FIRST EDITION PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 2022
CONTENTS
Thames ladies, 2019 Roger Bannister, 1954 Edwin Flack, 1896 James Hoad and Natalie Seymour, 2020 Arthur Newton, 1920s Matthew Lynas, 2006 Chris Brasher, 1956 Sonia O’Sullivan, 1998 The first Saltires, 1868 Mara Yamauchi, 2008 Nick Altmann, 2005 Welsh Castles relay team, 2005 Rachel Disley, 1997 Chris Chataway, 1954 Ben Reynolds, 2015 Anna Garnier, 2017 Mike Farmery, 1979 Andy Lynch, 2005 Jan Hildreth, 1981-2005 Benita Willis, 2004 James McMullan, 2011 Mothers of Thames 150th year Saltires, 2018 Chris Cheeseman, 1998 London Marathon team, 2005 Percy Stenning, 1877-1880 John Trotter, 1986 Green Belt Relay team, 2019 Arnold Strode-Jackson, 1912
Ed Catmur, 2013-2014 Julia Bleasdale, 2012 Geoffrey Tudor, 1948 M45 Saltires, 2017 Simon Wurr and Chris Daniels, 2006 Thames ladies, 2006 Dave Hill, 1992 Thames gentlemen, 2004 Thames veterans, 1984 World Cross Country Relay team, 2019 South of the Thames team, 1989 Chris Finill, 2011 Bethanie Murray, 2017 Jamie Parkinson, 2018 Huw Lobb, 2004 Thames parkrunners Phil Gilbert and Chris Donnelly, 1981 Thames ladies, 2017-2020 Thames gentlemen, 2001
On the whole, I think I prefer golf, hockey, boxing and hiking to athletics.”
It was unexpected. I messaged Katy the week before, saying we had a good chance for a medal, but I don’t think any of us expected gold.”
K. Hedgethorne (17th), L. Major (21st), B. Murray (23rd), N. Seymour (25th)
Hedgethorne charging down the final hill, Major just behind her
THAMES LADIES 16 JANUARY 2019 / SOUTHERN CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP / 1ST TEAM Having set the new year rolling with a silver at County Champs,
“I didn’t really realise until I was in the finishing pen, and Beth
the Thames ladies were clearly in good shape as they prepared
shouted to me ‘I think we’ve done it!’”
for the Southern Cross Country in 2019. But with Aldershot and Highgate looking threatening, the gold medal was something they’d
After a day of excitement, graft, and forging Thames
barely dared dream about.
history, there was only one way to celebrate.
Amidst 13 Thames ladies who toed the muddy line at Parliament
“I think we all went to the pub.”
Hill that day, it was Katy Hedgethorne, Lauren Major, Beth Murray and Natalie Seymour who together closed out the scoring team – all safely home within the top 25 of the 700-strong field. And ‘together’ is just the word; finishing within eight places of each other, the four packed, battled and worked together throughout the race. “Lauren would catch me on the downhill, and I would catch her back up again on the uphill. It’s always an incentive having a teammate come past you.” It certainly had the spectators excited. Scattered across the course, Thames supporters played their part in the victory. “We still had a good 3k to go, and I remember someone shouting that we had it sewn up! That kept the pressure on through all the tough moments.” With Aldershot out of contention early on, and Highgate slow to bring their fourth lady home, it was the gritty performances of the Thames ladies that earned gold on the day. And yet it wasn’t until the very end that the victory hit home.
The idea that this sub-four-minute mile was impossible was, in my view, a myth... If seconds could be clipped off over the past half-century, why would that stop now?”
Bannister crosses the line in 3:59.4
ROGER BANNISTER 6 MAY 1954 / AAA VS. OXFORD UNIVERSITY – MILE / 3:59.4 When Roger Bannister took his marks on 6 May 1954, he did
So, after a spell of rain, intense team discussion, and a nervous false
so against a backdrop of feverish anticipation. The world of
start, the race was under way.
mile-running had been hotting up that year. With Gunder Hägg’s 4 minute 1.4-second world record hanging in the
The plan was for Brasher to carry the team through the first
balance, Roger Bannister and Australia’s John Landy were
half mile, which he did in a solid 1 minute 58 seconds. After that,
both threatening a sub-four mile from either side of the
Chataway took the helm, carrying Bannister through three-
world.
quarters in 3 minutes 0.7 seconds. That left an ambitious 59second target for the last lap.
In fact, the geography made the contest all the more exciting. Having rounded off his 1953 season with an SB – and a healthy
Finally taking the lead on the back straight, Bannister embraced the
British record – of 4 minutes 3.6 seconds, it was Bannister’s turn
challenge. Through gritted teeth and tunnel vision, he held his form
to wait as Landy’s season began in Australia.
and raced for the line – collapsing over the finishing tape with the effort. Had he done it?
And Landy was no empty threat. Famed for his 200-mile weeks and 10-mile sessions, the Australian athlete appeared the biggest
“The stopwatches held the answer. The announcement came from
challenge to the mile record that year. His 4 minute 2-second
Norris McWhirter, delivered with a dramatic, slow, clear diction:
season opener certainly turned the spotlight over to him.
‘Result of Event Eight: One Mile. First, R. G. Bannister of Exeter and Merton Colleges, in a time which, subject to ratification, is a new Track
However, back in London, Bannister was reimagining his training
Record, British Native Record, British All-Comers Record, European
regime. Between shifts at St Mary’s Hospital and with the help of
Record, Commonwealth Record and World Record... Three minutes...’
Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher, Bannister was pounding the
The rest was lost in the roar of excitement.”
pavements of Paddington, supported and paced by the ‘Paddington Lunchtime Club’. By April, Bannister, Brasher and Chataway had banked a consistent six months of hard training, while Landy had a registered a series of six consecutive sub-4 minute 3-second miles. The time was right. Selecting the AAA meeting at Oxford University for their first big attempt, the three were not deterred when the day dawned on fierce winds – or rather, they were not prepared to wait for better conditions, given Landy was scheduled to soon race again.
I made all the pace with the Yankee Blake just waiting on me. As soon as I got to the final straight I went for all I was worth.”
Thames Hare andHounds Hounds in in 1896 Thames Hare and 1896, Flack is standing third from left Flack standing third from right
EDWIN FLACK APRIL 1896 / OLYMPIC GAMES – 800m, 1500m & MARATHON / THE LION OF ATHENS Edwin Flack was typical of amateur athletes of his era. Born in
After a short break, Flack was back on day four to see if he could add
Islington in 1873, his family had emigrated to Australia when he was
to his success in the 800m. It proved to be an anti-climax, with only
a boy and he attended the prestigious Melbourne Church of
three runners coming to the line (a fourth, Frenchman Albin
England Grammar School. In 1892, he joined his father’s
Lermusiaux, withdrew to save himself for the marathon, regarding
accountancy firm and was active in athletics in Victoria as an early
Flack as unbeatable). With limited competition, Flack won
member of the Old Melburnians’ Hare and Hounds Club. In late
unchallenged in a time slower than his heat victory (2:11.9).
1894, he was posted to London to work for Price, Waterhouse & Co. and joined the London Athletic Club. Shortly afterwards, in October 1895, his and Thames’ paths crossed. On leaving Australia, he had already set his sights on the inaugural modern Olympic Games.
“I won with the greatest of ease.” Emboldened by two victories, just a day later he decided to go for a treble in the marathon, despite never before having run a race more than ten miles. He spent much of it in second place behind Lermusiaux; however, at three-quarters distance, the Frenchman
“Before I left Australia I knew the Olympic Games were coming off in
dropped out and Flack was left in the lead before shortly he too
Athens in 1896 and I decided then that if I could arrange it I would
succumbed to the rigours of the event and collapsed. In his
take part in them, or, at any rate, go and see them.”
deliriousness, Flack punched a Greek spectator who tried to help him,
Flack took a month’s leave and reached Athens via an uncomfortable six-day rail and sea trip. His being there came as a surprise to his family and friends, in part because of the scant
was removed from the course and transported to the stadium by carriage, where he was tended to by Prince Nicholas and revived with brandy eggnog.
awareness of the event in his homeland; what focus there was on
“…this gentleman hugged him to his bosom and was somewhat
athletics being on the ill-fated idea for a Pan-Britannic Games.
surprised to find himself the next moment lying on his back in the dust
Having reached the Greek capital, he had little time to prepare himself, with the first heat of the 800m being on the opening day. However, whatever privations he may have suffered on the way
of the road, for Flack, being also somewhat excited, resented this foreign style of demonstration and had enough left in him to use his fist in true British style.”
over did not stop him from winning in a modest time of 2:10.0.
Before heading back to London and the more prosaic world of
With little time to catch his breath and recover, he was thrust back
accountancy, Flack also competed in the tennis singles and doubles.
into action the following day in the final of the 1500m, where he
He lost in the first round of the singles. In the doubles, he was paired
lined up against the favourite, Arthur Blake. In a tense tussle with
with an English friend, George Robertson and, after a walk-over in the
the American, Flack ultimately emerged victorious by five yards in
first round, they lost their only match.
4:33.2, thus becoming Australia’s first Olympic medallist.
Flack was a popular competitor and was commonly referred to as the
“I am told the win was the most popular one to date. The Americans
‘Lion of Athens’. Although at the time Australia had not yet federated,
had won everything, some events very easily. I was the first to succeed
he holds an important place in their sporting history as their first
in lowering their colours.”
Olympic medallist.
.
I remember when they first announced it was going virtual, and I thought, there’s no way I’m doing that.” Hoad coursing around his 10-kilometre Bushy Park loop
JAMES HOAD AND NATALIE SEYMOUR 4 OCTOBER 2020 / (VIRTUAL) LONDON MARATHON / 8th, 2:32:11; 3rd, 2:49:02 When 2020 turned the world upside down, runners were
Indeed, in a challenge that saw Hoad completing 27-mile
naturally fast to adapt. Thanks to the pandemic, ‘virtual’ racing
expeditions to cover off the expansive postcodes of
became the new normal – based on GPS data, a commitment to
Aberdeenshire (and Seymour racking up her mileage on the
following social distancing rules, and a healthy dose of runner’s
more modest postcodes of London), the Thames
honesty. In October, Saltires James Hoad and Natalie Seymour
WhatsApp chat can surely bathe in the reflected glory of
issued a virtual racing masterclass.
the Saltires’ marathon achievements.
The event was the postponed London Marathon. The conditions
And, true to London Marathon tradition, support on the
were lonely, and disgustingly Autumnal. The result: for Hoad a
day also played a large part in Hoad and Seymour’s efforts.
swift 2:32:11 and overall 8th place, and for Seymour’s marathon
While Seymour was paced by fellow Saltire Rebekah Edgar,
debut, it was an incredible 2:49:02 and overall 3rd place. But with
Hoad had his parents gainfully employed at make-shift
the credibility of some of the leading results in question, there is
water stations around the park. At times, Mike Farmery
a strong argument to suggest that both deserved victory.
could even be heard shouting, “Looking strong, James!”
Of course, this was no ordinary marathon. Forced away from the
No doubt spurred on by this assertion, it wasn’t long before
iconic route through the City, it was up to Hoad and Seymour to
Hoad’s thoughts turned to the finishing line – which had
map their own 26.2-mile courses. For Seymour, the strategy was
become a slight dilemma over the course of his run.
flat, fast and repetitive. Completing her first 10 kilometres along the Thames, she went on to commit the remainder of her race
“I’d planned to finish on the stretch towards the fountain, but
to some 13 laps of Battersea Park.
I realised there was a horrible headwind that way. By the last lap I was tired enough that I decided to change the plan. It
Hoad, meanwhile, opted for a slightly longer 10-kilometre loop
did mean I ended up losing everyone.”
around Bushy Park – conveniently starting just beyond his front door. In spite of the repetition for both runners, Hoad and
But while Hoad had a job on his hands to relocate his
Seymour displayed relentless determination throughout their
supporters post-race, Seymour enjoyed a rather more
races. And this is all the more impressive considering their
ceremonial ending to her run. Surrounded by friends who’d
unconventional preparation.
joined her for her final lap, Seymour’s finish was as close to a real race as could be without an actual line to cross.
“I wasn’t following a plan or anything. To be honest, I think the postcode challenge over the summer made all the difference.
Both, however, could be satisfied by a job very well done –
That’s what got me out for my long runs.”
arguably the best of the day – in circumstances (and a year) stacked against them.
It should be remembered that I am merely an ‘artificial’ runner, not a natural one.”
Newton, resplendent in his saltire, leading the 1927 Comrades
Train frequently all year round.”
ARTHUR NEWTON 1922-1927 / COMRADES MARATHON / GREATHEART Arthur Newton’s association with Thames is curious in that he
First World War. On his return, he found his farm in a state of
ran for us on only a few occasions, yet he kept up his
neglect and it was his ongoing dispute with the government on the
membership and proudly sported the saltire throughout his
matter that triggered a decision that led to athletic greatness. Facing
career. On leaving school in 1901, he set off for Natal in South
financial ruin, in 1921 he decided to enter the Comrades Marathon
Africa, arriving in early 1902 shortly before the end of the Boer
to generate publicity for his predicament. He restarted running
War. After a series of fairly uninspiring clerical jobs, he took up
seriously on 1 January 1922, aged 38. This gave him just 20 weeks to
teaching, first at Hilton College and later at Blenheim College
prepare for Comrades, which was in its second year and the first
in Pietermaritzburg. It was during this period that he had his
“up” version from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Against all
first taste of competitive running, in an 11-mile contest in the
expectations, including his own, he won in a time of 8:40:00.
small town of Howick in February 1908. Fourth place sparked an interest that was never to leave him and, ultimately, led to great heights. However, in 1909, concerned at his lack of a clear career path, his parents summoned the 26-year old
“I rather thought I could run into third or fourth place, but certainly did not expect to win and still less to cover the course in less than 9 hours and 15 minutes.”
Newton back to England and to Kingston, where they now
The next year, Newton trained properly and won by 52 minutes in
lived.
6:56:07, beating the previous record by over two hours. In all, he
It was this summons that brought Newton and Thames together when in October, and keen to continue his running,
won the race five times between 1922 and 1927 (1926 being the blip, when he finished second) with a best time of 6:24:45 in 1925.
he was introduced to what was his local club. He finished third
Newton was an early advocate of a training diet of high, slow
in the Short Distance Challenge and a week later was selected
mileage and he regularly clocked up annual totals of between 7,000
to run against Oxford University, finishing ninth. However,
and 8,000 miles, something unheard of at the time. He continued
being back home had not suited Newton and shortly after, he
competing into his 50s and chalked up victories too numerous to
managed to persuade his father to let him return to South
mention in detail. He broke the 100-mile world record in 1928 in a
Africa. Although short, his time as an active member of the
time of 14:22:10. Later that year, he turned professional and
club had been enjoyable and left a lasting impression on him.
competed in races internationally, including a trans-continental
“A.F.H.Newton joined in October 1909…then disappeared back to South Africa, where in 1911, he was reported as running regularly in “Thames” Colours. His future greatness was unsuspected.” Back in Natal, Newton decided that farming was the way to go and acquired 1,350 acres of land outside of Harding. He also kept up his running. He served as a dispatch rider during the
contest in the USA. Given Thames’ staunchly amateur status, one can only assume that the club was unaware he was now being financially rewarded. His final race was in 1934, when, aged 51, he broke his own 100-mile record with a time of 14:06:00. By now settled back in England, he retired to Ruislip, where he wrote an autobiography and several books on his training methods. He died, at the age of 76, in 1959.
Lynas with RRC Chairman John Foden at the prize-giving Lynas’ effort was a double victory of the UK Champs and the Anglo Celtic Plate
My greatest run? That’s difficult. I’d probably say the 2006 UK Champs. Because I won it. Because I was representing England. Because it didn’t go to plan.”
MATTHEW LYNAS 2 APRIL 2006 / UK 100KM CHAMPIONSHIPS / UK CHAMPION, 7:17:40 When Matthew Lynas took his marks at the UK 100km
At 50km, things were going exactly to plan for Lynas. He’d
Championships, he did so with the trepidation, pressure and
hit his halfway mark at 3:24:54, and was sitting comfortably
excitement that only the hope of a medal and a national vest could
in third position behind Walmsley and Harwood. However,
bring.
when Walmsley faltered and pulled up just after halfway, the landscape changed. Taking advantage, Harwood surged
The past few years had been good for Lynas. Having run a 2:34
forward, while Lynas was left battling through a dearth of
marathon in London in 2003, only to finish outside of the Thames’
energy.
first scoring team, Lynas had been committing himself to longer and longer races – finding that he was a natural.
“The biggest concern was that I wasn’t going to work out what the problem was. I tried taking on more liquid, more
“I’ve always been better the longer the distance. After my first ultra in
gels, abandoning the t-shirt under my vest. No change. At
Cape Town, which was about 35 miles, I remember someone saying to
times like that you just have to commit to relentless forward
me that I could get a British vest at the 100km distance. So I thought
progress.”
I’d give it a go.” And relentlessly struggle forward he did. After dipping to 19 By the time Lynas was setting out at the UK Champs, he already had a
minutes per lap over an agonising period of 10-15km, Lynas
series of extraordinary races under his belt. He’d earned his GB vest at
finally came through and began to quicken. This time, he
the European and World Championships; he’d triumphed over a very
had Harwood in his sights.
‘bad patch’ in his first 100km in Cardiff; and he had confidence born out of many months of consistent, high-mileage and injury-free
With over a lap to make back on Harwood, Lynas threw
training. In short, Lynas was in good shape.
everything into closing the gap. Buoyed by his reputation for a fast finish – and the knowledge that he was closing fast –
The day dawned on cool, blustery conditions. The athletes were to
Lynas completed an astonishing 40-minute final 10km,
complete 30 laps of a flat 3km loop around RAF Innsworth. For Lynas,
taking Harwood with just under 4km to go – and never
the ambition was clear: follow the race plan to the letter, and
looking back.
complete the distance comfortably under 7:25 – the qualifying standard for the World Championships. However, while his focus was
In a haze of glory, adrenaline and exhaustion, the race was
very much on the time, Lynas had also clocked his key competition.
won in 7:17:40. Lynas had led England to victory in the Anglo Celtic Plate, and in doing so had earned the title of
“Dennis Walmsley was the big threat. But Dennis aside, there was nobody in the field who I felt I couldn’t beat. There was Paul Harwood, but he was a lot quicker over the shorter distances.”
UK Champion.
Brasher crosses the line in 8:41.2
CHRIS BRASHER 29 NOVEMBER 1956 / 3000m STEEPLECHASE OLYMPIC FINAL / GOLD, 8:41.2 It is fair to say that prior to Chris Brasher’s herculean effort at the Melbourne Olympics, Great Britain’s recent record in track and field had been mediocre at best. The last individual gold medallist had been Tommy Hampson in the 800m 24 years earlier.
“If I don’t win, I hope you will.” As he toed the line in the final, Brasher was not prepared for the shock of a furious first lap as Norway’s Ernst Larsen headed off at a suicidal rate. Resisting the urge to panic, he settled in alongside
Brasher – along with Roger Bannister and Chris Chataway – had
Disley and after two-and-a-half laps, the Norwegian began to fade,
competed in the previous Olympics in Helsinki. Like his great
bringing hope to the pursuing pack. At the bell, the leaders were
friends, his experience there was one of disappointment,
tightly bunched and as they reached the back straight, Brasher made
managing only 11th in the 3000m steeplechase final. However,
his move, gaining five yards before any of his opponents could
having come under the tutelage of legendary coach Franz Stampfl
respond. Running everything he had out of himself, he breasted the
in the build up to the games, he was rapidly improving and the
tape some fifteen yards ahead of his nearest rival in a new Olympic
intervening years leading up to 1956 were put to good use, not
record and slumped on the track just beyond it.
least with his role in the four-minute mile in May 1954. Two years later, Brasher arrived at Melbourne in the shape of his life, yet he was still not one of the fancied contenders, having only been third choice for the British team. He had headed out to Australia six weeks before the British team to acclimatise and, a week before the opening ceremony, fired a warning shot to his rivals with victory over two miles at Geelong in an Australian allcomers’ record time, beating John Landy in the process.
“Blind drunk, totally blotto, with an asinine grin on my face" However, this was not the end of the story. Having recovered a little, Brasher was collecting his tracksuit when the loudspeaker announced the result: “First, Rozsnyoi, Hungary…” Bewildered, he immediately enquired what had happened only to be told that he had been disqualified for obstructing Larsen at the top of the back straight. An immediate protest was put in by the British team. On leaving the stadium, he bumped into three of his main rivals, who
“The object of a heat is to make the final” Five days after the opening ceremony, along with the two other British runners, John Disley and Eric Shirley, Brasher qualified comfortably for the steeplechase final; however, in recording the
were as confused as he was. “What’s this all about…you won didn’t you?” was all they could muster. Heinz Laufer, the German who had been promoted to third, told Brasher he would not accept his medal. Larsen assured him that no-one had impeded him.
slowest time of the trio, he did nothing to quieten his critics.
