Welcome to Hillingdon Athletics Club
Hillingdon Athletic Club wants to give every member from aged 9 upwards the opportunity to train and participate at his or her best level, in a professional and happy environment and be recognised locally as such a club.
We are club that provides for it’s members from Junior to veteran ages the opportunty to compete in Track and Field, Road and Cross Country events both locally and nationally. All Standards Welcome!
TCS London Mini Marathon 2024
We’re inviting young Hillingdon residents between the ages of 11 and 17 years to a trial to be selected to represent Team Hillingdon at the 2024 TCS London Mini Marathon. This is an annual sports event, in which young athletes from across 33 London Boroughs and nine regions of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales compete against each other in a 2.6km road race. This year’s event will take place on Saturday 20th April 2024.
Who Can Apply?
The race is open to runners aged between 11 and 17 and covers 2.6 km of the main London Marathon route. To be eligible to represent Team Hillingdon, athletes must either live or go to a school in the borough.
There are three main age categories for the 2024 race as follows (both male and female entrants in each category):
- Under-13 male and female (School years 7 and 8) – must have been aged 11 or 12 on Wednesday 31 August 2023;
- Under-15 male and female (School years 9 and 10) – must have been aged 13 or 14 on Wednesday 31 August 2023;
- Under-17 male and female (School years 11 and 12) – must have been aged 15 or 16 on Wednesday 31st August 2023.
Further information on these age categories can be found on the London Marathon website at https://www.tcslondonmarathon.com/the-event/tcs-mini-london-marathon/the-championships
How to enter
Stage One – Team Hillingdon Selection Process:
To be selected we are inviting young people to attend specific trial/run sessions. We will be using Parkrun, Power of 10 or a recorded race track time as qualifying time submissions to select the final team.
Parkrun details:
- Distance – a national 5km run
- When – every Saturday
- Start Time – 9.00am
- Website – http://www.parkrun.org.uk/
You can refer to the Parkrun website for details of your local run and the course route.
Stage Two – Register for selection
- To take part in a parkrun you need to register online in advance of the first race (http://www.parkrun.org.uk/register/). You only need to register once to get your unique bar code.
- You must take this bar code to every parkrun you take part in, otherwise your time cannot be accredited to you. Parkrun volunteers scan the bar code at the finish line to record who you are and what position you finish within your age group.
- Once you have a recorded time either through Parkrun or other race meets/avenues, please submit your race time and complete this form – https://forms.office.com/
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- It is important to note that boroughs are only allowed to select 6 runners in each age category, therefore selection will be robust.
What Happens Next?
Subject to your race submission time, we will select participants in each age category. For further information on representing Team Hillingdon, contact us by email at sportsandphysicalactivity@hillingdon.gov.uk
TCS Mini London Wheelchair and Ambulant/ Para Marathon
Wheelchair and ambulant athlete entry
There is also the opportunity for young athletes who use wheelchairs or have a physical or sensory impairment to take part in the TCS Mini London Marathon championships in the following categories:
- Under-14 Boys and Girls Wheelchair
- Under-17 Boys and Girls Wheelchair
- Under-14 Boys and Girls Ambulant
- Under-17 Boys and Girls Ambulant
How to Apply
For further details on taking part in these categories please contact Michelle Weltman, the TCS Mini London Marathon Wheelchair and Ambulant/Para Athlete Coordinator at paraathletes@londonmarathonevents.co.uk
If you would like to discuss anything further, before or after applying, please contact the Hillingdon Sport and Physical Activity team on sportsandphysicalactivity@hillingdon.gov.uk
April 5km training race
The first training race of the summer produced a very good field of 49 finishers with perfect weather conditions for those participating. James Laing finished in first place with a time of 15:56 followed closely by Kallum Pritchard in 16:05. Fits woman finisher was Nikki Penty- Alvarez finishing 7th overal in a time of 20:05. Just under a minute behind Nikki was the returning Hannah Laing in 21:03. A fine curry had been prepared by Mukesh and team back at the clubhouse on a busy night for the clubhouse team. Pete Humm, Zoe Dobbs and Dave Smith were this months quiz masters. The next training race will be on Thursday May 9th. Full results can be found April 2024 5K Training Race Result
Summer series results after race 1-Beaconsfield 5
Congratulations to Nikki Penty Alvarez who finished first HAC runner at the Beaconsfield 5 in 30th place overall and 4th woman in a time of 36:17. Jeff Shotton was the first male HAC runner home in 41st place in a time of 37:08. Fifteen HAC runners participated including Simon Claridge, whose first outing in a HAC vest for some time was a welcome return. Updated points table can be found here Summer series after race one
Tri Counties Indoor Championship; Kent, Hertfordshire & Middlesex results
Report by Doreen Evans.
