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Further highlighted performances will appear here in due course.

Spring / Summer 2022:

The ‘Class of 2022’ has been exceptional … Group members have produced quality performance after quality performance recognised by a number of International call-ups: GB: Lizzy Edge (European & World Junior Triathlon); Tom Hattee (World Junior Triathlon); & Ben Squire (European U18M Orienteering) / England: James Wardle (Cardiff 5K Inter-Area) / & Wales: Adam Barber (Cardiff 5K Inter-Area, & the Welsh U20 T&F International. Additionally, Louis Buttrick & Joseph O’Connell represented the Midland Counties’ team at the Cardiff 5K Inter-Area. … On the track: Six group members (Adam Barber, Ben Squire, Charlie Neece, James Wardle, Joseph O’Connell, & Lachlan Finch) recorded at least one U20M top 8 East Midland Rankings performances across the 1500m, 3000m, & 5000m distances. At 3000m we had 4 athletes (Adam, Charlie, James, & Joseph) ranked in the top 6 (with times ranging from 8-27 to 8-47)!; whilst Adam produced the strongest individual performance with a UK top 12 U20M time in the 5000m (14-37.24), which topped the East Midlands U20M rankings. Adam (3000m) & Joseph (1500m) claimed Leicestershire & Rutland County Schools titles. Adam (Welsh U20M 3000m Silver), James (Midland Counties U20M 1500m Silver), & Joseph (Midland Counties U20M 3000m Bronze) medalled at Area level. Our sole U17M track performer – Daniel Van Aardt – claimed the Midland Counties U17M 3000m title. Those athletes new to the group in Autumn 2021 improved their track times by staggering amounts, most notably: Joseph (3000m: 9-32 to 8-47), & Lachlan (1500m: 4-27 to 4-04). … On the roadsAdam claimed a Leicestershire & Rutland County Senior title at 10K (31-19) on his debut at the distance, & finished a strong runner-up in the County 5K (14-44). In addition to Adam, James (14-50) & Charlie (14-55) ran inside the 15-minute mark to feature prominently in the UK RunBritain rankings. At the time of writing, Adam (U20M: 10K) & Charlie (U17M: 5K) sit in a top 10 UK 2022 RunBritain ranking position. At the extreme of distances, 23-year-old Pascal Bouttier-Butler once more demonstrated his potential for Ultra distance running by finishing 4th in the Round Reading 50K. … At Triathlon: In addition to the international selections (noted above), our Triathletes competed through the Summer in the BTF Super-Series Championships, with Charlie, Lizzy, & Rebecca Van Aardt finishing in top 5 overall positions in their respective age categories. Outside the Super Series events, Charlie (Youth Men) & Tom (Junior Men) won their respective age category races at the prestigious Leeds Triathlon. … As Summer fades into Autumn, a number of group members leave for University and strong athletics/triathlon set-ups. … We wish them well. … The challenge for the ‘Class of 2023’ has been set.

Winter 2022:

With just 14 group members currently ‘active’ through the Winter, we started with a bang as 11 of our runners claimed individual medals at the Leicestershire & Nottinghamshire County XC Championships in early January. These included 4 County titles for: Adam Barber (L. U20M); Charlie Neece (L. U17M); James Wardle (N. U20M); & Lizzy Edge (N. U20W). … This success was mirrored at the Midland Counties XC Championships at the end of the month when 8 group members recorded top 12 finishes, including individual medals for: Charlie Neece (U17M Bronze); James Wardle (U20M Silver); & Lizzy Edge (U20W Bronze). … At the start of February, we closed in a remarkable 1-2-3-4-5 finish in the Senior Boys’ race at the Leicestershire Secondary Schools XC Championships courtesy of: James Wardle (1st); Charlie Neece (2nd); Adam Barber (3rd); Joseph O’Connell (4th); & Tom Hattee (5th). Later in the month a small number competed at the English National XC Championships (Parliament Hill, London) with U15G Rebecca Van Aardt (28th) producing the outstanding individual performance. … To round off the XC season 10 group members represented their county teams in either or both of the UK Inter-Counties XC &/or the English Schools XC Championships with the most outstanding performances coming in the former event with Lizzy Edge (U20W: 6th); James Wardle (U20M: 19th); & Joseph O’Connell (U20M: 32nd) all leading in their respective County teams. … On the roads, Jamie Short improved his Half-Marathon time by 4 minutes with a 71-05 clocking at the Cambridge Half-Marathon. … At Orienteering, Ben Squire claimed the British Middle Distance Orienteering title in the M18 classification. … Finally (at the end of March), Lizzy Edge transferred her fine XC form to claim the individual Silver medal (in the Junior Women’s race) at the Europe Triathlon Junior Cup Quarteria (Portugal), racing against the best female Junior Triathletes on the continent.

Autumn 2021:

Throughout Autumn our runners have continued to record impressive race results as they prepare for the key Winter XC races in the New Year. … On the roads: Pascal Bouttier-Butler won the Leicestershire & Rutland Half-Marathon title recording a PB 74-27 at the Leicester Half-Marathon, a time he would better (72-51) a few weeks later at Milton Keynes; Adam Barber won the Leicestershire & Rutland 5K Road Race title narrowly pipping David Robertson with both clocking an impressive 15-13 at the Mallory 5K Road Races; James Wardle (25-22) / Adam Barber (25-29) / Joseph O’Connell (26-46) / & Louis Buttrick (27-33) recorded impressive 5M debut performances at the Wolverton 5M Road Race (Milton Keynes); & 5K personal bests were recorded by Charlie Neece (15-24 / Derby December Midweek 5K), Tom Hattee (15-46 / Derby December Midweek 5K), & Joseph O’Connell (15-59 / Mallory Park 5K). … At XC: James Wardle & Adam Barber were the first two U20M finishers at the North Midlands XC League (Race 1); U20M James Wardle (9-10) & U17M Charlie Neece (9-25) impressed over 3K at the English National XC Relays; & Joseph O’Connell won the SB title at the Leicestershire Secondary Schools’ XC League. … Finally, Lizzy Edge capped a fine Triathlon season with a top 20 finish (& 1st GB finisher) at the World Junior Sprint Triathlon Championships (in Portugal) in early November.

Summer 2021:

Our small group of teenage athletes excelled throughout the Summer months at County, Regional, & National level. … On the track: seven group members registered a top 6 East Midlands ranking position at U20/U17 level; with three of these – Adam Barber (5000m), James Wardle (5000m), & Lizzy Edge (3000m) – ranked in the top 25 at UK level. … Highlighted performances included: County U20M titles for Adam Barber (Leicestershire 1500m & 5000m) & James Wardle (Nottinghamshire 1500m & 3000m); a Midlands U17M title for Louis Buttrick at 3000m; a Welsh U20M Silver for Adam Barber at 3000m; sparkling 5000m debut performances from James Wardle (14-43.51) & Adam Barber (14-48.35) at the 5000m Track Challenge; & a BMC Grand Prix debut win for Tate Emery Peters at 800m. Additionally, Adam’s exploits on the track earned him an international call-up to represent Wales at the Cardiff 5K Road Race where he finished 3rd U20M in a 5K road best of 15-05. … Our Triathletes were also in fine form over the Summer with: Lizzy Edge claiming the BTF Junior Women Super Series title (in the process securing selection for the World Sprint Triathlon Championships); & Charlie Neece securing top 6 finishes at both the UK School Games and the Jersey Super League Triathlon in the Youth Boys category. Charlie also took time out from Triathlon to win U20M Gold at the Leicestershire County Fell Running Championships (finishing 3rd overall) … Finally, one of our more experienced runners Pascal Bouttier-Butler recorded a top 8 finish at the UK Ultra X 50K Trail Run & improved his 5 Mile road best by over 30 seconds at the Bassingham Bash with a time of 27 minutes & 23 seconds.

Spring 2021:

Our core group members have taken part in a range of competitions through the Spring period. These include: BMC & local Open track meetings; 5K Road Races; & local/national Triathlons. The key track performances include: a Midland Counties U20M Championship 1500m Silver Medal for James Wardle; an English Schools Qualifying time for Lizzy Edge at 3000m; & a range of new personal bests. Personal bests over 800 / 1500 / & 3000m have been recorded by: U20M Adam Barber (1-59.4 / 4-05.8 / 8-54.2); U17M Charlie Neece (4-21.7 / & 9-06.1); U20M James Wardle (2-00.5 / 4-02.9 / & 8-52.7); U20M Lewis Edge (9-24.2); U20W Lizzy Edge (10-03.1); & U17M Louis Buttrick (4-25.5 / 9-14.3). … Most of the above performances are currently top 8 ranked in the East Midlands Regional lists. … At 5K (road) personal bests have been recorded by: Adam Barber (15-37); Lewis Edge (16-04); Alex Seabright (16-29); & Lizzy Edge (17-11) … At Triathlon Lizzy Edge has won the BTF Super Series Aquathlon, whilst Charlie Neece (despite being one of the youngest competitors in the field) finished 2nd overall at the Staunton Harold Sprint Triathlon. … At Trail Running Pascal Bouttier Butler finished 8th at the Dark Peak Trail Run in Derbyshire. … To round off the Spring performances our Inter/Senior Boys dominated at the National Schools XC (Market Harborough) with James Wardle, Adam Barber, & Tate Emery Peters taking a clean sweep of the Senior Boys’ individual medals, whilst Charlie Neece claimed the Inter Boys’ title.

Autumn 2020:

Our group members have been very active over the Summer & early Autumn, making up for lost time following ‘lockdown’. On the track (despite limited opportunities) a number of athletes have posted top 5 regional (East Midlands) best performances (as of 20/10) including a top rank for U17M James Wardle at 3000m (8-55.62) & U17W Lizzy Edge also at 3000m (10-20.39). … Our other top 5 regional performances were posted by: U23M Joseph Tuffin (800m: 1-52.71 / & 1500m: 3-48.28); U17M James Wardle (1500m; 4-04.16); U17M Adam Barber (1500m: 4-08.28 / & 3000m: 9-02.78); & U17M Charlie Neece (3000m: 9-07.76). … On the roads our athletes have attended the: Podium 5K; Mid-Cheshire 5K; Milton Keynes 5K; & the Mallory Park 5K. The star performance was posted by Ben Dijkstra, recording 13-44 at the Podium 5K in early August. (Ben also recorded an ITU World Cup Triathlon top 10 performance in the Czech Republic a month later) … Other significant 5K performances (all personal bests!) were posted by: Joseph Tuffin (14-51); David Robertson (14-53); James Wardle (15-11); Adam Barber (15-38); Lewis Edge (16-05); Louis Buttrick (16-07); Alex Seabright (16-37); Charlie Neece (16-38); Ollie Rowles (17-14); & Lizzy Edge (17-25). … Lizzy’s time is currently the best U17W UK RunBritain ranked time; Ben’s time is 2nd on the U23M list; James’s time 8th on the U17M lists; & Adam’s time 16th on the U17M list. … & Finally, at the 5M Bassingham Bash, Pascal Bouttier-Butler recorded a 40+ seconds PB of 27-50 (11th on the U23M UK RunBritain list).

March 2020:

At XC … Eight group members represented their county teams at either the UK Inter-Counties XC Championships (07/03) or the English Schools XC Championships (14/03) (or both!), with four of them – Charlie Neece (I/C XC: U15B); James Wardle (ES XC: IB); Lizzy Edge (ES XC: IG); & Sam Marsh (ES XC: SB) – leading in their respective county teams. Standout (top 100) performances were recorded by Charlie (I/C XC: 72nd); James (ES XC: 74th);  Lewis Edge (ES XC: SB: 92nd); Lizzy (I/C XC: 15th & ES XC: 45th); Sam (ES XC: 45th); & Tate Emery Peters (ES XC: IB: 75th). At Triathlon … In the first ITU World Cup Sprint Triathlon of the season (Mooloolaba, Australia) Ben Dijkstra led in the Team GB quartet with a 4th place finish overall. This was Ben’s highest ever World Cup Triathlon finish.

February 2020:

Group members have impressively risen to the challenge as the Winter season draws towards the main Championship events. At County Schools XC Championships notable performances were posted by: James Wardle (IB Gold) & Charlie Neece (IB Bronze) at the Leicestershire Schools Championships; & Lizzy Edge (IG Gold) & Lewis Edge (SB Silver) at the Nottinghamshire Schools Championships. At the Anglia Schools Inter-County XC Championships Tate Emery Peters (representing Lincolnshire Schools) took Bronze in the IB category. All the above named athletes (plus SB Sam Marsh) will be representing their County teams at the English Schools XC Championships in March. At the National XC Championships – held at a muddy Wollaton Park, Nottingham – we had top 100 performances from: James Wardle (U17M: 26th); Sam Marsh (U17M: 55th); Joel Dungworth (U20M: 59th); Charlie Neece (JB: 68th); & Louis Buttrick (JB: 85th). To conclude the month, on the same day as the National, Tate Emery Peters (competing in the U17M 1500m) took a Bronze medal in the England Athletics Age Group National Indoor T&F Championships at Sheffield.

January 2020:

Group members have made a very positive start to the year with a number of impressive performances at the Midland Counties XC Championships. Leading the way was Ben Dijkstra who took the individual Silver medal in the Senior Men’s race following a race long tussle with Birchfield Harriers’ Ethiopian duo (Omar Ahmed & Kadar Omar Abdullahi)). In the younger age groups there were top 20 finishes as follows: James Wardle (U17M: 6th); Lizzy Edge (U17W: 6th); Charlie Neece (U15B: 7th); Louis Buttrick (U15B: 8th); Xavi Salcedo (U17M: 10th); Lewis Edge (U17M: 11th); & Rebecca Brayer (U20W: 18th). Earlier in the month: Louis Buttrick took an U15B Silver at the Nottinghamshire XC Championships; James Wardle recorded a comfortable U17M race win at the North Midlands XC League; & Tate Emery Peters (Lincolnshire) & Finbar Myers (Northamptonshire) qualified to represent their respective Counties at the  Anglian Schools XC Championships. Finally, (away from the mud) Tate Emery Peters continued his Indoor racing education recording a 1500m win (4-13.92) at the Sheffield Indoor T&F Festival.

November/December 2019:

Group members rounded off the calendar year with impressive performances on the roads, track & XC through November & December. At the Derby Midweek (December) Monthly 5K our teenage runners produced a string of personal bests: Xavi Salcedo (16-04); Lewis Edge (16-34); Louis Buttrick (16-42); Tate Emery Peters (16-49); Charlie Neece (17-24); Lizzy Edge (17-37); & Henry Herries (17-47). (& Lizzy was the 1st woman finisher). James Wardle added a 5K best of 15-39 at the end of the month in winning the Mallory Park 5K. At XC: Sam Marsh was 3rd in a local (Derbyshire) XC League Race at the start of November; Lizzy Edge recorded a top 20 (16th) place finish in the U17W division at the European XC Trials at Sefton Park, Liverpool towards the end of November; & Charlie Neece secured 3rd place overall in the Inter Boys division at the Leicestershire Secondary Schools XC League. Other performances of note included: Pascal Bouttier-Butler finishing 3rd in the Seagrave Challenge (1H-48-25 for 16.5M MT); Chris Hine finishing 2nd in the Castle Coombe Duathlon; & Tate Emery Peters (800m: 1-59.74) winning on his Indoor T&F debut at Sheffield. To round off the year, our European U23M Triathlon Champion Ben Dijkstra recorded a sparkling 10K Road debut performance finishing 2nd at the Ribble Valley 10K in a time of 28-53 (& recording the 2nd quickest 2019 UK U23M time for the distance).