The jury of appeal met at 6.00 p.m. and around an hour later it was
Brasher himself was unbothered: “The slower the better,” he later
confirmed that the verdict had been overturned: Chris Brasher was
commented of the process of qualification.
an Olympic champion. The lateness of the hour meant that the
With two days to the final, Brasher concentrated on relaxation, acutely aware of the agonies Roger Bannister had suffered in the lead-up to his final four years earlier, the pressure of expectation forming a hefty burden.
victory ceremony was held over until the following afternoon. Having spent a night on the tiles with members of the British press, Brasher was not quite at his best when he received his medal: “I was pissed beyond pain,” he later confirmed.
O’Sullivan crosses the line for her second World Cross gold
O’Sullivan found her love for cross country running for Ballymore Cobh AC
You don’t have control of what is going on. It is a very aggressive race. In some ways it is the hardest race in the world.”
SONIA O’SULLIVAN 21-22 MARCH 1998 / WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS / DOUBLE GOLD The small town of Cobh, County Cork, is perhaps not an obvious
a training base of 120-mile weeks, O’Sullivan was hungry for success.
birthplace for global athletic talent. Yet, born there in 1969, Sonia
Her time spent training in Australia had even prepared her for the
O’Sullivan found it the perfect launchpad for a running career that
blazing heat of Morocco’s Menara District.
would make her famous around the world.
As the gun fired on the 8km event, O’Sullivan fell in behind Paula
Born to the goalkeeper of the Cobh Ramblers football team,
Radcliffe, who led the long slog around four laps of a 2km loop.
O’Sullivan evidently had sport in her blood. However, when she took
Ramping steadily up, the pace became blistering, allowing Radcliffe
her marks in her first events for Ballymore Cobh Athletics Club – the
and O’Sullivan to break away from the field – joined by Ethiopia’s
100m and long jump – her talent didn’t exactly shine through. In
Gete Wami and Merima Denboba. Yet as the bell went and the
truth, she and a friend had only joined the club for the promise of fun
leaders refused to let up, the Ethiopian athletes dropped away. This
weekends away. That all changed, however, when O’Sullivan
would be an Ireland-Britain burn up.
obliterated the field in her very first club cross country, aged 12.
With only a few metres left to run, O’Sullivan powered ahead. Using
From then on, O’Sullivan became a dominating force in Irish cross
her superior finishing speed, O’Sullivan lunged for the line seconds
country – her development framed by a healthy combination of local
ahead of Radcliffe, claiming her first World Cross Country title.
leagues, school cross country, and later the NCAA. By her early twenties, O’Sullivan had decisively broken out onto the international stage. From a humble 11th in the 1990 3000m European Championships, she went on to finish just outside of the medals in the 1992 Olympic 3000m. Meanwhile, 1994 and 1995 brought O’Sullivan’s first major titles: European Champion in the 3000m, and World Champion in the 5000m. However, the next few years saw heartbreak. With the weight of global expectation now on her shoulders, illness ruled O’Sullivan out of the Olympic 5000m final in 1996, while the following year held
Apparently, that wasn’t enough. Deciding that very evening to attempt the short course as well, it was with fatigue and determination that O’Sullivan lined up against Morocco’s favourite, Zara Ouaziz, and Ethiopia’s Kutre Dulecha, for the 4km race the very next day. The odds were against her as Ouaziz and Dulecha set out at a rapid pace. And yet, refusing to panic, O’Sullivan found herself slowly reeling them in with halfway left to run. “I thought I would have a rest when I caught them, but I could feel myself slowing down so I had to quicken the pace.”
disappointment in a 9th-place World Cross Country finish. These
In fact, O’Sullivan’s pace decimated her competition. Taking the sting
setbacks set the stage for 1998.
out of any possible sprint for the finish, O’Sullivan pulled away and
“Losing was simply unacceptable to everyone. It took me a long time to
cruised to the finish line with a 14-second lead. A truly epic double.
put that behind me. But when things go wrong, you find yourself at a
Now firmly established as one of the world’s greats, O’Sullivan’s
crossroads. Eventually the belief comes back, and you move forward.”
illustrious career did not end there. After gracing her trophy cabinet
By the time O’Sullivan was toeing the line of the ‘long course’ at the World Cross Country Championships in Marrakech, she was a changed athlete. Physically stronger, with a new focus on nutrition and
with several more significant medals (not least, an Olympic silver), it was for fun that she later joined the ranks of Thames – helping to cement many Surrey League and road relay victories.
The first open paper hunt run near London will take place to-day, starting from Roehampton Bottom, on the arrival at Barnes of the 3:45 train from Waterloo.”
Thames Hare and Hounds in 1872, the earliest known photograph of the club. Walter Rye is standing in the centre
Charles Chenery, 1873
THAMES HARE AND HOUNDS 17 OCTOBER 1868 / A HANDICAP PAPERHUNT / THE FIRST RUN OF TH&H Although, October 17th 1868 marks the emergence of
later, the timekeeper, Henry Wilkinson of the London Athletic
‘Thames Hare and Hounds’ into the athletic world, it had
Club, started to set the hares off at intervals.
been preceded by a ten-month period of gestation. It was on December 7th 1867 that several members of the Thames
The trail broadly followed a route from Roehampton to the
Rowing Club – led by Walter Rye, who was also an active
common, down to Beverley Bridge, up Kingston Hill and through
member of the London Athletic Club – staged the first
Coombe Wood, down to Coombe Bridge and then up through
Thames Handicap Steeplechase, over a course that started at
Pettywade Wood, past the Crooked Billet, back to the Common
Beverly Bridge and finished on Putney Heath. Two similar
and thence to the King’s Head. After losing the trail around
events followed in February and March 1868 before our club,
Coombe Wood, the hounds undertook a wide search under the
dedicated to the then newish sport of paperchasing, was
direction of Chenery, who was “used to the work”. The hunt was
born.
ultimately successful: having circled Coombe Wood, the hounds ran into the hares at Beverly Bridge.
“A handicap ‘paper hunt’ will take place on Saturday 17th October , starting from the King's Head, Roehampton Bottom.”
It was decided to give the hares a fresh 200-yard start; however, Boor, who had lost a shoe in marshy ground and was now using his
It has been well-documented that Rye had been inspired by
scent bag as makeshift footwear, was soon caught by J.K.Birkley. Rye
the passage describing the Barby Hill run at Rugby in Tom
managed to keep his lead following a furious chase across the
Brown’s Schooldays, a book that had been published when
common and landed back in the yard of the King’s Head 100 yards
he was 14. The inauguration of Thames Hare and Hounds as
ahead of the first hound, Chenery.
a distinct entity from Thames Rowing Club was the first attempt at putting on a similar event outside of a school, the
"The inhabitants gazed out in stupid wonder.”
previous three Thames Handicap Steeplechases having been significantly shorter affairs.
William ‘Piggy’ Eyre, writing many years later, recalled the novelty of the event for the local residents, most of whom would have never
So it was that at 4.45 p.m., a number of young men gathered
seen anything like it before. He also described how he was "dead
in the yard at the King’s Head in Roehampton, all eager no
settled” by the time he arrived back as the fourth hound ahead of
doubt to learn more about this sport or invigorated by a
the "midway and other chuckers”. A pewter was awarded to both
nostalgia for their schooldays. One of them was Charles
Birkley (for catching Boor) and to Chenery (for finishing first of the
Chenery, a famous footballer of the time who went on to
hounds). This tradition, along with the club itself, is still going strong
win three caps for England. A few minutes later, the hounds,
in 2021.
our first President, Walter Rye and E.G.Boor, set off “at a furious pace” up the hill towards the common. Five minutes
Yamauchi sets out, alongside teammate Radcliffe (Photo courtesy of ASICS)
Since I was age 11, I wanted to be a world-class athlete and go to the Olympics. That was my dream.”
MARA YAMAUCHI 17 AUGUST 2008 / OLYMPIC GAMES – MARATHON / 6th, 2:27:29 On Sunday 17 August 2008, Beijing woke up to a marathon
Before long, it was just Yamauchi and a handful of others,
already well underway. Having set out at 7:30am, 82 of the
chasing down Diță for a chance of a medal.
world’s best female marathon runners were coursing through the streets of the city, sights set firmly on the Bird’s
“At 30 kilometres, it became a massive burn up. Runners
Nest Stadium. Among them, our very own Mara Yamauchi.
were dropping away, and we were pretty much running maximally for all of the final 12 kilometres.”
By then, Yamauchi was a seasoned marathon runner. She’d been the first Briton home in the 2006 and 2007 London
By this stage, the Bird’s Nest Stadium had appeared on the
Marathons, she’d finished ninth in the Osaka World
horizon, giving the athletes a firm target for the finishing
Championships, and in January of 2008 she collected her
line. But for Yamauchi, the race was by no means over.
first marathon win at the Osaka Women’s Marathon.
With several athletes vying for silver and bronze, and even threatening Diță’s lead, Yamauchi could not afford to let up
“Originally my goal was just to qualify and make the team.
or lose focus.
But in the two or so years leading up to it I was able to improve much more quickly than I thought I would.
As they came through the darkness of the Bird’s Nest gates
Everything indicated that I was in really good shape.”
and into the lights and roaring crowds of the stadium, Yamauchi was neck and neck with the Russian athlete Irina
So it was with a considerable amount of form,
Timofeyeva – battling for sixth place.
preparedness and professionalism that Yamauchi took to the streets of Beijing – sitting in as the pack went through
“The two of us ran around the track together, and on the
the first 45 minutes at an achingly slow pace. However,
final bend I accelerated and finally got away from her. To be
when Romania’s Constantina Diță took off at around 15
honest I don’t have a clear memory of it, I was running at my
kilometres, Yamauchi has some regret today in recalling her
absolute max.”
decision to stay with the pack. Crossing the line in sixth and in a time of 2:27:29, Yamauchi “After the Osaka World Championships, I was a bit too
took her place in British Olympic history: equalling the best
cautious. What I really should have done was go with her.”
performance ever by a British woman in the Olympic marathon.
Yet the remainder of Yamauchi’s race can scarcely be criticised. As the pace ramped steadily up, Yamauchi dug in
And to what does she credit her success?
and stayed with the chasing pack – even as compatriot Paula Radcliffe dropped away.
“I must pay due respect to cross country. I think cross country was very much the foundation of my later marathon career.”
Barclays’ second place team prize was salvaged from the after-party
Altmann has be en banking mile s for Thames since he joined in 1994
Chris Daniels had a word with the relay team before I stood with them on the stage. As I was receiving my prize, Darren Campbell lent over and said what Chris had asked him to. Let’s just say it wasn’t complimentary.”
NICK ALTMANN 6 JULY 2005 / JP MORGAN CORPORATE CHALLENGE / GOLD As runners, many of us are regularly tempted to interrupt the
him. Refusing to panic, Altmann sat in and watched the race
water-cooler chat at work by saying something wildly boastful. It’s
unfold ahead of him.
tough to have a 10-mile morning run go unsung when a colleague’s 10-miles-a-month are widely celebrated. The JP Morgan Corporate Challenge puts paid to this agony. And for Nick Altmann, the Corporate Challenge of 2005 earned him enough kudos to last his career. Set at a curious distance of 3.5 miles, the Corporate Challenge is a global event that’s grown in size and popularity since its inception some 40 years ago. The London edition takes place in
However, it wasn’t much longer before Davies suddenly pulled up, clutching his calf. Torn between feeling bad for the athlete and excited for his own opportunity, Altmann yelled “take it easy” as he passed, now setting his eyes on the only runner left in front of him. “I meant it both as sincere advice not to hurt himself, and as a plea not to re-start the race and catch me again.”
Battersea Park, and plays host to a range of unlikely rivalries; of
Realising that Davies’ teammate was paying for his blistering
consultants versus lawyers; investors versus ad-men; and in
pace in the opening mile, Altmann quickly took the lead and
Altmann’s case, bankers versus postmen.
moved clear. Yet the race wasn’t quite tied up. In the closing
There is no denying that Altmann was in good shape as he approached the event in July 2005. He’d clocked a 2:24:38 at the London Marathon that year, and would go on to finish 9th in the AAA 5000m just a few days after the Corporate Challenge. Yet,
twists and turns – just as Altmann was beginning to tire – Deloitte’s Henry Dodwell (of Highgate Harriers) appeared on the horizon. With Dodwell inching closer at every turn, the finishing line came mercifully just in time for Altmann.
as is typical, these achievements were low currency at work;
Breaking the tape, Altmann sealed a Corporate Challenge
success at the Corporate Challenge was a language that all could
victory for himself, cemented a second-place finish for the
understand.
Barclays team, and banked a considerable amount of
Arriving at the line on the day, however, Altmann had his work
colleague-kudos.
cut out. Not only were there a few familiar faces from Herne Hill
His physical prize, however, was lost in transit. Having been
and SLH to contend with, there was also the considerable
awarded an impressive Tiffany plate by GB’s winning 4x100m
challenge posed by the Royal Mail’s Chris Davies – the ‘Flying
Olympic team – and later having liberally enjoyed the post-
Postman’.
race refreshments – the plate fell casualty to Altmann’s
“At the National 12 Stage Relays a few months earlier he'd run the fastest leg, relegating Mo Farah to second. Clearly I had no chance against him.” Indeed, as soon as the gun went, Davies revealed his speed – taking an early lead and pulling one of his postie teammates with
journey home, left to enjoy an eternal ride on the networks of South Western Railway. A true Saltire, Altmann had evidently consolidated his race victory with an equally strong performance at the after-party.
Stage
Distance (miles)
Saltire
Position
Time
1
9.1
Al Kennis
2
0:54:51
2
10.7
Chris Daniels
4
0:59:11
3
12.1
Andy Weir
3
1:06:57
4
9.4
Al Irvine
12
1:00:52
5
9.6
Chris Hutber
12
1:04:46
6
10.7
Dan Pescod
16
1:11:43
7
9.8
Ian Harkness
1
0:55:07
8
11.2
Bill Snelgrove
7
1:06:48
9
8.6
Matt Bryant
12
0:55:18
10
13.3
Larry Mathews
2
1:14:39
Weir setting a blistering pace as stage three got underway Stage winn ers were each awarded a miner’s lam p
THAMES GENTLEMEN, PART I 11 JUNE 2005 / WELSH CASLTES RELAY / 1ST TEAM The day dawned warm and bright on Caemarfon Castle on 11 June
Nonetheless, Weir’s gutsy 3rd place stood the team in excellent
2005, where some 40 relay teams were preparing for a weekend
stead as Al Irvine, then Chris Hutber and Dan Pescod, each
tour of the Welsh Castles. Having taken victory in the previous
took to the Welsh hills. Achieving 12th, 12th and 16th
year’s relay event, the Thames team were feeling confident as they
respectively, the trio’s solid efforts meant that by the middle of
looked towards their 20 gruelling stages through the Welsh hills.
the day, Thames was emerging as the clear front runner.
That is, all apart from Captain David Symons, who had a tall order on his hands.
Then came the turn of Ian Harkness. Taking on the steep Dolgellau stage, Harkness’ run began tactically and cautiously.
“It’s a bit of a feat of organisation, getting everyone where they need to
Studying the lead pack for any signs of significant threat, it wasn’t
be – especially with certain members of that team. You’re right on the
for a few miles that Harkness began to move away. By halfway
ragged edge, wondering if your runners are going to turn up.”
he found himself leading the stage, navigating the steep inclines
Indeed, with 20 of Thames’ strongest runners out in force, getting
and sudden drops alone.
everybody to the start line was a victory in itself. But more than
“I settled in for what I imagined would be a nice trundle home,
that, this was a weekend where everything – and everyone – just
only to find the road heading very sharply downwards. I
seemed to come together.
plummeted down at a frankly alarming speed.”
Al Kennis was the first Saltire to take to the roads, setting out just nd
Just about maintaining control, Harkness crossed the line to
as dawn broke. Achieving a solid 2 place over his 9.1-mile stage,
claim the team’s first stage win of the weekend – collecting a
Kennis opened the Thames campaign in style – putting the team in
miner’s lamp as a memento of the achievement.
a strong position as Chris Daniels stepped up. Having hoodwinked his wife into believing the weekend would be a romantic getaway to Portmeirion, Daniels was incentivised to finish his stage quickly enough to avoid his wife’s suspicion. His resulting 4th place did the team wonders, even if Daniels’ wife was fast to clock on. Then came the first real ascent into the mountains: the 12.1-mile Criccieth Castle stage, taken on by Andy Weir. A gruelling run, Weir paid for his early sparring with Swansea’s Sullivan Smith. “The pair of us went off too quickly. We both blew up on the last hill and got beaten by some jogger from Salford. It was a complete disaster.”
Closing the day were further strong performances from Bill Snelgrove (7th) and Matt Bryant (12th), before Larry Matthews just missed out on a win with his second-place finish on the final stage of the day. In spite of a brilliant run, Matthews was disappointed to have been outkicked by an old friend from university. But he commiserated in style. “Larry went straight to the pub, still in his vest. By three in the morning he was in the Newtown nightclub, still in his Saltire.” And so the first day of Thames’ Welsh Castles campaign concluded, with the relay title ours to lose.
Sym
Stage
Distance (miles)
Saltire
Position
Time
11
12.3
Dave Symons
3
1:09:45
12
11.2
Nick Malynn
4
1:03:16
13
10.6
Ed Catmur
3
0:59:42
d day he secon t n o t ting ou ons set
14
11
Phill Sly
1
0:58:00
15
12.4
Nic Gould
5
1:09:18
16
9
Simon Wurr
1
0:49:29
17
9.2
John Cant
3
0:52:11
18
9.1
Mark Gilbertson
2
0:51:43
19 20
10.4 10.4
Matt Lynas Rhodri Davies
2 23
1:04:56 1:08:19
Go off with gusto, repent at leisure.”
Gould
Sly’s run decimated the competition and set a new stage record
diggin g in f
or the
finish
line
THAMES GENTLEMEN, PART II 12 JUNE 2005 / WELSH CASLTES RELAY / 1ST TEAM Another beautiful summer’s day dawned on Newtown as ten more
kick up at the end’, Sly could have been out for a run in the
of Thames’ best prepared for their Welsh Castles stages. After the
park. Crossing the line with a convincing win, Sly collected his
brilliant performances of the day before, the Saltires already had a
miner’s lamp – and even found time afterwards for a café date
strong lead in the competition. Captain David Symons had
with a Cardiff local.
managed to get Saturday’s runners safely to their start lines, and saved Sunday’s runners from the dangers of the Newtown nightclub. However, there was still much to do.
A tough act to follow, Sly’s stage was proceeded by a less punishing 12.4-mile steady descent through the hills – taken on by Nic Gould. Buoyed by the promising profile of the stage,
As the sun came up, Symons’ attentions turned to his own stage.
Gould was perhaps a little over-enthusiastic in his opening miles,
Taking the first leg of the day, the captain’s run would be one of
paying for it later. However, he hung on for 5th and made a
the tougher stages: a 12.3-mile undulating course out of town. He
valuable contribution to the team effort.
weathered it well – claiming
3rd
place, and consolidating Thames’
leading position. Nick Malynn and Ed Catmur further cemented the lead, claiming 4th and 3rd place in their stages respectively.
Simon Wurr, John Cant, Mark Gilbertson and Matt Lynas then put in exceptional shifts – out to prove that Thames truly belonged on the podium. Taking one of the tougher stages of
But from Catmur’s finishing line came the most notorious stage of
the day, Wurr’s first-place performance was consolidated by
the event: a punishing 11-mile tour of some of Wales’ steepest
Cant’s 3rd, and Gilbertson and Lynas’ 2nd. By the final stage, the
hills, starting in Bulith Wells and finishing at the Drovers Arms. Phill
sight of a Saltire on the podium was common place.
Sly had been nominated as the Thames man for this job, and his performance over the stage has since become stuff of Thames legend. “It’s the best run I’ve ever seen by someone in a Saltire.” Taking his race out hard from the beginning, Sly very quickly dropped the entire field – including a guest runner from the San Francisco Police Department, who’d been specifically appointed to the stage for his hill-running prowess. If the American runner expected to reel Sly in over the cruel terrain, he was left disappointed. Growing only stronger as the hills grew steeper, Sly showed tremendous strength and grit. On a stage described online as ‘a sadistic, cruel climb up into exposed moorland with a horrible little
It was Rhodri Davies who anchored the team, battling it out with many of the other clubs’ strongest runners, eyes set on a Thames victory. “Come the hour, I knew I was taking over with the team in a good lead. My job was not to blow it.” Having made a fast start, Davies weathered the tough final miles in survival mode. But with grit and determination, he did his job. Finishing in 23rd place – a position indicative of the quality of the field – Davies brought the victory home. For another year, the Saltires were kings of the Welsh Castles. A victory defined by the strength, depth and brilliance of 20 Thames runners – and the fortuity of having them all together.
Disley claiming victory in the Surrey vets a few years later
The support from Thames was just amazing. They always made me feel at ease. It’s a very very special club.”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Rachel Disley Evelina Danilova Zara Hyde Claire Pauzers Sara Stodart Margaret Statham Sally Young Jane Lansdown Sally Dawson Lesley Leggett
24:00 24:01 24:02 25:56 26:06 26:08 26:10 26:56 26:58 27:06
RACHEL DISLEY 13 DECEMBER 1997 / SURREY COUNTY CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS / GOLD Toeing the muddy start-line at the County Championships in
found that she could reach fitness very quickly – but tiredness was
December 1997, Rachel Disley was no stranger to Surrey success.
never far behind. Indeed, she fell foul of this delicate balance in the
Her record spoke for itself: two county golds as a junior in 1978 and
1996 Surrey County Championships, only a few months after the
1979; further golds as a senior in 1981, 1982 and 1984; and a
birth of her third child, where Disley finished a difficult 62nd place.
smattering of medals to colour the following 13 years.