On the 16th & 17th March Lee Valley hosted the Tri Counties Indoor Championship; Kent, Hertfordshire & Middlesex. Hillingdon Athletics club had a few athletes attending, not as many as could but indoors isn’t for everyone! Our athletes obviously competed for the Middlesex titles.
U15G 60m
Isabella Philips Silver Medal
U15G 200m
Isabella Philips Silver Medal
U15G 800m
Edey Kestell finished fourth
U20W Long Jump
Chiamaka Nnaji Silver Medal
U15B Long Jump
Daniel Cater Lawrence Silver Medal
U15B 800m
Charlie Reed Gold Medal
U20M 800m
Ryan Stoddart finished fourth
Senior Men High Jump
Kane Lawrence Silver Medal
Summer series fixtures 2024
Traditionally the summer series is a selection of monthly races aimed at bringing club members together in a competitive arena and promoting our club. Usually the race is followed by a social at a local cafe or pub. With this in mind this year I’ve decided to go old school with the following races.
The summer series complements the track competitions that the club competes in. Therefore the races have been chosen to avoid a clash with these events and impacting on participation in these priority fixtures.
This years races are
Monday 1st April- Beaconsfield 5 ( at the weekend there were 160 places but this race does sell out early).
Monday 6th May- Pednor 5
Saturday 10th June- Cliveden classic 10km
Sunday 21st July- Elmbridge 10km
Saturday 10th August- Burgundy race in Ruislip Woods
September ( date to be confirmed) Middlesex 10km
League tables for Men and Women will be updated after each race, scoring as follows-
-For all events you will score 5 points for taking part and finishing
-For all events the quickest male and female athletes across the line will each earn another 20 points, second 19 and so on
Your overall score for the summer series will be the total of your points scored for the events you compete in.
You are responsible for your own entry for each of these races
Nikki 2024 Annapurna Marathon Challenge
On a sunny but cold day in November 2023, Nikki Penty-Alvarez and Coach Vicky Brownlee made their way to the well-trodden paths of Northala Fields, to run a 10k race hosted by Nepal Run UK. Nikki was first lady across the finish-line, and with that achievement came the prize – or perhaps the ‘challenge’ – of entry into the 2024 Annapurna Marathon.
Nikki joined the club in late 2022, having only ever run solo and racing a couple of half marathons. As Coach Andy Torrance often likes to tell, she came to her first training session on a Thursday and was wearing a HAC vest for the opening race of the Met League two days later at Claybury! Taking the plunge to agree to run her first ever marathon so far from home is something more of a commitment though. The event will involve a six-day hike to reach the altitude of 4100m, before racing the 26.2 miles of technical trails around Annapurna base camp on June 3rd 2024, against the
back drop of the Nepalese mountain range that boasts the 10 th highest peak in the world.
Nikki will be fundraising for “the other HAC” in her life: Hillingdon Autistic Care and Support are a local charity that support families across the borough navigate the ups and down of life with Autism. They plug the gaps where other services are unable to meet the needs of people with Autism, supporting them and their families to “minimise disability and maximise ability”.
If you would like to sponsor Nikki on her run and see her progress with the journey at each stage, the justgiving link is: justgiving.com/page/nikki-runs-nepal
In an effort to crowdfund as much of her travel expenses as possible the clubhouse will help Nikki host a Fish & Chips Quiz and Raffle in the weeks leading up to the race – we hope to see as many of you there as possible!
Met League Trent Park- Womens report
HAC Juniors Met League Results – Trent Park
Well done to all the athletes who took part over the season and a massive thanks you to all the coaches who have given their time over the past months to coach, encourage and help the athletes through the cross country season.
Report by Peter Lewis
EA U20/U17/U15 Indoor Champs report
This weekend saw the England Athletics U20/U17 & U15 Indoor Championship. This is an annual event which takes place at the England Institute of Sport in Sheffield. Whilst it’s an ‘open’ competition, every athlete needs to meet qualifying times before they can enter the competition. Three Hillingdon athletes chose to make the trip. It’s an exciting event with the best of the crop showcasing their skills over two full days of events, all of which are live streamed – so you can watch it on the telly! Parents who accompany their athletes have the joy of buying tickets to watch their children.
Charlie Reed U15B 800m
A great run on Saturday afternoon with a PB 2:05:55 to qualify for the final on Sunday. The final was a fast pace & Charlie came in fifth.
Isabella Phillips U15G 200m
The first race of the day on Sunday and a fast run, a new PB 26:00, which gave her a qualifying place in the semi finals. The semi’s were tough and Isabella did not go through to the final.
Dejean Jarrett U15B 200m
In the third heat and the boys fly round the track, unfortunately DeJean did not qualify for the semi finals.
