Highgate Harriers Gate Magazine

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The Gate September 2007

New Annual Subscription Rates!!!

All athletes now have to be registered with England Athletics to compete for Highgate Harriers or any other athletics club in the UK. Only fully paid-up members of Highgate Harriers have been registered with England Athletics.
To cover the cost for registration of our athletes with England Athletics (currently £3; £5 from next year) we recommend that the AGM approves an increase in the Highgate Harriers subscription rates for anyone paying after Christmas.

New rates after Christmas:

Over 20 years of age:	£43 (£59 including vest)
20 and under & full-time students:	£23 (£38 including vest)
The renewal fee is due on 1st September of every year.
To avoid late payment in the future, please consider paying by standing order. Standing order mandates are available from Joseph Lowe or Astrid Wingler

The Gate September 2007

Jack Petchey Award Winners
Michael Gallagher (May)	Eucalypta Bradley (June)
We have been successfully running the Achievement Award scheme since June 2006. Each month our athletes aged 11-25 vote amongst themselves to elect a winner, based not just on performance but also on things like attitude and attendance. The monthly winner receives a certificate and the opportunity to choose what the £200 donated by the Jack Petchey Foundation is used for to the benefit of the club. Previous winners have put this money towards club t-shirts, notice board, spikes and the club tent as well as numerous other useful items. A full list of winners is posted on the notice board. Zahra Akinpeju (U17W) got the YAL athlete of the match award for her 26.43m discus throw. (She also won the shot and javelin)
YOUTH SUPPORT COORDINATOR
I was recently appointed the clubs Youth Support Coordinator for athletes aged under 17. My role will include responsibility for communication with the athletes and their parents, communication with coaches, keeping up-to-date records of our youngsters and investigating funding opportunities. I will be the first point of contact for the athletes and parents should there be any queries or concerns and I will be available at the track during training nights. Graham Norris

The Gate September 2007

HIGHGATE MENS SUMMER REPORT 2007 By Alastair Aitken

Simeon Williamson, the British Universities Indoor & Outdoor sprint Champion and Under 23 European 100m Champion (Championship Best of 10.10) was Highgate's most prominent athlete in the Summer months and, was unlucky not to have had a place kept open for him by the UK selectors for the World Championships in Osaka, which he should have easily clinched when, first winning the 'Nullified' European Under 23 Final in 10.28 and then the very next day nailing the opposition by winning the Final re-run in 10.22. However, in my interview with him at a Southern League' two seasons ago in Athletics Weekly regarding whether he looked forward to 2012. He remarked about it being more interesting to go abroad for the Olympics to Bejing because he lived in London "I am going to concentrate on trying for the Olympics in Bejing. I would rather go there". He added 'If I am still running when 2012 comes around, then it would be a bonus.' The club wish him all possible success in preparing for that event.
To my mind, some of Williamson's inspirational efforts have rubbed off a bit on some of the sprinters in the club, who look good for the future. The slightly older guard were performing well this year Greg Smith (after injury) and Dwain Broomfield to name two but Highgate have several youngsters with good prospects like Kristain Clarke, Frances Asante, Hakeem Aderbigbe, Jessie Mendes, Marius and Eric Guei, and Frankie Lee Farmer. University College men William and George Laing are amongst the middle distance men coming through too.
Again, like last year, the oldest and youngest talents came to the fore. Sylvester Stein, author, publisher and playwright, at 86 years old, won the 'Over 85' British Masters 100m in 20.82 and the Veterans Athletics Club 100 in 21.9 but modestly pointed out he was slowing up

a bit with age! At the other end of the scale, 12 year old, Michael Gallagher, who had only taken up running this year, has already run 14 seconds for 100m and 30 seconds for the 200.
Jeremy Rogers, Joseph Lowe, Jose Barretta, Alistair Lindsay, Eric Southam plus triathlete Jon Gardner have been keeping the club well known on the roads at various venues up and down the country. The big local success for the Club was their domination of the Hampstead 10k road race, as they came first and second teams home. The first four overall in the race were Henry Dodwell (32:49); Dale Bickham (33.29); Ryan Mackinley (34:09) and Chris Beecham (34:23). Chris Chapman led the 'B' team home.
The Southern League Division One fixtures for Highgate were successful for the club as Highgate improved on 10th of 25 clubs last year to 7th place by the end of the season. Although the club had a couple of good wins at Parliament Hill on the 5th of May and Brighton on the 23rd, they sometimes managed without any specialist throwers and on one occasion they had none of their top dozen distance men so, despite the 'yawning gaps' at times the team Manager, Richard Priestley, worked wonders with the teams he had.
I must admit that things would have been a little better if we had some of the sponsorship some of the other clubs had. For the last meeting on August the 4th we went down to Braunton in a mini bus and after 5½ hours, we just made the start and ended up only half a point away from second place but, the comfortable winners, Tunbridge AC, had all stayed at a hotel near the event the night before, which says something! One must add though that they would not have had Dennis Nooluke, the triple jumper,
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The Gate September 2007