And so, as the gun went at Lightwater in December 1997, there
Yet her journey through these years was by no means straightforward
was no heavy weight of expectation on Disley’s shoulders. Yet she
– and it is this journey that made that cloudy day in December 1997
was evidently in fierce shape.
all the more special.
Taking the race on from the outset, Disley set off alongside the
Disley laid the foundations of her running career at Haslemere Border
previous year’s winner, Zara Hyde, and South London’s Evelina
A.C., before quickly graduating to the more competitive Hounslow
Davilona. Between them they set a blistering pace, and quickly left
A.C. Here, she really started to make waves.
the rest of the field behind them.
“I was running really well, just starting to get on the back of those
Having jostled throughout the race, the three were still exceedingly
international races. It was fun, turning up at the Crystal Palace Grand
close with only a half-mile left to run. The medals were to be
Prix in my club vest.”
decided on the final, muddy ascent of the Lightwater course.
However, just as the 21-year-old Disley was hitting her stride, a bad
“I was desperately trying to hang on, waiting to see how the others
virus threw her wildly off course. Illness and fatigue ruled her out of
would take to the mud as we came off the ridge. If they struggled, I
running for several years, and the road back looked tough. In fact,
knew I would get them in the sprint.”
when Disley had her first child in 1990, the temptation was to leave running behind her.
And struggle they did. As Hyde and Davilona splashed flat-footed through the mud, Disley surged ahead, using her track speed to
“I thought, I’m going to give up running. If I’m going to do it, now is a
inch past her competitors. With the finish line now hers to take,
good time. But one day I went for a run and I just felt amazing. So I
Disley finished the race in style – celebrating with the same officials
thought, I can’t give that up.”
who’d watched her cross the line ever since she was a junior.
It was about this time that Disley found Thames. Rediscovering her
With only two seconds to separate the medallists – and a further
love for the sport through Wednesday runs, sessions at the Kingston
two minutes to separate them from the rest of the field – the
track, and long runs through Richmond Park, Disley credits the
three certainly put on a show for spectators. And it was the
expansive Thames support network for giving her the time and
response from spectators, says Disley, that made the race so very
competition she needed to rekindle her talent. By 1995, she was back
special.
on the podium at the Surrey County Championships.
“It was a total highlight for me. I had everybody there who I needed
However, now a mother of a growing family, the nature of Disley’s
to be there. And everyone from Thames was so pleased for me. I
running was changing. Balancing training with childcare, Disley
was very fortunate that I had that window of opportunity.”
I remember on the last lap I said to myself, ‘Well at least you’re going to finish.’ Then I found a sprint and passed him on the line.”
Chataway crosses the line two feet ahead of Kuts
CHRIS CHATAWAY 13 OCTOBER 1954 / LONDON VERSUS MOSCOW – 5000M / 13:58.1 Chris Chataway was only a year out of Oxford and a few
been more disappointed,” Chataway later commented.
months into his membership of Thames when he had his greatest year on the track. A year of momentous achievement began in a more humble manner when he won our 10-mile Challenge on 27th March, a race in which he “took things very easily and ran the whole way in a sweater,” but nevertheless came home nearly a minute and a half ahead of his nearest challenger. Six weeks later, he was involved in an event of significantly more seismic proportions when he helped to pace his great friend Roger Bannister around four laps of Oxford’s Iffley Road track in the first ever sub-four-minute time for the distance.
“It was the most painful 15 minutes of my life.” However, 1954 had not run its course. Having taken a break and drowned his sorrows at a Territorial Army camp, he returned home to find a letter awaiting him. A match between London and Moscow had been arranged for October, back at White City, and it offered Chataway the chance of an immediate rematch with Kuts over 5,000m. It has become an iconic moment of the era, with a spotlight following the two runners for every inch of the race as they engaged in a nerve-shredding battle for supremacy. The Times’ correspondent reported that, “the pace was killing and one sat
On a personal level, however, this was just the start of what
anxiously waiting for the first real signs of victory or defeat.” Unlike
1954 was to deliver. Three months later, Chataway was in
in Berne, Chataway did not allow the Soviet to surge off into a
Vancouver for the British Empire Games where he won the
commanding lead, responding to his repeated injections of speed
three miles in a time of 13 minutes, 35.2 seconds, heading three
that were aimed at killing off the rest of the field. Chataway later
more English runners in the first five. In preparation for
recalled that “I knew if he got away, I would never catch him. It was
Vancouver, Chataway had narrowly missed a new world best
the most painful 15 minutes of my life. It became a question of
for two miles in a special invitation race in the British Games at
saying to myself, ‘Just get to the end of this next straight.’”
the old White City stadium. “Just some lunatic”
“Then I found a sprint and passed him on the line.” At the bell, Kuts went again and Chataway summoned up his last
Less than three weeks after his Canadian triumph, he was back
reserves to hold on to and then, finally in the last 20 yards, overhaul
in international action, this time at the European Championships
his opponent to cross the line a bare two feet ahead, to the
in Berne. It turned out to be a bittersweet race for him. In
rapturous acclaim of the west London crowd and a new world
beating the great Emil Zatopek, he achieved the goal he had set
record time for the distance of 13 minutes, 51.8 seconds.
himself; however, he failed to win, having been comfortably beaten to gold by the relatively unknown Soviet Vladimir Kuts, who he recalled dismissing as “just some lunatic” when he made his early break. Nevertheless, he stole a march on his more illustrious rivals and never looked like being beaten. “I had never
Such was the public joy at Chataway’s victory that it went a long way to securing for him the accolade of being the first BBC Sports Personality of Year, beating Roger Bannister into second place. 1954 was indeed quite a year for Sir Christopher Chataway.
Reynolds surged past Ribeiro with four laps to run
It’s all friendly, but you have your rivalries.”
BEN REYNOLDS 7 AUGUST 2015 / WORLD MASTERS ATHLETICS, V50 5000M/ GOLD Set at the height of a blazing summer in Lyon, the World Masters
into stride – just behind Ireland’s Michael Traynor, and in
in 2015 was by all accounts a scorcher. For Ben Reynolds, race day
front of the large chasing pack. The pace started fast, and got
would reach a burning 36°C – hot enough to warrant an
faster.
extravagant water spray that spouted across the corner of the track, greeting athletes every lap of their 5000m journey. Reynolds was due to line up against a fierce crowd of V50 competitors, including the unstoppable Spaniard, Javier Fontaneda, who had consistently clocked fast times throughout the summer. Meanwhile, Reynolds himself was nursing a strained quad, which had kept him away from focused training for nearly a month.
“After about six laps, Georges Ribeiro from France, bizarrely wearing a woolly hat, took it on, but sounded and looked laboured.” As positions chopped and changed, Reynolds began to notice the pace slow, with others around him fading in the heat. Having spent his previous two weeks acclimatising on a family holiday, Reynolds himself was still feeling strong – and with four
On paper, the odds were set against Ben Reynolds.
laps to go, began to push on.
However, Reynolds’ strength, speed and mileage dated back much
“To my astonishment, although I didn't look back, I could hear
further than his fateful 3000m at Watford a month earlier – where
that nobody from the big group was coming with me. The shouts
he’d strained his quad and yet still limped over the line to clock
of encouragement from my family in the stands didn't sound
9:01.62. Indeed, when he’d claimed a silver medal in the 3000m
agitated, so I was sure I was clear.”
Indoor European Masters earlier that year, there were early indications that Reynolds would be in dangerous shape for Lyon.
Clocking a powerful 75s, 75s and 72s in his final three laps, Reynolds’ lead continued to widen as he approached the finish
And this was set against a backdrop of several decades of
line. Determined not to lose focus as the positions behind him
commitment to running. Like many runners, Reynolds was
churned, Reynolds surged across the line with a 10-second lead,
delighted to discover at school that cross country was a sport he
and a finishing time of 15:47. Behind him, fellow Brit Guy
could excel at. Unlike many runners, he went on to consolidate this
Bracken just slipped ahead of Michael Traynor, who together
discovery with 40 uninterrupted, consecutive years of training and
ran a disappointed Fontaneda out of the medals.
competition.
For Reynolds, the win was testament to not only a good year
“I ran continuously, but was never that devoted. I think if I’d pushed
of break-through track running, but also a life-long commitment
and trained harder, I could have achieved more. But I might also
to steady mileage and simple training.
have been injured more.”
While these days, Reynolds continues to impress both in his
And so, in spite of his more recent challenges, Reynolds had a long-
Saltire and in his GB Masters vest, his Lyon gold in 2015 was a
term bank of mileage and experience to draw upon as he took his
particularly sweet moment of satisfaction. An unexpected
marks for the V50 5000m in Lyon. In fact, as the gun went, all
victory, and a family excursion to Lyon very well justified.
thoughts of niggles fell away, and Reynolds slipped seamlessly
W60 1500m
Anna Garnier Rita Shubert Roswita Schlachte Lilly Wizen Eva Lonnqvist Phyllis Mary Hand Dagmar Kleinemeyer
Great Britain Germany Germany Sweden Sweden Great Britain Germany
5:46.93 5:47.54 5:51.02 5:54.47 6:09.42 6:26.51 6:35.8
Garnier celebrating her 1500m gold
Garnier has a reputation for her strong finishing kick
ANNA GARNIER JULY-AUGUST 2017 / EUROPEAN MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS – V60 1500m, 5000m & 800m / DOUBLE GOLD “I was quite a late starter – I’d always gone running, but I never ran.” If Anna Garnier arrived at the running scene late, she has more than made up for it since. Having set out in 2005, her illustrious career has
and the camaraderie more than for a chance at success. All of this meant that Garnier approached her 1500m, 5000m and 800m in Denmark in blissful ignorance of her competition and her chances.
so far seen her bank over 400 races, including more than 100
All of that changed, however, as the gun went for Garnier’s first
parkruns, over 30 Surrey League appearances, and four international
event: the 1500m. Any plans to stay in the pack went quickly out
championships. Clearly, Garnier got the ‘bug’.
of the window, as Garnier’s competitors fell into step behind her.
And the reasons why are clear to see. Having grown up playing and loving sport – lacrosse in particular – Garnier is naturally fast,
Forced to lead, Garnier felt the danger of the pack tracking her all of the way, never far behind and always waiting to pounce.
constantly fit, and fiercely competitive. Running was an easy fit. All it
As the bell went, Garnier held her nerve, biding her time for the
needed was a serendipitous moment of introduction, which came, of
perfect moment to kick. But it wasn’t until the final bend, with
all places, at a wine-tasting event, where Garnier happened across
150m to go, that the time was right. The group was upon her, and
Saltire Michael Johnson.
the two Germans, Rita Schubert and Roswita Schlachte, were
“He kept on about this bloody running club, and eventually he said to me, would you like to do a race? And I said I’ll have a go. So I signed these forms and I didn’t even bother to read them. But it turned out they were the joining Thames forms!” From here, Garnier burst onto the Thames scene, becoming a regular fixture at club runs and races. Before long, she was giving the younger athletes a run for their money. “I would always be training with people who were much younger than me, so I was always trying really, really hard, erring on the side of busting it.”
snapping at her heels. But drawing from her bank of hard winter training, Garnier landed a perfect finish; digging in and driving hard to finish only seconds ahead of the chasing German athletes. And so, the first gold was hers. Only three days later, Garnier was back on the track and ready to take on the 5000m. Having been warned about the speed and strength of Sweden’s Lubov Pospeshina, Garnier carried a belly of nerves as well as tired legs into the race. And yet, all of that fell away once the race was underway. Finding herself once again at the front of the pack, as the race wore on Garnier’s lead only seemed to be increasing. With no sign
While Garnier’s committed training set her on a steady trajectory of
of the dangerous Pospeshina, Garnier ran a lonely race – ticking off
improvement, it wasn’t until she travelled to Denmark for the 2017
laps and yet never letting up. Finally crossing the line with nearly a
European Masters that she truly converted her dedication into a cash
10-second lead, Garnier completed a stylish double.
cow for success.
Only a few days later, Garnier also took on the 800m, claiming a
Having competed at several European and World Championships
mighty 4th place in spite of fatigue and a lack of devoted 800m-
before, Garnier was no stranger to international competition. And yet
training. It was a worthy ending to Garnier’s very successful
in her previous indoor and cross country internationals, she’d barely
European campaign – and perhaps a marker of unfinished business,
brushed shoulders with the podium – attending for the atmosphere
as Garnier continues to compete in her British vest.
The start of the run from Moot Hall
MIKE FARMERY 30 JUNE 1979 / BOB GRAHAM ROUND / 22 HOURS, 5 MINUTES As most readers will know, the Bob Graham Round is a Lake
However, this threw up some very obvious logistical challenges, the
District fell running challenge. Graham was a Keswick guest-house
first being that, having only intended to run a single section, Mike was
owner who in June 1932 broke the Lakeland Fell record by
somewhat underprepared in terms of kit and supplies. More
traversing 42 fells and 66 mils within a 24-hour period. The Round
importantly, however, there was his girlfriend waiting for him and
was first repeated by Alan Heaton in 1960, who became member
their promised lunch at Keswick (it now being around 2.00 pm).
number 1 of The Bob Graham 24 Hour Club.
Through the various run supporters, she was sent a message that he wouldn’t be back until the next morning and please send spare
There are now over 2,000 members; however, when our current
socks.
President, Mike Farmery, made his attempt, starting on the last day of June 1979, there were only around 120. Successful attempts
Mike reflects, “To be honest, at the time, I didn’t know much about
require careful planning, training and lots of luck with the weather.
the Bob Graham. I knew it was a big deal but didn’t know the route
Mike is probably the only member who did it ‘by accident’ with
or really appreciate the scale of the challenge. I just offered to help
virtually no preparation. Living in York at the time, Mike was then a
with the simple stretch from Keswick to Honister.”
member of Gosforth Harriers – his introduction to Thames still being seven years away – and was persuaded by a club mate, Howard Forrest, to support him on the first stage of his planned attempt along with John Wagstaff of Tipton and Tim Godolphin of Harrogate. He travelled across to Keswick with his then girlfriend, camping just outside the town. He left her early on the Saturday morning with the promise that he would be “back by lunchtime”. Starting out from the Moot Hall in Keswick and running the route anti-clockwise, Mike and his partners completed the first stage to Honister in a little over two hours. It was at this point, that fate played its hand. As Mike recalls, when they arrived, one of the intended support runners for the second section had not turned up and so he was asked if he would mind continuing on to Wasdale. On reaching there, the suggestion was made that, having come this far, he might as well complete the full route.
Fortunately, that weekend was blessed with perfect running conditions and the group had support from some great navigators. Mike just remembers focussing on keeping up with the group. It was on the third section that the group passed Roger Baumeister heading in the opposite direction and in the middle of his successful attempt at a double round (both anti-clockwise and clockwise). Having finished the third section to Dunmail at 7.41 pm and the fourth to Threlkeld at 1.12 am, the last section back to Keswick was run, as Mike puts it, “on vapours”. On reaching Moot Hall at 6.05 am, Mike, who says that he never considered himself an emotional chap, promptly burst into tears. Fred Rogerson, the long-time secretary of the Bob Graham 24 Hour Club was there to meet the group and Mike duly became its 127th member (and completely bewildered how anyone could consider doing it twice!).
r Team
1 2 3 4 5
esults
sA arrier Beagles A H e v a Belgr m & Essex A a Newh & County unds A d o r o H ct A Bedf s Hare & Distri & e m m Tha arnha shot F Alder
9 4:13:0 5 4:15:4 4 4:16:0 4 4:20:4 8 5 4:24:
Lynch’s mighty shift puts the team in first Jones drives home to hand over to McFarlane
e ut in th n sets o Altman
pack
Thames results N Altmann 24:31 L A Howse 18:24 S A Weir 25:11 L M Jones 17:57 S J McFarlane 24:01 L A Lynch 17:38 S D Symons 25:57 L A Kennis 18:17 S S Baines 26:03 L A Gaskell 18:34 S S Wurr 25:48 L N Gould 18:23 S
ANDY LYNCH 3 APRIL 2005 / SOUTHERN 12-STAGE ROAD RELAYS / RACE LEADER A beautiful spring day dawned over Milton Keynes, as 49 teams and their 588 runners prepared to do battle over the Southern 12-Stage Road Relays. Among them, 12 of Thames’ best: a collection of Thames stalwarts, who had already proved themselves to be in fierce condition that year. Everything promised an excellent day of racing. “There was a typically understated Thames-like degree of confidence that we could be up there.” As the gun went, Nick Altmann began the team’s campaign, taking the first of six ‘long’ legs. True to form, he weathered the course well; coming home in a mighty fifth place. Altmann’s effort put Thames a
you’re able to hold third.” Resisting the temptation to “go off like a lunatic”, Lynch ran a measured, smart race. Slowly, he worked his way up and past Newham and Essex’s Joe Corbett, before setting his sights on the leader: Mark Griffith of Woodford Green. Meanwhile, Ellacott was tracking Lynch’s moves and inching ever closer. However, as Lynch rounded the final corner, he pulled clear. “I was thinking, have I counted properly? Then I heard people shouting, ‘Thames is first’. So then I really put the hammer down.”
full minute ahead of the day’s ultimate winners, Belgrave, though as
Handing over to David Symons in an astonishing first place,
Altmann now regales, it was a day on which Will Cockerell and his
Lynch had truly given everything possible to the team effort. Six
team would have the last laugh.
remaining Saltires then had the unenviable role of protecting the
Taking the reins for the second, shorter leg, was Andy Howse. Himself in great shape, Howse guarded the Saltires’ strong position as best he could, ultimately handing over to Andy Weir in sixth. The team’s fortunes fluctuated as Weir, then Matt Jones, then John McFarlane, each put in powerful performances. “Weir was as long legged and gritty as ever. Jonesy slighter shorter legged but just as gritty. Johnny Mac motored round and took us up to third. Then, someone who swore he was Andy Lynch put in a screaming short leg to come home in first.”
position. Symons valiantly fought to keep the team in medal contention, before Al Kennis, Simon Baines, Alex Gaskell and Simon Wurr each took to the fast roads of Milton Keynes. By the time Nic Gould began the final leg, Thames was in a solid, almost unbreakable position of fourth place. Finishing with a four-minute margin either way, it was in this position that Gould brought it home. On this occasion, a medal was not to be. But the breadth of talent in the team was clear to see. All 12 ran times that put them in the top 70 performances of the day, while Altmann,
Taking the sixth leg for the Saltires, by now Andy Lynch had already
Weir and McFarlane all found themselves among the top-26 long
built a reputation as an over-performer at relays. Happy to grind it
leg runners. However, it was Lynch’s storming first-place finish
out and slowly reel his competitors in, it was a style of racing that just
that put him in the annals of Thames legend. Yet today he
seemed to suit him. And yet, as Lynch took over from McFarlane in
concedes:
third place, a full 43 seconds separated him from the leader – and meanwhile he had Belgrave’s Tom Ellacott hot on his tail. Lynch’s work was cut out. “My first thought was, make sure you don’t lose any places. Make sure
“As Isaac Newton said, ‘if I have seen further than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.’ If I did manage to pull us around and get us into first, it’s because I was standing on the shoulders of the very impressive runners around me.”
19 81 19 83 19 85 19 87 19 89 19 91 19 93 19 95 19 97 19 99 20 01 20 03 20 05
Jan running in 1976
02:00:00 03:00:00 04:00:00 05:00:00 06:00:00 07:00:00
JAN HILDRETH 1981-2005 / THE LONDON MARATHON / EVER PRESENT When the concept of the London Marathon “Ever Presents”
lifts you through the exhaustion,” he once commented. As the years
was established in 1995, there were just 42 runners out of
passed, he also devised a number of techniques to cajole his tired
the many thousands who had taken part over the previous
limbs over the miles, including walking for one minute in every ten.
15 years who qualified for it. Jan Hildreth was one of them, along with three others who were (or are now) Thames
“I really don’t think I’ll make it this year, I’d love to come one more
members: Chris Finill, Harold Chadwick and Jeffrey Gordon.
time, but…”
The inaugural running of the London Marathon on Sunday
As the years slipped by, and one-by-one the group dwindled, Jan
29th March 1981 was clearly an event that had caught the
knew that sooner rather than later it would be his turn. Encouraged
imagination of the club, with no fewer than 38 Saltires having
by John Bryant (“I make him do it”), he got as far as the 2005
toed the start line at Blackheath. First home, in 17th place,
edition, thus reaching a neat 25. Beforehand, he acknowledged that
was Tim Jones in a very pacey 2 hours, 19 minutes and 43
his time had probably come. He was now in his 70s and his surgeon
seconds. Jan, finishing 32nd out of the 38, was some way
had advised him that he needed a back operation. It seemed like the
down the Thames pecking order; however, his more-than-
right time to go. “I shall certainly think on Sunday that this is
respectable time of 3 hours, 25 minutes and 34 seconds
probably the last time… I imagine it will be emotional. It’s like
reflects the depth of quality the club was able to put out on
leaving your job. In the past it has always been, ‘See you all next
the day.
year,’” he said in the lead up to it.
“It’s the interaction with the crowd that keeps you going.”