October 2019:

October was a relatively quiet competitive month as our runners/triathletes embarked on their Winter training programmes. … At the National Young Athletes Road Relays there were impressive legs by our U17M runners as James Wardle recorded 12-09 & Tate Emery-Peters 12-32 on the Sutton Park 3.88K loop. … At XC: U17M Sam Marsh made an excellent start to the season with a 6th place finish (1st Midlands runner) at the Cardiff XC Challenge; Charlie Neece finished 2nd Inter Boy at the Leicestershire Schools XC League; & Louis Buttrick finished a close up 3rd in the U15B race at the Notts Mini-League. … At Half-Marathon Pascal Bouttier Butler finished 7th at the Rugby Half-Marathon is a personal best of 80-49. … & Finally, Lizzy Edge (Youth Women 3rd) & Rosie Allen (Junior Women 6th) closed their Triathlon Season in style representing GB at the Malta Triathlon Super League.

September 2019:

Ben Dijkstra completed his Triathlon season in impressive fashion by taking double Gold at the European U23 Championships held in Valencia, Spain. In the individual men’s event Ben emerged out of T2 in a strong position & producing the quickest run leg of the day claimed victory by a comfortable 15 seconds margin. The following day Ben produced the quickest individual leg to help the GB team to Team Gold in the Mixed Relay event. Our other triathletes finished off their seasons at the BTF ‘Big Weekend’ at Mallory Park (the final stage of the Youth /Junior Super Series). Once the final reckoning had been completed, four of our Triathletes emerged with impressive overall final placings in their respective categories: Rosie Allen (2nd); Lizzy Edge (4th); Tom Hughes (7th); & Xavi Salcedo (7th). … Our runners emerged from their post summer training breaks with impressive runs at the Midland Counties Road Relays. Highlighted performances over the Young Athletes (3.88K) course came from: James Wardle (12-03) (joint quickest run in the U17M race); Lizzy Edge (14-11) (5th quickest in the U17W race); & Louis Buttrick (13-24) (a top 10 time in anchoring his club to victory in the U15B race). In the Senior Men’s race (over 5.88K) impressive runs were set by Jamie Short (18-57) & Joel Dungworth (19-42). Finally, impressing with ‘training’ runs at ParkRun this month were: Jamie Short (15-56) & Sam Marsh (16-09).

August 2019:

It was our triathletes that came to the fore this month with Ben Dijkstra finishing 8th (& 1st GB finisher) at the World Triathlon U23M Championships, producing the fastest run leg of the day to gain 25 places. Ben had earlier in the month secured selection for the European U23M Championship (to be staged in September) with a comfortable victory in the Trials race held at Parc Bryn Bach in South Wales. Also performing well at Parc Bryn Bach were: Rosie Allen (4th Junior Woman) who the following week represented the GB team at the European Cup fixture in Riga, Latvia (finishing 13th); Lizzy Edge who was 2nd in the Youth Women event (that doubled as the 2019 School Games); whilst Lewis Edge was 7th in the Youth Men event. Our track runners finished their season on a high at the Midland Counties Age Group T&F Championships with a Silver for James Wardle in the U17M 3000m & Bronze for Louis Buttrick in the U15B 3000m. On the roads Chris Hine (4th: 35-56) & Pascal Bouttier-Butler (1st U20M: 38-15) impressed on the notoriously hilly Carl Rutt 10K course (a race that doubled as the Leicestershire & Rutland County 10K Championship). To round off the month, the long trip to Cheshire for Chris Hine (15-32) & Sam Marsh (15-40) was rewarded by personal best times at the Mid-Cheshire 5K.

July 2019:

Our track athletes have been very busy this month, criss-crossing the country in search of fast times. All have recorded a personal best performance with James Wardle (3000m); Louis Buttrick (3000m); Sam Marsh (3000m); & Tate Emery Peters (1500m) recording top 5 regional ranking performances. Our personal bests recorded during the month were as follows: at 800m: Tate Emery Peters (1-57.31); at 1500m: Tate (4-03.39), James Wardle (4-09.22), Chris Hine (4-09.90), Roman Watson-Quilter (4-20.11), & Ed Parry (4-27.80); & at 3000m: James (8-52.99), Sam Marsh (8-54.42), Ed (9-50.11), Finbar Myers (9-52.12), Ben Hewson (10.00.94), & Louis Buttrick (10-09.4). On the roads, a small group travelled north for the Doncaster Town Centre 5K Road Race: Sam Marsh (15-57 PB), Tom Hughes (15-57), & Chris Hine (15-59) dipped under the 16 minute mark; whilst there were PB performances from Ben Hewson (17-42), Lizzy Edge (17-49), & Rosie Allen (18-13). Other road performances of note during the month were a 3rd place finish for Pascal Bouttier-Butler at the Lutterworth 5M Road Race (28-54), & a top 10 finish from Jamie Short at the Run Norwich 10K (33-49). At Triathlon, our triathletes cemented their strong showing in the BTF Youth/Junior Super Series with strong performances at the Hetton Triathlon, with the highlights being 2nd place finishes for both Lizzy Edge (Youth Women) & Rosie Allen (Junior Women). (Rosie leads the Super Series rankings in her age group whilst Lizzy is 2nd in hers with just the one event to go). Finally, at Duathlon, there was a race win for Chris Hine at the Castle Coombe Circuit (in Wiltshire) at the start of the month.

June 2019:

A small band of runners attended the BMC Academy PB Classic on the opening day of the month at a sweltering Milton Keynes, where James Wardle achieved an English Schools’ qualifying time in the 1500m Steeplechase with a PB of 4-36.32. Also achieving PBs (all at 1500m) were: Tate Emery Peters (4-15.46); Ed Parry (4-30.48); & Louis Buttrick (4-41.97). The following day Joel Dungworth was in action at the Midland Counties T&F Championships at Nuneaton, securing Silver in the U20M 3000m in a PB of 9-03.43. A week later the County Schools’ T&F Championships took place in very different (wet & windy) conditions. James Wardle (Leicestershire: IB 3000m) & Tate Emery Peters (Lincolnshire: IB 800m) took Gold & County Schools’ titles; whilst Ed Parry (Nottinghamshire: IB 3000m), Finbar Myers (Northamptonshire: IB 3000m: 9-55.2 PB), & Sam Marsh (Derbyshire: IB 3000m) all took individual Silvers. Whilst our track runners spent the rest of the month focused on training our Triathletes were very active throughout the month. Highlighted performances included: Ben Dijkstra competing for Team GB at the WTS Mixed Relay Triathlon in Nottingham, helping to secure victory with one of the fastest legs of the day; Lizzy Edge finishing 10th (& 2nd GB counter) at the European Youth Triathlon Championships held in Kitsbuhel, Austria; & a series of podium finishes by Junior Woman Rosie Allen, including a race win at Blenheim. Also featuring prominently on the domestic front were Junior Man Tom Hughes (top 5 finishes at the Blenheim & Cardiff Triathlons) & Youth/Junior competitor Xavi Salcedo with a 3rd place finish at the Leeds Triathlon. Other performances of note this month were: a 5K road best of 15-54 from Jamie Short at Peterborough; two 5th place finishes for Chris Hine (Dambusters Triathlon & the Swithland 6M Road Race); & a 10M Road PB of 62-31 for Pascal Bouttier-Butler at the Notts AC 10M Road Race at Holme Pierrepont.

May 2019:

The first weekend of the month saw three of our group members impress at the Livingston Road Relays with Joel Dungworth (15-12), Tom Hughes (15-32), & Sam Marsh (15-42) amongst the 8 quickest laps on the day over the 3M lap. (Joel & Tom contributing to the overall team win of their club). The following weekend saw Joel Dungworth (15-54.0) & Jamie Short (15-57.7) going 1-2 in the Leicestershire T&F 5000m Championship, both running personal bests & claiming Gold in the U20M & Senior Men categories respectively. Also taking County titles (Nottinghamshire) in personal best times were: James Wardle (U17M 1500m Steeplechase: 4-43.95) & Tate Emery Peters (U17M 800m: 2-00.34). During the course of the month there were: 800m PBs for Tate Emery Peters (2-00.09), Finbar Myers (2-10.9), & Louis Buttrick (2-21.6); 1500m PBs for James Wardle (4-11.5), Tate Emery Peters (4-21.6), Finbar Myers (4-28.6), Ed Parry (4-30.93), & Louis Buttrick (4-43.1); & a 3000m best for Jamie Short (9-01.87). Our Triathletes descended on the opening Youth/Junior Super Series event at Llanelli, South Wales with Lizzy Edge taking Silver in the Youth Women’s event & Rosie Allen claiming 8th spot in the Junior Women’s race. (Lizzy’s performance earning her selection for the European Youth Championships to be held in late June).

April 2019:

With the XC season over and track yet to get going in earnest the main focus this month has been on road running. At the start of the month our three representatives at the ERRA National YA 5K Road Race Championships at Sutton Park (Birmingham) all recorded top 5 finishes. Leading the way was Lizzy Edge, who took Gold in the U15G race in an impressive 18-09 for the hilly course. In the U15B race, James Wardle (16-24) took Bronze; whilst in the U17M race, Xavi Salcedo was 5th in a personal best time of 16-16. On the same weekend Sam Marsh was 5th in the Youth Men’s event at the National Duathlon Championships held at Bedford Autodrome. In the middle of the month our youngsters spiced up both the 1 Mile & 5K events at the Derby Midweek Races. In the 1M race we recorded a 1-2 finish courtesy of James Wardle (4-32) & Tate Emery Peters (4-39); whilst in the 5K race there were top 3 finishes for both Joel Dungworth (2nd in a 15-42 PB) & Tom Hughes (3rd in a 15-47 PB). To round off the month we had three runners (James Wardle, Sam Marsh, & Tate Emery Peters) representing the East Midlands region at the London Mini Marathon, with Tate being our top finisher (U15B: 24th: 15-49) on the final 3M stretch of the London Marathon course. Finally, Ben Dijkstra continued his progression at the full standard (Olympic) distance Triathlon racing with another podium finish at an ETU Triathlon European Cup event held at Quarteria (Portugal). Ben missed out on the win by a mere one second in a performance that guarantees him a start in the European Standard Distance Triathlon Championships to be held in the Netherlands at the start of June.

March 2019:

As the XC season came to its conclusion, ten group members represented their respective counties at either the UK Inter-Counties or English Schools XC Championships (or both). At the UK Inter-Counties XC, we had three runners finish inside the top 35 finishers. They were: James Wardle (U15B); Lizzy Edge (U15G); & Joel Dungworth (U20M). At the English Schools XC we had three runners inside the top 30. They were: Lizzy Edge (IG); Sam Marsh (IB); & Joel Dungworth (SB). (Joel & Lizzy led in their respective county teams in both events). The pick of the performances at these national level events, however, was Sam Marsh’s 10th place finish at the English Schools, that earned him his first international vest at the SIAB (Schools) XC Championships, held in Dublin the following week, where Sam was part of the victorious England team in the Mixed Relay XC event. Highlighted performances on the roads this month were: a Half-Marathon PB of 75-08 for Jamie Short at the Cambridge Half-Marathon; & a Silver in the U15B race at the Midland Counties Young Athletes 5K Championships for Tate Emery Peters in a PB of 16-58. To round off the month on the roads three group members gained qualification to represent the East Midlands Region at the London Mini-Marathon to be held at the end of April. They were: James Wardle & Tate Emery Peters in the U15B event; & Sam Marsh in the U17M category. March also saw the start of the Triathlon/Duathlon season with Ben Dijkstra recording an international success with a podium finish (3rd) at his first serious Olympic Distance Triathlon at the ETU European Cup event held in Huelva (Spain); whilst David Robertson recorded a 5th place finish in the Sprint Duathlon event at the Clumber Park Duathlon.

February 2019:

A number of group members secured their selection for the English Schools XC Championships with top performances at County Schools XC Championships. In the Nottinghamshire event Lizzy Edge was 1st in the Inter Girls category; whilst Xavi Salcedo was 2nd in the Inter Boys race. At the Leicestershire event, Roman Watson-Quilter was 3rd in the Inter Boys race; whilst Joel Dungworth was 4th in the Senior Boys event. At the King Henry V111 Relays, Tom Hughes & James Wardle helped their School to finish 3rd in this prestigious event. Our University based runners impressed during the month with Sam Stevens finishing 62nd in the BUCS (British Students) XC Championships, & Joseph Tuffin reaching the final of the BUCS Indoor 1500m. On the roads, a small group attended the Derby Midweek Races, with both David Robertson (2nd / 15-55) & Sam Marsh (5th / 16-05) recording new 5K personal bests. In the same race, Rosie Allen was the 4th place Woman finisher in a time of 20-01. In the 1 Mile race Pascal Bouttier-Butler (5th) & Roman Watson-Quilter (6th) were both inside the 5 minute mark. James Wardle rounded off the month with an impressive 7th place finish (having challenged for an individual medal for much of the race) in the U15B race at the English National XC Championships. In the same U15B race there were top 100 finishes for both Tate Emery Peters (73rd) & Finbar Myers (88th).

January 2019:

Group members made an impressive start to the month as James Wardle (U15B) & Lizzy Edge (U15G) both recorded impressive victories in securing Nottinghamshire County XC titles; whilst in the Leicestershire County Championships, Pascal Bouttier-Butler was 7th in the U20M race, anchoring his club to the team Gold. The following week at the North Midlands XC League, Joel Dungworth (10th) & David Robertson (24th) helped their club to secure the overall Senior Team title. (Joel was also 2nd overall in the U20M category). At the Northamptonshire County Schools XC Championships Louis Buttrick was an easy winner of the Junior Boys race; whilst at the Derbyshire Schools’ XC Championships, Sam Marsh was 4th Inter Boy. (Both Louis & Sam secured places in their respective county teams for the English Schools XC Championships in March). At the end of the month in the Midlands Counties XC Championships on a challenging course at Leamington, Ben Dijkstra (running his first XC race for over a year) comfortably won the U20M race; whilst James Wardle took Silver in the U15B category. Other impressive performances on the day were recorded by: Xavi Salcedo (U17M: 5th); Joel Dungworth (U20M: 7th); Tate Emery Peters (U15B: 15th); Ed Parry (U15B: 18th); & Tom Hughes (U20M: 18th). (Ben, Joel, & Tom contributing to Team Gold for their club in the U20M division). Away from the mud, Xavi Salcedo recorded a 5K personal best (16-22) at the Derby Midweek Races; whilst U17M Roman Watson-Quilter recorded an 800m win (2-09.7) at an Indoor T&F Open Meeting in Sheffield.