HIGHGATE MENS SUMMER REPORT 2007 continued .....
keeping people entertained on the mini bus on the way home! Certainly in the case of two individuals, Mathew Dore-Weeks and Simon Child, the Southern league matches brought out the best in them. As hurdlers and jumpers they both did some good personal bests' Child did 54.8 for the 400 hurdles and Dore-Weeks 15.6 for the 110 hurdles. They were ably backed up at times by Ollie Barnet and Jou Jou Bola. Glen Saqui and Henry Dodwell were a lethal combination when they ran away with 5000m in Devon at the last meet and Peter Downie and future prospect Atak Diing always were useful in the middle distances, right through the season and when Pat Davis turned up he was a 'Class' act in the 800 or the 4x400 relay.	We could do with Dominic Hall back who was injured though. John Tartaru is always useful in the field but was a bit rusty with lack of training in his last meet. The revelation was the 'All Rounder' who came to the club purely as a javelin thrower this year by the name of Thierry Lebreton. The Parisian amassed so many points in the Inter-Club Challenge event that it really helped Highgate end up second to Shaftesbury in the Men's section at the end of the season. There is no doubt that if Richard Priestley is at the helm for the Southern League events again next season Highgate can look forward to another exciting summers' athletics.
Conway, South Carolina, USA $109.99 On ebay Seller unknown (thanks to Shanne)
Jim Evans Many of you will remember Jim Evans who died just over a year ago aged 71. Jim was born in Central London, emigrated to New Zealand then returned to UK and joined Highgate in October 1960. Mainly a track runner he was a good half mile/miler and competed many times for the club. Later he took up race walking, then very strong at Highgate, and among his races was the London to Brighton. We needed Timekeepers so Jim became a timekeeper and for many years most older members will remember him as our chief timekeeper. When the call came for more coaches, Jim became a sprint coach and among his young athletes was Tyrone Edgar, then a Highgate member. We have missed Jim who was a quiet but dedicated member of Highgate.

The Gate September 2007


HIGHGATE SPLASH AND RUN TO VICTORY Highgate's Chris Panayiotou broke the course record with a time of 33 minutes in the duathlon on Hampstead Heath. He was joined by Jack and Lawrence Matthewman to win the team award. The first woman home was Highgate Harrier, Sula Young. She was fifth overall and was joined by Jo Carritt and Astrid Wingler for the third team.
Henry Dodwell won the Hampstead 10k 2nd Dale Bickham 3rd Ryan McKinley 4th Chris Beecham completed the winning team. Jeffrey Wiseman was first over 70
Esther Evans was the first woman in the Cambridge Duathlon. She also won her age group in the duathlon world championships in Gyor, Hungary	Chris Chapman, beat a field of 241 to win the Mornington Chasers' Regents Park 10k
	The women's team of Esther Evans, Astrid Wingler, Kate Jenrick, Svenja Abel, Louise Burnie and Fiona Burnie came 4th in the Southern 6 stage Road Relay Championships
Sylvester Stein won the British 'Over 85' title for the 100m in 20.82	Dave Burrows was 5th in the Coastal Challenge race and 3rd in the Devenport Classic 5k in Auckland, New Zealand
Ben Noad beat 305 runners to win the Dulwich 5k road race
Atak Diing ran a personal best of 1:56.8 to win the 800m at the inter-club challenge
	Henry Dodwell won the Barry 5 miles road race and ran a new course record of 26:07 at Wimbledon Park
Nicky Martyn who was the leading veteran in the London Marathon last year was second veteran over 40 in the race this year	Sinead Gutzmore won bronze in the SEAA triple jump
I ran in the marathon for Highgate too and finished in 3.31.26 - but woke up in hospital. Ivan Wall

