This event is the National Championships for track and field bringing together the best athletes from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland plus a strong contingent from the Republic of Ireland. The meeting held over two days was excellently organised with the best young athletes producing great performances in warm and sunny weather in front of a very large numbers of spectators.
Chiltern Harrier Nick Lingley was running in the U15 800m heats on Saturday and came into the event ranked 18th in the UK with a Pb of 2.05.3. He was looking to improve his best time and give himself a chance of making Sunday's final. Running very positively he was always on the shoulder of the leader and made his move with 250 metres to go proving to strong for all but the eventual champion Josh Moody from Derby, the English Schools silver medallist. Nick recorded a new Pb 0f 2.04.38 finishing a close 2nd in the heat. All 8 qualifiers for the final recorded times within 1.5 secs of each other with some just doing enough and saving themselves for the final.
In Sunday's final Nick starting in lane 8 misjudged the opening pace and found himself nearly 10 metres adrift at the breaking point. He didn't panic and gradually closed on the field going through the bell just a few metres off the back. With Moody leading out the field at pace Nick was a good 20 metres behind 3rd place with 300m to go but had begun to move through the field. Finishing quicker than anyone over the last 250m he moved into 4th place coming into the home straight but was still more than 10m behind a medal position. As he closed in on 3rd place with 20m to go the runner in front saw a chance to catch 2nd, which he did, and that effort was enough to keep Nick out of the medals. Nick finished in 4th place with another Pb of 2.03.85 just 0.5 seconds behind the silver medal position. Although disappointed he knows there's much more in the tank and has learned from the experience.
Alex Shelley and Bex Myers had their disappointments on the Saturday with both failing to qualify from the heats. Alex competing in the U15 Boys 1500m knew that a niggling hamstring problem, which had troubled him back in March, had returned just the week before this event but had decided to give it a go before resting it. For two laps of his heat he was comfortable and easily in a qualifying position but from that point on the hamstring tightened and although he finished the race he was unable to be competitive in the latter stages. Bex was not her normal competitive self in her U15 Girls 1500m heat and never really got going but as a first year in the age group she can put that right next year.
Clarice Underwood had another good championships although by her standards just a bit below par. This was understandable as she was calling in at Birmingham on her way home from a two-week holiday in the Lake District. Naturally the edge had gone off her performance of 23 July when she went to number 2 in the UK rankings with a 12.1s clocking for 100m.
She won her heat comfortably beating the English Schools silver medallist in the process. In the Semi final she finished 2nd behind the eventual champion and English Schools 200m champion Shauna Thompson from Sale. Shauna is also the number 1 ranked 100m/200m runner in the UK and in the final she won in 11.89 secs with the 6th fastest all time in the UK for a 14 year old girl. Clarice finished 4th in the final beaten only by the 3rd and 4th ranked girls in the UK.
Gary Howells
Coach/ Team Manager
Chiltern Harriers AC