And so it was, having gone over the six-hour level for the first time and almost 50 minutes slower than the previous year, this indeed felt
From here, Jan steadily chipped away at that mark over the
like the right time. With Don Martin and Peter Shepheard also
next five years and in 1985, aged 52, recorded his best time
calling it a day, Jan’s decision left the group at 25. Still standing from
of 2 hours, 54 minutes and 13 seconds. Although now over
Thames were Jeffrey Gordon (who made it to 2013) and Chris Finill
his peak, his performances were steady, keeping under the
(still there today).
three-and-a-half-hour mark until 1992 and still being well under four hours when the “Ever Presents” came into being.
Jan sadly died in December 2019; however, he will for ever be
Such was his commitment to the event that he was able to
remembered at Thames as a longstanding member of a very select
recover from a few blips along the way – in 1986, 1992 and
band of runners.
1999 – to post a faster time the following year. One of the factors that Jan credited with keeping him going through those marathons was the crowd. “There’s a contact that
To get it right meant so much to me, because I realised I might not have that opportunity again.”
Willis jostles for position in the first lap
Women’s Long Course
Left to right: Dibaba, Willis, Kidane
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Benita Willis Ejagayehu Dibaba Worknesh Kidane Alice Timbilil Teyiba Erkesso Lornah Kiplagat Eunice Chepkorir Émilie Modor Fridah Domongole Sally Barsosio
Australia Ethiopia Ethiopia Kenya Ethiopia Netherlands Kenya Canada Kenya Kenya
27:17 27:29 27:34 27:36 27:43 27:56 27:59 28:01 28:03 28:08
BENITA WILLIS 20 MARCH 2004 / IAAF WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS / GOLD Growing up just outside the seaside town of Mackay, Australia, Benita
earnt a bronze medal at the World Half Marathon Championships in
Willis (née Johnson) had an unconventional introduction to the world
Vilamoura, and just weeks before the World Cross Country Willis
of cross country. Willis’ natural athleticism allowed her to split her
had snatched victory from the two-time Olympic Champion Derartu
time across multiple sports, finding talent in almost everything she
Tulu at the Chiba International Cross Country.
tried: motorcycling, hockey, shooting, track. Cross country, meanwhile, had scarcely been thought about.
Even so, Willis was not the favourite for the four-lap, 8km World Cross course in March. Threat came from all angles, with Ethiopia
But between matches, races and rides, it was always Willis’ leisurely
and Kenya both boasting typically strong teams. As Willis reacted to
runs that kept her fit and fast. With Bucasia Beach on her doorstep,
the gun and hit the front of the race, she was joined by an
Willis spent her childhood running across sandy plains at low tide
intimidating pack that included Derartu Tulu, Ejagayehu Dibaba, and
with her father. The tough terrain facilitated Willis’ early successes on
race favourite Worknesh Kidane.
the track, and would later pay dividends when her attentions turned to cross country. “Growing up I did a lot of sand hill running. My body awareness was always really good. I never rolled my ankle or had a problem running in cambers.”
“I knew I had to hang on to the leaders. My coach described it as like holding on to the monkey bars at the top of a 20-storey building.” And hang on Willis did. As the leaders set a steady pace through the first lap, Willis stayed in close contention, knocking elbows with the 15-strong group at the front. However, the conditions were cold,
It was as a student of the University of Queensland that Willis really
wet and muddy, and as the laps wound down, the pack started to
started to establish herself as a key name in Australian athletics. In
dwindle. Tulu had dropped in the second lap; and by the third, the
1998, she finished 7th in the World Junior 1500m; in 1999, she placed
lead pack was reduced to just five runners. As the bell went for the
5th in the World University Games 1500m; in 2000, she competed in
fourth lap, only four athletes remained in contention.
the Olympic 5000m at her home Games in Sydney.
Feeling both the threat and the opportunity of Dibaba and Kidane
It was in 2001, however, that Willis made her debut at the World
beside her, Willis took her opportunity early. With almost 1500m to
Cross Country Championships in Ostend, and it was here that she
go, she opened the throttle and didn’t look back. Dibaba and Kidane
realised her potential might lie in cross country.
seemed to sink further into the mud, all the while Willis glided over
“I knew I had to get out hard. It was muddy, windy, cold and wet, but I finished sixth and I was proud of how I performed.”
the churned terrain as if it were tarmac. As she finally rounded the corner for the finishing straight, she pulled clear of the chasing Dibaba. Willis had not only claimed her first World Cross podium
Only nine seconds shy of the podium for the short course, Willis
finish; she’d earned a global title – a title that no Australian athlete
returned to the World Cross in 2002 and 2003, a medal in her sights.
had ever before won.
A respective 4th and 5th place in the short courses left her disappointed. In 2004, she would try the long course. Willis approached the event in the shape of her life. In October, she’d
Willis’ illustrious career didn’t end there. Many records, national vests and podium finishes followed her World Cross title, and her travels later brought her to the shores of Thames Hare & Hounds.
Left to right: Billy Burns, Tom Cornthwaite, James McMullan, Chris Smith, Gary Priestley
Something I learnt that year: if you go into a race really obsessing about winning it – if you want it more than anyone else and deeply believe you can win – then generally, you will win.”
JAMES McMULLAN 24 SEPTEMBER 2011 / COMMONWEALTH MOUNTAIN RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS / GOLD “It’s weird, I was never the best up hill, and never the craziest descender.
“I went into it realising this was actually a global title that I could win. I
But I was good at both. Combining the two just seemed to suit me.”
put myself under so much pressure.”
Having grown up in Surrey – a very long way from the nearest
While McMullan had been the dominant force in UK mountain
mountain – James McMullan seems an unlikely candidate for a world-
running that year, there were certainly other names to be wary of.
class mountain runner. In fact, he did not even particularly enjoy his
There was Scotland’s Joe Symonds, a fierce climber; and the young
competitive running as a youngster; racing just because he was good
Robbie Simpson, a swift descender. There was also threat from
at it, but never really committing himself to dedicated training.
teammate Tom Cornthwaite, who’d finished just ahead of McMullan
That all changed, however, when McMullan went to university.
at the World Championships a few weeks before in Albania.
Exploring the hills of Edinburgh, he not only fell in love with the
As the gun went and the runners began their ascent, McMullan’s
change of scenery; he found a terrain over which he could truly excel.
work was clearly cut out. The group climbed well, and reaching the
Arriving back in London after his studies, he made it his mission to
top post at Moel Eilio, McMullan found himself in third place, behind
transplant this talent to life in the south.
Joe Symonds and Canada’s James Gosselin. Making the turn,
“I ended up spearheading a bit of a southern contingent for mountain running. Orlando Edwards got into it, Chris Smith as well. We trained and travelled to races together.”
McMullan sighted Robbie Simpson just a hundred metres behind. “I remember thinking, I might not get a medal here.” But then came the descent. A steep, technical decline over slippery
And they made it work. Within a few years, all three had earned GB
ground, before the runners were drafted into two flatter loops,
vests, and their strength over the hills continued to surprise their
which would carry them back down into the village and toward the
northern counterparts at fell and mountain races.
finish line. Here, McMullan opened the throttle. As the Canadian
For McMullan, the breakthrough came in 2011. His season started well, with his victory at the Box Hill Fell Race. A local event, McMullan’s win here was perhaps expected. What wasn’t expected, however, was his breaking of the 15-year-old course record. “That was when I realised I was in really good shape.” In the following months, McMullan went on to record some of his best cross country and road performances. A win at the Thames-hosted Surrey League; fourth place at in the Scottish Cross Country
struggled with the terrain, McMullan came past Gosselin and held off Simpson. Arriving on the flatter loops, McMullan was able to unleash his track speed, working his way up to and past the race leader, Symonds. Finally, McMullan hit the front of the race. Conscious that Simpson was tracking his every move, there was no room for McMullan to let up. As he began his final descent into the village, McMullan was flat out, giving everything to maintain his lead. “I could feel the friction heat coming off the soles of my shoes.”
Championships; a 10km PB. By the time McMullan was lining up for
Finally, he was there. With a 16-second lead on Simpson, McMullan
the Commonwealth Mountain Running Championships in September,
crossed the line draped in the St George flag. He had become
he’d added an Inter-Counties Fell Running and UK Mountain Running
Commonwealth Mountain Champion. In a year where McMullan had
title to his CV. For the Commonwealths, McMullan was hot favourite.
achieved so much, this global title was truly a peak.
I adored it when people supporting a race would shout out, Go Mamma!”
cas th their son, Lu te Symons wi David and Ka
Nic and Annette Gould with their first daughter, Gianna
Claire Altmann running with Bea at the White Horse Half
To be a running mother is an event in itself!”
n ns, Seb and Imoge ann, Lucas Symo ny and Bea Altm Left to right: Pen
Cockerell
MOTHERS OF THAMES While Thames Hare & Hounds may well be known as a ‘seniors’
Kate and David Symons have pushed their son, Lucas, around
club (perhaps in more ways than one), over the years this hasn’t
numerous cross countries courses around London – often requiring a
prevented the club from gaining a number of honorary younger
team effort to lift Lucas over the logs of Richmond Park. Claire
Saltires. On race day, it’s not unusual to hear the wild cheers of
Altmann, meanwhile, has shown similarly epic commitment:
Thames children; to hold their hands while their parents do the prerace essentials; to be offered a post-race cake in a Thomas-theTank-Engine tin. And alongside these young Saltires always follow their heroic mums and dads. For mothers, the challenge is particularly steep; faced not only with the logistical headache of balancing childcare with training, but also the physical changes that take place during pregnancy and childbirth. Yet, the ‘Mothers of Thames’ often find a way to keep running.
“I pushed ten-month-old Bea around the White Horse Half Marathon in a buggy, probably a couple of weeks after finding out I was pregnant with Penny. My longest training run had been a single lap around Richmond Park, so I was happy with 1 hour 40.” Claire Altmann. With or without buggies, the Mothers of Thames continue to do brilliant things. From Annette Gould’s 3-hour 27-minute marathon just seven months after having Gianna; to Rachel Disley’s Surrey Champs gold not long after her third child; to Lucy MacAlister’s astonishing 73-
“I continued running until the day of the birth. But I’d plan my routes to
minute half-marathon while still breastfeeding. The talent and
allow for lots of wee stops. I gradually got slower and ran shorter
determination in these women are clear to see.
distances.” Joanna Shillington.
Yet returning to race shape isn’t the only measure of greatness for
For some, running through their pregnancies is an important way of
these mothers. For many, priorities realign and running takes on a new
staying fit and healthy. Indeed, Anri Cohen’s epic performance in the
role after having children; valued as a little piece of ‘me-time’ in an
Surrey League in Autumn 2019 – cautiously traversing the plains of
otherwise chaotic day. Simply getting out of the house to run, train or
Mitcham Common while eight months’ pregnant – is something to
race is a mean feat – and one that takes a network of supportive
be remembered.
Saltires to help make happen.
Others, meanwhile, opt for less intense forms of exercise during
“Our relay teams were always chosen on how to get the wonderful
pregnancy: yoga, swimming, stretching. As most Saltire mothers
Maureen Poole around the course as quickly as possible, before we all
stress now, listening to the body is always the most important
took off and left her to mind the crèche.” Rachel Disley.
approach. Most also concede, however, that the path back to running is never easy.
Supportive dads, club camaraderie and race-day crèche all help to keep Saltire mums enjoying the sport they love. However, their own
“It was hard. I worried about doing too much too soon, but I also felt
commitment deserves true accolade: Shillington surreptitiously
slow. And then there was the knowledge that as soon as I walked back
breastfeeding at a half-marathon water station; Symons lugging a
through the door, I would probably have a small baby wanting feeding.”
child’s bicycle on top of a buggy around Richmond Park; MacAlister
Emily Hogg.
running to and from family outings just to get in a run. Whatever their
While each mother takes her return to fitness at her own pace,
new targets and priorities post-pregnancy, the Mothers of Thames
there is a common theme in their shared experience of childcare
approach running with pragmatism, realism, and brilliant humour.
relays, off-the-cuff breastfeeding, and gruelling buggy runs. In fact,
Their children, meanwhile, are top of the list for the club’s ongoing
buggy running has become something of a break-away discipline.
recruitment drive.
It seemed to inspire a few members to turn out who we hadn't seen for a while, whether that was to run or just drop in.”
r, Bryant and Presidents Carpente dings underway Farmery get procee
150TH SEASON 22-24 JUNE 2018 / 150TH SEASON THAMES RIVER RELAY / ROEHAMPTON TO SOURCE Our 150th Season Thames River Relay has its origins in a similar
the river at Sandford-upon-Thames) and to the university
event in 2003 when the members of Thames and Ranelagh came
city where a mile was held on the famous Iffley Road track
together to mark the passing of Chris Brasher, who besides
(using the actual bell from Roger Bannister’s 1954 feat). Tea
founding the London Marathon amongst many other accolades,
was then taken before a short section to Osney Bridge
had been a stalwart member of both clubs. As in 2003, the 2018
brought proceedings to a halt at around 5.30 p.m. From
version was delegated to the very capable hands of Nick
here, the group repaired to the Isis Tavern for drinks, a
Altmann, with support from Matt Bryant, and he rose to the
hearty pub dinner and a musical tribute to the event’s
challenge. Unlike in 2003, however, rather than running towards
organiser courtesy of Larry Mathews.
London, this time it was decided to make a start from our clubhouse and follow the Thames path sourcewards.
“I was just very relieved that it all went remarkably to plan. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and the sun shone.”
nd
So, at 2.00 p.m. on the bright, sunny afternoon of 22 June 2018, around 20 Saltires gathered at headquarters to set the chain of
After a further nine stages on Sunday, taking in the counties
30 stages in motion. Amongst the gathering, were three of our
of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, the group of around 30
four most recent presidents in the guise of Frank Carpenter, John
Saltires who had made it this far covered the final 1.7 miles
Bryant and Mike Farmery. It was John and Frank who got
from Kemble to the source in glorious evening sunshine at a
proceedings underway carrying the baton over a short first leg to
leisurely pace, arriving at 4.39 p.m.
the footbridge over the A3. The relay was one of those events that brings out the very After a further seven stages through the afternoon and early
best in Thames. As Nick commented: “I think the highlight
evening, including a ferry crossing of the river at Shepperton, the
for me was that it brought out so many members, from
first overnight stop was made at the picturesque Buckinghamshire
across the age range and the country. I think it introduced
town of Marlow.
quite a few people who would not otherwise have met.”
“The peak must have been the mile at Iffley Road, this worked
He went on to say, “I've clearly already wiped the stress of
really well as a focal point.”
organising it from my mind, so give it another few years...” Clearly, the committee of 2043 will know where to look
The relay recommenced just before 8.00 a.m. on Saturday and through the course of another sunny day, the route along the Thames wove its way through Buckinghamshire, Berkshire into Oxfordshire (where Messrs Arbour and Daniels took a dip in
when we reach our 175th anniversary.
It’s the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done. I left everything on the track, that’s for sure.”
Cheeseman became a household name among race walkers in the late ‘90s
CHRIS CHEESEMAN 21 SEPTEMBER 1998/ COMMONWEALTH GAMES – 50KM WALK / 8th, 4:38:36 When Chris Cheeseman moved to East Molesey with his wife, Diane,
work and a young family. On weekdays, Cheeseman would steal time
in the 1980s, Thames Hare & Hounds was the obvious club of choice.
from his morning commute and lunch breaks to make sure the mileage
Both were avid runners with an Oxford connection, and they fit
was ticked off. On weekends, he would rise at four or five in the
seamlessly into the racing and social calendar of the Saltires. In fact,
morning to complete three-hour sessions with training partner Mark
Diane would become a much-loved and respected Ladies’ Captain.
Easton, a fellow international walker of Surrey Walking Club.
Chris, meanwhile, threw himself into the club’s many cross countries,
“Diane was very good. She said, you can do as much training as you like,
road races and marathons, finding moderate success as a reasonable
Chris, but you’ve got to be finished by 9am!”
club runner. However, at a time in which the standard of Thames running was particularly high, Cheeseman began to wonder if there were other disciplines to which he might be better suited. His swift 2hour 36-minute London Marathon in 1991 underlined the question.
In 1998, the hard work paid off. Finding himself on the start-line of the Commonwealth 50km race walk in Kuala Lumpur – and mixing with the likes of Kelly Holmes and Denise Lewis in the Athletes’ Village – Cheeseman could scarcely believe how far he’d come. There was,
“I just wasn’t anywhere near the scoring team. I think I was about the
however, still much further to go. Starting at dawn, the race walkers
eighth man home for Thames.”
were facing 25 laps of a scarcely shaded park, in 36º heat and 90%
Indeed, Cheeseman’s naturally bigger build set him apart from the ‘typical’ runner. A potential answer presented itself while spectating at
humidity. Even for the more professional athletes, the conditions were intimidating. For Cheeseman, they were nigh on insurmountable.
the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where Cheeseman was inspired by the
Starting slowly, Cheeseman felt the effects of the heat immediately. But
20km and 50km race walks.
he wore on, even as the Canadian Tim Berrett and Australian Dion
“They were both incredible races, with huge local support for the home Spanish walkers.” Noticing the varying builds of the athletes, Cheeseman decided to join the Surrey Walking Club upon his return. Almost immediately, he found a natural talent for the technique which, when combined with the fitness he’d built up over his many years of running, made him exceedingly competitive. Within a few years, Cheeseman had reached international standard,
Russell dropped out around him. With halfway still to walk, Cheeseman was ready to jack it in. However, the familiar cheers of Saltires Bill Snelgrove and Chris Hughes, who’d made the trip to support Cheeseman, just about kept him in the race. “Their support was absolutely key. It was a death march. People were dropping out all over the place.” At the front, with only 1km to go, drama ensued as the race favourite and leader Craig Barrett crashed out, leaving the title open for
Malaysia’s Govindasamy Saravanan. Cheeseman, meanwhile, continued winning national titles in the 10 miles, 20km and 50km – and competing his march. Finally, deliriously, he crossed the line and completed the at the Race Walk World Cups in China in1996 and the Czech Republic race in eighth. Requiring urgent medical help for dehydration, in 1997. By the late ‘90s, and approaching his 40th birthday, he was top- Cheeseman’s greatest achievement that day was simply finishing: ranked 50km race walker in the UK. This is where he put his focus. completing his toughest ever physical challenge – and doing so in an The training was brutal, particularly when trying to balance it with
England vest.
TH&H 2005 London Marathon Team John McFarlane Ian Harkness Andy Weir Nick Altmann Benita Willis David Symons Sonia O’Sullivan Al Hart Andy Lynch Simon Baines Matt Jones Jerry Watson Peter Woodburn Frank Dudbridge Richard Pitt Bill Snelgrove Toby Sykes Timothy Dauncey Nicola Don Andrew Johnson Jeffrey Gordon Alastair Caisley Emily Linklater John Bryant Jan Hildreth
2:20:54 2:24:10 2:24:21 2:24:38 2:26:32 2:28:19 2:29:01 2:31:23 2:36:11 2:37:39 2:39:57 2:44:22 2:46:53 2:47:42 2:52:20 2:57:03 3:07:04 3:17:34 3:24:40 4:02:08 4:10:52 4:16:14 4:25:13 4:50:06 6:16:08
To run 2 hours 28 minutes, and finish outside of the scoring team, was quite humbling.” David Symons
Ian Harkness, battl ing the streets of Lo ndon
THE LONDON MARATHON 17 APRIL 2005 / THE LONDON MARATHON / UKA AND SOUTHERNS TEAM GOLD Between the years 2003 and 2009, Thames Hare & Hounds had a
Having each started well, with only a few miles to go the Saltires
quite remarkable streak of team and individual performances in the
found themselves strung out along the Embankment: first McFarlane,
London Marathon, resulting in the collection of four team UKA gold
then Altmann, Harkness, and Weir. But for Altmann, the wheels
medals, two silvers, and one bronze during the period. It truly was a
were falling off.
golden era of marathon running for the club – made so by the reliably brilliant performances of many Thames stalwarts. With a 25-strong Thames team at the London Marathon, 2005 perhaps typified the era. At the front, seven of the team crossed the line in under 2 hours 30 minutes, including two ladies, Benita Willis (then Johnson) and Sonia O’Sullivan. Bringing up the rear were the legendary John Bryant and Jan Hildreth, the latter on his 25th and final
“From about mile 22, I realised the game was up. I knew it was going to be damage limitation from there on.” Nick Altmann. Reduced to a pace that to him felt like a crawl, Altmann slogged through the last agonising miles – all the while, Harkness and Weir were inching closer. In fact, going through his own difficulties, Harkness was surprised to find himself so close to his teammate.
consecutive London Marathon. At the very front, the battle to make
“I distinctly remember someone from Thames (possibly Hsu Min)
the Thames scoring team was on.
shouting, ‘Come on, you can catch Altmann’, only to look up and catch
It was John McFarlane, Ian Harkness, Andy Weir and Nick Altmann who all jostled for scoring places. With the exception of Harkness, all
sight of Nick entering the underpass. This perked me up no end, as I thought I may be feeling tired, but he looked stationary.” Ian Harkness.
had experience of contributing to successful London Marathon teams
Working his way up and past Altmann, Harkness slipped into the
in recent years; together with Ben Reynolds, Altmann and Weir had
position of second scorer. Meanwhile, Weir’s metronomic pacing
helped Thames to UKA victory in 2003. A year later, McFarlane had
was bringing him ever closer to his teammates.
led the trio of himself, Altmann and Weir to another win – in a blistering PB of 2 hours 17 minutes. Harkness, meanwhile, had clocked an impressive 2 hours 26 minutes in his marathon debut at Abingdon in 2004. With three to score in the UKA team competition, the question was not so much about whether the team would be successful, but who would score for the team.
