Chingford League 2024-25: Race 2, Dagenham
On Saturday 2nd November, an overcast but dry day greeted the huge number of Woodford athletes assembled at the Discovery Centre in Eastbrookend County Park for their second Chingford League race of season.
The course was set on grassland and parkland trails. It was largely flat. U11 &U13 ran 2km. U15-17 ran 4.5km and Seniors 7.5km.
Seniors- In the Men’s race Christopher Hogg (72nd) led the team home, improving on his 79thin the first fixture. Richard Hogg (M50) and Paul Stockings (M60) also improved on their first race positions. Richard was 124th and Paul was 160th overall in a competitive field with over 200 athletes completing the race.
U17 Boys - William Muffett secured his second victory of the season in another epic battle with runner-up Lindsell (E&H). William held the lead for much of the race and hung on to take the win by 3 seconds. William ran 13mins 47secs for 4.5km. William is a great competitor, and it is good to see him taking confidence to lead races from the front. Enfield & Haringey won the team competition. A number of Woodford U17’s Boys were racing at the National Cross-Country Relays (Mansfield) and so did not complete a team, but they will in future fixtures with fewer clashes ahead.
U17 Girls–Anaand Tratt won the race in 16mins 28s and was first home for the team in securing a fine victory. Annand is finding her feet this winter and this was a good test of her fitness and valuable race experience. Matilda Frith (3rd) was next home and took a podium position in the race, finishing just ahead of teammate Juliet Taylor (4th). These were good runs from Matilda and Juliet who are both training well and taking that into races. Woodford won the fixture and are top of the table, ahead of second placed Loughton ACand third placed Orion Harriers.
U15 Boys–Thomas Nicholls (3rd) made a great return to the team with a podium finish. The race was won by Barney Perkins (Ilford AC) in 15mins 19s who was well clear of chasing pack, but Thomas did well to maintain focus and his third place. He was just ahead of teammate Rahul Solanki (4th) who also made a welcome return to the team but admitted to going off a little too fast! Tayo Adetona (7th) is training well and was pleased with his run, as was fast improving Ethan Withfield (8th) who is gaining in confidence race on race. The boys’ excellent performances meant Woodford won the fixture ahead of Loughton AC and Orion Harriers in third.
U15 Girls - Sophia Parker stepped up from runners-up spot in the last race to take the victory with a superb run. Sophia ran 17mins 04s and looked strong throughout the race. Fast improving Emilia Kozinska (2nd) had a terrific run and was rightly pleased to make the podium. Fiona Yip (4th) was right behind and is another improving and gaining experience in her first season with the club. Anna Jaramillo-Obcowska (6th) also continued her good winter, running under 21 mins for 4.5km which is arguably her best performance to date. Woodford won the fixture and top the table ahead of Orion Harriers.
U13 Boys - Eric Frith showed his class, taking the raceout from the start to win in 6mins 24s ahead of runner-up Khalif Ali (IAC). However, it was not plain sailing and Eric had to dig deep as his busy start to the season started to show. A few easy days are planned for Eric as he manages his school/club race schedule.
Oscar Prince (3rd) is also a class act. He slipped at the start, which unsettled him, but he ploughed on and took a podium place in an exciting finish, holding off a late surge from fourth placed athlete William Godsave (Loughton AC).
Woody Qureshi (5th) had an inspired run. Woody is a good endurance athlete but has a busy sport/school schedule which restricts his running. However, we are always happy to see Woody on the team sheet when available! Ashton Jokhiya (6th) looked much more confident and was rightly pleased with his run, finishing just ahead of teammate Henry Richards (7th). Henry is recovering from injury, and it was great to see him back. The team will monitor him over the coming weeks as he returns to full fitness. Oscar Langston (9th) and Daniel Hayden (10th) swapped positions from the first race and are both training and racing well. Pranav Esari (14th) completed the team, making a fine debut and gaining valuable race experience.Woodford won the fixture ahead of Loughton AC and Orion in third.
U13 Girls–Eva Prince took advantage of school holiday to race and powered home to a fine victory in 7mins 02s.Teammate Grace Cherry (2nd) was very close behind, with only a second separating them. Eva and Grace have both had a superb start to the season and are looking forward to regional/county races later this year.
Poppy Barker (3rd) continued her rich vein of form with another fine run and her second consecutive podium spot, completing a clean sweep for Woodford. A fantastic group of young athletes followed next led by Rosie Anderson (5th), Lottie Oates (6th), Kehanique Lowe (7th), Chloe Summers (8th), Isabella Lester (9th), Sophia Stephenson (11th), Rosie Muffett (13th) and Sophia Khan (15th). There is a lot of talent and multi-event athletes amongst this group, and they are a formidable team! Woodford won the fixture ahead of Enfield & Haringey and Orion Harriers.
U11 Boys - Jack Tonge enjoyed the softer terrain and improved on his runner-up spot in first race to take victory ahead of previous winner Lukas Vernal (Orion). Jax Connor (3rd) maintained his good season despite getting held up at the start. Jax made his way through the field to take a well-deserved third. Jessie Geller (4th) had his best run of the season, finishing just behind Jax and looked strong throughout. Luca Cook (5th) is finding his feet after a tricky 6 months of injury. His ability to train consistently now is now paying off and this was a huge confidence boost.
New joiner George Davies (6th) is also finding great confidence in his racing since starting at the club and he led a great pack of Woodford athletes home with Luke Foley (8th), Seth Fayinka (9th), Luke Bachmann (11th), Dylan Williams (12th), Fintan McDonnell (13th), Arlo Barron-Smith (14th), Sonny Kelly (15th), Charlie Tonge (16th), Idris Bernard (17th), Joel Forder (18th), Riyan Chowdhury(21th), Elon Lee (24th), Aiden Chowdhury (26th), Noah Parker (27th) Jude Oronsaye (28th) and Oscar Everitt (29th) completing the team.Woodford won the fixture ahead of Orion Harriers.
U11 Girls - Chloe Ward ran a really gutsy race and took the runners-up spot behind race winner Alice Clements (E&H).
Rosie Barron (3rd) continued her fine form and was just behind the leaders with the softer conditions starting to suit Rosie’s love of mud! Teammate Phoebe Quorn (4th) was once again in hot pursuit of the leading pack and looks strong. Nola Glover-Hammond (7th) took a huge leap forward from 16th position in the first race as she builds her competition experience. Kaya Affleck (8th) once again secured a top ten position with a great run and lead home a great group of young athletes, many making debuts. Phoebe Woods (9th), Angelica Povilaitis (10th), Esme Cherry (11th), Emilia Herbert (12th), Dulcie Qureshi (14th), Lula Qureshi (16th), Clementina Monti (17th) and Ayda O’Driscoll (18th).
Woodford won the fixture ahead of Eton Manor AC and Enfield & Haringey in third.
Summary
The team continued their terrific start to the Chingford League season and are currently top in all the junior age groups excluding U17s where Woodford are second to Enfield & Haringey (Boys) and Loughton AC (Girls) in the league competition. Once again, a big thank you to all the parents and volunteers that helped get the athletes to the race and organise numbers on the day.
Next Chingford League: Saturday 23rd November at Trent Park (Fraternity & Sorority Cup)