The 2012 Eastern Veterans Athletics Competition (EVAC) got underway on a damp, cold, stormy night in Stevenage on Wednesday 25th April. As the KTH team bus hurtled down the A1 confidence was high that all the winter training and coaching sessions alongside some astute signings by the management team would lead on to a successful campaign. This confidence was not miss-placed as in a strong division of seven teams the men’s squad finished fourth and the ladies team continued last season’s good form to claim third place.
Club stalwart Peter Goringe (vet 50) led the way for the men’s team by top scoring with 13 pts on the night, the highlight being breaking the club record in the 2k walk to complement his efforts in the long jump and high jump, thanks to smart phone technology his achievements were posted on the website as the coach left the car park. Paul Young (vet 50) had a busy night competing in the 100m/400m and the 1500m where he finished a fine second to score 11 pts, also scoring 11 pts was debutant Andrew Keyworth (vet 40) who proved that athletic ability isn’t just confined to the ladies of the Keyworth house when he threw PB's in both the hammer and shot putt events and ran a strong 200m leg of the relay. Jerry Wise completed the vet 50 scoring with 7 pts from the hammer and shot putt events improving his PB's in both.
Greg Smith (vet 40) scored 10 pts in the 100m and high jump as did Andy Clawson (vet 40) in the 400m and 1500m, both ran strong legs in the vet 40 relay team which finished 4th, completing the scoring was team captain Paul Marlow with 8 pts in the 2k walk and long jump.
The KTH ladies put in a strong team performance to make a fine start to the 2012 season, leading the way was Helen Keyworth (vet 45) who won the 400m and showed her class in the 100m, high jump and hammer to top score with 23 pts, an Achilles strain brought a premature end to her evening, hopefully all will be well for the next match in May.
Team captain Amanda Marlow (vet 35) also had a busy night scoring 20.5 pts in the 400m/high jump alongside second place finishes in both the shot putt and hammer, Kerry Munn (vet 45) ran a fine second place in the 1500m and also did well in the long jump and shot putt to score 13 pts. Jill Tierney ran a PB in the 1500m and was brave enough to take on the 100m hurdles (a brutal event at veteran level) to score 13 pts. Former teenage athletics starlet Sandra Puckerin finally relented to the team captains relentless cajoling and dusted off her spikes to score 5 pts in the long jump and Katy Williams fresh from a winter competing on the international indoor circuit ran a strong 100m to score 4 pts. Bronwyn Smit emphasized the strength in depth to score 4 pts in the 2k walk.
Undoubtedly the highlight of the evening was the ladies 200x200x400x800 relay, for those of you not lucky enough to have witnessed it here's how events unfolded. Stripped of the mercurial talents of uber athlete Helen Keyworth following her injury scare Kerry Munn agreed to lend the young un's a hand and complete the line up. GB star Katy Williams led out with a strong 200m which was built on by debutant Sandra Puckerin in the second 200m, Jill Tierney consolidated a tightly bunched fourth position at the end of the 400m and handed the baton to Kerry Munn who then eased through the field into second place after the first lap of the final 800m, with 200m to go the Bedford AC athlete looked to have an unassailable lead of 20m, it was then that Kerry found several more gears on the final bend and home straight and backed by vociferous support from her teammates stormed through to take the win on the line. Sadly there were no cameras on hand to record the race which is a pity as it would surely have been a shoe in for the BBC's sports personality team award.
As usual the whole event was played out in great spirit, competitive but fun, if anyone is interested in taking part in veterans athletics contact Amanda Marlow via the website or on club training nights, we are especially looking for vet 50 & 60 athletes.
Next Fixture is May 9th in Bedford.