Photo credit Ian Strong
It was Super Saturday for Herne Hill Harriers athletes at the Hercules Wimbledon 5000m Festival with several PBs, led by a club women’s record for Georgie Grgec and Sam Bramwell breaking through to his first sub 14 minutes time.
On the same day the club senior team placed a good fifth of nine teams in the NAL Cup Final at Bedford.
The Hercules Wimbledon 5000m Festival proved to be an amazing event, with dozens of athletes clocking PBs. Conditions were warm and humidity high for most of the races with a light breeze, albeit at their best for the final two of the ten races.
Harriers athletes contributed to the PB party, starting with three athletes in the first race. Mathew Hudson produced a big PB of 17.42.88, following event organiser Ben Noad who paced for most of the race, to secure an outright win. In fourth place, Megan Gildea produced a marginal PB, 18:18.04, having gone with the lead pace for the first 3km, and capped a breakthrough season on the track, while Annabelle Acres was a second HHH woman in this race, running 21.35.99.
The rapidly improving Henry Stanley sustained the HHH win rate in the fourth race. He was always in the mix with the lead men and produced a final 100m that was more reminiscent of a sprinter, blasting into the lead to record an excellent PB of 16.07.19. In race five, Harry Roberts made his 5000m debut, a de facto PB, running an excellent 15.58.52, just outside his road 5km best.
Race five had included some very good performances by leading female entrants, but these were blasted out of sight by a sensational run by Georgie Grgec in race six. Sitting nicely in the pack through the first half of the race, and fresh from her sub 9minute 3000m PB at Tooting, Grgec was poised to attack the club women’s record of 15.29, set earlier this season by Phoebe Anderson. As the race progressed towards the business end shewas beginning to motor, drawing gasps around the arena as she picked up the pace over the closing laps, onlookers appreciating that they were witnessing a special performance.
Leaving male runners in her wake, the 30-year-old Kiwi international finished in third place outright in a fantastic 15.20.11. This is the sixth quickest ever time by a New Zealand woman. This twenty second PB is a huge move up in level, which should open up some high level racing opportunities for her going forward.
Race seven witnessed U20 Harry Bell run a brilliantly judged race, winding up over the closing laps. He stuck with the lead pack passing 3000m in 9.01, and looked well set to dip under 15 minutes for the first time. But with the increase in pace, aided by his own surge to the front with 500m to go, Bell smashed through this barrier finishing in second place in 14.52.82, less than 0.5s outside the Club U20 record.
In race eight Lewis Laylee ran his fastest 5000m since 2022, 14.55.23, after an excellent 3000m PB at Tooting indicated a quicker 5000m should be on the cards. Next up Australian Brandon Dewar ran a massive 12 second PB in race nine, clocking 14.33.92, and most importantly winning a crate of beer off his twin brother Nick for setting a new family fastest time!
The final race promised much, and certainly delivered a performance from Sam Bramwell that was as sensational as that from Grgec earlier on. Racing with his customary commitment he went with the lead group with sub 14 minutes firmly on the agenda.
For someone still very new to the sport, his progress has been meteoric and this race saw him rocket past reigning English National Cross Country Champion and World Cross Country representative James Kingston in the final 100m, taking him to a 13.55.10 PB. He now sits second on the Club all time 5000m rankings, behind Jonathan Solly’s 13.39.2.
At the NAL Cup Final at the Bedford International Stadium Harriers enjoyed five event wins on the day and a number of second places, but as ever suffered from an inability to fill all of the events on the programme. Fifth place was, however a very good performance and bodes well for next year when some younger athletes at the club will be more ready for this level of club team competition.
Sophie Tooley claimed the women’s 800m in 2:13.40 with a huge winning margin of more than five seconds. Liv Stillman won the women’s 3000m with 10:30.28, Cerys Aboagye the women’s discus with 38.50m and Oli Hector the men’s 110m hurdles with 15.75. The mixed 4 x 100m relay team of Lily-Rose Brown, Ella Rennie, Joseph Johnson-Cole, Rikaion Smith were the last of the Herne Hill winners on the day with 45.80, inaugural club record for this event.
Second placed athletes were sprinters Rikaion Smith in the men’s 100m with a wind assisted 10.66, Kristal Ama-Awuah women’s 100m with 11.80, also wind aided, and U17 star Ella Rennie the women’s 200m with 24.88. Adam Thompson was second in the men’s 400m with 51.29, Peter Chambers men’s 3000m with 8:42.82 and Aboagye added to her discus win, placing second in the women’s shot with 12.54m.