December 2018:

At the third fixture of the North Midlands XC League we had race winners in the age-group races as Sam Marsh (U17M) & Lizzy Edge (U15G) produced commanding gun-to-tape performances. In the Senior/Masters/Junior Men’s race our top performance came from Joel Dungworth in 14th overall, consolidating his top 3 place in the race for an U20M League medal. Many group members rounded off the year with an appearance at the Derby Midweek Races. In the 5K event five group members posted personal bests despite far from ideal conditions. They were: Tom Hughes (16-02); James Wardle (16-03); Ed Parry (17-10); Louis Buttrick (17-38); & Lizzy Edge (18-13). (Lizzy was the first woman finisher on the night). In the 1 Mile event Roman Watson-Quilter finished 2nd in a personal best road time of 4 minutes & 55 seconds. 

November 2018:

November started with a bang as U15 Boys: James Wardle (6-12/fastest leg); Ed Parry (6-49); & Tate Emery Peters (6-33) combined to secure a team bronze for their club at the English National XC Relays held at Berry Hill Park, Mansfield. Also performing superbly at the Relays was Lizzy Edge (7-08) with the 4th quickest leg in the U15G race. A week later James recorded a win at the Regional round of the English Schools Cup, before rounding off the month with a 6th place finish in the U15B race at the Liverpool XC Challenge. Tate Emery Peters followed up his fine tactical run at Mansfield with a competitive 2nd place finish in the U15B race at the North Midlands XC League fixture at Kettering. Also excelling at Kettering were: Sam Marsh (U17M: 2nd); & Joel Dungworth (U20M: 4th). At the November edition of the Leicestershire Secondary Schools XC League held at Rutland Water, Joel Dungworth finished 2nd in the Senior Boys race, hotly pursued by Tom Hughes in 3rd. Our other two representatives at the Schools races, Rachel Nealon (Inter Girls) & Roman Watson-Quilter (Inter Boys), finished 4th in their respective races. In addition, Joel’s 2nd place finish secured the Senior Boys title (& English Schools qualification) with a race to spare. Not to be outdone by our younger runners, two of our more senior athletes also excelled during November. On the roads Jamie Short recorded new personal bests at 10K (33-01 / Leeds Abbey Dash) & at 5M (26-33 / Wolverton 5M Road Race). At Duathlon, Phillip Maddocks – 2nd at the Rockingham Sprint Duathlon at the start of the month – anchored the Loughborough University A team to team bronze at the BUCS (British Students) Duathlon Championships with a top 20 individual performance.

October 2018:

James Wardle continued his rich vein of form with the fastest U15B leg at the National Young Athletes’ Road Relays at Sutton Park, Birmingham. James’s 12-21 clocking led his club in to first place on the opening leg, & ably assisted by clubmates & fellow group members, Ed Parry (13-49) & Tate Emery-Peters (13-15) they held on for an excellent 6th place finish. In the U17M race there were also impressive runs from: Xavi Salcedo (12-06); Sam Marsh (12-17); & Roman Watson-Quilter (12-44). A week late James followed up this run with a 2nd place finish (U15B) at the opening British XC Challenge event in Cardiff. On the same weekend, at the opening North Midlands XC League fixture (Markeaton Park, Derby), there were impressive runs from Sam Stevens (Senior Men: 2nd) & Joel Dungworth (Junior Men: 4th). At the end of the month, Sam built on that performance with the fastest individual leg at the University of Manchester XC Relays, covering the 3000m course in an impressive 8 minutes & 27 seconds. At Duathlon/Triathlon: Phillip Maddocks comfortably won the Bosworth Duathlon (incorporating the Leicestershire Championships) for the third year running; whilst Ben Dijkstra returned to top-level international competition with a 7th place finish (& first British finisher) at the ETU Sprint Triathlon European Cup Final held in Funchal, Madeira.

September 2018:

Our triathletes came to the fore in September, ending their seasons on a very positive note: at the European Youth Triathlon Championships in Greece, Fynn Batkin was a fast finishing 7th in the individual men’s competition, and was part of the victorious GB mixed relay team; at the UK School Games, Xavi Salcedo took an Individual Silver Medal in the Boys competition, and anchored the East Midlands’ mixed relay team to Gold; & at the BTF U20 Festival (effectively a UK Championship for young triathletes), Lizzy Edge finished runner-up in the Youth Women category. All three finished their seasons on a high with top 8 finishes in their respective categories – against international competition – at the Super League Triathlon in Jersey. On the roads there were stand out performances from: Alice Daniel (23rd Woman) at the Great North Run in a PB 83-03; Jamie Short with race wins (in PB performances) at the Leicester 10K (33-26) & the Shelford 5K (16-01); & James Wardle who ran the quickest U15B time (12-29) at the Midland Counties Young Athletes Road Relays. In addition, at those Relays, Tate Emery-Peters (13-23) teamed up with James to help secure a Team Silver for their club; whilst Sam Marsh produced the 4th quickest time (12-15) in the U17M competition. Leicestershire Schools XC is underway, & Joel Dungworth (SB) & Roman Watson-Quilter (IB) have kicked off their seasons in style with race wins at the opening fixture. Joel backed that up with a runners-up spot in Race 2, where Rachel Nealon (IG) also recorded a 2nd place finish. Finally, on the opening day of the month, Joseph Tuffin retained his Midland Counties U20M 3000m title with an 8 minute & 56.48 clocking at Coventry. Joseph’s time ranks him 5th on the East Midlands’ U20M rankings for the year. (Joseph is the only U20M to have achieved a top 5 ranking across all the middle distances (800m/1500m/&3000m) this Summer).

August 2018:

As the track season winds to a close our group members continue to impress. Our highlight performer in August was undoubtedly James Wardle who – following in the footsteps of Ben Dijkstra & Sam Stevens – became the third group member to achieve a national 3000m title as he took the England Athletics U15B title in a time of 9 minutes & 14.81 seconds (at the Bedford International Stadium). His time places James 3rd on the UK age-group rankings for the year. Earlier in the month James had been a runaway winner of the Midlands U15B 3000m title (9-27.08) & had recorded a 1500m best of 4-14.18 at the Charnwood AC Open. Also claiming Midlands age-group 3000m medals (both Silver) were Rachel Nealon (U17W) & Lizzy Edge (U15G), with Lizzy’s time on her 3000m debut (10-45.38) ranking her 3rd on the East Midlands’ rankings for the year. Others to have impressed on the track during August were: Fynn Batkin with a 5000m best of 14-59.66 (& EM rankings U20M 2nd); Joseph Tuffin with season bests at 800m (1-52.24 / & top of the EM U20M rankings) & 3000m (9-00.88); Tate Emery-Peters (3000m best of 10-05.50 / 6th in the EM U15B rankings); & Tom Hughes with a 3000m best of 9-21.13. Away from the track: Phillip Maddocks retained his Darley Moor August Duathlon title in a new course record time; Pascal Bouttier-Butler was 5th (& 1st U20M) at the Castle Rock 10K (Nottingham) in a time of 38-57; & Jamie Short was 5th in the Run Norwich 10K in a personal best time of 33minutes & 33 seconds.

July 2018:

James Wardle & Joseph Tuffin both took part in leading representative competitions this month: at the English Schools T&F Championships (14/07) James produced the best middle-distance performance by his county team (Leicestershire) in finishing 4th in the Junior Boys 1500m (4-17.89); whilst Joseph, representing an England Midlands team, finished 5th in the U20 Men’s 1500m (4-01.78) at the Welsh Athletics International (25/07). Elsewhere, there were strong performances on track, road, & at Triathlon. On the track at the Charnwood AC Open (11/07) there were personal bests for: Roman Watson-Quilter (800m: 2-02.45); Tate Emery-Peters (800m: 2-04.47); Xavi Salcedo (1500m: 4-17.94); & Sam Marsh (4-20.46). A few days later (17/07) – at the BMC Regionals at Tipton – Roman improved his 800m best to 2-00.89 (to claim a top 5 East Midlands U17M mark), whilst Sam improved his 3000m best to 9-10.32. Also improving his 3000m best during the month was Archie Banks, who clocked a 9-05.3 at the Corby AC Open meeting (10/07). To round off the month on the track there were strong (personal best) performances from three of our younger members at the Notts AC open meeting on 27/07. In the Tim Wealthall Mile, James W. (4-36.1) was 3rd, & Roman W-Q (4-43.7) was 4th; whilst in the Richard Bird Ladies’ Mile, Lizzy Edge (5-32.5) was 3rd. On the roads: Alice Daniel was 1st woman in both the Notfast 10K (08/07) (38-27) & the Kegworth Long Lane 5M Dash (20/07) (30-01); Pascal Bouttier-Butler was 3rd in the former event (in 36.55); & Jamie Short was 4th at the Holme Pierrepont Grand Prix 5K (03/07), in a time of 16-17. At Triathlon, there were notable performances from Fynn Batkin (1st & 2nd) & Xavi Salcedo (10th & 6th) respectively at the Eton Dorney Super Tri (07/07) & Hetton Lyons Super Saturday Triathlon (21/07). These performances have led to: Fynn gaining selection to represent GB at the European Youth Triathlon Championships; & Xavi gaining selection to represent the Midlands Region at the UK School Games.

June 2018:

Another busy month has seen group members continue to excel. At Schools level: James Wardle (JB 1500m) & Rachel Nealon (IG 3000m) claimed Leicestershire County School titles; Archie Banks (SB 1500m) & Joel Dungworth (SB 3000m) claimed individual Silvers; & new recruit Tate Emery-Peters won the Anglian Schools JB 800m title in a personal best 2-06.5. At the Area level: Joseph Tuffin grabbed the Midland Counties U20M 1500m title. New personal bests were recorded by: Tate Emery-Peters (1500m: 4-28.84) & Xavi Salcedo (1500m: 4-20.50) at the Charnwood AC Open (13/06); by James Wardle (800m: 2-06.22) & Joel Dungworth (5000m: 16-13.72) at the BMC Regional meeting at Tipton, Birmingham (19/06); & by Fynn Batkin (3000m: 8-34.97) & Sam Marsh (3000m: 9-23.77) at the Watford Open meeting (27/06). At Triathlon the leading performances were posted by Fynn with top 10 finishes in the Junior Elite category at both the Blenheim & Leeds Triathlons. At the end of the month: three group members (Fynn: U20M 3000m / James: U15B 1500m & 3000m / & Rachel: U17W 3000m) led their respective (East Midlands) rankings; whilst four group members (Joel: U20M 5000m / Joseph: U20M 800m & 1500m / Sam Stevens: SM 10000m / & Tate: U15B 800m) had top 5 East Midlands 2018 ranking performances. (June 2018)

May 2018:

Roman Watson-Quilter impressed at the Charnwood AC Open finishing 2nd in the 800m A race with a personal best time of 2 minutes & 03.04 seconds; an improvement of over 5 seconds. In the 800m B race, his brother – Lucca Watson-Quilter – also recorded a personal best time of 2 minutes & 15.20 seconds. (30/05/2018)

Sam Stevens was a comfortable winner of the Trent 5 Miles Road Race – hosted by Beeston AC, Nottingham – in a time of 25 minutes & 55 seconds. Pascal Bouttier-Butler was 14th (& 2nd U20M) in the same race in a time of 29 minutes & 00 seconds. (23/05/2018)

James Wardle starred at the BMC Regional meeting at Tipton, Birmingham with a 4-15.73 clocking for 1500m. The time takes James to 3rd on the current UK rankings for his age group at the event. Also performing well at Tipton with personal best performances (all at 3000m) were: U20M Fynn Batkin (8-47.21); U20M Joel Dungworth (9-14.01); & U17M Xavi Salcedo (9-27.11). All three currently feature in the top 10 (for age group) East Midlands performances for the current season. (22/05/2018)

Rachel Nealon took over 20 seconds off her 3000m best with a 10-31.56 clocking at the Charnwood AC (May) Open. The race doubled as the Leicestershire County 3000m Championships and Rachel took U17W Gold for her performance. Rachel’s performance also stands as the fastest East Midlands time in her age category for the current season. (16/05/2018)

Seven group members attended their County T&F Championships, with all taking home a medal and/or a personal best. Leading the way was James Wardle who won the U15B 1500m title at the Nottinghamshire County Championships in a personal best (& English Schools’ qualifing) time of 4 minutes & 18.36 seconds. At the Leicestershire County Championships there were: a Gold for Archie Banks in the U20M 800m (2-00.35); Silvers for Roman Watson-Quilter (U17M 1500m: 4-22.28 PB) & Rachel Nealon (U17W 1500m: 5-04.88); & a Bronze for Jamie Short (SM 1500m: 4-12.28 PB). Joel Dungworth – running his first ever serious track race – recorded a 1500m time of 4-11.81 in a particularly competitive U20M race; whilst Lucca Watson-Quilter ran a 4-36.22 1500m PB in the U17M race. (12/05/2018)

At the Llanelli Youth/Junior Super Series Triathlon there were top 5 finishes for Lizzy Edge (Youth Women: 2nd) & Xavi Salcedo (Youth Men: 5th). (12/05/2018)

On a blisteringly hot morning, Alice Daniel produced a personal best 5M time of 29 minutes & 51 seconds at the Wymeswold Waddle 5M Road Race to finish 10th overall, and 2nd woman, in a 300+ strong field. Alice’s time currently tops the UK RunBritain rankings for the distance in her age group (U20W). (06/05/2018)

At the BUCS (British Students) T&F Championships – held at Bedford International Stadium over the weekend of 05-07/05 – our two representatives, Joseph Tuffin (University of Birmingham) (1500m: 3-52.03) & Sam Stevens (University of Nottingham) (5000m: 14-21.87), both recorded personal best times in their respective events.