“I could see Ian and Nick in the distance as I came along the Embankment, and they got closer and closer as we approached Big Ben. I finally got past Nick near Buckingham Palace and legged to the finish line to make sure I stayed in the scoring three.” Andy Weir. On the line, it was with surprise that Harkness turned to shake his teammate’s hand, only to find it was Weir who’d finished fast behind him, not Altmann. Both in PB times, Harkness and Weir had closed
From gun to tape, McFarlane led the way. Fit and fast from his many
out the scoring, winning Thames team. While Altmann had missed
training laps of Richmond Park, he flew around the course to finish
out by just 17 seconds for a UKA medal, his performance still earned
just inside of 2 hours 21 minutes, closing in 28th place. While
him a place in the winning team for the four-to-score Southern
disappointed not to improve on his PB of the previous year, his
championship. Together, the four Saltires put on a thrilling show of
performance was still one of the best the club has seen. Behind him,
marathon brilliance – a show that was repeated for several years
things were getting interesting for Altmann, Weir and Harkness.
hence.
Stenning pictured in 1887
Stenning ‘stole away,’ securing a lead of about 50 yards, which he steadily increased, finally winning by about 300 yards from Fuller, who left Gibb half way across the common.”
PERCY STENNING 1877-1880 / NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMIONSHIPS / FOUR VICTORIES Percy Stenning joined Thames in 1875 and was one of our
Following an amalgamated run of the three clubs in December 1877,
foremost runners during that decade and into the early 1880s. He
it was agreed to stage the contest again in 1878 and that it should
occupies an important place in the annals of the club with his
become an annual event open to all bona fide cross-country clubs in
victories in the first four National Championships, all held at
England. This marks the true beginning of the National and on March
Roehampton.
9th the same three clubs met again (rumours that Oxford University would put out a team came to nothing). This time Stenning, although
Compared to what it has become, the origin of ‘The National’
leading throughout, won by a much narrower margin of 15 seconds
was very humble. In the autumn of 1876, Thames arranged to
from Spartan’s G.T. Mawby.
meet Spartan Harriers and South London Harriers over a course at Buckhurst Hill in Essex. The extent to which this was a national
In 1879, the battle between Stenning and Mawby was repeated with
event is debatable; however, what is certain is that the outcome
the two running well clear from early on. Stenning’s home course
was chaotic: “The rain poured down, the paper ran out, the
knowledge came into play in the latter stages and he “kept on in
runners wandered about frozen and lost, no race was declared
capital form, ultimately winning by about 180 yards.” On the team
and it was agreed to re-run at Roehampton.” Stenning was in
front, it was Thames’ year again.
action that day and was in the pack just behind the leaders, C.H. Mason of Thames and James Gibb of S.L.H., when the trail ran
In 1880, Stenning was involved in another fierce tussle, this time with
out.
Clapton Beagles’ George Dunning. The Clapton man made his big effort as they reached the common; however, Stenning was able to
The same three clubs came together again on
24th
February 1877.
hold on and “going up the hill for home… put it on, and passing
In the build-up, Walter Rye tipped Gibb to win; however, he felt
Dunning easily, [came] home first for the fourth year in succession.”
that if there was to be an upset, it may come from Stenning, who
However, there were signs of a shift in the balance of power with
was “far fitter now than he was at Buckhurst Hill.”
Birchfield Harriers, the first non-London club to enter, taking the team prize.
Conditions on the day were very heavy and from the off, Thames’ W.E. Fuller dashed into the lead, followed closely by Stenning. By
Twelve months later, Stenning was unable to maintain his record,
the time the runners had crossed Wimbledon Common, Fuller
dropping to third, nearly a minute behind Dunning, who, in a
had given way to Gibb and the S.L.H. man led for a large part of
memorable battle with Walter Snook of Moseley, prevailed by a foot.
the course. However, by the time he reached Malden Lane, he
In 1882, he dropped to a lowly 25th and his National days were over.
was losing ground to the chasing Stenning and Fuller. It was here
However, he continued to play an important role in the life of the
that he took advice from “a party in a wagonette” and strayed
club, including being one of the two hares for the ill-fated 1890
off-course, which allowed his chasers to catch him and from here
University Race which was declared void after the runners lost the
Stenning “stole away” to win by 300 yards. Gibb faded badly to
trail. Sadly, for such a distinguished runner, his life was to end in tragic
finish eighth. On the team front, Thames won by 35 points to
circumstances when he died in June 1892 in Peckham House Lunatic
S.L.H’s 52 and Spartan’s 94.
Asylum after a short illness.
Trotter in his full diving get-up
Trotter receives his medal after the London Marathon
JOHN TROTTER 20 APRIL 1986 / LONDON MARATHON / 2ND OVER-60 John Trotter took to running in 1982, aged 58 during a
“John stopped when he saw me and gave me a hot and sweaty hug
difficult patch in what can only be described as ‘an interesting
and then ran on. He was looking pretty rough at the time”.
life’. He had survived being a Lancaster rear gunner during WWII and, as a result, had some very colourful ways of
Trotter might have been having a hard time towards the end, but
describing feeling cold. In fact, Trotter became a Thames man
he came close to creating a real family upset by nearly catching his
long before taking up running. One of his early jobs after the
son Ian. He was having a very, very hard second half, having badly
war was as a diver on the Thames – and we mean here a
misjudged his run on this occasion.
‘proper’ diver with big lead boots and a brass diving helmet. Whilst normally spending his days fixing lock gates and so on, Trotter told great stories about being drafted in by the police to try and find bodies in the dreadfully muddy Thames, with virtually zero visibility.
Although he started running rather late in life and was quickly successful, Trotter didn’t rest on his laurels. He joined the ‘Running Over 60’ relay from London to Paris and, as a result, met with then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Downing Street. On a more competitive note, he achieved 2nd place in the over-65
Trotter was inspired to take up running by his son Ian who
European Vets 25k Championships in Brugge in 1995. He ran in a
ran the first London Marathon in 1981. They originally joined
charity relay in 1991 from John O’Groats to Land’s End aged 71,
London Road Runners but went on to run with Borough of
and topped off his Thames career by being awarded the Harry Hall
Hounslow, before joining Thames. Trotter started training
Award in 2001.
with his son and quickly threw himself into the local running scene and even started up a running group at his local pub. He also played an important role in helping London Road Runners set up the Wedding Day 7k in I981to celebrate the wedding of Charles and Diana. After six years of training, 1986 was probably Trotter’s Annus Felicis. It was a year of PBs: a 43-minute 10k, a 70-minute 10 miles and a 93-minute half-marathon and, of course, a podium finish in his age group in the London Marathon. His marathon run itself is not well documented because it came somewhat out of the blue. His running mates in Hounslow didn’t see it coming and were simply astonished that he ran 3 hours 11 minutes to finish as the 2nd over-60. Our current Carver, Maureen Poole, remembers watching on Birdcage Walk.
As Trotter’s achievements have amply demonstrated, it is never too late to start running.
Richard Ollin Statham spre gton and Heather ading the team spirit
Paddy Roddy storming to victory in stage four
Stage 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Saltire S Baines K Hedgethorne N Altmann P Roddy J Hoad R Edgar R Ollington J McMullan M Jones G Pearce S Jones
Stage position 2 14 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 5
Team position 2 4 3 2 (4:47 lead) 1 (2:36 lead) 1 (8:49 lead) 1 (13:40 lead) 1 1 1 1
(21:22 lead) (26:14 lead) (25:01 lead)
After hours, honing our team strategy, we settled on the following tactic for Sunday: DON’T GET LOST.
GREEN BELT RELAY, PART I 19 MAY 2019 / GREEN BELT RELAY / TEAM GOLD A full 220-mile perimeter of London’s Green Belt, the Green Belt
Thanks to a series of rolling inclines, the 11.5-mile stage from Little
Relay pretty well does what it says on the tin. Teams consist of 11
Marlow to Great Kingshill is described on the event website as
runners, each of whom runs one leg on each day of the weekend.
‘bloody hard’. However, this seemed to be news to Roddy, who
Having started sending teams in 2016, for Thames Hare & Hounds
breezed over the hills to claim a decisive stage victory. Over three
our success in the event has become a matter of club pride. After all,
minutes ahead of the chasing runner from Ranelagh, Roddy’s
the event starts and finishes practically in our own back garden – and
performance would have been worth a course record had the
from our very first appearance at the Relay, the Saltires set a
course not slightly changed from the year before.
precedent for sending notoriously dominant mixed teams.
“I knew I was going well when I came to the Thames water station,
By 2019, the Saltires had won the mixed event three years in a row, with the team inching ever closer to claiming the overall title. With a 4th place and two 2nd places under his belt, it had become team captain Matt Jones’ personal mission to finally put the Thames mixed team at the top of the podium. It is fair to say, in 2019 they did it in some style.
and found Rich and Jess still busy setting it up.” With the team now in overall 2nd place, it was only a matter of time before Thames hit the front – and this duty fell on the shoulders of James Hoad. Taking on the notoriously tough 13.5-mile fifth stage (also described as ‘bloody hard’), Hoad put his Scottish training to the test as he navigated the undulating terrain to Chipperfield. Ever
On a sunny Saturday morning, it fell to Simon Baines to begin the
consistent in performing when it counts, Hoad obliterated the field,
Thames A team’s campaign. Taking the first leg from Hampton Court,
coming home in just 1 hour 16 minutes – over six minutes ahead of
Baines’ run would carry him 13 miles along the Thames towards
the next runner. Finally, the mixed Thames A team found themselves
Staines. Almost immediately, he opened a strong lead. However, a
in pole position.
navigational error at Walton Bridge saw Baines becoming stranded on the wrong side of the river. Forced to turn back, he dropped to 4th place with only a few miles to go. A heroic finish saw Baines battling back to 2nd – only a few seconds behind the leader from Queens Park.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of brilliant Thames performances, with the gap between the Saltires and their competitors widening all the time. Rebekah Edgar claimed first lady and a course record over stage six; Richard Ollington consolidated with a further course record and huge six-minute lead over stage
Taking over at Staines was Katy Hedgethorne. Off the back of an
seven; James McMullan, Matt Jones and Gordon Pearce then
impressive cross country season, Hedgethorne’s good form shone
followed up with big victories and further course records over stages
through as she navigated her 9.5 miles to Boveney Church. Finishing
eight, nine and ten respectively. The team couldn’t put a foot wrong.
th
as second lady, Hedgethorne delivered the team to overall 4 place.
By the eleventh and final stage of the day, Stephen Jones took over
Nick Altmann then swept in to put in an outstanding shift, promoting
with the team leading the relay by over 25 minutes. Returning from
the team to 3rd place and claiming the team’s first stage victory of the
injury, he put in a strong performance over the 7.5-mile journey to
weekend. From here, Paddy Roddy took over to take on the first of
Blackmore, holding the team lead comfortably. And so the first day
the ‘mountain stages’.
closed, with victory for the Saltires looking nigh-on inevitable.
Stage 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Saltire M Jones K Hedgethorne S Jones R Ollington J Hoad P Roddy J McMullan G Pearce N Altmann R Edgar S Baines
There is an exquisite torture to running flat out for 10 miles, sleeping badly, then rising at 6:30am to do it all again.”
Stage position 1 12 (1) 5 1 1 1 1 1 2 8 (1) 1
Team position (27:13 lead) 1 (18:42 lead) 1 (13:29 lead) 1 (21:03 lead) 1 (36:52 lead) 1 (42:48 lead) 1 (49:22 lead) 1 (51:13 lead) 1 (49:51 lead) 1 (48:39 lead) 1 (52:36 lead) 1 Team captain Matt Jones with David Symons
GREEN BELT RELAY, PART II 20 MAY 2019 / GREEN BELT RELAY / TEAM GOLD Another beautiful day dawned, and the Saltires arose early to further
With only four stages left to run, the Saltires now had a dominant
their quest for glory in the Green Belt Relay. Having slept on a 25-
50-minute lead, had claimed the ‘King of the Mountains’ prize, and
minute lead, the team were confident of their chances. But with 11
had more runners in yellow jerseys than in club kit. They did,
stages yet to run and tired legs to contend with, the day would not
however, have problems to contend with off the course. With B-
be easy. Especially with the defending champions in hot pursuit.
team runner Jess Davies’ car showing a reluctance to participate any
Team captain Matt Jones got the day underway. Weathering a largely road-based 10-mile journey through Blackmore to Thorndon, Jones
further in the weekend, the Saltires now had the additional physical challenge of heaving the car forward with every stop.
took advantage of the easier terrain to extend the Saltires’ lead over
All the while, Gordon Pearce, Nick Altmann, Rebekah Edgar and
Serpentine. Claiming a comfortable stage victory to boot, Jones’ was
Simon Baines were working their way around the final miles of the
the first yellow jersey of the day.
Green Belt, determined to bring the title home.
Over the following two stages, however, Serpentine fought back. As
And bring it home they did. Pearce took on a grinding tour through
Katy Hedgethorne and then Stephen Jones carried the team from
Denbies, battling with the lead runner from Ranelagh, ultimately to
Thorndon to Cranham and on to Davy Down, Serpentine fielded
come out on top in the closing miles of the stage. Altmann had a
some of their best performances of the weekend, claiming two
similar battle on his hands, this time with a Serpentine runner.
convincing course records and taking a chunk out of the Saltires’ lead.
Evidently looking for a late surge, Serpentine’s Chris Wright had the
In spite of a yellow jersey for Hedgethorne and a heroic
5th
place for
Jones, Thames’ lead was down to 13 minutes by the start of stage 15. But then it was the turn of Richard Ollington. On a stage that would carry him from the industrial heartland of Dartford to the green plains of Lullingstone Park, Ollington flew across the course – also navigating
bit between his teeth. But with Altmann managing to check his lead by only two minutes, Serpentine had left it far too late. On the penultimate stage of the day, Edgar continued the team’s habit for stage wins and course records. Incredibly, her effort ensured that Serpentine took no more than a minute from the Saltires’ lead.
some 2.5 tonnes of gravel that had been fly-tipped on a crucial
It was with a 49-minute lead that Simon Baines was handed the task
junction. Taking it in his stride, Ollington secured a course record and
of closing the Saltires’ campaign – just as he’d opened it the day
another yellow jersey, and stole 7 minutes back from Serpentine.
before. Baines certainly found redemption as he made his way from
It was then the turn of James Hoad, then Paddy Roddy and James McMullan, to consolidate the lead. Each rose to the challenge. Taking
Walton Bridge to the finish line at the Hawker Centre – storming to a final stage victory, and just a whisker away from a course record.
on perhaps the hardest stage of the weekend, Hoad stormed over 13
And so the weekend closed on a convincing Thames victory, stolen
miles of hilly terrain to deliver yet another course record, and to open
away after a 9-year Serpentine reign. The Saltires had claimed 17 out
a further 16 minutes on Serpentine. Roddy followed up on his strong
of 22 stage wins, the ‘King of the Mountains’ title, the fastest overall
performance of the previous day to take a course record and 6 more
time since 2006, and the individual accolades of Ladies’ and Gents’
minutes from the chasing team. And then, on the final mountain stage
performances of the weekend. Crucially, this was all achieved with a
of the weekend, McMullan breezed over the ridges of Box Hill to take
mixed team, a devoted team captain, and a strong dose of Thames
a yet another 6-minute bite out of Serpentine.
camaraderie.
On the whole, I think I prefer golf, hockey, boxing and hiking to athletics.”
Jackson crosses the line ahead of Abel Kiviat (centre) and Norman Taber (no. 746)
ARNOLD STRODE-JACKSON 10 JULY 1912 / OLYMPIC GAMES 1500m FINAL / 3:56.8 Arnold Strode-Jackson’s path to Olympic glory was an unlikely
Jackson was barely able to keep up and determined that he was
one. Going up to Brasenose College, Oxford in autumn 1910, he
stale. His remedy was to retire to bed for 20 hours, only emerging
spent most of his first year on the river, and playing hockey and
shortly before he was due to run. It did the trick as he duly won his
football. It was in spring 1911 that his uncle, Clement Jackson, one
heat by two seconds from the American John Paul Jones. The only
of the founders of the AAA and doyen of the Oxford University
other Briton to make the final was his friend and future Labour
Athletic Club, persuaded him to turn his talents to the track.
Cabinet minister, Philip Noel-Baker.
“Look here, you stop this river business. You’ll never win a Blue for
“A perfect day and capital fellow competitors helped the Olympic record
rowing.”
to go.”
A little less than a year later, he won the mile in the Oxford-
Having reached the final, Jackson promptly returned to his bed to
Cambridge Sports in a time of 4 minutes, 21.4 seconds, the first of
rest up for the following day. When the final got underway, it was
three victories. Despite the prominence of Oxbridge running in
the Frenchman Henri Arnaud who took the lead initially. At the bell,
those days, it was not enough to persuade the British selectors
the three Americans in the final – Jones, Abel Kiviat and Norman
that he merited a place for the forthcoming Olympic Games in
Taber (who was to join Jackson at Oxford in 1913) – moved to the
Stockholm. It was later that Jackson himself decided that the
front, and it looked like the winner would come from them.
games warranted his attention and he made a private entry (1912
However, with 250 metres to go, Jackson – running in his OUAC
was the last time this was possible). In order to take part, he had
shorts – made his move. With the Americans running abreast, he
to cut short a fishing trip to Norway, something that he found
was forced wide on the final bend and with 50m to go, Kiviat kicked
rather displeasing.
away from his compatriots. However, seemingly from nowhere, the
“I invariably had a bottle of Guinness for lunch and a nice large glass of Burgundy for dinner.”
lanky Jackson appeared on his shoulder, eating up the ground with his huge strides and surging ahead to break the tape three metres clear in a new British and Olympic record of 3 minutes 56.8 seconds.
Even by the standards of the time, the best description of Jackson’s
The result left a lasting impression on Kiviat: “That race was the
approach to training was ‘relaxed’: “I trained, of course, slowly and
biggest disappointment of my life. I never saw Jackson.”
methodically. I’d do a fast quarter one day, perhaps take a fast four-mile walk the next. I had a massage every day – I always thought that was extremely important to keep the muscles toned up – and play the odd 36 holes of golf when feeling perfectly fit.” “Ho Ho…something wrong here.”
Following the games, Jackson returned to complete his studies at Oxford. He fought in the Great War and was awarded the DSO with three bars. He joined Thames in 1919, running for us against Oxford that year and helping to pioneer the University Race. In 1921, he emigrated to the United States and became an American citizen in 1945. He returned to the UK in 1963 to see out his days in
On Tuesday 9 July and with his heat for the 1500m scheduled for
Oxford. A regular at Vincent’s, he was befriended by our future
the following day, Jackson was asked by his fellow Oxonian and
President John Bryant during his student days. He died, aged 81, in
hurdler, Gerard “Twiggy” Anderson, to pace him in practice.
November 1972.
I just think, if you can just grit your teeth, you can get through anything.”
Having won the event in 2013, Catmur was something of a poster boy for the 2015 Milton Keynes Marathon
ED CATMUR 2013-2014/MARATHONS AND ULTRA-MARATHONS / 100-MILE HERO When Ed Catmur, age 9, ran a campaign to have the mile added to
This new task certainly kept Catmur busy. Starting with the TP100 –
his primary school’s sports day expressly so that he could win it, it
a trail race that carries runners along the Thames path from London
marked the beginning of a decades-long passion for both distance
to Oxford – Catmur was soon to learn that ultra-running goes hand-
running, and winning. It is fair to say, his commitment to both has
in-hand with punishing conditions. The 30-mile headwind he
only scaled up.
experienced at the end of the TP100 was perhaps topped by the
Following his primary school years, it was in fact orienteering that Catmur first turned to. His time in the Scouts had trained him well in the navigational piece, and it was clear that Catmur had a natural talent for fast mileage. By the time he arrived in Oxford, Catmur was
extreme damp that attacked his feet at the 2013 Lakeland Mountain Marathon, which in turned was topped by the 50º heat he battled in South Africa a few years after. The harder things got, it seemed, the more committed Catmur became.
a committed member of the GB junior orienteering team, which
By 2014, the mileage had paid off, and Catmur had convincingly
remained his focus in spite of side-line distractions like the Varsity
earnt his ticket to the UTMB. It was in 2013, however, that Catmur
Cross Country.
ran one of his best races ever: an unexpected victory at the North
However, upon leaving university and moving to London, a chance encounter at the Thames clubhouse began to change his perspective. “I think it was Jeremy Denny who advised me that if I was going to compete in orienteering, I should consider joining a running club.” So Catmur joined Thames, immediately throwing himself into the toughest training sessions and long runs that the Saltires had on offer. By age 27, Catmur was lining up for his very first marathon: the undulating Greensand Marathon in Dorking. Not to be deterred by the challenging terrain, Catmur picked up his first marathon win –
Downs Way 100. “It was a two-horse race all of the way. He had the advantage because he had a support team… I only had myself.” In a season that saw Catmur claiming no less than eight marathon and ultra-marathon titles, it was his battle for the North Downs Way that was most closely fought. Running together until mile 75, Catmur began to feel his chances slip away as he watched Anthony Forsyth of Ashford AC open a gap before him. However, Catmur dug deep and used a long, straight incline to slowly work his way back.
made all the sweeter by the fact that his sister, Caroline, also won in
“I made sure that I ran every step of the way up this hill. Over the next
the women’s race.