A huge commitment shown by these athletes & their family to attend this event & they all did really well. Hillingdon AC was very well represented by these young athletes & there is definitely more to come from ALL our junior athletes as the main season commences in April.
Report by Doreen Evans
Elsie Fitzgerald wins Middlesex Schools X country
Elsie Fitzgerald one of our regular athletes, who came into the Club through the starter group with Jim Flanders is a regular contributor to XC events. Earlier this week she won the Year 7 Middlesex Schools XC event.
Congratulations to Elsie.
London Indoor Games U13/U15/U17 report
Annamarie Baker Lopes ran her first indoor competition, a new 60m time of 8.34 & an indoor 200m 27.40
Cameron Morris ran a solid 8.51 in 60m
Charlie Reed ran a solid 2:08:82 in 800m
Dejean Jarrett knocked his 60m time down to 7.80, a new PB.
Dylan Lewis rang a strong 800m with 2:13:10 time
Rafael Pequeno had a strong run with 24.16 PB 200m
Shaan Tumber did his first 400m indoors, with a new time of 56.34
Yuvvraj Gadday ran a solid 25.84 for 200m, his first indoors
Zakariye Aliabdi ran a solid 25.08 for 200m, his first indoors.
Well done to everyone for taking part, the season is young & there will be lots more to come from our athletes.
Couch to 5km course starting in March
Want to start running but don’t know where to begin? Whether you are starting from scratch or coming back after a lay off after injury our couch to 5km course will help you gradually build up your fitness and stamina. Run by qualified England Athletics coaches the 8 week course, based in Ruislip starts on Wednesday 27th March 2024 and costs just £20. If you want to get fit, have fun and make new friends sign up by emailing davidalan.smith2@gmail.com
Bridget Bamford rest in peace
Bridget sadly passed away on 4 January at the age of 99. Her funeral will be held at Breakspear west chapel on Friday 9 February at 1.45 followed by afternoon tea at a venue to be announced. Family flowers only donations to St Luke’s Hospice. Dress code – black not essential as Bridget liked bright colours so wear whatever makes you happy,
Bronze for Charlie Reed at the Southern England AA Under 15 champs
Hillingdon Ladies at Welwyn Garden City – 13th January 2024 Metropolitan League Race 4
A disappointingly small number of just 12 Hillingdon Senior and Veteran ladies travelled to Stanborough Park on a cool but pleasant Saturday on an amended course which was definitely longer than the normal 8 kilometres.
The saving grace for us was the fact this was a VERY strong team and everyone started and finished this hilly and challenging 3 and a half lap course although Nastaran was kind enough to give the other 178 ladies a two minute start!!! We gladly welcomed back Carole Coulon and Beverley Whitfield who finished in 10th and 19th positions. They were followed by Catriona Paterson in 45th, Katie Newman and Nikki Penty-Alvarez in 64th and 65 positions and Heather Paterson completed the A team in 72nd position. That gave us 207 points and a good 6th position on the day out of 12 teams in the top division. We stay in 8th position overall.
The second team was made up of Captain Melanie Spencer in 90th, Karen O’Rourke in 121st, Zoe Dobbs in 128th, Nastaran Sepanj in 164th and Coach Vicky Brownlee in 171st. These performances gave us 84 points and 10th position out of twelve teams in division 2 on the day and we are 11th overall but just a few points behind London Frontrunners in 10th.
Sadly we had so few runners today that Lucy Duncan in 176th was our only scorer for our third team and her 3 points in division 3 meant we finished 17th on the day and are 14th overall.
In Veterans division one, our two superfast Vets Carole and Beverley supported by Melanie and Karen meant our A team finished 3rd equal on the day and move up to 7th position in 12 team division 1. Our points total was so high today that with another strong performance in the last fixture we could possibly move up to 4th position. Zoe, Vicky and Lucy scored for our incomplete B team who are now 5th in the same division following their 8th position today. Sadly with not enough runners to fill the B team we obviously had no score at all for our C team who now sit equal bottom of 12 team division two. We are the ONLY club to have all three Vets teams in the top two divisions and we are in real danger of losing that claim to fame
WE NEED GOOD TURNOUTS IN THE LAST FIXTURE AT TRENT PARK IN A MONTHS TIME TO AVOID RELEGATIONS OF OUR SENIOR B TEAM AND OUR VETERANS C TEAM!!!
Please make EVERY EFFORT to make it to the last fixture as the METROPOLITAN CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE is a PRIORITY for the club and we have made great strides in the last few years and we do not want waste those previous efforts!!!!!
So WELL DONE everyone who ran at Welwyn – a poor turnout and but some GREAT performances but PLEASE PLEASE make EVERY EFFORT to make it to the last fixture.
Keep running and stay healthy!!