April 2018:

A few group members have begun their 2018 track season with the following having recorded personal best performances: Sam Stevens (10000m: 30-21.8); James Wardle (3000m: 9-17.7); & Rachel Nealon (3000m: 10-57.3). James currently (30/04) leads the UK U15B 3000m rankings with his clocking. (April 2018)

Group members had a field day at the 2018 Livingston (3 Miles) Road Relays (Braunstone Park, Leicester) with the majority of those taking part contributing to team wins in the various age group categories. Of particular note were the performances of: Sam Stevens (14-41 / fastest U20M & 2nd quickest overall); Rachel Nealon (18-06 / fastest U20W & 3rd fastest woman overall); & Roman Watson-Quilter (17-40 / fastest U15B). (29/04/2018)

Four group members represented the East Midlands Regional Team at the 2018 London Mini-Marathon. With the event doubling as the British Athletics Young Athletes Road Race Championships there were very strong fields in each age group. Our athletes all ran well to feature in the top half of each race. Our results were: Fynn Batkin (U17M: 36th: 15-11); Sam Marsh (U15B: 25th: 16-08); James Wardle (U15B: 30th: 16-15); & Lizzy Edge (U15G: 17th: 17-59) (22/04/2018)

A small group attended the April Derby Midweek Races. In the 1 Mile event we placed three runners in the top 4, including race winner, Joel Dungworth (4-53). Joel was followed home by: James Wardle (4-56) & Roman Watson-Quilter (5-02). In the 5K race, Pascal Bouttier-Butler finished 5th (in 17-44). (18/04/2018)

March 2018:

Other notable performances during March included: a race win for Jamie Short at the Leicester Town & Gown 10K (11/03); a top six finish by Lizzy Edge in the Youth Elite Female category at the BTF National Duathlon Championships at Bedford (25/03); a 16-08 5K personal best at the Derby Midweek Races (21/03) & victory in the East Leake Sprint Triathlon (25/03) for Tom Hughes; & a 5K personal best of 16-36 for Xavi Salcedo at the Long Eaton ParkRun (24/03) (March 2018)

Phillip Maddocks claimed individual Silver in the Welsh National Sprint Duathlon Championships held at Harlech, North Wales. (25/03/2018)

Four group members recorded top 100 finishes at the English Schools XC Championships held at Temple Newsam Park, Leeds. They were: Lizzy Edge (JG: 15th); James Wardle (JB: 30th); Sam Marsh (IB: 47th); & Joel Dungworth (SB: 74th). All four led in their county team in their respective races. (17/03/2018)

Roman Watson-Quilter ran the fastest time of the day (18-30) at the Midland Counties Young Athletes 5K Road Race Championships to claim the U15B title. (17/03/2018)

Four group members represented their county teams at the UK Inter-Counties XC Championships. Our leading runners on the day were: U15B Sam Marsh (24th); & U17M Fynn Batkin (57th). (10/03/2018)

Four group members qualified to represent the East Midlands at the London Mini-Marathon at the East Midlands Trials held at County Hall, Leicester. They were: Fynn Batkin (U17B); James Wardle (U15B); Lizzy Edge (U15G); & Sam Marsh (U15B). (04/03/2018)

February 2018:

In addition, group members recorded a number of notable performances throughout February. These included: Joseph Tuffin (1-52.8 800m at the British Indoor T&F Championships); Phillip Maddocks (16-46 5K at the Derby Midweek Races); Joel Dungworth (16-52 5K PB at the Long Eaton ParkRun); & Jamie Short (3rd place finish in 34-19 at the East Midlands 10K at Holme Pierrepont) (February 2018)

A small group of our runners attended the English National XC Championships held at Parliament Hill, London. With average fields in the younger age groups well in excess of 500 runners our runners ran with great credit, with top 100 performances by: James Wardle (U15B: 20th); Lizzy Edge (U15G: 35th); Roman Watson-Quilter (U15B: 87th); & Fynn Batkin (U17M: 93rd). (25/02/2018)

Some outstanding performances this weekend at County Schools XC Championships. At the Leicestershire Schools Championships, James Wardle was an impressive runaway winner of the JB race, whilst also prominent in their respective races were: Joel Dungwoth (SB: 2nd); Rachel Nealon (IG: 2nd); Archie Banks (SB: 3rd); & Roman Watson-Quilter (IB: 4th). At the Nottinghamshire Schools Championships, Lizzy Edge was a comfortable winner of the JG race. (03/02/2018)

January 2018:

Group members performed with great credit at the Midlands XC Championships held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham with most of those taking part contributing to team medal winning performances. Our leading runners on the day were Lizzy Edge (U15G) & James Wardle (U15B) who claimed individual Silver & Bronze medals in their respective races. Other notable (top 20) performances were recorded by: Xavi Salcedo (U15B: 8th); Archie Banks (U20M: 11th); Rachel Nealon (U15G: 13th); Pascal Bouttier-Butler (U20M: 16th); & Roman Watson-Quilter (U15B: 18th). (27/01/2018)

Sam Stevens produced a master class of controlled running to win the Senior Men’s race at the final fixture of the North Midlands XC League held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. (Sam’s performance is of particular note as he is still officially a ‘Junior’). Our other competitor on the day – James Wardle – also produced a strong performance to finish 3rd in the U15B race. (13/01/2018)

Seven group members competed at the Leicestershire County XC Championships held at Rotherby. All seven contributed to team medals with the highlight performances coming from Sam Stevens (Senior Men’s individual Bronze) & Rachel Nealon (4th in the U15G race). (06/01/2018) 

December 2017:

A number of group members attended the Long Eaton ParkRun on December 23rd looking for fast 5K times to round off our Autumn campaign. Leading the way was 14-year-old James Wardle who took more than a minute off his 5K best in recording a new (Long Eaton) Parkrun 11-14 age best time of 16 minutes & 35 seconds. Our other top performers on the day recording 5K &/or ParkRun bests with sub 17 minute times were: Fynn Batkin (16-00); Archie Banks (16-27); Tom Hughes (16-38); & Phillip Maddocks (16-48). (23/12/2017)

At other ParkRuns on the same day: Jamie Short won the Leicester Victoria ParkRun in 16-45; & Lizzy Edge was the first female finisher at the Colwick ParkRun in 18-50. Lizzy’s time was an 11-14 Women’s age record at Colwick Parkrun. (23/12/2017)

Sam Stevens, representing England, finished 2nd (& leading English finisher) in the U20M race at an International XC event held at Venta de Banos in Central Spain. Sam finished less than 10 seconds behind Spain’s European XC Championship representative, Oumaiz Ouassim (17/12/2017)

Ben Dijkstra represented Team GB at the European XC Championships held in Samorin, Slovakia. On a fast, flat, twisty course, Ben was the 2nd team member to finish in 17th place overall. (09/12/2017)

Four group members attended the final fixture of the 2017/18 Leicestershire Schools XC League. In the JB race, James Wardle was a comfortable winner, securing the overall league title in the process. In the Intermediate races, Lucca Watson-Quilter was 3rd in the Boys race, whilst Rachel Nealon was 3rd in the Girls race. Hayden Greaves completed our quartet with a 5th place finish in the SB race. In addition to James winning the JB overall, Archie Banks finished the League season as joint winner in the SB category. (02/12/2017)

November 2017:

Ben Dijkstra secured selection for the European XC Championships to be held in December with a commanding performance in the U20M Trial race at the Liverpool XC Challenge. Ben won by a comfortable margin, whilst Sam Stevens (7th) ran a brave race to finish just outside the automatic selection places. There were also impressive runs by Libby Coleman (U17W: 11th); Fynn Batkin (U17M: 17th); & Xavi Salcedo (U15B: 21st). (25/11/2017) 

Group members produced strong performances at the third fixture of the Leicestershire Secondary Schools XC League, held at Rutland Water, with Archie Banks winning the Senior Boys race, & Rachel Nealon finishing 3rd in the Inter Girls race. Our other two competitors  – Roman Watson-Quilter (4th) & Lucca Watson-Quilter (5th) – impressed in the Inter Boys race. (18/11/2017)

Ben Dijkstra, hot on the heels of his quick time at Mansfield, followed up with a comfortable race victory in the U20M race at the (British Athletics) Milton Keynes XC Challenge. Competing in the U17M category at the same meeting, Fynn Batkin produced a strong run, finishing as the 2nd Midlands’ runner in 16th place overall (11/11/2017)

A number of group members competed at the English National XC Relays held at Berry Hill Park, Mansfield: in the U20M race there were impressive performances by Ben Dijkstra, who dominated the opening 3K lap with an 8-43 clocking, whilst Sam Stevens (9-07) was the quickest on Leg 2; in the U17W race Libby Coleman covered the opening 2.5K in 9-15 to set her club up for the bronze medals; & in the U15B race three of our runners, James Wardle (6-44), Xavi Salcedo (6-46), & Roman Watson-Quilter (6-55) completed their 2K laps inside the 7 minutes benchmark. (04/11/2017)

October 2017:

Archie Banks (SB) & James Wardle (JB) record race wins at the latest edition of the Leicestershire Secondary Schools XC League held at Longfield School, Melton. In addition, Rachel Nealon was 6th in a competitive IG race. (28/10/2017)

Phillip Maddocks retained his Leicestershire Duathlon crown with a comfortable victory in the Bosworth Autumn Duathlon. On the same day, Hayden Greaves qualified for the 2018 ETU Duathlon Championships by placing 4th U20 (& 1st 15-16) at the Oulton Park Duathlon. (08/10/2017) 

At the National Young Athletes Road Relays (Sutton Park, Birmingham) our two representatives performed with great credit, clocking top 10 best overall times in their respective age-group races. The athletes were U15B James Wardle (12-45) & U15G Rachel Nealon (14-12). (07/10/2017)

September 2017:

Our U15B/U15G excelled at the Midland Counties YA Road Relays held at Sutton Park, Birmingham. In the U15B race Xavi Salcedo (13-02); Lucca Watson-Quilter (13-50); & Roman Watson-Quilter (13-18) combined to take team Silver for their club, whilst James Wardle (12-44) ran the 2nd. quickest U15B time of the day. In the U15G contest Rachel Nealon (14-42) contributed to team Gold, whilst Lizzy Edge (14-13) closed in for a team Bronze. Other notable performances on the day were recorded by: Fynn Batkin (12-15) (4th. quickest overall in the U17M race); & Archie Banks (19-45) (to assist his club to a top 10 finish in the Senior Men’s race). (23/09/2017)

Ben Dijkstra recorded another landmark performance by claiming individual Bronze in the Junior Men’s race at the World Triathlon Championships held in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This matched the bronze that Ben achieved at the 2016 World Championships, and cements his status as one of the UK’s brightest triathlon propects. (16/09/2017)

Three group members attended the opening fixture of the Leicestershire Secondary Schools’ XC League held at Charnwood College, Loughborough. In the JB race James Wardle was a comfortable race winner; Rachel Nealon finished 3rd in the IG race; whilst Archie Banks was 5th in the SB race. (16/09/2017)

Personal best performances in early September include: a 5K road best of 15-55 for Fynn Batkin at the Derby Midweek Races; & a 4-27.27 1500m best for James Wardle at the U15 Inter-Counties fixture at Nuneaton.

August 2017:

Ben Dijkstra recorded two comfortable Triathlon victories of note during the month of August. On Saturday (19/08) Ben won the ETU Junior European Cup in Lausanne, Swwitzerland; & followed up a week later (28/08) with the BTF Junior title at the BTF UK U20 Festival on home soil at Mallory Park, Leicestershire. (August 2017)

Other performances of note at the BTF UK U20 Festival included: a 4th place finish for Lizzy Edge (representing the East Midlands) in the UK Inter-Regional Championship in her category (Tristar 3); & a 10th place finish for Tom Hughes in the Youth Men category. (28/08/2017)

Late season track perforances during August include the following personal best performances: Archie Banks (800m: 1-58.07 / BMC Grand Prix Stretford); Fynn Batkin (3000m: 8-50.74 for Silver / Midlands U17M Championships); Hayden Greaves (1M: 4-57.5 / Corby AC Open); James Wardle (3000m: 9-31.41 / EA U15B T&F Championships); & Joseph Tuffin (1500m: 3-52.57 / BMC Grand Prix Stretford) & (1M: 4-15.3 / Tim Wealthall Mile, Nottingham). (August 2017)

Joseph Tuffin secured the Midland Counties U20M 3000m title running 8-48.00 at the ‘Coventry Classic’ meeting. This was Joseph’s 2nd Midlands title this year having won the 800m Indoor title last February. (12/08/2017)

Roman Watson-Quilter (800m: 2-08.12); Fynn Batkin (1500m: 4-13.23); & Edward Thomas (1500m: 4-46.40) recorded personal bests at the Charnwood AC (August) Open Graded meeting. Roman’s time consolidates his current top 10 East Midlands ranking in his age group (U15B) for the 800m.(09/08/2017)

July 2017:

With just over a month to go in the current (2017) track season six group members hold top 5 places in the regional (East Midlands) rankings: They are: Ben Dijkstra (U20M); Joseph Tuffin (U20M); Libby Coleman (U17W); Lizzy Edge (U15G); Sam Stevens (U20M); & Xavi Salcedo (U15B). In addition, Archie Banks (U20M), Rachel Nealon (U15G); & Roman Watson-Quilter (U15B) have a top 10 ranking. … Ben & Joseph top their respective rankings at 5000m & 800m respectively. (July 2017)

Group members have continued to produce personal best performances on the track throughout the month (as follows): Archie Banks (800m: 1-58.87); Harry Purdell (1500m: 4-17.0); Joseph Tuffin (3000m: 8-46.3); Lizzy Edge (1500m: 4-50.17); Lucca Watson-Quilter (800m: 2-22.4, & 1500m: 4-40.41); Rachel Nealon (1500m: 4-57.09); Roman Watson-Quilter (1500m: 4-27.93); & Xavi Salcedo (1500m: 4-24.40, & 3000m: 9-43.50). (July 2017) 

Ben Dijkstra (fresh from victory in the 3000m A race at the BMC Regional meet at Tipton earlier in the week) was a comfortable victor in the Jenson Button Trust Triathlon (Derby), winning the event for the third year running. (23/07/2017)

Harry Purdell, Libby Coleman, & Tom Hughes (representing the East Midlands Region Triathlon Academy) helped secure Team Silver for the Academy at the European (Junior) Mixed Relay Triathlon Championships held in Banyoles, Spain. (23/07/2017)

Libby Coleman finished 11th in the Inter Girls 3000m (10-04.01) at the English Schools T&F Championships (08/07); & followed up a week later (15/07) with a 17th place finish in the European Youth Triathlon Championships held in Lithuania. (July 2017)

Ben Dijkstra produced his best ever performance in senior competition in claiming the runner-up spot at the Holten ETU Sprint Triathlon Premium European Cup in the Netherlands. Competing against over 60 top international competitors – representing all the leading Triathlon nations – Ben beat all his competitors bar South Africa’s Richard Murray (4th at the 2016 Rio Olympics), who finished just 8 seconds ahead. (01/07/17)

June 2017:

Some additional June performances to note: U15 Boys, Roman Watson-Quilter (2-09.3) & Lewis Edge (2-16.1) ran 800m PB (2-09.3) at the BMC Regional Races at Tipton, Birmingham (20/06); whilst Joseph Tuffin finished 2nd in the 1500m A race at the Watford Open Meeting (28/06), in a time of 3-56.60.