10km I reeled him in, and broke for home with 20 miles to go.”
Now with the marathon ‘bug’, Catmur’s attentions turned to the
Catmur’s victory at the North Downs Way may well be his
clock. At the time, a championship entry at the London Marathon
proudest, but his full record continues to be extraordinary. Just a few
was worth 2:45, and after two years of consistent mileage, Catmur
months after returning from the UTMB in 2014, Catmur ran a
went comfortably clear with a 2:43 clocking at the Edinburgh
marathon PB of 2:32 in Florence. His running has taken him to the
Marathon. But Catmur would not be satisfied for long.
Arctic Circle; to safari reserves; to far-flung mountain ranges. He has
“I was starting to think about the 100 miles at that point. To get into the UTMB [Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc], you have to accumulate points. So I needed to do a certain number of 100-milers to stand a chance of getting in.”
even completed the Comrades Marathon seven times over (“I blame Matt Lynas for that”), with the ambition of one day reaching ten for the coveted Comrades ‘green number’. With many more ultramarathons on the horizon, Catmur is certainly not done yet.
I was in Melbourne on New Year’s Day and I watched the sunrise, and I knew that 2012 would be a very special year.”
Bleasdale and Pavey finished 8th and 7th in both finals
Bleasdale represented Cambridge before joining Thames
JULIA BLEASDALE 3-10 AUGUST 2012 / OLYMPIC GAMES 10,000m and 5000m / 8TH On Friday 3 August 2012, London’s Olympic Games switched up a
Bleasdale slipped under the radar during race introductions.
gear, as the long-awaited athletics action finally got underway. The
However, as the gun went and the crowd began to roar, the Saltire
stadium was filled, the action packed in, and the crowd already
fell into step alongside Pavey – ignoring the strange team tactics of
thrilled by the early events of the women’s heptathlon.
three break-away Japanese athletes. As the Japanese athletes were
The evening session would host the first track final of the Games: the women’s 10,000m. And in it, our very own Julia Bleasdale.
reeled in by Tirunesh Dibaba, Sally Kipyego, and their Ethiopian and Kenyan teammates, Pavey and Bleasdale stayed in control of their own, blistering 25-lap races. Working together and chasing for home,
Bleasdale had what one might describe as a modest journey to the
the two crossed the line in 7th and 8th place respectively, claiming 2nd
Olympic start line. Growing up in London, her early performances
and 3rd in the all-time fastest UK performances.
for Hillingdon AC as a teenager placed her as a decent young track athlete, running well at league meetings and the occasional BMC. It was during her time at Cambridge, however, that Bleasdale began to unlock her true potential. Between lectures and Varsity matches, Bleasdale was finding her feet in the longer distances, moving through from the 800m and 1500m to the 5000m and 10,000m. By the time she graduated, Bleasdale had a PB of 16:34 in the 5000m, and had been invited to her first international competition in Chiba, Japan. Graduating from Cambridge, it was perhaps only natural that Bleasdale would find home with Thames Hare & Hounds. Indeed,
Bleasdale had only four days to recover before she was in action again, this time for the 5000m heats. Yet the fatigue seemed hardly noticeable as the race played out. Sparring with Kipyego and Vivian Cheruiyot, Bleasdale flew around the 12.5 laps – occasionally taking the lead, and drawing from the crowd’s energy. “It was that deafening, ear-ringing roar. You feel a surge of energy going through you when you hear it.” Completing the race in 4th place, with an automatic qualifying position and a new PB of 15:02, Bleasdale could hardly have set up the final better – and she would have only three days to wait.
between 2009 and 2010, she regularly turned out for Thames,
As the gun went for the final of the 5000m, Pavey and Bleasdale
collecting four individual wins in the Surrey League for her troubles.
evidently had a game plan. Pavey took to the lead almost
All the while, Bleasdale was steadily building up her international
immediately, sharing the workload with the Italian athlete Elena
portfolio, and bringing down her track PBs.
Romagnolo. With 2km left to run, it was Bleasdale’s turn to move
By 2012, Bleasdale had created the greatest of opportunities: in the form of her life, she’d run two qualifying standards for her home Olympics. Bleasdale would compete in both the 10,000m and the 5000m, in what would be her first major international competition. “I was relatively unknown so there were no expectations; I didn’t feel any weight on my shoulders.” First up: the 10,000m. Next to compatriot Jo Pavey on the start line,
up, and the pair of Brits worked together to try to hold off the chasing Kenyans and Ethiopians. However, it wasn’t to be, and Dibaba led the pack past Pavey and Bleasdale not long after. An echo of their brilliant performances just a few days before, Pavey and Bleasdale finished again in 7th and 8th place respectively. In her first major competition, Bleasdale had run 50 laps, two PBs, and a third-fastest all-time UK 10,000m. A truly proud moment for Bleasdale; and her friends, family, and teammates at Thames.
Tudor strikes me as having distinct possibilities if he can learn to hurdle reasonably well.”
Tudor pictured running against Queen’s University Belfast in 1946
GEOFFREY TUDOR 3 AUGUST 1948 / OLYMPIC GAMES 3000m STEEPLECHASE HEATS / 10:10.9 Although Geoff Tudor’s athletic career was fairly short, it
mocked-up timber hurdle in his back garden, hardly an ideal
coincided with the period immediately after the second world
preparation.
war when the sport was re-establishing itself at the start of a period that is now seen as the golden era of amateur athletics. In autumn 1945, Tudor arrived at Oxford University along with a mixture of recent school leavers and returning ex-servicemen. With student numbers still limited, he found himself spoilt for choice for sports and boxing and hockey competed with athletics for his attention, although he still made the Oxford team for the University Race in December. By the following year, things were more organised and he competed in the University Race twice
“A breakdown on the Tube left just time enough to change but no time for a warm-up: the rush to get there probably formed an effective substitute!” On 3rd July, he was back at the White City, this time in action in the steeplechase at the AAA Championships. Second place behind his Oxford friend Peter Curry was enough to secure his Olympic selection, which was confirmed four days later and just three weeks before the opening ceremony.
more in the athletics contest against Cambridge. He was Oxford
“Your first five laps went at a killing pace, and I knew immediately you
cross-country captain in his final year and helped form the
had done a 63.9 first lap, it would be impossible for you to keep it
university second team, the Tortoises.
up.”
“Tudor is himself a remarkable runner – quite obviously he has
On 3rd August, exactly one month after his White City
speed and stamina. I wonder why the British Olympic people do not
performance, Tudor found himself at Wembley watching Peter
persuade him to try his hand at steeple-chasing with next year’s
Curry precede him in the Olympic steeplechase heats. Curry’s
Olympics in mind.”
failure to qualify led him to a snap decision: “I would run faster than
Up until now, the thought of competing in the forthcoming Olympic Games in London had not entered Tudor’s mind. However, after an enthusiastic The Daily Telegraph preview of the 1947-48 Oxford season, he found himself nominated to train for the steeplechase, an event he had never run before.
that – or bust in the attempt.” After five laps, he was eight seconds quicker and a surge at the end of that lap – to a deafening roar from the vast crowd – moved him further up the order. However, at this point his unsophisticated training programme started to tell. He faded on the sixth lap and by the seventh it was all he could do not to fall into the water jump. He staggered over the remaining
Having sat Finals just before Christmas 1947, Tudor’s preparation
yards to finish last in 10:10.9, some way behind the winner, Raphaël
commenced in earnest in January. He took up a position as a
Pujazon of France.
temporary lecturer at Sandhurst and ran regularly for Thames and Achilles. There were also half-a-dozen visits to Herne Hill to visit his coach, Bill Thomas, a training camp at Butlin’s in Clacton and a visit to White City on 7th June to practise over the steeplechase barriers and experience the water jump for the first time. Prior to this, his only means of practising technique had been over a
He may not have left those games with a medal; however, in the space of a few years, Geoff Tudor had played an important role in the rebirth of running at Oxford and a part in the rebirth of the Olympic Games, both of which he looked back on fondly in his later years. After the games, he settled in Devon and died at the grand age of 94 in October 2018.
I thought that we’d be hard to beat and so it proved.”
The team victorious: (L-R) Weir, Lynas, Reynolds, Cheetham and Baines celebrate their third M45 gold of the year with a bottle of Reynolds’ homemade pear juice.
M45 THAMES GENTLEMEN 2017 / BRITISH MASTERS ATHLETIC FEDERATION (BMAF), NATIONAL EVENTS / CALENDAR YEAR GRAND SLAM The oldest running club in the world, Thames Hare & Hounds excels in two key areas: running, and being old. In 2017, our team of M45 Saltires again proved just that.
“I have never been as nervous as I was then, waiting for Ben.” In the event, Lynas put in a sterling shift, running well to protect the Saltires’ position,; conceding 10 seconds to Tyne Bridge, but keeping
The 2017 team – variously consisting of Ben Reynolds, Andy Weir,
them firmly within his sights. Then came the turn of Weir, who ran
Matt Lynas, Simon Baines and Paul Cheetham – had a lot to live up
excellently through the drizzle to take the lead for the first time. By
to, with the vet men already having an impressive record card going
the time he handed over to Baines – and just as the heavens opened
into 2017. In the BMAF National Road Relay, the M35s had scooped
– the Saltires had a delicate 5-second lead on Tyne Bridge.
gold in both 2013 and 2015, while the M45s had collected gold in
Baines ran a confident, if soggy, leg – ignoring the drama behind him
the 2016 event. With a strong team and three national BMAF events
as Preston moved into second place in front of Tyne Bridge. Holding
ahead, the M45s were out to dominate in 2017.
his lead and his nerve, Baines brought home the M45s’ second
The first test came early in the year, with the BMAF Cross Country
national gold of the year.
Championships in Liverpool. In attendance were Reynolds, Baines
The final golden opportunity of 2017 came in October, with the
and Weir, with Reynolds running down an age category in order to
BMAF National Cross Country Relays, held in Long Eaton. The
complete the team. Yet one wouldn’t have known; flying through the
course – 3km and pancake-flat – was a challenging feat for a few of
mud and puddles, Reynolds was first in the team to come home,
our M45s, many of whom were more comfortable over the
claiming an individual bronze in the M50 category while he was at it.
marathon distance. New to Thames, it was Paul Cheetham who
Not far behind, Baines finished fast for 7th place, while Weir closed out the scoring team in 10th. With all three athletes finishing in the
stepped up to take the fifth spot on the golden team. As before, Reynolds got the team underway, running a blistering ten-
top 10, the team comfortably claimed gold. The journey to 2017
minute-dead opening leg to bring the baton round in second place.
BMAF dominance was off to a strong start.
Lynas took over from there. Suffering with a bad head cold, Lynas’
The next event in the national masters calendar came on a grey day in May, at the BMAF National Road Relays held in Sutton Park. With
effort was truly heroic; not just showing up, but putting in a strong run to complete the course in 11:09, handing over in third place.
last year’s title to protect, the M45s left nothing to chance, adding
Baines then proved his worth, rocketing around in 9:58, and
Lynas to the winning trio from Liverpool.
overtaking both the athletes ahead of him. By the time Cheetham
“In the previous year we thought we should win, but in 2017 it was clearly ours to lose.” Reynolds took the first leg, and almost immediately became locked in battle with Tyne Bridge’s Terry Scott. Saving his energy for the final hill, Reynolds left his kick for the last. Alas, Scott too had held something back, and out-kicked Reynolds to take a 16-second lead. It fell to Lynas to hold the position and work towards first.
took the baton for his Thames BMAF debut, Thames was leading by seven seconds. Cheetham’s impressive 10:45 only widened the lead. Finally, Weir stepped up to take the glory leg. Blitzing what he described as “the world’s dullest course”, Weir ran a dominant time of 10:22, anchoring the team in first place. With four Saltires recording some of the fastest times of the day, the team claimed their third BMAF title of the year in appropriate style. And so, the calendar year grand slam of BMAF titles was complete.
Pos
Simon Wurr running in the OMM
Team
Time
1
Ifor Powell & Al Powell
12:48:19
2
Tim Higginbottom & Chris Near
13:17:11
3
Steve Birkinshaw & Morgan Donnelly
13:27:17
4
Sean Bolland & Nick Barrable
13:23:13
5
Mark Seddon & John Hunt
14:42:34
6
Andrew Symonds & Tom Owens
14:21:56
7
Simon Bourne & Richard Patton
13:50:09
8
Tom Brunt & Martin Beale
13:58:10
9
Jo Scott & Nigel Wright
15:15:24
10
Kevin Harding & Quentin Harding
14:08:57
11
Charles Stead & Robert Johnston
15:28:54
12
Mark Hartell & Tim Laney
15:47:07
13
Huw Jones & Gareth Jones
16:11:39
14
Alistair Morris & Phil Scarf
16:18:51
15
Nick Gracie & Warren Bates
17:00:04
16
Simon Wurr & Chris Daniels
17:50:40
17
Jonathan Emberton & Heather Monro
17:02:32
18
Gary Tompsett & John Houlihan
19:37:52
19
Matthew Davis & Sarah Wingrove
18:36:00
20
Anthony Emmet & Helen Jackson
19:31:45
SIMON WURR & CHRIS DANIELS 28 & 29 OCTOBER 2006 / THE ORIGINAL MOUNTAIN MARATHON / 17:50:40 The Original Mountain Marathon is a gruelling two-day event in
The simple statistics of the event report that the Thames team of
which runners compete as a pair, navigating themselves over an
Wurr and Daniels finished 16th of the 20 finishing teams. However,
unmarked course – from checkpoint to checkpoint – while carrying
the fact that 50 teams failed to last the distance and it proved too
everything that they need for 36 hours, tent included. The venue
much for Ranulph Fiennes, Sarah Rowell (former GB marathoner
changes from year to year and typically is in either Wales, northern
and second in the 1992 World Mountain Running Championship)
England or Scotland. Described by its founder, Gerry Charnley, as
and World Sky Running Champion Angela Mudge puts into context
“the toughest event on the calendar and it’s not a Sunday afternoon
what an achievement it was.
picnic” it presents a formidable challenge to anyone brave enough to take part. Simon Wurr and Chris Daniels’ first taste of the OMM came in 2005, when they finished ninth in Long Score class (as many checkpoints as possible in seven hours on the first day and in six on the second). With Chris able to dine out on this result for the next 12 months,
“Highly calamitous.” Day one was completed, albeit not without incident. The everpresent ‘tussocks’, some of which were six feet high, presented a significant challenge to progress and consequently the pair had to run the final 30 minutes with head torches in darkness.
there was only one category they could go for when they decided to
However, anything that day one threw at them paled by comparison
have another stab at it in 2006: the Elite, involving navigating 40km
with the second. Simon was confronted at the outset with the
plus on both days in 12 hours. These being the straight-line distances,
realisation that, not only was he very tired, but he had to do it all
you can easily cover 100km over the two days.
again. However, the reason that it – and the 2006 event – lives so
“There’s a reason no-one visits it.”
vividly in his memory is that his Walsh fell running shoe decided to part company from its sole early on in the proceedings. The OMM is
The venue for the 2006 event was the Galloway Forest Park, located
demanding enough without suffering the indignity of a lost shoe.
between Dumfries and Stranraer in south-west Scotland. Simon
Simon tore the upper off and in an act of complete disgust, threw
describes it as “absolutely horrendous” with a pathless terrain of bog,
what was left of the shoe into a nearby bog, thereby leaving himself
river and crag. To heap insult on this, the weather omens were not
with the prospect of running nearly an entire day with one bare foot.
good with a dire forecast for day one and visibility was often very poor.
At this stage things did not look good for the two. Simon recalls that they were both pretty broken (although Chris was better at hiding
Simon remembers vividly the nerves that hit him on the morning of
it). However, at this point, ex-army man Chris took over and
day one as the enormity of the task before them hit home. Chris, by
employing a strategy of extreme tough love, bossed the remainder
contrast, was in his element, revelling in being able to relive stories of
of the day, giving Simon as little sympathy as possible to force him to
his time serving in Northern Ireland during the latter part of The
the finish. Driven by the very real prospect of missing a cut-off, they
Troubles.
found the energy to get round and overcome a challenge that had broken the majority.
1 2 3 4 Rachel Disley
Benita Willis
N Warner R Disley B Johnson S O’Sulliv
an
13:02 (2) 15:08 (7) 11:58 (3) 13:01 (3)
My lasting memory of the day was of just how fast these women were running.”
Sonia O’Sullivan
Naomi Warner
THAMES LADIES 24 SEPTEMBER 2006 / SOUTHERN 4-STAGE ROAD RELAYS / TEAM BRONZE 2006 was a good year for the Thames ladies. With the likes of
Disley had had an altogether different journey to the start line of
long-time stalwarts Kate Symons, Anna Garnier, Vikki Filsell and
the relays. Having sprained her ankle only six weeks before the
Alison Carpenter regularly turning out to pack the team, the
event, she’d barely put one foot in front of the other in the run up
ladies had had a strong cross country season – helped by the
to the race. Getting to the start line was a victory in itself.
occasional star appearances of Julia Bleasdale, Sonia O’Sullivan and Benita Willis (neé Johnson). However, after injury disrupted the team’s chances of a podium finish in the Surrey League, any significant team accolade seemed to elude the ladies. Lacking a full team in the National Cross Country and the Southern 6-Stage Relays, the winter season
“My main memory of the Southerns is pain.” Nevertheless, Disley ran strongly to get the team round, conceding only five places to hand over to Benita Willis – the team now in seventh place. From then on, it was up to Willis and O’Sullivan to sprinkle their magic.
closed on several impressive individual performances, but no
And that they did. Willis practically flew, claiming back four places
team medals.
early on in her leg, and sustaining a relentless pace all the way to
That was put right in September, when the Southern 4-Stage Road Relays came around. On a bright day in Aldershot, Naomi Warner, Rachel Disley, Benita Willis and Sonia O’Sullivan each prepared to do battle over a short, fast course. The team may have been star-studded,
the finish line. Her effort not only brought the team back into medal contention, but won her the fastest leg of the day. Such was Willis’ incredible form, that only a month later she went on to claim a PB and Australian national record in the Chicago Marathon. “Sonia still had some ground to make up.”
but their work was cut out: Aldershot had also brought their
Taking over from Willis was Sonia O’Sullivan, poised and ready to
best.
clinch a medal for the team. Setting out in third place, O’Sullivan
First to take on the course was Warner. Having placed eighth in the Milan half-marathon earlier in the year – followed by a series of blistering 10ks over the summer – Warner was undeniably in great shape. This she showed as she set out at the front of the race, running toe to toe with the athlete from Aldershot. “Naomi had run a blinder.”
had ambitions to move the team into a gold medal position – and indeed set out so rapidly that she made up much ground on the two athletes ahead. However, the gap was just too large, and the course just too short: O’Sullivan crossed the line before reaching the athletes ahead, claiming team bronze for the Saltires. While there may have been some disappointment on the day, the achievement is a significant event in the annals of recent Thames
As Warner rounded the corner and ran for home, she held the
team history. Medals at Southern and National road relays don’t
team in second place – recording a fast finish, and clinching the
come around often – and star-lined teams like Warner, Disley,
seventh fastest leg of the day. Taking over for the second leg
Willis and O’Sullivan are even less common.
was Rachel Disley.
Hill (left) well placed in the leading group
The front group was whittled down to about eight and just after half way there were four of us… I knew if I could get rid of one more then I would be in the medals!”
DAVE HILL 30 AUGUST 1992 / WORLD MASTERS 25KM ROAD RACE / 1:22:08 Dave Hill joined Thames in 1988 and was one of our key runners
steep 200 metre downhill, then a 180 degree turn back uphill. He
of the late-1980s and early-1990s. In the first half of 1992, he was
decided, if he was still feeling good, this would be the spot for his big
in our team that secured second place in the South of the Thames
effort. Of course, he realised that his rivals would be planning
Senior Championship and won the Michelin Trophy at the
something similar, but he figured they would make their moves at
National. Moving into the summer, he turned his attention to the
the top of the hill. Therefore, he determined that he would push
inaugural World Masters 25km Road Race, which was conveniently
from the bottom in an attempt to psych them out.
being held at the NEC in Birmingham. It would turn out to be one of the highlights of his running career. “I was in the 'zone' and determined to stay positive about the race.”
