to take victory! Zoe, ran the mile course in 7mins 03s. Her raw speed suited the firmer surface and her result improved on her previous best finishes of 2nd in Race 1 (Hogg Hill) and Race 2 (Dagenham Central Park). Team-mate Emily Mathias (2nd) was just 4 seconds behind Zoe. Emily won the previous fixture at Epping Forest. This was another fine run. Sophia Parker (3rd) was next home for WGEL in 7mins 25s. This was Sophia’s best run of the season and she completed a clean sweep of the podium for WGEL!
Marissa Higgs-Smith (4th) and Sofia Sneath (5th) were right behind the leaders, packing out the top 5 for WGEL. Marissa ran well off very little training, and Sofia hung on tremendously after coming back from illness. WGEL Isla Barron (9th) ran well to record another top ten finish, her third in the series and she has shown great consistency over the winter. Bridey Kelly (12th) was the next WGEL athlete back and continues to improve. WGEL debutant Caeli Maritz (14th) was just 5 seconds behind. She gave it her all in her first club race!
These two were followed by sea of green and white vests! Grace Cherry (16th), Bianca Matos (17th), Amani Clegg (18th), Maia Laiani (23rd), Alice Mackenzie (25th) and Hannah Richards (26th) flooded though the finish. These athletes are a credit to themselves and the club. They enjoy their running and are getting to grips with racing!
U11 Girls - Individual & Team positions (after 6 races)
Individuals: 1st = Eva Prince (WGEL) 2nd = Zoe Wright (WGEL) 3rd = Sophia Parker (WGEL)
Teams: WGEL = 1st Loughton AC = 2nd and Orion Harriers =
3rd U11 Boys – Race Report
WGEL had 13 boys in a total field of 37 athletes. Seven clubs competed. Rory Willis (Heathside) was again the one to catch. The individual leader of the six-race series, Willis was put under pressure at the start by WGEL athletes Eric Frith (2nd) and Oskar Prince (3rd). However, Willis timed his run well. He regained the lead in the second half and never looked back taking victory in 6mins 49s. Eric and Oskar can both be very proud of their efforts. They will look forward to battling it out again in Met league in two weeks-time!
WGEL’s Toby Taylor (4th) excelled on firmer ground, putting his speed to use with his best finish of season. Toby crossed the line ahead of fast improving team-mate Tayo Adetona (5th). Henry Richards (9th) had his best run of season finishing in the top ten for first time in 7mins 37s. WGEL’s Okkie Lee (12th), Jack Arnold (13th) and Jack Tonge (14th) were right behind with debutant Henry Agnew (15th) enjoying his first race for the team. Team-mates Harry Mcnally (18th), Edward Sheridan (12th) and Elijah Waterfield (18th) and another debutant Noah Parker (21st) flooded in behind them. The boy’s midweek and weekend track training was put to good use on the faster course and many of them are lower age group U11 and will be back next year!
U11 Boys - Individual & Team Positions (after 6 races)
Individuals: 1st Rory Willis (London Heathside), 2nd Eric Frith (WGEL), 3rd Oskar Prince (WGEL)
Teams: 1st WGEL, 2nd Orion Harriers, 3rd Loughton AC
U13 Girls – Race Report
WGEL had 5 girls in a total field of 10 athletes. Five clubs competed. Results in previous fixture had thrown the individual competition open. The leader going into this last race was Pia Trautmansdorf (Orion). Trautmansdorf has been brilliantly consistent, finishing 2nd in four of the races. However, her lead had been cut in the last race where she was 4th behind three WGEL athletes after the team’s spectacular run in Epping Forest.
WGEL’s Faye Owers (2nd) was her closest challenger. Faye set off positively with WGEL team-mate Daisy Anderson. Daisy took up the early running and led until the end of the first lap when disaster struck. Daisy was forced to pull out with a knee injury. This left Orion’s Trautmansdorf to take up the running, which she did with aplomb, opening a gap on the chasing pack over second half of the race and crossing the line in first place in a time of 13mins 19s. Faye, stuck to her guns behind Trautmansdorf and was first home for WGEL in 13mins 56s. It was a great run and despite being disappointed not to be closer to the leader she had given it her all!
WGEL athlete Tess Noblet (3rd) continued her comeback after surgery in December and continues to progress toward full fitness. Tess, lives close to Victoria Park the route often features in her training runs. This was a good run on home territory! Ella Traynor (4th) followed Tess home and was rightly pleased with her run. In fact, this run and her consistency over the six-race series has pushed Ella into the individual medals! Darcey Mackenzie (6th) completed the squad with her highest finish in the six-race series. Darcey is progressing well and continues to learn more after every race.
U13 Girls - Individual & Team Positions (after 6 Races)
Individuals: 1st = Pia Trautmansdorf (Orion) 2nd= Faye Owers (WGEL) 3rd = Ella Traynor (WGEL)
Teams: 1st WGEL, 2nd Orion Harriers and 3rd Loughton AC
U13 Boys – Race Report
WGEL had 6 athletes in a total field of 21. Five clubs competed. WGEL’s Harry Stockill (1st) and Oliver Brown (2nd) set off in positive mood. They led the individual competition and had controlled the leading packs most of the previous races. On Saturday they had talented Ryder Islam (Ilford AC) on their heels. The three came through halfway neck and neck. Harry and Oliver have been training and racing well. Their strength and experience told in second half where they put a gap of 10 seconds between themselves and Ryder. In a sprint finish WGEL’s Harry Stockill eventually took victory running the 2 mile course in 12min 29s. Team-mate Oliver Brown was 4 seconds behind in second with Ryder Islam (Ilford AC) in third.
Daniel Arnold (4th) was next home for WGEL. Daniel is coming back from illness and did well to remain focused on his own a few seconds behind the leaders and ahead of a chasing pack. Daniel, finished 20 seconds ahead of this pack led by Toby Long (Eaton Manor) and Kamal Ricketts (Orion Harriers). In that chasing pack were WGEL athletes Teddy Newson (7th), Stephen Ng (9th) and Charlie Howes (12th). Teddy has been brilliant in his first few months with WGEL. On this occasion, an overzealous start made the two-mile course feel a lot further! He still ran a good time of 13mins 31s and learnt a valuable lesson in pacing! Stephen has been recovering from illness and his time of 13mins 55s was a very pleasing comeback result. Charlie Howes (12th) ran superbly on his debut. Charlie is new to club athletics and shows good promise!
U13 Boys - Individual & Team Scores (after 6 Races)
Individuals: 1st Harry Stockill (WGEL), 2nd Oliver Brown (WGEL) and 3rd Daniel Arnold (WGEL)
Teams: 1st WGEL, 2nd Orion Harriers and 3rd Loughton AC
U15 Boys - Race Report
Aidan O’Driscoll was WGEL sole representative in this race. Aidan won the previous race in Epping Forest with a brilliant run. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the U15 results had not been confirmed. However, there are very few athletes who have progressed as much as Aidan over the winter and we do not need results to tell us that. Well done Aidan!
Medal Presentations - Saturday 5th March 2022 (Wanstead Flats Relays)
Saturday concluded the Chingford league for 2021/22. Medals will be presented at the one-off CL Relays at Wanstead Flats on Saturday 5th March 2022. The CL has been a great experience for all the WGEL juniors this winter. Our experienced runners got to lead races and run from the front and our newer runners raced for first time. The team at WGEL would like to thank all the parents and families for getting the athletes to fixtures and to all the CL team organisers!