Ben Dijkstra won his third England Athletics (Age Group) title at the England Athletics U20/U23 T&F Championships held on a hot and humid afternoon at the Bedford International Stadium. Competing in the U20M 3000m Ben produced a blistering burst with just under 120m to go to dispatch his nearest pursuers (see video on home page) in a time of 8-27.56. Ben had previously won England Athletics Track Titles in 2013 (U15B 3000m) & 2015 (U17M 1500m). (17/06/17) 

Also competing at the England Athletics U20M Championships, Joseph Tuffin improved his 1500m best to 3-53.84 in the heats, qualifying for the final the following day. In the final Joseph missed out on a medal by less than 2 seconds in a slow, tactical race won by the 2016 European Youth 1500m Champion, Jake Heyward. (17-18/06/17)

A small group attended the Nottingham 1 Mile Race (held in conjunction with the Notts 10M Road Race) at Holme Pierrepont on Friday night. Running into a fresh ‘breeze’ along the fast, straight mile course, Archie Banks (4-43) produced a strong run to take his share of the prize money with a 2nd place finish. Following in Archie’s slipstream three other group members – Harry Purdell (4-52); Roman Watson-Quilter (5-02); & Tom Hughes (5-03) – finished inside the top 8 finishers. (16/06/17)

Five group members competed in their County Schools T&F Championships with all five claiming individual medals. At the Leicestershire Schools Championships, Rachel Nealon (JG 1500m) took Silver, whilst Archie Banks (SB 800m), Lucca Watson-Quilter (JB 1500m), & Roman Watson-Quilter (JB 800m) all took Bronze medals. At the Nottinghamshire Schools Championships, Xavi Salcedo claimed a Silver medal in the JB 1500m. On the same weekend, Joseph Tuffin took Silver in the Men’s 800m race at the Midland Counties U20 T&F Championships. (10-11/06/17)

Libby Coleman & Lizzy Edge continued to build upon their successful seasons by claiming comfortable wins at the Leeds Triathlon, in their respective events (Libby: Youth Elite Women; & Lizzy: Tristar 3 Women). At the same event, Tom Hughes grabbed a top 10 finish in the Youth Elite Men’s race. (10/06/17)

Libby Coleman qualified (at the Blenheim Triathlon European Youth Trials) to represent Great Britain next month at the European Youth Triathlon Championships to be held in Panevezys, Lithuania. (04/06/17)

Joseph Tuffin highlighted a very successful night for group members at the BMC Academy PB Classic at Milton Keynes. Six group members recorded personal best times, with Joseph winning the Men’s 1500 A Race in 3-55.36. There were also 1500m race victories for Xavi Salcedo (4-30.94) & Roman Watson-Quilter (4-31.22) with both now featuring in the current (2017) East Midlands’ top 10 ranking list for their age group (U15B). Our other athletes to record personal bests were: Archie Banks (800m: 1-59.82); Hayden Greaves (1500m: 4-20.82); & Lizzy Edge (1500m: 4-50.31). (03/06/17)

May 2017:

The positive start to the track season by group members is reflected in eight group members currently ranked in the top 8 in the East Midlands as of the end of May. They are: Ben Dijkstra (U20M: 5000m: 1st) / Joseph Tuffin (U20M 800m: 1st: & 5th at 1500m) / Libby Coleman (U17W: 3000m: 2nd) / Sam Stevens (U20M: 5000m: 2nd) / Lizzy Edge (U15G: 1500m: 3rd) / Roman Watson-Quilter (U15B: 800m: 6th) / Archie Banks (U20M: 800m: 7th) / & Tom Hughes (U17M: 3000m: 8th). (Ben, Libby, & Sam are also currently UK top 10 ranked in their best event) (31/05/17)

Three group members ran personal best 800m times at the Charnwood AC Open. Running in the A race, Hayden Greaves took the race victory in 2-06.59, closely pursued by Roman Watson Quilter (2-10.71), & Alfie Lowe (2-12.60). (31/05/17)

Ben Dijkstra just missed out on selection (at 5000m) for the European Junior T&F Championships when finishing 3rd (less than a second behind the winner) in the UK trials race, held as part of the BMC Grand Prix at Sports City, Manchester. Ben finished in 14-22.66 to record a personal best time. Also competing at Manchester was Joseph Tuffin who ran just outside his best for 800m with a 1-52.35 clocking. (27/05/17)

A small group attended the BMC Regional meeting at Tipton, Birmingham on Tuesday, May 23rd with 5 athletes recording personal bests. They were: U15B Lewis Edge (1500m: 4-41.1); U15G Lizzy Edge (4-52.1); U15B Roman Watson-Quilter (800m: 2-12.4); U17M Tom Hughes (3000m: 9-37.7); & U15B Xavi Salcedo (1500m: 4-36.1). (23/05/17)

Xavi Salcedo claimed bronze in the U15B 1500m race at the Leicestershire T&F Championships with a personal best time of 4-36.28.. Competing on the same day, Joseph Tuffin improved his 800m best to 1-51.94 at the BMC Grand Prix in Solihull. (13/05/17)

Libby Coleman continued her impressive start to the BTF 2017 Youth/Junior Super Series Championship with another win. Competing in Llanelli (South Wales), Libby won the Youth Women Triathlon to add to her National Duathlon win the previous month. (13/05/17)

Sam Stevens ran 5000m in 14-36.31 at the British Students T&F Championships to top the 2017 UK U20M rankings. On the same day at the BMC Academy meeting at Street, Somerset, Joseph Tuffin ran a 1500m personal best of 3-58.12 in winning the 1500m A race. (01/05/17)

April 2017:

Group members impressed at the Livingston Road Relays with six members (U20M: Edward Thomas, Harry Purdell, & Pascal Bouttier-Butler / U15B: Roman Watson-Quilter, & Xavi Salcedo / & U15G Rachel Nealon) contributing to team victories for their clubs. Harry’s time of 16-28 (for 3 Miles) was the joint fastest time by an U20 Man on the day. (30/04/17)

At the Charnwood AC Open meeting: Libby Coleman recorded an English Schools’ qualifying time of 9-58.01 (currently a 2017 top 5 UK time) at 3000m; whilst Joseph Tuffin won the 800m A race in 1-54.59. (26/04/17)

Group members sparkled at the Derby Midweek 1 Mile Race, filling five of the leading six places. Leading the way was Joseph Tuffin (4-30) who won by some margin, in the fastest 1M time recorded during the 2016/17 season of the Derby Midweek Races. Joseph was followed in by:  Harry Purdell (2nd: 4-42); Tom Hughes (4th: 4-55); Hayden Greaves (5th: 5-01); & Xavi Salcedo (6th: 5-01). All five runners recorded 1M personal bests. (19/04/17)

Libby Coleman continued her excellent 2017 season by claiming the BTF (British Triathlon Federation) National Elite Youth Women Duathlon title. Competing against the best of her age group, Libby controlled the race throughout to record a comfortable victory. Other strong performances at the National Championships – which were held in Bedford – were produced by Harry Purdell (Elite Junior Men: 13th) & Hayden Greaves (Elite Youth Men: 16th) (09/04/17)

Competing on the same day at Harlech in North Wales, Phillip Maddocks claimed a Senior Men’s Bronze in the Welsh Triathlon National Sprint Duathlon Championships. In a race which featured both a beach run and a finish involving a 250m climb of the steps to the top of the local castle, Phillip finished just over a minute behind the race winner. (09/04/17)

March 2017:

Other notable performances during the month of March included: a 1M PB of 4-58 for Edward Thomas at the Derby Midweek races (15/03); a 2nd. place finish in 17-20 for Phillip Maddocks at the Shrewsbury 5K Parkrun (25/03); & a 1st place U20 finish (& 7th overall) for Hayden Greaves at the East Leake Sprint Triathlon (26/03/17)

Sam Stevens excelled at the World XC Championships held in Kampala, Uganda. Competing in the U20M race, Sam was the first British runner to finish (& 2nd European) in 43rd place, with the race – run in stiffling temperatures of 27 degrees centigrade – dominated by African born runners. (26/03/17)

Ben Dijkstra completed a remarkable English Schools career with victory in the Senior Boys race at the English Schools XC Championships held at the Norfolk Showground, Norwich. This was Ben’s 4th English Schools XC title, and in the process became only the third male competitor to record victories at Junior, Internmediate and Senior levels. (In total Ben has now won 7 English Schools titles!). … Our other top performer on the day was Libby Coleman, who in finishing 11th in the Intermediate Girls race, missed an English Schools international vest by a mere three seconds. … Other notable runs came from twins Roman & Lucca Watson-Quilter who were the 1st & 2nd counters for the Leicestershire team in the Junior Boys event. (18/03/17)

Sam Stevens finished 4th in a hotly contested U20M race at the Inter-Counties XC Championships held at Prestwold Hall, Loughborough. With the race acting as the main selection race for the World XC Championships to be held in Uganda later in the month, Sam earned his place on the GB Junior Men’s team to compete in Kampala. In addition, this performance (coupled with performances earlier in the season) earned Sam a 3rd place overall in the British Athletics XC Challenge. (11/03/17)

Hot on the heels of his performance at the England Athletics Indoor Championships on 25/02, Joseph Tuffin was selected to represent England at the Welsh Athletics Indoor International held in Cardiff. Competing in the U20M 800m, Joseph made a winning international debut recording 1-54.64, with his nearest rival nearly 2 seconds adrift. (05/03/17)

February 2017:

Midland Counties U20M 800m Indoor Champion Joseph Tuffin produced a remarkable performance at the England Athletics U20 Indoor Championships (held in Sheffield) to finish 4th in the 800m race, lopping nearly three seconds from his personal best with a 1-52.04 clocking. (This performance is notable as it has been achieved on the back of Winter training with no specific 800m work undertaken). (25/02/17)

Ben Dijkstra stormed to individual Silver in a pulsating Junior Men’s race at the English National XC Championships, held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. Only a first year Junior, Ben was running his first ever 10K XC race, and only failed by 4 seconds to clinch the title against much more seasoned rivals. In the same race, Sam Stevens (suffering from a bad cold) held on to 21st. In the other age group races there was an excellent run from Midlands Champion Libby Coleman to secure a 10th place finish in the U17W category; whilst Archie Banks (U17M: 65th) & Rachel Nealon (U15G: 84th) secured top 100 finishes. (Archie also contributed to his club securing team bronze) (24/02/17)

Joseph Tuffin took the Midland Counties’ U20M Indoor 800m Gold in 1 minute 56.82 seconds to secure his first regional title. (11/02/17)

Ben Dijkstra secured the opportunity of recording a 6th English Schools title by winning the Leicestershire Schools (Senior Boys) XC title at the County Schools’ XC Championships. This followed a fastest lap run at the King Henry V111 Relays only three days previously, securing a first ever victory for Loughborough Grammar School in this prestigious Schools event. (04/02/17)

There were strong performances from our other group members at local County Schools’ XC Championships, with many gaining selection to run for their county teams at the English Schools XC Championships to be run in March. At the Leicestershire Championships performances of note included: Roman Watson-Quilter (JB: 3rd); Archie Banks (SB: 4th); Hayden Greaves (IB: 5th); & Lucca Watson-Quilter (JB: 6th). At the Nottinghamshire Championships, Joseph Tuffin finished 2nd. in the Senior Boys race. (04/02/17) 

Sam Stevens fine form continued with a 15th place finish in the BUCS (British Students) XC Championships held at Graves Park, Sheffield. Sam – representing the University of Nottingham – was making his debut in this event, and running 10K XC for the first time. (04/02/17) 

January 2017:

Group members produced strong performances at the Midland Counties XC Championships. Leading the way was U17W Libby Coleman who took the joint U20W/U17W race in emphatic style, despite being one of the youngest in the race. Strong (top 20) performances were also produced by: Archie Banks (U17M: 5th); Joseph Tuffin (U20M: 12th); Hayden Greaves (U17M: 14th); & Pascal Bouttier-Butler (U20M: 20th). Archie, Pascal, & U20M Edward Thomas contributed to team gold medals for their respective clubs. (January 28th, 2017)

Sam Stevens produced another excellent performance to claim 2nd spot in the U20M race at the Juan Mugertza Memorial International in Elgoibar, Spain. Representing a strong England team, Sam was the first English finisher, ahead of athletes who would claim Area (Midlands & North) XC titles the following weekend. (January 22nd, 2017)

Libby Coleman opened her 2017 Winter campaign with a comfortable victory in the U17W race at the North Midlands XC League fixture held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. (January 14th, 2017)

Ben Dijkstra – running his first race since the World Junior Triathlon Championships in September – scored a comfortable victory in a competitive Senior Boys field at the final Leicestershire Secondary Schools XC League fixture of the season. Our other top 5 finishers on the day were: Lucca Watson-Quilter (JB: 2nd); Rachel Nealon (JG: 3rd); Roman Watson-Quilter (JB: 4th); & Archie Banks (SB: 5th). (Rachel & Pascal Bouttier-Butler have both been selected for the English Schools XC Championships by securing a top 3 league placing overall) (January 14th, 2017) 

Sam Stevens – representing Team GB – ran a strong race at the televised Edinburgh XC International. Competing in the competitive Junior Men’s 6K race, Sam finished 14th, less than half a minute behind the race winner, Noah Affolder, of the USA. … Sam’s next race will be in England colours at an International XC meeting in Spain, later in the month. (January 7th, 2017) 

Rachel Nealon (U15G) claimed individual Bronze at the Leicestershire County XC Championships held at Burbage Common. Elsewhere, Harry Purdell was 5th in the U17M race at the Nottinghamshire County XC Championships held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. (January 7th, 2017) 

December 2016:

Harry Purdell led a 1-2-3 clean sweep for group members in the 1Mile race at the December edition of the Derby Midweek Races. Harry (4-47) led in Alfie Lowe (5-03) & George Alvey (5-09), with all three recording personal bests. There were also personal bests in the 5K race for: Tom Hughes (16-53); Xavi Salcedo (17-19); & Lucca Watson-Quilter (18-09). (December 14th, 2016)

Sam Stevens helped Team GB secure the Team Bronze in the Junior Men’s race at the European XC Championships held in Chia, Italy. Sam covered the fast 6.15Km. course in 18 minutes & 16 sexconds, a minute down on the individual medallists. Sam’s next race will again be at international level, representing the British team at the Edinburgh XC International on January 7th. (December 11th, 2016)

Alfie Thompson impressed with a comfortable victory in the Senior Boys race at the latest Leicestershire Secondary Schools XC League fixture held at Brooksby College. In the same Inter/Senior race there were also strong performances from: Archie Banks (SB: 5th); Pascal Bouttier-Butler (SB: 6th); & Hayden Greaves (IB: 6th). In the Junior Men’s race Lucca Watson-Quilter recorded his second successive Schools League victory, with his twin brother Roman following in hot pursuit. (December 3rd, 2016)

November 2016:

Sam Stevens gained selection for the Junior Men’s team to represent Britain in the European XC Championships to be held in Chia, Italy on December 11th. Competing in the Trials race held in conjunction with the Liverpool XC Challenge, Sam finished 6th to secure selection. In the same Junior Men’s race there was a strong performance from Alfie Thompson (38th); whilst in the U17M race, Archie Banks finished strongly to secure a top 30 place finish. (November 26th, 2016) 

Phillip Maddocks, competing for Loughborough University, finished 25th (from over 400 competitors) at the BUCS (British Students) Duathlon Championships held at Castle Combe, Wiltshire. (November 20th, 2016)

Lucca Watson-Quilter recorded a victory in the Junior Boys race at the latest fixture in the Leicestershire Schools’ XC League at Longfield Academy in Melton Mowbray. In the same race, Lucca’s brother Roman finished 3rd.. Our other top 5 finishers on the day were: Rachel Nealon (JG: 3rd) & Pascal Bouttier-Butler (SB: 5th). (November 19th, 2016)

Archie Banks (4-33) & Alfie Thompson (4-33) fought out the finish of the 1 Mile race at the November Derby Midweek Races, with Archie just getting the nod. Both were personal best performances at the mile. Our other runners in the same race to record personal best times were: Edward Thomas (5-00); Alfie Lowe (5-05); Roman Watson-Quilter (5-19); & Lucca Watson-Quilter (5-20). (November 16th, 2016)

At the Derby Midweek 5K race our five representatives all claimed personal bests on the night. They were: Harry Purdell (16-34); Tom Hughes (16-55); Xavi Salcedo (17-36); George Alvey (17-39); & Daniel Hopkin (17-40). (November 16th, 2016)

