|
John Holland completed the Gloucester Marathon in 3.28.19 on Saturday. The Severn AC athlete was pleased to finish the race, describing the marathon as a ‘cruel mistress’.
Holland started well, setting off with his normal pace group, before a lack of training told in the latter stages of the race; “It went pear shaped at 16 [miles] which is far too early” he reflected.
He managed to rally in a final push though to finish 50th in a field of 500. This field included a large turnout from Royston Runners. They ran in memory of Ian Casey, who, in tragic circumstances, died on the course last year. As a mark of respect many athletes wore black armbands during the race.
Gareth Winter of Severn AC put in a superb performance at the Birmingham Indoor meeting on Saturday.
In the senior Discus the U/20 athlete was victorious with a throw of 41.48m. Winter was delighted with this as he beat many competitors who had beaten him at younger age groups, showing the class and dedication this athlete has.
However he was even more pleased with his shot put performance, which saw him seal a second victory and beat his club record by 49cm, with a throw of 13.71m.
Kyran Hale of Severn AC recorded a magnificent performance at the U/15 UK Cross Country Challenge in Antrim, NI. He finished third in a strong field, grabbing a first bronze medal at this level in a time of 13.03 and improving on his best result from 10th.
The youngster held the lead for the opening 400meters but dropped back to fourth and stayed there for much of the race.
A late charge however saw Hale really challenge the leaders, moving to within one second of second placed Neil Gourlay of Scotland and within four seconds of winner Conner Christie of Northern Ireland.
He manged to hold onto third though, sending out a statement of intent to his rivals as he continues to improve week in week out.
Dave Lowthian of Severn AC also ran in Antrim, he was 41st in the V/40 category with a time of 30.54.
Tim Dalton of Severn AC hopes that 2010 can be his year on the track. Injury has caused Tim to have poor preparation for the track season in the past, especially in 2009 when he developed shin splints, but he is showing good form in the cross country events of the winter and this should bode well for the summer months.
The Loughbrough University student joined Severn AC in 2005, quickly finding his place in Rob Cytlau’s distance group. He won his first race later that year at the Lloyds TSB 4 Mile with a time of 23.25.
Blessed with great natural speed, Tim is quick over shorter distances such as 400m and 800m, with personal bests of 49.9 and 1.52.24 respectively. Dalton quoted recently "I think I can go even quicker and win championship medals."
Tim won his only county championship on his 20th Birthday in August 2007. This performance, in a 5K race at the Pilot Inn, Hardwicke, saw him beat Olympian Dan Robinson’s course record by five seconds in a time of 14.51.
In Cross-Country he won a silver medal behind Tom Russell of Stroud in the 2006 County 4K Champs. Other good performances have come in the Birmingham League Division one; with several top 10 finishes and an overall Silver medal in the 2007-08 league standings. On a National scale Tim’s best was in the 2009 Inter-Counties, when he finished 38th.
The most important victory of the Old Richian’s career came in 2009 though, with a win at the Midland 7 Mile Cross-Country Championships. Tim noted "I was surprised to take victory as it was such a challenging course, but once I got into the lead I wasn’t challenged."
However after this top form, injury has put a halt to Tim’s progress. He will look to recuperate before putting in strong performances in the big Cross Country Championships, and then focus on his training for the summer season.
|