“In short, the plan worked!” As the race moved towards the final lap, the weather mercifully had started to improve. Hill was well-placed with the leading group and
The race day – 30th August 1992 – did not start well. As Hill
as they approached the point he had noted in his hastily concocted
recalls, the weather was filthy with the morning blighted by
plan, there was bright sunshine, although it was windy. With four
torrential rain. To stay dry, the athletes warmed up in the
runners still in contention, Hill was feeling strong and determined to
exhibition halls and were unable to inspect the course. About ten
execute his race plan. By the time he reached the top of the climb,
minutes before the start, the rain abated and the athletes moved
he could only hear one person behind him. A quick look revealed
outside to line up. However, it was only temporary and about two
that it was the German, Klaus Goldhammer, so he decided to push
minutes before the off, the heavens opened again with the rain
for a second time in the hope of creating a gap. Again, it worked to
bouncing several inches up off the road surface. However, none of
perfection and steadily he began to pull away.
this fazed Hill. This was his primary target of the summer and he knew he had trained well and was in great shape. A podium finish was very much a possibility. “I came up with a plan on the hoof.” One of the challenges facing Hill as he toed the line – although it applied equally to his rivals – was that he knew nothing about the course except that it started with a 5km lap followed by two laps of a 10km. Therefore, he settled on a plan that was notable for its
At this point, the out-and-back nature of the course offered assistance as it enabled Hill to gauge his lead from the runners coming in the other direction. From here, however, he refused to look around again and spent the next few miles fuelled by fear. With less than a mile to go, the lead motorcyclist informed him there was no other runner in sight, allowing him to relax a little and enjoy what remained. He finished in 1:22:08, a full minute ahead of Goldhammer.
simplicity: he would simply go with the lead group and see what
Reflecting back, Hill says, “What has made me the proudest about
happened. He figured that if he was able to stay with the leaders
this race, over the years, is the fact that I was able to come up with a
through the first short lap, he would look out carefully during the
plan ‘on the hoof’ and execute that plan in exactly the way I had
first of the longer laps to see if there was a suitable place for him
intended. That has given me great satisfaction and some very
to make a move on the final lap. As luck would have it, he found
gratifying memories. I have had a lot of good days during my running
exactly what he was looking for: about halfway through the longer
career, but this really was a day to remember.”
lap, there was an out-and-back section which culminated in a
29
N Altmann
69:19
41
A Weir
71:25
48
I Harkness
72:56
49
D Symons
72:58
74
A Gaskell
83:25
I remember Hsu Min asking the Italian team, the Carabinieri, how much running and how much policing they did, to which they replied, ’We are runners, from 9 to 5.’” L-R: Altmann, Symons, Harkness, Weir, Gaskell
THAMES GENTLEMEN 23 OCTOBER 2004 / EUROPEAN CUP OF CHAMPIONS HALF MARATHON/ 9th TEAM In 2004, Thames’ distance running was reaching a peak. Matt Lynas
29th and recording a strong 69:19. Altmann even finished ahead of
had been selected to run for Great Britain in the European 100km
the famed 10,000m and cross country runner, Paulo Guerra.
Cup, John McFarlane had pretty well led the field to finish the London Marathon in 2:17, and the Saltires had claimed victory at the Welsh Castles Relay. This high success rate hadn’t gone unnoticed: come
“Beating Paulo Guerra was the highlight. He was the top European cross country runner of his day, but to be fair his day had passed.”
October, the Thames men were invited to represent Great Britain at
Not far behind Altmann – and indeed also ahead of Guerra – was
the European Cup of Champions Half Marathon.
Andy Weir. Having become a father to Ellen less than a year
Held in Guadalajara, Spain, the event was a club championships of sorts, with each country selecting a home club to represent them. However, as our own team of Nick Altmann, Andy Weir, Ian
previously, Weir was amazed even to be allowed to travel for the event. He certainly made it count: Weir finished in a fast 71:25 for 41st place.
Harkness, David Symons and Alex Gaskell soon realised, some
Harkness and Symons then closed out the scoring team, finishing
countries had rather stretched the definition of ‘club’.
seconds apart in 72:56 and 72:58 respectively. In a field dominated
“The Portuguese were something like ‘Marathon Club Portugal’ – I don’t think they had any fixtures equivalent to the Ranelagh Mob Match or the Opening Handicap.” With Portugal, Italy and Spain running near professional teams, the Saltires did not expect to challenge for medals. However, they
by semi-professional athletes, the two did well to finish in the top 50. Behind them, Gaskell was having a more difficult race; challenged by the hilly, repetitive course, he found himself in the unenviable position of being lapped by the winner just metres from the line. “I had to try and sneak by unnoticed on the side.”
certainly had high hopes for an excellent day of running and
With all athletes back and counted, the results were in: the Thames
celebrating. The athletes were due to set off in the early evening,
men had finished in a very respectable ninth place – but as Symons
racing around six hilly laps, before seamlessly settling into an evening
points out, they were the first team not to be wearing official
of tapas and beer.
matching tracksuits. Celebration was in order.
To get proceedings underway, the Thames men were introduced on
“The evening was epic, and perfectly in line with national drinking
the line – shrouded in the Union Flag and cheered on by the Thames
stereotypes.”
‘team coaches’, Kate Symons and Hsu Min Chung. And with that, they were off. “The race started quickly and seemed to get quicker.” Altmann led the way for the team, sitting in near the front of the field and matching the blistering pace of the elites around him. Despite accidentally throwing an Iberian fizzy drink over himself midway through the race (“a sticky patch”), Altmann ran a blinder – finishing
Even as the Belarusians were still out on the course (having driven from Minsk to Spain in a minibus, a few of their older ‘coaches’ had drawn the short straw and were asked to race), an evening on the town commenced. The Saltires found a natural affinity with the Czech and Irish teams, and enjoyed a lively night in the tapas bars of Guadalajara. So often the way, the team certificate fell casualty to the evening, and didn’t make it home.
L-R: Carpenter, Robinson and Denny celebrate their victory in Bruges market square
THAMES VETERANS 1984 / INTERNATIONAL VETERANS 25KM ROAD RACE / TEAM GOLD The ‘International Veterans 25km Road Race,’ created in 1974 by
His time was 1:20:34, the same per-mile pace as a 68:00 half-
Jacques Serruys in Bruges, Belgium, was a major annual event in the
marathon. Günter Mielke (Germany) and Walte van Renterghem
developmental years of masters running. Established before the first
(Belgium) were first and second. Carpenter and Denny rose to the
World Masters Championships, for some years it was an unofficial
occasion, Carpenter 36th in 1:29:30, Denny 73rd in 1:33:47. As a
European championship, attracting most top masters. It also became
measure, Carpenter was not far behind top Brit Eric Austin, and two
a regular cross-channel (pre-tunnel) outing for English clubs seeking
minutes ahead of Ron Hill, with Denny not far behind Hill. For
the coveted team title.
Carpenter, that famous scalp was less important than “discovering
Enter Thames. In 1984, New Zealand-based Thames member Roger Robinson (then 45) managed to get to the Bruges race, and lured Frank Carpenter (45) and Jeremy Denny (44) to make up a team. Carpenter and Robinson’s long running friendship began at KCS Wimbledon in the 1950s. Three months before Bruges, Robinson had won the over-40 masters at the Boston marathon, in a record 2:20:15, and had two world masters titles, to his name. But for Carpenter and Denny, the crowded international field of almost 600 was a new experience.
that I beat all the Frenchmen.” Carpenter described the even more delightful news that followed. “We were surprised to find at the subsequent inquest that we had won the team competition, based on an aggregate time of three scorers, by more than six minutes. 57 teams finished, 14 of them from Britain.” There was some muttering from disappointed British teams about Robinson’s inclusion. They were assured that he had been a member since 1968, and ran for Thames whenever academic leave made it
“It was the first time that I went anywhere for a race. We were
possible, for instance in the Ranelagh Half-Marathon in 1980, or as
assembled across a fairly narrow road, in age groups, so as the
recently as the Surrey Cross Country in January 1984, and had won
youngster I was in front of Frank and Roger, who passed me in short
the long-distance handicap and the Alumni race.
order.”
The trip started an annual tradition. Thames had some near misses
Carpenter “started slowly, hampered by the melée, but by the end
for the title, and won again in 1993. Later there were outstanding
of the first lap I could estimate that I might be in the leading 10%,
wins by teams led by Dave Hill. Carpenter, who was then Thames'
serious stuff.” The course was Flanders-flat, with long straights on
Honorary Secretary and later President for five years, reported that
country roads, ending in a football stadium, where pickled herrings
the immediate effect of Bruges was to encourage him to run his first
were available to finishers.
and only marathon, “where Jeremy gave me my comeuppance but
“The course went through a mixture of prosperous suburbs and agricultural areas; very little traffic and few spectators.” Robinson had been racing in America, and was jet-lagged, so “opted for caution, letting the two leaders go, and becoming competitive on the last lap, putting in a decisive burner for third place at 5km to go.”
we both finished inside my target of three hours.” In the longer term, the race gave him an abiding affection for Bruges. “I returned most years until 2002, when the series came to an end. Our 1984 win was very satisfying to me and I think significant to Thames.”
And there is the recognisable vest of Thames, the oldest cross country club in the world.”
L-R: Evie Morris-Gray, Joseph Woods, Luke Cotter, Jack Millar, Helene Greenwood, Richard Ollington
Now what is the leader doing? It looks like he’s trying to dab or sniff his armpit.”
GB athletes Oliver Fox and Ben West
THAMES AND OXFORD GENTLEMEN 30 MARCH 2019 / WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS, 4x2KM OPEN RELAY / 25:30, TEAM GOLD In March 2019, the World Cross Country Championships were hosted by Aarhus. It was the
43rd
instalment of the World Cross, but
the first to hold an open relay competition for non-elite runners. As Oliver Fox (Cambridge’s Varsity winner of 2016) and Ben West (coached by Oxford’s Kyle Bennett) had been selected to compete
With the elite races over, Jack Millar was the first in the team to toe the line, alongside 92 other teams in the Open Relay competition. “Off the gun went and I found myself stuck behind a load of wannabes.”
for GB in the competition’s elite races, a group of Thames and
After a less than desirable start, Millar managed to catch the leading
Oxford runners seized the opportunity. Richard Ollington, Jack Millar,
pack during his leg, finishing just behind the first mixed team’s runner,
Joseph Woods and Luke Cotter came together to enter the event;
but crucially in front of the Team ASICS men, who were to become
an opportunity to support friends, and let loose on a World Cross
the team’s enduring rivals throughout the race. Next up was Joseph
Country course.
Woods. With giant television screens dotted around the course,
The warm-up for the event, however, began the day before. Event sponsors Mikkeller Brewery had organised a fun run on the day prior to the World Cross, with the CEO reportedly having competed for
Woods couldn’t help but observe that his lead on ASICS was slowly whittling away. Indeed, as he neared the end of his leg, the athlete from ASICS flew past.
the Danish National team as a youngster. Not wanting to miss out
As Richard Ollington took on the third leg, by now there were only
on the taste of a Danish lager better than Carlsberg, the Thames-
two teams jostling for first place, with Team ASICS out front.
Oxford team joined the event. Having thoroughly scoped out the
Motivated by the live commentary and the magnitude of the stage,
competition, the team led the field easily – though an unplanned
Ollington worked back towards the runner from ASICS, overtaking
sprint finish was required for the team to take the title. After a
him around halfway through the lap. For the final leg, Luke Cotter
promising warm-up and a healthy measure of Dutch courage in the
would take over in first place.
evening, the team were ready to take on the World Open Relay.
Behind Cotter, Team ASICS were hampered by the fatigue of their
The course, measuring 2km in length, was an action-packed roller-
final-leg runner, who’d earlier competed in the elite race. Seizing his
coaster; meandering its way through a beer tent, Viking re-
opportunity, Cotter attacked. Extending his lead with every stride,
enactments, a steep artificial hill over the roof of a museum, and a
Cotter flew down the finishing straight, celebrating his victory with a
water jump that had reportedly (though not so evidently) been
move known to Oxford students as ‘the pot’. To the disappointment
modelled on that of Thames’ Varsity course.
of Team ASICS’ marketing film crew, the Oxford-Thames team had
The day dawned crisp and sunny, and the elite races were first to go off. In the senior men’s, Great Britain secured four of the top-10 team results, with Oliver Fox running excellently for 58th place. All the while, the Thames-Oxford team could be seen warming up in the background – never one to miss a memorable television moment, there were several sightings of Richard Ollington, striding out while wielding a five-metre Cambridge flag.
won the event, claiming the first World Cross Country Open Relay title, in a time faster even than that of the Ethiopian elite mixed team. “We were crowned the World’s Cross Country Chopper Champions.” Celebrating their victory in style, the Thames and Oxford runners joined the elite competitors at the official afterparty – beer racing with the GB men’s team, and collecting souvenirs and memories to last a lifetime.
The SoT dates back to the late nineteenth century 1. 2. 3.
M Harris J Watson D Glassborrow
(Portsmouth) (THH) (HHH)
41:25 42:11 42:15
13. 20. 33. 47. 53.
A Thomas M Farmery B Snelgrove A Gibbons J Rye
(THH) (THH) (THH) (THH) (THH)
42:58 43:36 44:23 45:12 45:32
After years of ‘sleepiness’, the team converted pub chat into great competition… and this silver made them realise they could be competitive.”
THAMES GENTLEMEN 1989 / SOUTH OF THE THAMES CHAMPIONSHIP/ TEAM SILVER Looking back, the late 1980s was an important period for the
The 1989 race was held in Aldershot on the sandy trails
men’s team. Firstly, in 1986, they gained promotion to Division 1
around the Rushmoor Arena. Harris of Portsmouth (who went
of the Surrey League. Then, in 1989, they won silver medals in the
on to run 7.55 for 3,000m that summer) won quite easily in
South of the Thames Championship. These medals were
41.25 for the 7.5 miles course. Behind him, Thames’ Jerry
particularly significant because it was the Saltires’ first time on the
Watson had steadily worked his way through the field to
podium of a major championship since 1975, when a team of
eventually end up in second. Watson remembers:
Chadwick, Altmann, Hazelden, Bryant, Valentine and Braithwaite rather unexpectedly won silver medals in the Southern
“The final 200 metres were very close but I still regard it as one of
Championships. It seemed that the work of a series of highly
my best races, which probably helped set me up for my 2:20
motivated captains: Bryant, Turner, Britton, Gibbons, Gilbert,
marathon in April.”
Davies and Snelgrove, was starting to pay off. Herne Hill dominated the team race, with five runners in the The South of the Thames Championship (SoT) was first held in
first 10, but the race for the minor medals was quite close,
1888 on Wandsworth Common and won by one of the many
with it going pretty much to the wire and Thames
local clubs, Reindeer Harriers (not a typo for Ranelagh). Thames
pipping Ranelagh 168 points to 174, all hanging on the sixth
didn’t have a great record in the Championship but had won team
scorer which went to Thames 53rd versus 58th. It was fitting
gold in 1938 and bronze medals in 1939. The silver team place in
perhaps that this was John Rye (great, great grandson of our
1989 was their first time on the SoT podium since those days, and
founder, Walter Rye), who was fortunately not spending that
it wasn’t until 2001 that Andy Weir claimed the Saltires’ first
year winter training in Norway. Ironically, Alan Gibbons, a man
individual gold medal.
who had been an essential part of Thames for the previous ten years or so, missed the presentation by still being in the
Back in 1989, having survived in Division 1 of the Surrey League
showers.
for several seasons, ambitions were growing, and the chance of winning medals in the SoT was discussed in the Duke of
Other notables in the race included Hugh Brasher in 12th, and
Cambridge pub on Wednesday nights for several weeks. The
Matt Lawton, the Times athletics correspondent in 37th.
decision was made, and the Captain, Mike Farmery, took on the
Since 1989, Thames has not only won gold medals in the SoT
challenge of getting the best team out on the day. This was helped
but has also gone on to win both men's and ladies’ Surrey
somewhat by the SoT being one of the scoring races in the
Leagues on many occasions and many other major
Memorial Trophy in those days. Also, at the time, there were
competitions. A resurgence, that started way back in the 1970s
barring clauses in the race which meant that a winning team from
and ‘80s, continues!
one year would lose the use of those 6 runners in the race for the next 5 years, which helped prevent the Championship being dominated by the big strong clubs.
And so to the New York Marathon – luckily we had only run 280 miles in the week building up to it.”
Crossing Nevada
CHRIS FINILL 17 AUGUST – 5 NOVEMBER 2011 / CALIFORNIA TO NEW YORK / 80 DAYS By 2011, having been a competitive runner for 35 years, Chris
“I really need a new pair of running shoes.”
Finill was on the lookout for a new challenge. Inspired by reading Jim Shapiro’s book ‘Meditations from the Breakdown
In mid-October, two months into their adventure, they reached
Lane’, an account of his run across the USA in the 1980s, Chris
Indiana – the ‘Cross-roads of America’. By this point, their stock of
and his friend Steve Pope decided to take themselves beyond
running shoes was starting to run low and Finill announced that he
conventional ultra-running and attempt a similar challenge. On
needed a new pair. Pope’s dismissive response was, “We haven’t seen
paper, the plan sounded incredibly simple: to step out of the
a running shop in 1,800 miles and we’re not going to see one now,
Pacific Ocean in the west, head east on foot and within 80 days
are we?” Five minutes later, the pair passed Fleetfeet Sports in
dive into the sea at Brighton Beach, New York. To make things
Schererville and were able to continue on their way east restocked
slightly more complicated, however, they also set themselves
and with a free pair of shoes each, courtesy of the shop owner.
the deadline of reaching New York in time to take part in that year’s marathon.
Having left Indiana, the next state was Ohio before they reached Pennsylvania. By this point, they noticed that they were starting to
“Once we started running… the excitement of the adventure
head into the first section of serious undulation – described by one
really came through.”
local as being ‘like the back of a dinosaur’ – since the Rockies. Needing to cover 40 miles per day to achieve their goal, the
The two runners set off on their epic adventure in the early
challenge was far from over, particularly with the days starting to
evening of 17 August, settling quickly into a pace of six miles per
draw in. Their task was made harder by unseasonably early snow that
hour, fast enough to feel natural but, slow enough to allow them
hit the state on 29 October, with driving sleet and bitter cold making
the feeling that they were placing their feet on the road and
progress very trying.
protecting themselves from injury. The first two days passed without incident; however, day three brought Finill the sad news that his mother had passed away at the grand age of 91.
“It does change you. You won’t realise it straight away, but it will.” Fast forwarding a week and on 5 November, Finill and Pope crossed
Over the next two weeks, the pair made their way through
George Washington Bridge to reach New York state. Following the
Yosemite and the searing heat of Nevada; however, on day 16
Hudson for an hour and a half, the pair then headed through central
as they approached Utah, Finill felt a pain developing in his left
Manhattan and after stops at the marathon registration and for food,
leg. A quick stop in Delta and visits to two physios confirmed a
they headed onto Brighton Beach, which they reached as the sun was
stress fracture. With many miles left to go, this was potentially
setting. It was only on re-emerging from the water that they noticed
the end of their quest (for Finill at least). Employing an approach
Jim Shapiro, who had cleared his diary to be there to welcome them.
of complete denial, he allowed himself one day off followed by several more limited to walking 35 miles…and it worked. The fracture eased and the pair were able to plough on through Utah, Colorado and into the Midwest.
The New York Marathon the following day was the encore. The pair crossed the line in Central Park in glorious autumnal sunshine in 3 hours 38 minutes. It was finally over.
It’s harder to pace yourself when you don’t know the people around you. You have no idea if you’ve gone out too hard.”
Murray sets out in icy Samorin
The 2017 Irish team (Murray in front, fifth from left)
BETHANIE MURRAY 10 DECEMBER 2017 / EUROPEAN CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS / 38TH If Bethanie Murray were a stick of rock, you could cut her in half and
assuring the Irish coach that she would take it easy over Wimbledon
see Oxford Blue, Irish green, and the Thames Saltire running through
Common, there was nothing pedestrian about Murray’s exceptional
the core.
second place in the Blues Race.
When Murray arrived at Oxford for her first term in 2013, she was
Arriving in Chia, Sardinia, for her first European Championships,
entirely new to the sport of cross country. Although she’d spent some
Murray was excited but tired. With the weather unseasonably warm,
time in her youth attending her sister’s races – and even filming the
and Murray in the lower bracket of her age group, she ran well for
National and Inter-Counties Championships for Athletico – she’d
46th place – finishing ahead of teammate Amy O’Donoghue. Murray
always stayed on the spectator’s side of the tape. In school, it was
may not have felt as though she was ‘in the race’, but the experience
netball that had held her attention.
certainly gave her a taste for competing in the green vest of Ireland.
However, looking for a change as she started university, Murray found
The following year, everything had changed for Murray. Having
a natural affinity with the Oxford University Cross Country Club.
graduated, moved to London, joined Thames, and started a job in
For Murray, progress was sure and steady. Not initially selected for a university team, Murray competed in the Varsity ‘mob match’ in her first year. In fact, the annual Varsity Cross Country Match became a good indicator of her progress: in her second year, Murray was selected to compete for the Oxford Seconds, while her third year
the City, training and racing inevitably took on a new role. The one thing that didn’t seem to change, though, was Murray’s brilliant form. Between Cottage sessions and run commutes, Murray still found a way to put herself in pole position at the Irish Championships – again earning her selection for the Under-23s Irish team.
saw her competing in the Blues Match for the first time, hosted by
The Europeans this time were hosted in Samorin, Slovakia, which
Thames on Wimbledon Common. Claiming third in the race, by 2015
couldn’t have been more different from the year before.
it was undeniable that Murray had a talent for cross country. The true proof, however, came the following year, when Murray lined up in the Irish National Cross Country Championships. Just a week before her fourth and final Varsity Cross Country Match, Murray’s eyes were set on a slightly different target. “I knew that I had a chance of being selected for the Under-23s team.” Indeed, a storming run from Murray over a tough course saw her
“It was absolutely freezing. I don’t think it went above two degrees all weekend. It was so cold we had patio heaters in the call room.” A gritty athlete, the conditions seemed to suit Murray. She glided over the flat show-jumping course; hurdled the frozen water-jump; and attacked the manmade ramps and slopes. Jostling in a pack of French, Swiss and Ukrainian athletes throughout, Murray had an excellent run – finishing fast in 38th place.
claim first place in the Under-23s Irish National – booking her a ticket
With an improvement on the year before, and two European
to Chia, for the European Cross Country Championships.