Sam Stevens followed up his fastest leg at the National XC Relays with a 2nd. place finish in the U20M race at the opening fixture of the British Athletics XC Challenge, held at Milton Keynes. In the same race Alfie Thompson performed with great credit to take 12th place; whilst Archie Banks was 19th in the corresponding U17M race. (November 12th, 2016)

Sam Stevens recorded the fastest U20M leg of the day at the National XC Relays held at Berry Hill Park, Mansfield. In a tight four way finish on the opening leg, Sam prevailed with an 8-30 clocking for the 3K XC course. There were also impressive 3K times from Alfie Thompson (U20M: 9-12) & Archie Banks (U17M: 9-23). (November 5th, 2016)

October 2016:

Alfie Thompson (1 Mile: 1st: 4-35) & Pascal Bouttier-Butler (5K: 6th: 16-36) both impressed with personal best marks at the October Derby Midweek races. Our other personal best on the night came from Hayden Greaves (5K: 17-53). (October 19th, 2016)

Phillip Maddocks claimed the Leicestershire Duathlon Senior Men’s Championship title in winning the Bosworth Duathlon hosted by 1485 Triathlon Club. Phillip completed the 4K(Run)/21K (Bike)/4K (Run) course in 63 minutes & 09 seconds, over 2 minutes ahead of his nearest pursuer. … On the same day, Jamie Short finished 4th (from over 1000 competitors) at the Cambridge Town & Gown 10K, recording a 10K personal best of 33 minutes & 38 seconds. (October 16th, 2016)

Pascal Bouttier-Butler (Senior Boys) & Rachel Nealon (Junior Girls) recorded impressive race victores in the latest round of the Leicestershire Secondary Schools’ XC League held at Rutland Water. On the same day, there were impressive ‘good-for-age’ performances from Archie Banks (U17M: 12-22) & Xavi Salcedo (U15B: 13-18) at the National Young Athletes’ Road Relays held in Sutton Park, Birmingham. (October 8th, 2016)

September 2016:

Harry Purdell (16) & Hayden Greaves (15) produced excellent performances to finish 3rd. & 4th. respectively in the East Leake Sprint Triathlon. Competing in a mainly senior field of over 250 competitors, they were only beaten by two experienced competitors with previous international experience. (September 25th, 2016)

Sam Stevens (17-59), Alfie Thompson (18-50); & Jamie Short (19-29) all ran impressively (Sam winning the opening leg!) to help their club (LCAC) achieve a top 6 finish in the Senior Men’s race at the Midlands Road Relays at Sutton Park, Birmingham. In the same competition, Pascal Bouttier-Butler (20-08) was the quickest team runner for the LCAC ‘B’ team to help them finish the 3rd. best ‘B’ team on the day. In the corresponding Young Athletes’ races our star turn was U15 Boy Xavi Salcedo (13-31) who, despite being in the bottom end of his age group, ran the 10th. quickest age group time. (September 24th, 2016)

Rachel Nealon led the way with a 2nd. place finish in the JG race at the opening fixture of the Leicestershire Secondary Schools’ XC League held in Groby. Our other top 6 finishers on the day were Pascal Bouttier-Butler (SB: 5th); & Hayden Greaves (IB: 6th). (September 17th, 2016)

Ben Dijkstra capped his 2016 Triathlon season by taking the individual Bronze medal in the Junior Men’s race at the ITU World Championships held in Cozumel, Mexico. In temperatures of well over 30C., Ben was prominent throughout, attacking on the final run section to claim his medal. Ben was the only GB triathlete to claim an individual medal in the Junior & U23 category races. (September 16th, 2016)

Group members opened their Autumn campaign with impressive performances at the Derby Midweek Races. In the 1 Mile event there were personal bests for: Pascal Bouttier-Butler (4-45: 1st); Harry Purdell (4-48: 3rd); Alfie Lowe (5-09); & Rachel Nealon (5-42: 1stW). In a competitive 5K race Alfie Thompson finished 5th in 15-37, whilst there were personal bests for: Archie Banks (16-37); Tom Hughes (17-36); & George Alvey (18-02). (September 14th, 2016)

English Schools’ 3000m Champion, Sam Stevens stepped onto the roads to record a time of 30 minutes & 40 seconds to finish 6th. in the highly competitive Wilne 10K (Derbyshire). Sam’s time places him joint top of the U20M National (UK) RunBritain rankings for 10K. (Sam is one of five group members with a current -2016 – top 4 national age group ranking in one event or another!) (September 4th, 2016)

Our Triathletes completed their season in style with impressive performances at the National U20 Festival held in Strathclyde Park, Glasgow. In the Youth Girls event Libby Coleman finished 3rd. – beaten only by two ‘guest’ French competitors – to finish 2nd. overall in the ‘Super Series’. In the Youth Boys race Harry Purdell (6th.) & Tom Hughes (7th.) performed strongly for top 10 finishes; whilst in the younger age Inter-Regional Championships, Xavi Salcedo (representing the East Midlands) finished 10th.. (September 4th, 2016)

August 2016:

Group members have continued to post personal bests throughout August: Alfie Thompson lowered his 3000m best to 8 minutes 40.05 seconds at the Trafford AC Grand Prix in Manchester (09/08); Xavi Salcedo (1500m: 4-37.41), Alfie Lowe (800m: 2-15.49), & Rachel Nealon (800m: 2-31.00) improved their bests at the Charnwood AC Open (10/08); Tom Hughes (1500m: 4-25.39), & Hayden Greaves (1500m: 4-31.83) improved their bests at the Watford AC Open Meeting (24/08); Archie Banks recorded an 800m best of 2-02.7 @ the Tipton BMC Regional meeting (later improved to 1-59.98 @ the (07/09) Watford Open); & Rachel Nealon clocked a 3000m best of 11-00.33 at the Charnwood AC ‘Stars of the Future’ meeting. (August 2016)

Ben Dijkstra topped the 2016 UK U17M National 5M rankings with a 24 minutes & 45 seconds clocking in securing victory at the Coventry Autumnal 5M Road Race. In the corresponding Women’s race Alice Daniel finished 4th. in a time of 31 minutes & 37 seconds to place 3rd. on the 2016 UK U20W lists. Our other representative on the night – Jamie Short – finished 9th overall in a season’s best of 27 minutes & 11 seconds. (August 24th, 2016) 

Ben Dijkstra secured his place in the British team for the World Junior Triathlon Championships – to be held in Mexico in September – with an emphatic victory in the Junior Men’s elite race at the British Triathlon Championships held in Liverpool. Ben’s performance was remarkable in that only one senior competitor beat him in the joint Senior/Junior competition. At the same Championships, group members Libby Coleman (8th) & Tom Hughes (12th) produced strong performances in their respective Youth Championship races. (August 14th, 2016) 

July 2016:

Harry Purdell & Libby Coleman excelled at the Newstead Abbey 5K Road Race with: Harry (16-48) grabbing the Nottinghamshire County U18M 5K road title in finishing 6th overall; & Libby (18-17) finishing 2nd woman in a time that lists her 3rd on the UK National ‘RunBritain’ rankings for her age group. Our other representatives on the night both ran well with Josh Phillips (17-00) 9th overall, & Alice Daniel (19-20) finishing as the 6th woman finisher. (July 29th, 2016)

There were strong performances by Alfie Thompson (5000m A race: 2nd: 15-30.7) & Alfie Lowe (1M C race: 1st: 5-10.7) at the ‘Tim Wealthall Mile & Richard Belton 5K Memorial Races‘ at the Harvey Haddon Stadium, Nottingham on Thursday, July 28th (July 28th, 2016)

Sam Stevens & Ben Dijkstra produced excellent performances to finish 3rd & 4th respectively in the BMC Grand Prix 5000m A race at Oxford’s Iffley Road Stadium. Despite the exceptionally warm conditions, Sam (14-25.81) & Ben (14-29.37) produced times that place then 5th & 7th respectively on the 2016 UK National U20M rankings for 5000m. (July 23rd, 2016)

Alfie Thompson recorded a 5K road best of 15 minutes & 24 seconds in finishing 7th in the highly competitive Doncaster 5K Open race. Alfie’s time takes him to 3rd on the 2016 UK (RunBritain) rankings in his age group. Our other two representatives on the night  – Josh Phillips (17-00) & Pascal Bouttier-Butler (17-31) also produced strong performances. (July 13th, 2016)

Sam Stevens (representing Leicestershire) capped a memorable few weeks by taking the 2016 English Schools Senior Boys 3000m title. In windy conditions Sam positioned himself in the leading three throughout before unleashing a final surge over the closing lap to secure victory in 8 minutes & 24.91 seconds. Our other representative at the Championships – Libby Coleman (representing Nottinghamshire) – ran within three seconds of her best to finish 10th in the Inter Girls 3000m final. (July 9th, 2016)

Other notable performances during July (not noted above) included: a 1500m best of 4-41.02 by Xavi Salcedo at the Charnwood AC Open Meeting; & a race victory by Pascal Bouttier-Butler (17-25) at the Leicester City (July) 5K Road Race. (July 2016)

June 2016:

Sam Stevens and Ben Dijkstra produced superb performances at the 29/06 Watford Open Graded meeting. Competing in the 3000m A race Sam won in a new personal best time of 8-17.16 to move to 4th. on the current UK U20M rankings for the event. Three places down Ben (8-22.69) ran within 2 seconds of his best on his return to competition following a long injury induced break. Our other three representatives on the night: Alfie Lowe (1500m: 4-38.69); Hayden Greaves (1500m: 4-32.00); & Josh Phillips (3000m: 9-43.01) all returned home with new personal bests. (June 29th, 2016)

Alfie Thompson (representing England A) ran a highly commendable race to finish 11th (from over 60 competitors representing 16 nations) at the World Mountain Running International Youth Cup held in the Czech Republic. (June 25th, 2016)

Sam Stevens continues to impress as he dominated the BMC Regionals 1 Mile A race from start to finish at Tipton, Birmingham, to record a personal best time of 4 minutes & 12.o seconds (currently 2nd. U20M on the 2016 national UK rankings). In the same race, Josh Phillips impressed with a personal best of 4 minutes & 38.2 seconds. (June 21st, 2016)

Sam Stevens bettered a 30 year-old Championship Best Performance record in winning the Senior Boys’ 3000m at the Leicestershire & Rutland Secondary Schools’ T&F Championships. Sam’s time of 8 minutes & 37.3 seconds was powered by a sub 4-10 final 1500m after a rather pedestraian pace on the opening laps. Our other competitors on the day did well with most claiming individual medals. Our medallists were: Alfie Thompson (SB 3000m Silver); Hayden Greaves (IB 1500m Silver); Josh Phillips (SB 1500m Bronze); & Rachel Nealon (JG 1500m Bronze). (June 11th, 2016)

Libby Coleman claimed an individual national title in winning the National Girls’ Youth Aquathlon Championships at Leeds by 15 seconds from her nearest rival. Libby’s win was secured by an impressive run after 8 competitors emerged from the water together, with Libby’s 9-59 clocking on the hilly 2.5K course being the only sub 10 minute clocking in the Girl’s race. (June 11th, 2016)

Harry Purdell was a comfortable winner of the 11/06 Rushcliffe 5K ParkRun, recording a winning time of 17 minutes & 08 seconds. Also prominent was Edward Thomas, who clocked 18-16 in finishing 4th. in a record 460 strong field. (June 11th, 2016) 

Four group members improved their 1500m personal bests at the BMC Academy meeting at Milton Keynes on Saturday, June 4th. They are: Alfie Thompson (4-04.50); Archie Banks (4-09.09); Josh Phillips (4-17.24); & Harry Purdell (4-18.06). (June 4th, 2016)

Despite cold & blustery conditions, Sam Stevens (8-29.17) & Jamie Short (9-16.62) recorded 3000m personal best times at the Watford Open Graded meeting. Sam’s time is an English Schools’ qualifying mark. (June 1st, 2016)

May 2016:

Competing at local track meetings (Charnwood AC Open; BMC Regionals, Tipton; & the LSAC Open meeting) a number of group members have recorded 1500m personal bests in the past fortnight. They are: Sam Stevens (3-57.17); Josh Phillips (4-21.78); Alfie Lowe (4-38.77); Xavi Salcedo (4-42.51); & Rachel Nealon (4-59.70). Sam’s time is currently (27/05) 2nd. best on the East Midlands’ U20M ranking list, & Rachel’s time is the 7th. best in the equivalent U15G list. (May 27th, 2016) 

Following the Trials race at Sedbergh, Alfie Thompson has been selected to represent England in the World Mountain Running Youth Cup Championship to be held in the Czech Republic at the end of June. (May 21st, 2016)

At the Leicestershire & Rutland T&F Championships, Sam Stevens (14-56.70) stormed to an impressive victory in the Men’s 5000m race to not only take the U20M title, but to defeat the best of the Senior competitors in the process. In the same race an impressive performance from Alfie Thompson (15-27.67) secured Silver in the U20M race (& 3rd overall). Our other competitor in the race, Jamie Short (16-22.97) recorded a personal best. Our other 2 competitors at the Championships – Archie Banks (U17M 1500m: 4-13.82) & Rachel Nealon (U15G 1500m: 5-03.24) – secured Silver & Bronze in their respective races, with personal best times. (May 15th, 2016) 

There were impressive performances from our Triathletes/Duathletes over the weekend of May 14th/15th. At the National Super Series Triathlon in Llanelli, South Wales, Libby Coleman finished 3rd Woman in the Youth Girls category, whilst Harry Purdell (6th) & Tom Hughes (11th) were prominent in the equivalent Boys race. Elsewhere, Hayden Greaves comfortably won the Youth race at the Prestwold Duathlon (part of the East Midlands Super Series). (May 15th, 2016) 

At the Wymeswold 5M Road Race our representatives – all aged 17 – competed strongly with both a good class senior field, and unseasonably warm conditions. Leading the way was Alice Daniel who finished 2nd. woman in a time of 32 minutes & 20 seconds. Our top runner on the day was Edward Thomas who finished 16th overall in 31 minutes & 36 seconds. (May 8th, 2016)

Group members impressed at the Livingston Road Relays held at Braunstone Park, Leicester. Leading the way was Alfie Thompson (15-13), stepping into his club’s senior team, and recording the 4th fastest time overall on the day for the 3 Mile circuit. Another impressive performance was registered by Harry Purdell (16-04) who ran the quickest leg for his club as they took the U20M prize. Others to contribute to team winning performances were: Hayden Greaves (U15B: 17-44); Alfie Lowe (U20M: 18-19); & Rachel Nealon (U15G: 18-37). (May 1st, 2016)

April 2016:

Two of our leading members made impressive returns to competition at local (5K) ParkRuns on Saturday, April 30th. At Clumber Park Archie Banks scored a comfortable victory in 17 minutes & 10 seconds, whilst at Rushcliffe Alice Daniel was the first woman finisher in 19 minutes & 15 seconds. (April 30th, 2016)

At the Charnwood AC Open Meeting on the evening of Wednesday, April 27th our two (U17) representatives (Tom Hughes: 9-43.77; & Libby Coleman: 10-13.16) ran personal best times at 3000m. Libby’s time takes her to 7th on the current (2016) UK U17W lists, and is an English Schools’ qualifying mark. (April 27th, 2016)

