Watford Wednesday & BMC Races produce PB Bonanza

Midweek races, and important part of the race plan for many athletes, produced some brilliant performances from 11 of the Middle Distance squad who had opted to compete.

Bottom year U20 Alice Bennett opened her outdoor season in style with a time just 0.04 sec outside of the Commonwealth Youth Games qualifying standard, her main aim this summer with a time of 2:08.04 and a UK ranking of 8th. Bennett competing in the BMC Gold Standard ‘A’ race split in a fast 61.5 sec and just tired over the past 60m, but she will take confidence in producing her best seasons opening race ever, just cm’s from getting the standard, which will surly come in the next race or two?

Alice Bennett with her best ever opening 800m race and just 0.04sec from the Commonwealth Youth Qualifying time

Tiggy Guthrie-Brown fresh from defending her U13 800 Cambs County Title produced a sparkling performance in the Watford Open event to slice three seconds of her PB, full of running and very strong over the final 150m suggest Guthrie-Brown will go faster still and her time of 2:27.31 ranks her UK 24^th.

U13 Tiggy Guthrie-Brown (Center) setting a fine 3 second PB with 2:27.31 

Ben Brooker who was involved in a bizarrely paced U20 County Championship 800m race with R&N Louis Starr which saw him take silver in 2:05, was again in the same race as Starr in the BMC Charnwood men’s ‘B’ race. Brooker performed much better and finished the race strongly closing down Starr right to the line with a 1.0 sec PB with 1:56.42 to move to UK 51^st.   

U15 George Sharp has improved his 800m by over 10 seconds in 4 days, and is coming into great form. Sharp fresh from his County Championship Bronze medal from the weekend, was competing at Watford where he set of looking like he was on a mission, tracking the fast pace throughout and looking super strong he recorded a 5 sec PB with 2:10.95 and a UK 77^th ranking, a time that would have seen him take the Gold a few days earlier.

George Sharp with another 800m PB with 2:10.95, his 2nd PB in 4 days

U13 Clara Booth is making great progress and she set a 4 sec PB in the Cambs 800m and she was in PB shape again competing at Watford slicing another second from her PB with a strong performance to record a time of 2:33.33 and UK ranking of 78th.

Vet 55 Alex McMurtrie was also in good form at Watford setting a SB time of 2:34.81 and setting a New Club Record to go alongside his 1000m Club Record set a few weeks earlier. McMurtrie moves to UK 27^th in the rankings.

Alex McMurtrie with a New V55 Club Record over 800m

Bottom year U15 Harlee Hooker in a rare outing over 800m set a 7 second PB to run 2:26.99 with fine run, while U13 Oliver Smith was narrowly off his PB set a few days earlier in a race where his diminutive size was a distinct disadvantage as he got jostled throughout the race to clock 2:27.97. Bottom year U17 Maggie Gancheva who has yet to hit top gear ran well to set a SB of 2:23.28 while U17 Chelsie Locker ran just outside her SBN with 2:23.60.

Josh Geddes in his first year studying at Birmingham University followed up with his 800 PB set a few weeks earlier with a new 400m PB of 52.72.

The Midland League & HofE league fixture will occupy most of the younger athletes over a busy weekend, while the Squads Alice Bennett & Alice Bates will be eying up the Manchester BMC Grand Prix in a weeks’ time where thy will be hoping to run qualifying times for the Commonwealth Youth Games & European U20 Championships respectively.

Well done to everyone who ran.