Championships under her belt, Murray was pleased with a job well
It was a busy few weeks for Murray. Having persuaded the Irish team manager to allow her to compete in the Blues Race, Murray ticked off the Irish Championships, the Varsity Match and the European Championships in three consecutive weekends. In fact, despite
done. However, her work was by no means complete: only a few months later, she was helping the Thames ladies to victory in the Surrey League – and ever since, she’s been an indispensable part of the team.
Parkinson heads George Gathercole and Tim Lefroy at the finish
As someone who only started running competitively once at university, the Varsity CrossCountry Match was always the highlight of the calendar.”
The Dark Blues victorious
JAMIE PARKINSON 1 DECEMBER 2018 / THE 128TH UNIVERSITY RACE / 38:36 (1ST) The Oxford-Cambridge Cross-Country Race has its roots deep in
over the previous few seasons. The day itself was dry, overcast,
the mud of running history, dating back to December 1880 and the
and mild. However, the previous week had seen plentiful rain and
first contest at Oxford. Since then, the annual occasion has only been
conditions on entry to the Beverley Brook watersplash were
interrupted by world war and, more recently, Covid-19. The
interesting to say the least, as the runners reached it less than half-
importance of it to both universities and the small number of
a-mile from the start. Parkinson remembers one of his teammates
runners (just 16) means that it is an unforgiving contest. Thames
slipping on the climb up the bank on the far side.
became hosts in 1896 and given the close relationship that has developed with the universities since then, it is unsurprising that many former participants have gone on to wear the saltire. What
“Those few milliseconds waiting behind felt like hours as white Cambridge shorts disappeared ahead”
makes Jamie Parkinson’s 2018 triumph special was that he was
The race started to sort itself out along the first long straight from
already one of us.
North View to the windmill and Parkinson found himself in a pack
Parkinson was a late entrant to the running scene, having not been a competitive athlete prior to arriving at Oxford, and it was only as a fourth year undergraduate that he made his debut on the common in 2014, when he finished third in Oxford’s first win since 2010.
of four at the front alongside fellow Dark Blues, Tim Lefroy and Jack Millar, and Cambridge’s George Gathercole. Having two teammates with him helped the middle miles to shoot past quickly.
There followed three further appearances and two team victories
Things start to heat up as they went past the windmill for the
capped by narrowly taking the individual honours in 2017. His joining
third and last time and started jostling for position through the
Thames followed that 2017 success.
woods that followed. The quartet were still together as they
“Advice ranged from ‘don't run at all’ to ‘the lack of Oxygen is just like altitude training.’ I hedged my bets somewhere in the middle.”
approached the dreaded Butts. It was at this point that Parkinson lost his footing – not uncommon in the thick mud – and fell. He was able to get himself up quickly and, fuelled by adrenaline, got
In 2018, however, his preparation did not go as smoothly as the year
back with the group.
before. He was into the final year of a DPhil, which as everyone
As the runners descended back to the Memorial Playing Fields
knows, is when all the work really happens. He had hoped that visiting some collaborators in California in mid-November would serve as a good week of warm weather training, but unfortunately the trip coincided with the peak of a particularly bad fire season, with the barriers this posed to an athlete in serious training only too obvious.
and the run-in, things started to become something of a blur as he was running close to the edge. With Jack Millar having dropped slightly off the group, it was a three-way battle for the honours and it was only after crossing the final bridge that he managed to get the small gap (just one second) he needed to prevail over Gathercole and Lefroy.
Nevertheless, Parkinson returned from California in good heart and
As a team, Oxford registered a convincing victory over their rivals
was looking forward to a final outing as part of what looked on
(30 points to 50), and this rounded off a great day and was the
paper to be a strong Oxford team that had been maturing nicely
perfect way for Parkinson to sign off from the University Race.
It had become something of a tradition in the area to put a bet on the human to win… so the entire village had just won a gambling windfall that they proceeded to spend on beer.”
Lobb collected prize winnings of £25,000 – a rollover of 25 years
Lobb sporting the Saltire in the Surrey League
HUW LOBB 12 JUNE 2004 / THE MAN VERSUS HORSE MARATHON/ WINNER It’s 1980, and on a blustery evening in Britain’s smallest town –
“There are also human relay teams, each with three runners, so my
Llanwrtyd Wells – an argument takes place between two merry
initial focus was just to beat them.”
pub-goers. One man asserts that horse-back will always be more efficient than any man on foot. The other disagrees: over a significant distance and tough terrain, he argues, man would be equal to horse. Overhearing the argument, the local landlord, Gordon Green, decided to put the bet to the test. And so was born the legendary ‘Man versus Horse Marathon’. At 22 miles, the course is not quite a full marathon. However, what it lacks in distance is made up for by intimidating terrain; composed of steep ascents, rocky descents and long spells of knee-deep swamp, the course is designed to test both runner and horse. Each year, the horses and their riders set off 15 minutes ahead of the chasing runners, but until 2004, no runner had yet succeeded in finishing within 15 minutes of the leading horse. The answer to the pub-goers’ argument looked all but decided. “We didn’t have any clue who else was running or which horses were favourite.” On a sunny weekend in June 2004, Saltires Huw Lobb and John McFarlane shared a lift to Llanwrtyd Wells, taking advantage of a free room made available for them above the village pub. Both
The race began on a hot, bright day, with the runners setting out alongside the previous year’s winning horse, Druimguiga Shemal – all seeking to chase down the riders in front. Lobb and McFarlane settled into the leading group, and initially just aimed to stay in the mix of relay runners for as long as possible. “I started taking bigger and bigger risks.” As the race wore on, the runners around the Saltires began to fall back. With 10km to go, Lobb pulled away, striking out for home across the technical terrain – and throwing caution to the wind over the final technical descents. After an epic two hours, five minutes and 19 seconds, Lobb became the first runner to cross the line, McFarlane only a few minutes behind. However, it would be a tense 15 minutes before the calculations were processed and the outcome of the ‘man versus horse’ contest announced. “At the end, they count the time back to calculate the winner.” The results in and counted, the horse-back winner was announced: Zoe White on Kay Bee Jay, who crucially, had crossed the line in 2:07:36. Huw Lobb had beaten the horse – becoming the first runner to do so in the event’s 25-year history.
were in fighting shape; McFarlane having run a blistering marathon
It was a popular result; not only did Lobb collect prize winnings that
PB of 2:17:53 at London in the Spring, while Lobb had only just
had rolled over for 25 years, the village won a gambling windfall,
missed out on an Olympic qualifying time with his 2:15:49 finish.
with race sponsor William Hill paying out on 16/1 odds. It was only
Despite their great shape, neither had any particular expectations
McFarlane, who had also beaten the horse to finish second behind
for the Man versus Horse race – after all, a runner had never been
Lobb, who had the right to feel less than thrilled. However, the two
victorious before. In fact, Lobb had competed in and won the
Saltires celebrated in good spirits, enjoying a burger in a
Dorking 10 Miles only the week before, rounding that race off with
neighbouring village before joining their teammates in Newtown.
a 12-mile cool down for good measure. He certainly hadn’t
McFarlane would take up his stage in the Welsh Castles Relay the
tapered for the event in Wales.
very next day.
The 23 Saltires of Christmas parkrun, 2021 Oliver Garner Darren Selwood Andrea Stehlikova James Ferguson Miriam Rosen David Rosen Patrick Roddy Felicity Hayward Karen Jones Christina O’Donovan-Rossa Robert Streeter Anna Garnier Ian Butler Ashley Middlewick Jason Sullivan Anthony Hickson Melissa Cheeseman Elizabeth Stavreski William Utley James Wingrave Simon Gosney Mara Yamauchi Gordon Pearce
Bushy Park Bushy Park Richmond Park Richmond Park Finsbury Park Finsbury Park Coventry Guildford Guildford Guildford Guildford Brockwell Lloyd Park Lloyd Park Riddlesdown Chippenham Tilgate Torrens Rotherham Salisbury Henstridge Woolacombe Clevedon
Three generations of the Pearce family, parkrun 25/12/21
Oliver Garner with his sister, parkrun 25/12/21
PARKRUN THAMES AT CHRISTMAS It is easy for runners to feel conflicted about parkrun. On the one hand, it offers a reliable, solid fixture in the training schedule each week; an opportunity to stretch the legs and test the speed over 5km on a Saturday morning. On the other hand, it can be seen as something of an amateur event, with its entry-level accessibility making it a bit too ‘nice’ to count as ‘real’ running.
“The proud dad couldn't quite make it the perfect week.” Casual brilliance certainly seems to be the rule for Thames at parkrun. Our very own Club Captain, Richard Ollington, is currently the most prolific winner at Clapham Common, having raced at the event 16 times, winning 14 of them. (On one of the two occasions where Ollington was not first across the line, the event was won by
Regardless of which side of that argument you may fall, it’s fair to say
Varsity Cross Country alumnus Oliver Fox, who completed the
that in recent years parkrun has become an entrenched part of
course in 15:07 – dressed in a banana costume.)
Thames culture, indeed our history. For while we facilitated the creation of cross country on Wimbledon Common, the birthplace of parkrun exists only a few miles away, in Bushy Park. Ever since its inception in 2004, the Saltires have certainly made use of this fantastic event. In honour of this year’s Christmas Day-parkrun double – the first since 2016 – this article looks back on some of the great, creative, and sometimes festive, performances of Saltires at parkrun.
Others, meanwhile, have used parkrun as a vehicle for creativity and tourism. Since September this year, Cambridge-based Emma Elston has completed a 12-week streak of parkruns, each one in a new location. The tour has taken her from the East of England all the way to Devon, with all 12 performances seeing her finish on the women’s podium. It is Christmas time, however, that truly fills the club with parkrun cheer; the Saltires come out in droves to ensure they clinch victories
Parkrun burst fully into Thames’ consciousness in 2009, when weekly
over those dressed as Santas and reindeer. The event on 21
performances began to be routinely documented in the newsletter.
December 2012, for example, saw a trio of Thames wins: Ben
By then, parkrun had expanded to include Wimbledon Common,
Reynolds in Reading, Richard Kowenicki in Bushy Park, and Simon
and the Saltires were making the most of the home advantage.
Wurr in Leamington. In fact, the very next year, Kowenicki straddled
Current Honorary Secretary Simon Molden made his parkrun debut
the new year with a win at Swindon and Bushy Park parkrun
in August of that year, clocking a rapid 16:53 to take second place
respectively – scooping the title at the Serpentine New Year’s Day
behind Adam Vandenberg of Hercules Wimbledon. It would be
10k in between. In 2013, no less than 23 Saltires completed a
another eight years before Molden made his second parkrun
parkrun on the day before Christmas Eve, with Gordon Pearce
appearance, but since then he has more than made up for it;
clinching the win at Finsbury Park. And finally, in 2016 – when a
recording 54 finishes in total – 34 of them in 2019 alone.
special Sunday edition of parkrun was scheduled in celebration of
A yet more startling first appearance was made by Gianna Gould in October 2014. Having been born only six days prior, her proud
Christmas Day – 12 festive Saltires stepped out to earn their Christmas dinners.
parents brought her to the Wimbledon Common parkrun to meet
With 23 Saltires having opened Christmas Day this year with a
the team and get her first taste of the sport; witnessing her dad, Nic,
parkrun, it is fair to say that the event still embodies the fun, fast and
clock a season’s best of 17:32 for second place.
festive spirit of Thames at Christmas.
During the night the heavy showers turned to sleet and then to snow above 1050.” Winners of the first KMM in 1968, Bob Astles and Ted Dance
PHIL GILBERT & CHRIS DONNELLY 24-25 OCTOBER 1981 / 14TH KARRIMOR INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN MARATON / 13:54:24 Earlier in our series, Simon Wurr and Chris Daniels’ 2006 Original
ginger cake that Gilbert had brought with him helping them to
Mountain Marathon performance was covered. However, delving
make it through to morning.
back earlier into the Thames annals another heroic Thames effort at the event that is worth retelling can be found and that is Phil
By the start of the second day, the weather had deteriorated
Gilbert and Chris Donnelly’s 1981 top ten finish.
further with a full-on snowstorm greeting the competitors as they started out from Greendale Tarn. The extreme weather took a
Back then the event was called The Karrimor International
heavy toll with many pulling out during the day, including the
Mountain Marathon and, as a brief recap, it was – and remains – a
legendary fell running Bland brothers Billy (one-time record holder
gruelling two-day event in which runners compete as a pair,
for the Bob Graham Round) and Stuart, and the Bloor brothers,
navigating themselves over an unmarked course – from
who had been runners up in 1980.
checkpoint to checkpoint – while carrying everything that they need for 36 hours, tent included. The venue for 1981 was Scafell
With 40 years having now passed, the details of the day’s events
and the Langdale Fells in the Lake District and was held over the
have faded somewhat; however, the Thames pairing managed to
weekend of the 24 and 25 October. For Gilbert and Donnelly, it
keep themselves going over the course, and at one point briefly
was not the first time they had taken on this particular challenge,
catching up with fellow Saltire David Rosen, who was running as
having finished 14th on the Isle of Arran the year before. So, they
part of a mixed pair with Ros Coates. Gilbert and Donnelly’s
had a good understanding of what lay ahead of them; however,
decision to take a lower route at this juncture possibly was to cost
this year the great British weather was to play its hand strongly.
them a higher placing at the end.
Having said that, the first day passed with relatively little incident.
Ultimately, they reached the finish at Stool End Farm in a time of
The early morning rain cleared to leave a fine day and most
13 hours, 54 minutes, less than 80 minutes adrift of the Elite class
runners were all able to make comparatively smooth progress. It
winners, Joss Naylor and Mike Walford and just inside the top ten.
was not until the late afternoon that the weather started to come
Under five minutes ahead of them in ninth was another Saltire in
into play as the rain ominously returned.
John Rye and his partner, and a further six minutes on was David Rosen and Coates.
“Chris and I hunkered down in our tent wearing everything including waterproofs in our sleeping bags.”
Four Saltires closely packed in the top ten in such challenging conditions made it quite a weekend for the club.
From this point, it grew steadily heavier overnight, turning first into sleet and then snow above 1,050 feet. Gilbert and Donnelly spent an uncomfortable and cold night with the ‘emergency’
I’ve had the cup in my kitchen for three years now. It’s been fun!”
Major leads Barthelmess, Murray and Hedgethorne at Wimbledon Common, October 2018
The ladies celebrate their third consecutive title in 2020
THAMES LADIES 2017-2020 / SURREY CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE / REIGNING CHAMPIONS Ever since its inception in 1962, the Surrey Cross Country League
However, it wasn’t until 2018 that the trophy fell back into the
has formed the backbone of the Thames Hare & Hounds racing
Saltires’ possession. After four years of watching Belgrave, then
calendar. The League sprawls itself across the season – four fixtures
Clapham, then South London Harriers, steal the title, the Thames
in total which straddle the new year – rewarding consistency,
ladies came back with a vengeance for the 2017-2018 season.
longevity and tenacity. Both the Thames men and women have at times excelled in the League, though it’s our women who‘ve clocked the longest and most dominant winning streaks in recent years.
This was a new era of Thames ladies’ running. Long-term stalwarts Ruth Wallace, Claire Altmann and Liz Stavreski were to be joined by fresh talents in the club: new names including Bethanie Murray, Ruby
The women’s events allow five to score, meaning strength in depth is
Woolfe, Lauren Major, Victoria Barthelmess, Rebekah Chatwin (née
an entry-level requirement for team success. The ladies’ first taste of
Edgar), Natalie Seymour. Most significantly, Katy Hedgethorne’s
victory came in the 1988-1989 season, in which the Thames ladies
arrival in 2017 changed the shape of the team’s Surrey League
claimed the Surrey League title for the very first time. After a slight
performances. In that year only a second-claim member,
blip the following year, in which Woking AC scooped the title, the
Hedgethorne proved her worth by claiming fourth, third, fourth and
Saltires went on to claim the trophy for two further years. A pattern
third respectively in each of the League races.
of Thames dominance was emerging. However, there was to be a 17-year hiatus before the Thames ladies claimed their next League title. During this time, the team had hardly been quiet; the likes of Rachel Disley, Dorchie Cockerell and Lucy MacAlister had dominated the individual standings for several years. By 2009, these fast ladies had been joined by further reliable talent:
“It was the first time that I felt like I was competing at the sharp end of the field, and I knew I was in for a fun cross country season.” Having clinched the League title in 2018, the Saltires were back to their winning ways. However, the following two seasons would not be plain sailing, with both coming down to the final fixture.
Liz Stavreski, Anna Garnier, Denise Barnett, Emily Hogg. With the
“It was very late in the season, and we went into it neck and neck with
numbers now behind them, the ladies of Thames found themselves
Herne Hill. Every position counted.”
to be an insurmountable force within the League. For four years in a row, they ran away with the League title.
Fresh from their victory at the Southerns that year, it was Seymour, Murray, Hedgethorne, Chatwin and Mara Yamauchi who sealed the
Of these years, the 2010-2011 season was perhaps the most
deal on the 2019 final fixture – inching ahead of Herne Hill just
impressive: Lucy MacAlister and Julia Bleasdale split three individual
when it counted. Indeed, a similar last-minute effort was required to
wins between them, helping Thames to close their scoring team
steal victory from Fulham a year later. It was this very effort that
within the top 13 on two separate occasions. By 2013, MacAlister
secured the Saltires a third consecutive League title.
had clocked the highest number of individual wins of any Surrey League female athlete (at 10, it is a record that still stands), and the
Always showing up when it counts, the Thames ladies remain the
club had enjoyed watching the dominate force of Ruth Wallace
reigning champions of the Surrey League – and with ten titles now
battle with Belgrave’s Tish Jones throughout the season. The League
under their belts, they’re drawn with South London Harriers for the
trophy had stayed firmly in Saltire hands for four years.
most League titles. There remains all to play for.
It's a race where you can see a fair bit of what's going on, so I knew we were in with a good shout.”
ter With the trophies af
the race
THAMES GENTLEMEN 27 JANUARY 2001 / SOUTH OF ENGLAND CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS / FIRST PLACE
The late-1990s and early-2000s was a golden era for the Thames
“No gold medal was enough compensation for dragging
men’s team that can be neatly summarised by our six Surrey
himself through the mud.”
League Division One titles in eight seasons between 1997 and 2005. However, in a period of many high spots, the club’s victory
Our lead runners maintained their positions throughout the
in the South of England Championships on the mud of
final three-mile lap with Hart crossing the line first in 11th,
Parliament Hill in January 2001 stands tall.
closely followed by Nick Altmann (13th), Ian Harkness (17th), Ben Reynolds (22nd) and Andy Weir (23rd). Knowing
Going into the race, the team had been in good form and was
that they needed just one more in to close their team, the
well-placed in the Surrey League after two rounds. They warmed
five had an anxious wait with one question on their mind:
up for Parliament Hill with victory in the South of the Thames
“Where is Wayne?” Ninety seconds later, they had the
Senior Championship over home territory the previous Saturday,
answer as Wayne Oxborough – no lover of the mud –
with Andy Weir taking the individual honours.
came down the home straight to close the team in 44th. With a total score of 130, Thames had taken the honours
“I remember the mud; I think it was a vintage year.”
by over 50 points from Highgate Harriers. 38 places behind Oxborough, Simon Molden picked up The Perseverance
With all of our main runners available and in good shape, there was a quiet confidence amongst most of the team that they
Cup, a curious award for the first non-scorer home for the winning club.
could produce something special. As those who know it will testify, Parliament Hill is a course with many loops and, as a
On a course that has a well-earned reputation for being
spectator, it is easy to get a feel for how a race is panning out. It
heavy going, all who ran that day remember it as being a
became clear to those from Thames watching that, as early as
particularly bad (or good, depending on your viewpoint)
the first lap, a strong performance was on the cards with Al Hart
year for the mud and there were a few grumblings about
and Nick Altmann – both being kept upright by extra-long spikes
just how challenging the conditions had been. This was
from Run & Become – leading the way just outside the top ten
reflected in the times, with first man Hart having covered
and the remaining four scorers well inside the top 50.
the 9¼ miles in 54:31.
At the end of the second lap Altmann realised they were in with
However, armed with the victor’s trophy, the band of
a good shout when he heard the race commentator
Saltires who braved the cold that day were able to retreat
incredulously announcing, “And there's yet another from Thames
to the nearby warmth and hospitality of John and Tessa
Hare and Hounds!”
Hauxwell and reflect on one of the great days in the club’s long history.
Written, edited and compiled by Chloe Beckett and Simon Molden. With thanks to contributors, Mike Farmery and Richard Ollington, and to the many who offered interviews, insights, images and inspiration.
Go off with gusto, repent at leisure.”
FIRST EDITION PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 2022