Rachel Nealon headlined our performances at the London Mini-Marathon which doubled as the British Athletics Young Athletes Road Race Championships. Competing in the U13G category Rachel came through strongly in the latter part of the race to grab 6th place, covering the 3M course in 18 minutes & 01 seconds. Our other 2 representatives (like Rachel representing the East Midlands team) produced strong runs with Alfie Thompson 18th (15-01) in the U17M race and Xavi Salcedo 43rd (17-34) in the U13B category. (April 24th, 2016)

Three group members feature in the Athletics Weekly 2015/16 XC merit ranking for 2015/16. Leading the way is our European Junior XC Championship representative Ben Dijkstra who was ranked 3rd in the U20M category. Our other merit ranking athletes were: Libby Coleman (U15G: 10th) & Alfie Thompson (U17M; 11th). Unlucky to miss out was Midlands U20M Silver medallist & England representative Sam Stevens, who had to miss out on the end-of-season championship races. (April 2016)

A round up of results include: a victory for Alfie Thompson in the 3000m at the Charnwood AC Open (09/04); a 1500m PB of 5-07.14 by Rachel Nealon at the same event; strong Parkrun 5K performances from Alfie Lowe (Long Eaton, 16/04: 18-47: PB), Jamie Short (Leicester Victoria, 09/04: 16-32; 2nd), & Phillip Maddocks (Long Eaton, 16/04: 17-28: 2nd); & an East Midlands representative vest for Saskia Sharpe (33rd) at the AOC (Association of Colleges) National XC Championships in Newcastle on 16/04. (April 16th, 2016)  

Further to last weekend’s successes at the National Duathlon Championships (see below), Hayden Greaves & Xavi Salcedo both recorded comfortable victories in their respective races at the RAF Scampton Duathlon in Lincolnshire. (April 9th, 2016)

Libby Coleman (Elite Youth Girls) & Phillip Maddocks (20-24 AG category) claimed individual Silver Medals at the National Duathlon Championships held in Windsor Great Park on Sunday, April 3rd.. Our other representatives on the day – Harry Purdell (8th); Hayden Greaves (13th); & Tom Hughes (14th) – all performed strongly in the Elite Youth Boys’ race. (April 3rd, 2016)

March 2016:

Ben Dijkstra returned to competition – after a 3 month break – with a top 10 finish at the UK Inter-Counties XC Championships held at Cofton Park, Birmingham. Ben (an U17M competing in the age group above) finished 7th in the U20M race to lead in the Leicestershire contingent. Our other top performer on the day was Alfie Thompson who finished 11th in the U17M race to help Leicestershire secure the team title in that age category. (March 12th, 2016)

Phillip Maddocks recorded his 2nd. top 10 finish in the 2016 Leicestershire Winter Road Race League with a 10th place finish in the hilly Kibworth 6M Road Race. Phillip covered the demanding course in 34-46. A little further down the field Saskia Sharpe maintained her challenge for the leading U20W prize. (March 6th, 2016)

Eight group members represented their county teams in the English Schools XC Championships held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. Leading the way were Alfie Thompson (2nd. county scorer) & Rachel Nealon (3rd county scorer) who helped their respective teams achieve team silver in the Senior Boys race, & ‘best eight counters’ in the Junior Girls race. Our highest individual finisher on the day was Libby Coleman (Inter Girls: 17th). (March 5th, 2016)

February 2016:

Alfie Thompson (U17M) & Libby Coleman (U15G) sparkled at the English National XC Championships held at Castle Donington on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border. Both ran aggressive races to claim 6th place in their respective races. Other group members to produce strong performances were: Xavi Salcedo (U13B: 35th); Rachel Nealon (U13G: 47th); Harry Purdell (U17M: 76th); & Hayden Greaves (U15B: 81st). (February 27th, 2016)

Gaining his second international vest in a month, Sam Stevens finished a close-up 4th in the Lotto Cross Cup at Rostelaar in Belgium to complete an England team victory in the U20M race. (February 14th, 2016)

Three group members secured places in the East Midlands London Mini-Marathon team at the Trials races held at County Hall, Glenfield. They were: Alfie Thompson; Rachel Nealon; & Xavi Salcedo. All three join group member Ben Dijkstra (last year’s Mini-Marathon winner) in the team for the London Mini-Marathon towards the end of April. (February 14th, 2016)

Six group members attended the Ivanhoe XC Challenge with all six claiming medals in the Y9& Above race. Leading the way was Archie Banks who recorded a commanding victory in the race. Archie was followed home by Hayden Greaves who took the Y9&10 prize. Elizabeth Mulvaney secured the victory in the Girls race; whilst Josh Phillips (3rd), Edward Thomas (5th), & Alfie Lowe (7th) won the team award for their club. (February 13th, 2016) 

Two more group members – Harry Purdell (Inter Boys) & Libby Coleman (Inter Girls) – sealed English Schools’ XC qualification by comfortably winning their respective races at the Nottinghamshire County Schools’ XC Championships. On the same weekend: Phillip Maddocks was the 1st U20M finisher at the Alsager 5M Road Race (recording 27-52 on a windy day); & Hayden Greaves was the 1st U20M finisher at the Mallory Park Duathlon. (February 6th-7th, 2016)

January 2016:

Three group members – Alfie Thompson (U17M); Libby Coleman (U15G); & Sam Stevens (U20M) – secured individual silver medals to highlight a set of very strong performances across the board from group members at the Midland Counties XC Championships held at Prestwold Hall, Loughborough. Our other top 20 finishers on the day were: Harry Purdell (U17M: 19th); Hayden Greaves (U15B: 19th); Pascal Bouttier-Butler (U17M: 18th); Rachel Nealon (U13G: 11th); & Tom Hughes (U15B: 14th). In addition – Alfie, Harry, Pascal, Rachel, & Tom – contributed to team gold medals for their respective clubs. (January 30th , 2016) 

Group members Phillip Maddocks & Saskia Sharpe featured prominently in the Barrow 6M Road Race, the opening race in the Leicestershire Road Running (Winter) League. Moving up to the senior ranks Phillip finished 10th overall in a new 6M best of 34 minutes & 20 seconds, whilst a little further down the 750+ strong field, Saskia was the 1st U20W finisher in a time of 47 minutes & 20 seconds. (January 24th, 2016)

Sam Stevens scores a stunning U20M victory at the Cardiff XC Challenge on his international debut. Following a head to head tussle with a fellow England representative, Sam prevailed by 4 seconds with the third placed athlete nearly a minute behind. Our other representative at the XC Challenge, Rachel Nealon finished 6th in a closely fought U13G race. (January 24th, 2016)

Alfie Thompson (Senior Boys: 2nd) & Alice Daniel (Senior Girls: 3rd) took individual medals at the Leicestershire County Schools’ XC Championships on a typically muddy & sapping course at Ratcliffe College. Our other top performers on the day, laying strong claims for English Schools selection, were: Hayden Greaves (Inter-Boys: 5th); & Pascal Bouttier-Butler (Senior Boys: 6th). (January 23rd, 2016) 

Three group members took part in the final race of the 2015-16 North Midlands XC League, held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. In the U13B division, Xavi Salcedo finished 4th; whilst in the U17M race, Harry Purdell was 6th & Archie Banks 7th. (January 16th, 2016)

Six group members claimed individual County XC Championship medals at the Leicestershire & Nottinghamshire XC Championships. Leading the way was Sam Stevens who took the Leicestershire U20M title in commanding fashion by over 2 minutes (!). The quality of Sam’s performance was highlighted by the fact that only three senior athletes defeated him over the mud-drenched 10K course at Burbage Common. Also winning in similar fashion was Xavi Salcedo in the Leicestershire U13B race, whilst Rachel Nealon made it a trio of titles with a closely fought victory in the Leicestershire U13G race. Our other individual medallists were: Silvers for Alice Daniel (U20W) & Libby Coleman (U15G) (both Nottinghamshire); & Bronze for Alfie Thompson (U17M, Leicestershire). (January 9th, 2016)  

October to December 2015:

A number of group members finished their 2015 campaign with a bang at the December edition of the Derby Midweek Races. In the 5K race six group members made dramatic improvements in their 5K best with Alfie Thompson (3rd overall) breaking through the 16 minute barrier with a 15-46 clocking. Alfie was followed in in quick succession by: Phillip Maddocks (5th: 16-28); Josh Phillips (7th: 16-46); & Harry Purdell (8th: 16-52). A little further down the field 12-year-old Rachel Nealon (19-10) took over 40 seconds off her best, & was the first woman finisher on the night, whilst Maddie Freeman (21-46) took a similar chunk off her previous best. In the 1 Mile event Xavi Salcedo (5-17) & Libby Coleman (5-21) also recorded personal bests. (December 16th, 2015)

Ben Dijkstra making his debut in a Team GB vest at cross-country helped the Junior Men’s team claim team bronze at the 2015 European XC Championships, held at Hyeres in the south of France. Ben finished 19th (& 3rd Team GB counter) from over 80 competitors, being one of only 2 athletes born in 1998 to make the top 20. (December 12th, 2015)

Alice Daniel made a stunning Half-Marathon debut at the Milton Keynes Winter Half-Marathon, finishing 2nd Woman in a time of 84 minutes & 24 seconds. Alice’s time rockets her to 3rd place on the national UK ‘RunBritain’ U20 Women’s rankings for 2015. (December 12th, 2015)

Archie Banks (Inter Boys) & Sam Stevens (Senior Boys) secured County Schools XC League titles with victories in the final league fixture at a wind-swept Brooksby College. Our other top 6 finishers on the day were: Alfie Thompson (SB: 2nd); Elizabeth Mulvaney (SG: 3rd); Rachel Nealon (JG: 4th); Pascal Bouttier-Butler (SB: 5th); & Josh Phillips (SB: 6th). As a result of performances across the League Season … Archie, Alfie, Elizabeth, Rachel, & Sam have all secured their places in the County Team for the English Schools’ XC Championships to be held next March. (December 6th, 2015)

At the third fixture of the North Midlands XC League U15G Libby Coleman put herself in a strong position to win the League title with a comfortable race victory. Our other representative on the day – U17M Harry Purdell – ran well to place 5th. (December 6th, 2015)

Ben Dijkstra secured a place in the GB team for the European XC Championships with a commanding performance at the Trials race held as part of the British Athletics Liverpool XC Challenge. Despite being one of only 2 U17M in the 120+ strong U20M field, Ben was always with the leading pack & secured victory with a decisive move from 600m out. In the same race Sam Stevens continued his progression since his return to competition with a 20th place finish. Our other runners at Liverpool acquitted themselves with great credit in their AG races: U13G Rachel Nealon excelled with a 4th place finish; U17M Alfie Thompson ran a strong second half to secure 13th spot; & U13B Xavi Salcedo battled well to a 40th place finish. (November 28th, 2015)

Despite strong gusty winds a small contingent of group members achieved impressive performances at the Wolverton 5M Road Race in Milton Keynes. Leading the way was Alice Daniel who finished 2nd. woman overall (& 1st. U20W) in a time of 30 minutes & 33 seconds that places Alice 4th in her AG on the National (RunBritain) Rankings for 2015. Our other top performers on the day (all with 5M PB performances) were: Jamie Short (17th: 26-45); Josh Phillips (40th, & 3rd U20: 28-41); & Edward Thomas (60th, & 6th U20: 30-06). (November 28th, 2015)

Saskia Sharpe finished 2nd. in the East Midlands FE Colleges XC Championships held at Brooksby College, Leicestershire. Saskia now goes on to represent the East Midlands in the National FE Colleges XC Championships to be held in April 2016. (November 25th, 2015)

Phillip Maddocks (representing Loughborough University) finished in 24th place overall in the 400+ strong British Students’ (BUCS) Duathlon Championships held at Castle Coombe, Wiltshire. Phillip’s performance helped the Loughborough ‘B Team’ finish first in the B Team category. (November 15th, 2015)

Seven group members recorded top 4 finishes at the fourth fixture of the Leicestershire Secondary Schools XC League @ Charnwood College, Loughborough. Leading the way were Ben Dijkstra & Archie Banks who won the Senior & Inter Boys races respectively. Our other top 4 finishers on the day were: Sam Stevens, 2nd SB; Alfie Thompson, 4th SB; Elizabeth Mulvaney, 4th SG; Hayden Greaves, 4th IB; & Rachel Nealon, 4th JG. (November 14th, 2015)

Ben Dijkstra has been voted the Best Male Junior Triathlete by the British Triathlon Federation in their annual awards for the second year running. Ben – who in 2015 has won the World Junior Duathlon Championship and taken an individual bronze in the European Junior Triathlon Championships – was the outstanding candidate in his category. (November 14th, 2015)

In extremely muddy conditions five group members acquitted themselves with great credit at the second fixture of the North Midlands XC League @ West Glebe Park, Corby: in the Senior Women’s race Alice Daniel finished 6th overall & 1st. in the U20W category; Libby Coleman was 2nd. in the U15G division; Xavi Salcedo was 5th in the U13B division; and in the U17M race Archie Banks was 4th, with Harry Purdell in 9th. (November 14th, 2015) 

Ben Dijkstra & Rachel Nealon excelled at the opening fixture of the British Athletics XC Challenge at Tear Drops Lakes in Milton Keynes. Ben (despite officially being still an U17M) stepped up to take on the IAAF Junior Men (U20M) field and narrowly failed by 1 second to take the race victory in a strong field. Rachel also claimed 2nd. place with a battling performance in the adverse weather conditions in the U13G division. Our other representative – Sam Stevens – was 12th in the U20M race, marking a step-up in his return to full fitness. (November 7th, 2015)

Sixteen-year-old Alfie Thompson showed that (young) age is not a barrier to success at the longer distances as he finished 2nd (from just over 500 competitors) in the off-road ‘Seagrave Challenge’. Alfie completed the 16 mile course in a time of 1 hour 44 minutes to finish less than 30 seconds shy of the race winner. (November 7th, 2015)

Jamie Short and Alice Daniel excelled at the Shepshed 7M Road Race with Jamie taking 3rd overall in 38 minutes & 35 seconds and Alice finishing 3rd Woman in 44 minutes & 12 seconds. On the same day Phillip Maddocks recorded the fastest time of the 3 race series in winning the 3rd Darley Moor Duathlon of 2015. (November 1st, 2015)

Ben Dijkstra added the 2015 World Junior Duathlon title to his 2014 Olympic Youth Triathlon title with a comfortable 12 seconds victory in the Championships held in Adelaide, Australia. Ben (who has yet to turn 17) defeated competitors up to 2 years senior than himself in claiming the title. (October 17th, 2015)

On the same day as Ben’s success (see above) Phillip Maddocks finished 2nd. overall in the Althorp Classic Duathlon held at Holdenby Hall in Northamptonshire. (October 17th, 2015)

