Emer Casey London 10K 2015 – Results
Lucky 7 is apparently the world’s favourite number and after the 7th edition of the Emer Casey London 10K it is hard to disagree. The weather may have been gloomy, but the Emer Casey Foundation and Herne Hill Harriers, superbly supported by Addiscombe Hockey Club and SE Plumbing & Heating and – most importantly – over one hundred hardy runners combined to make the 2016 run the most successful yet.
In the host club’s own Sean Fitzpatrick (34:48) the race even yielded a winner with strong connections to County Cork for the first time as he led the field along the foggy pathways of Brockwell Park from gun to tape, staving off a late challenge from Gregory Nicholas (34:59) in the last kilometre to claim the gold medal. Not far behind them came another Herne Hill Harrier, Dan Taylor (35:22), in third place which when combined with a fine run from Alex Hobley (36:19) in seventh place was more than enough to secure the honours in the men’s team race.
The women’s title was claimed by Lucy Wertheim (39:16) with a distinguished performance and a smile on her face to strike gold, while Ola Balme (41:00) led home a strong contingent from Dulwich Runners to claim the silver medal and, together with Ros Tabor (44:53) and Susan Cooper (45:22) a share of the spoils in the women’s team race for another first, this time it being the maiden victory by a visiting team in this event. Former winner and staunch supporter of the event, Nikki Sturzaker (41:23), claimed the individual bronze medal with a fine improvement on her time from last year.
The veterans’ prize list increased this year with the introduction of additional categories, and it was Oliver Williams (36:07) who claimed the M40 prize with an accomplished effort which saw him finish fifth overall, and Mark Bebbington (44:38) became the first M50 winner. Joanne Geraghty (43:12) flew the flag for Crawley AC to reclaim the W35 title, whilst Ros Tabor secure the W45 prize.
As always, none of this would have happened without the help of an army of volunteers and thank you, in particular, to SE Plumbing & Heating for sponsoring the event – we have been privileged to work with you and hope that our partnership will continue to grow – do check them out at www.seplumbingandheating.co.uk !
We are also grateful to the fantastic support Addiscombe Hockey Club for supporting the event for the first time and sponsoring the medals; and to the Florence, Blackbird Bakery and Pizza Express for their donations to the prize fund.
But for all the talk about prizewinners, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the real winner on the day yet again was the Emer Casey Foundation. The weather may not have been as favourable as in previous years, but Brockwell Park once again glowed with effort and endevaour, illuminated by the sight of so many finishers sporting the luminous race t-shirt in the Foundation’s colours. It was indeed a sight to behold!
James Ward – Race Organiser