Further successes for group members on the weekend of October 10th/11th. At the Lutterworth fixture of the Leicestershire Schools XC League six group members recorded top 5 finishes with the highlights being: a 1-2 finish in the Senior Boys race for Alfie Thompson & Sam Stevens; a win in the Inter Boys race for Archie Banks; & a runners-up spot for Rachel Nealon in the Junior Girls race. On the same day at the opening fixture of the North Midlands XC League at Derby, Libby Coleman was 2nd in the U15G race, whilst Xavi Salcedo was 5th in the U13B race. (October 10th, 2015)

A number of group members competed for their clubs at the National Senior and Young Athletes Road Relay Championships held at Sutton Park, Birmingham. The most significant performances were posted by: Rachel Nealon (who anchored her club to victory in the U13G race with the 5th fastest U13G time); Xavi Salcedo (whose opening leg – in the 16th fastest U13B time of the day – set his club on course for a top 10 finish); & Alfie Thompson (who was the 4th quickest U17M on the day, & set up his club for a top 10 finish). (October 4th, 2015)

March to September 2015:

Sam Stevens led a clutch of top performances at the second fixture of the Leicestershire Secondary Schools XC League (held at Rutland Water), with victory in the Senior Boys’ race. Our other top performers on the day were: Rachel Nealon (JG: 3rd); Archie Banks (IB: 4th); & Josh Phillips (SB: 4th). (September 26th, 2015)

Alice Daniel contributed to a team bronze – in the Senior Women’s race – for her club (Charnwood AC) at the Midland Counties Road Relays. Other significant contributions to team successes were made by Rachel Nealon & Xavi Salcedo in the U13 Girls & Boys races respectively. (September 19th, 2015)

Alfie Thompson (representing England) was the runaway winner of the U17M race at the Home Countries Mountain Running Championships held at Betws-y-Coed in North Wales. This was Alfie’s second international vest (having previously represented English Schools in 2013) and his fist international victory. (September 19th, 2015)

Ben Dijkstra recorded a top 10 finish (8th) in the Men’s Junior Race at the World Triathlon Championships, held in Chicago, USA. Ben’s performance was remarkable in the 70 strong race as the vast majority of his competitors were 2 years or more older than himself. (September 17th, 2015)

Group members made an impressive start to the Autumn XC season with three individual winners – Alfie Thompson (Senior Boys); Alice Daniel (Senior Girls); & Rachel Nealon (Junior Girls) – at the opening fixture of the Leicestershire Secondary Schools’ XC League. Also notable was the return of Sam Stevens after a long lay-off with a bold showing to finish 2nd in the Senior Boys’ race. (September 12th, 2015)

Libby Coleman & Phillip Maddocks highlighted a successful weekend of Triathlon running at both national and local level. At the Inter-Regional Championships – (effectively a UK-wide National Championships) held as part of the U20 Triathlon Festival at Mallory Park, Leicestershire – Libby dominated the Tri-Star 3 Girls category event to win by over 30 seconds; whilst, in the corresponding Tri-Star 3 Boys event, Hayden Greaves finished 7th. On the same day, Phillip won the overall title in winning the Market Harborough Sprint Triathlon by over 5 minutes, in a time of 63 minutes & 42 seconds. (September 7th, 2015)

A week after recording the fastest 5000m ever recorded by a UK U17 athlete (see below), Ben Dijkstra claimed another national title with a 3 minutes 56.85 second clocking in comfortably winning the English Athletics U17M National 1500m title at Bedford International Stadium. On the same weekend Rachel Nealon improved her 1500m best to 5 minutes & 07 seconds in winning her heat at the BMC Regional meeting at Tipton, Birmingham. (August 30th, 2015)

New group member Jamie Short took the men’s silver medal in the Leicestershire & Rutland County 10K Road Race Championship hosted by Hermitage Harriers. Jamie completed the challenging course in 34 minutes & 50 seconds. (August 23rd, 2015)

Ben Dijkstra produced the performance of the day at the BMC Grand Prix meeting held in Solihull. Making his debut at the 5000m distance, Ben stormed away in the final straight to take the B race by a clear margin from his nearest pursuer in a time of 14 minutes & 28.03 seconds. The time is the fastest 5000m time ever recorded by a UK U17M competitor! (August 22nd, 2015)

A number of group members completed their track seasons in style with 3000m personal bests at the Charnwood Open meeting. They were: Alfie Thompson (8-49.44); Phillip Maddocks (9-43.41); Josh Phillips (9-56.34); Edward Thomas (10-23.34); Alice Daniel (10-23.60); & Alfie Lowe (11-04.02). Alfie T. & Edward also won their respective races. Three days later – competing at Coventry – Alice grabbed a silver medal in the U20W Midland Counties 3000m Championship. (August 22nd, 2015)

Alfie Thompson secured selection for the forthcoming Home International Mountain Running Championships to be held in North Wales during September with a comfortable victory in the England U17M Trial Race held in the Lake District on Saturday, August 15th. (August 15th, 2015) 

Ben Dijkstra‘s preparations for the World Triathlon Championships continue at pace with another continental success as he wins the ETU Junior Triathlon Championship race at Tiszaujvaros in Hungary. Ben recorded a comprehensive victory with both the fastest bike and run legs on the day. (August 9th, 2015)

Sixteen-year-old Pascal Bouttier-Butler finished top U20 at the Huncote 5M Road Race in a personal best time of 28 minutes & 32 seconds. Three days later 17-year-old Josh Phillips improved his 5M personal best by nearly three minutes with a time of 29 minutes & 13 seconds at the Bassingham 5M Bash. As a result of these performances Pascal lies 12th & Josh 22nd respectively in the National UK RunBritain rankings for their age group. (August 8th, 2015).

In a round-up of other top performances during the month of July: Alfie Thompson (4-05.77) & Harry Purdell (4-28.38) recorded 1500m personal bests at the Charnwood AC Open T&F Meeting; Archie Banks bettered his 3000m best with a 9-15.5 clocking at the Corby AC OpenAlice Daniel finished 2nd. woman (& 13th overall) in the Notfast 10K Road Race held near Newark in a time of 39 minutes & 00 seconds; & Alfie Thompson recorded a top 10 finish (& a 2015 top 5 UK U17M ranking time) with a 27 minutes & 30 seconds clocking at the Notts 5M Road Race.  (July, 2015)

Representing the UK, Ben Dijkstra took individual bronze in a closely fought finish in the European Junior Triathlon Championships held in Geneva. With only three seconds separating the first five finishers, and places 2-4 given the same time, Ben came within a second of the winner despite being at least 2 years younger than all his main competitors. (July 11th, 2015)

Alfie Thompson claimed a strong finishing 8th place finish in the Inter Boys 3000m at the English Schools T&F Championships held in Gateshead in a personal best time of 8 minutes & 49.89 seconds. (July 11th, 2015)

Pascal Bouttier-Butler (17-04) & Josh Phillips (17-22) finished 1st & 2nd. at the Long Eaton 5K ParkRun. Josh’s time represented an improvement in his 5K personal best by more than 30 seconds. (July 11, 2015)

Our successes at local road races continued with massive personal best performances at the Holme Pierrepont 10K Road Race. Leading the way in the 400+ strong field was Pascal Bouttier-Butler who took a significant chunk off his best to finish 5th overall in 34 minutes & 59 seconds. Close behind came: Phillip Maddocks (11th: 36-11); Josh Phillips (14th: 36-45); Alice Daniel (23rd: 37-40); & Edward Thomas (69th: 40-50). The most significant performance of the night was that of Alice who with her run moved to 2nd. on the UK RunBritain rankings for the distance in her age group. (July 2nd, 2015)

Three group members attended the Watford Open Meeting on the hottest day of the year, and each produced new personal best times. In the 3000m A race Ben Dijkstra beat a field of seasoned senior athletes in 8 minutes & 21.01 seconds, a time that takes Ben to 7th on the UK U17M all-time lists. In the same race Alfie Thompson prepared for the English Schools T&F Championships by lowering his best to 8 minutes & 50.93 seconds. Finally, in one of the 1500m races, Archie Banks lowered his personal best for the second week running with a time of 4 minutes & 14.08 seconds. (July 1st, 2015)

Six group members took advantage of ideal conditions to record personal best performances at the BMC Regionals & Tipton Open Meeting in Birmingham. At 1500m: Ben Dijkstra (3-53.0); Alfie Thompson (4-06.6); Archie Banks (4-17.3); Josh Phillips (4-31.6); & Alfie Lowe (4-53.2) revised their personal bests. (Moreover Ben, Alfie, & Josh won their respective races). To round off the evening Alice Daniel recorded 18-04.0 on her 5000m debut to enter the top 10 2015 UK U20W Rankings for that distance. (June 23rd, 2015)

Three group members attended the Charnwood AC Open Meeting. Competing in the 3000m A race, Archie Banks (9-30.58) & Harry Purdell (9-45.55) recorded personal best times, whilst Rachel Nealon improved her 800m best to 2 minutes & 35.12 seconds. On the same evening at the Hinckley Town 5K Road Race, Rachel’s brother Chris Nealon reduced his 5K best by nearly 30 seconds with a 17-25 clocking in finishing in the top 10 overall. (June 17th)

Group members dominated proceedings at the Long Eaton Road Races in Derbyshire. In the 200+ strong senior 5M Road Race 17-year-old Alice Daniel was the 1st Woman to finish (& placed 7th Overall) in 30 minutes & 34 seconds, whilst 16-year-old Pascal Bouttier-Butler finished 2nd overall in 29 minutes & 23 seconds. In the 70+ strong 2M Junior Race our four representatives finished 1-2-3-4 with Josh Phillips (10-56) completing the course impressively at under 5-30 mile pace, and Rachel Nealon (12-52) running within 11 seconds of Alice’s course record. (June 14th, 2015)

At the Leicestershire Secondary Schools T&F Championships our four representatives all won individual medals. They were: Alfie Thompson (IB 3000m Silver: 8-55); Archie Banks (IB 1500m Silver: 4-21*); Chris Nealon (JB 1500m Bronze: 4-32*); & Rachel Nealon (Y7G 1200m Silver: 4-03*) (* denotes personal bests) (June 13th, 2015) 

A small contingent of group members attended the BMC Academy PB Classic at Milton Keynes. Highlights were: Ben Dijkstra stormed to the top of the national U17M rankings with a personal best 8-23.05 for 3000m; Alfie Thompson indicated a full return to form with a personal best 4-10.37 for 1500m; & 1500m personal bests were recorded by Harry Purdell (4-32.22), & Alice Daniel (4-49.82). (June 6th, 2015)

A number of group members have opened their 2015 track seasons with impressive performances. These included UK 2015 top 3 AG performances from Ben Dijkstra (3000m: 8-35.25 & 1500m: 3-54.2 (PB)), & an English Schools qualifying mark from Alfie Thompson (3000m: 8-54.1). Others to have record personal bests up to the end of the month were: Alfie Lowe (1500m: 4-54.1); Alice Daniel (3000m: 10-32.66); Archie Banks (3000m: 9-40.8); Chris Nealon (1500m: 4-34.44); Harry Purdell (1500m: 4-33.46); & Rachel Nealon (1500m: 5-14.73). (May 27th, 2015)

Weekend action saw: Ben Dijkstra qualify for the European Junior Triathlon Championships to be held in Geneva in July through a 2nd. place finish at the British Triathlon Gateway event held in South Wales; & Phillip Maddocks secured the U20M title in the Leicestershire Winter Road Running League with a top 20 finish at the West End 8M Road Race. (May 16th-17th, 2015)

Sixteen year-olds Alfie Thompson (2nd: 27-54); Pascal Bouttier-Butler (4th: 28-41); & Alice Daniel (12th: 30-34) stunned a 200+ field of local senior athletes with top class performances at the Wymeswold 5M Road RaceAlice‘s performance was the pick of the bunch, as she claimed the prize for 1st. woman finisher in a time that places her 3rd U17W at 5 Mile for the current year in the national (RunBritain) rankings. (May 10th, 2015)

Alfie Thompson (15-59); Pascal Bouttier-Butler (16-16); Josh Phillips (17-46); & Alfie Lowe (18-50) combined to claim the U20M category for their club (Leicester Coritanians) at the Livingston Road Relays on Sunday, May 3rd. At the same event group members Harry Purdell (16-58) and Rachel Nealon (19-33) were instrumental in helping their respective clubs win the U15B & U15G category races. In addition, Alfie recorded the fastest leg in the U20M race, & Harry recorded the fastest leg in the U15B race. (May 3rd, 2015)

Four group members (Alice Daniel; Alfie Thompson; Ben Dijkstra; & Rachel Nealon) represented the East Midlands Region at the London Mini Marathon (incorporating the British Athletics Age Group Road Race Championships). Our top performer was Ben who claimed another national title (& his first London win) with a new course record of 14 minutes & 00 seconds for the 3M course. Special mention also for Alice (17 minutes & 08 seconds) who ran an extremely competitive race to claim 15th place overall in her race, just a few seconds outside the top 10. (April 26th, 2015)

Seven group members recorded 5K personal best times at the highly competitive April running of the Derby Midweek races. Leading the charge was Ben Dijkstra who finished 1st Junior Man (and 3rd overall) in a sparkling time of 14 minutes & 59 seconds. Our other London Mini-Marathon bound runners also excelled, with Alice Daniel finishing 3rd woman overall (& 1st. JW) in 18 minutes & 16 seconds, & Rachel Nealon recording a personal best of 19 minutes & 51 seconds. Our other personal bests on the night were recorded by: Alfie Thompson (16-12); Harry Purdell (17-21); Josh Phillips (17-55); Chris Nealon (18-10); & Alfie Lowe (18-54). (April 15th, 2015)

Ben Dijkstra followed up his historic English Schools success (see below)with: victory in the ETU Junior Triathlon race at Quarteria, Portugal (22/03); and by securing another national title with victory in the British Triathlon Elite Duathlon Championships. (March 29th, 2015)

Ben Dijkstra recorded a hat-trick of English Schools’ XC Titles with victory in the Intermediate Boys race at the English Schools XC Championships held in Blackburn, Lancashire. In the process Ben became only the second boy (in the 65 year history of the Championships) to claim three consecutive titles, matching the achievement of Mike Tagg from 1963-1965. As well as taking the individual title, Ben led the county  team to victory in this age group. Instrumental in this team success were group members Alfie Thompson (27th) and Pascal Bouttier-Butler (94th). Our other representative on the day –Alice Daniel – overcame a first lap fall to record a strong 32nd place finish in the Senior Girls race. Alice was the 2nd counter for the County team, which finished 4th overall in her age group. (March 14th, 2015)

Eight group members represented their county teams at the UK Inter-Counties XC Championships, with Ben Dijkstra claiming the individual silver medal in the U17M race. Our other top performers on the day were Alice Daniel (U17W: 43rd) and Rachel Nealon (U13G: 73rd). (March 7th, 2015)

Three group members gained selection to represent the East Midlands at the London Mini-Marathon Trials held in Glenfield, Leicester. Ben Dijkstra was a runaway victor of the U17M race, whilst Alice Daniel (U17W) and Rachel Nealon (U13G) came through strongly on the final lap to finish 2nd. & 4th. in their respective races. Another three group members – Alfie Thompson (U17M); Harry Purdell (U15B); & Xavi Salcedo (U13B) – are first reserves, following battling 7th place finishes in their respective races. (March 1st, 2015)