The Gate September 2007

European gold for Islington sprinter Simeon (courtesy Islington Gazette)
	SIMEON WILLIAMSON admitted he was 'still in shock' after becoming the second fastest man in Britain this year with a gold medal-winning 100m time of 10.10 seconds on Friday. Williamson announced his arrival in the big time of British athletics after winning gold at the European Under-23 Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. The 21-year-old Highgate Harriers sprinter from Islington produced a stunning run that not only won gold ahead of his great rival and recent European Cup champion Craig Pickering, but also set a new championship record and personal best time.
"I was shocked when I saw the time and I am still in shock now, it was unbelievable," said Williamson, who grew up in Copenhagen Street, Islington, and went to St Mary Magdalene Primary School in Liverpool Road. "I really was speechless afterwards and it took a while to sink in, but it feels pretty good!" added the sprinter whose previous personal best time was 10.22 seconds. "I ran that pb a few weeks ago and I knew I was in good form after coming back from the injury I had last year, but there was no way I expected to run a time that fast. "Now I just have to try and do it more consistently, to run under 10.20 in every race and take it from there."

The Gate September 2007

Stories from the World Masters in Riccione, Italy
September 07

There were a dozen of us went as officials from the UK and about the same number from the USA with a handful from other countries. As well as the Italians, of course.
It started with a parade of athletes to an arena on the beach with a variety of interesting performers. The parade was led by the "tax police" which was emblazoned on their fluorescent jackets!
Now this is the calm, warm season on the Adriatic coast but on the first day we got drowned and blown away. There was so much debris from the storm we had to postpone the cross-country. The second day we got wet and blown away again. I was on the track lap recording the 5000m Walk. The wind took everything - DQ boards, lap counter, lapboard and bell, etc. At another track the high jump bed did somersaults.
Back to the lap counter. Athletes wear a chip (as we do in major road races and inter-counties cross country) and an electronic scoreboard shows "laps to go" displayed against the competitor number. There were cries of "what's my number" in various languages from competitors seeing the board for the first time. It was wonderful provided a) it didn't fail as in the M45 10000m or b) the ambulance didn't back into it as it did in the 10k road walk!
The officials were in a hotel which faced the sea at the front (and the railway at the back). It claimed to be 4 star but the general appearance was less. We heard that it had gone into liquidation and been bought by Romanians. The cleaners were Romanian and kept the place spotless.
They fed us superbly. Breakfast from

06:00 for those of us on the early shift - most of us for most days for the 07:00 bus - depositing us at three different stadia. Dinner was at 19:30 with 2 pasta dishes and an ENORMOUS selection of everything else all beautifully prepared and presented, then lovely Italian desserts and fresh fruit (not forgetting the wine). Some nights we returned at midnight, still to a sumptuous spread.
We were put into teams of 4 labelled A to Z and allocated to a set of events. For some events two, sometimes three, teams were put together. I was in a track team and most days we had very few gaps in our "shift". Perhaps the most concentrated effort was eleven 5000m races. As one race finished and we were collating the result the next race was waiting on the track. Lap recording was done in pairs, usually with people speaking the same language. For one event I was the only English speaker so I was paired with an Italian who knew the numbers in English (my Italian is almost non-existent). As the races got exciting and more difficult he would lapse into Italian!
Language is a problem but not between the British and the Americans, surely. Wrong! At dinner each evening we would catch up on what everybody had been doing for the day. One of the Americans declared she had been "shagging the shot". The Brits fell off their chairs! I think the word we would use is "retrieving"
Perhaps the most difficult task was recording the 1500m. 15 in a race with four-figure numbers. You cannot
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The Gate September 2007

Stories from the World Masters in Riccione continued .....

physically write down 60 figures (4 x 15) in the time it takes them to cross the line! We tried writing the last two figures only but it was surprising how many duplicates there were in one race. We tried using leg numbers but athletes are generally careless about putting them on securely (women are better than men!) and don't realise how important they are in all races not run in lanes.
My final task was directing (Italian) traffic for the marathon. It was my most difficult task in finding out what I had to do. I was number 29 on the list with 40 beside my name (this transpired to be position 40 on the marathon map). First task, find your team leader and stick to him like glue. I had sussed out the course in

advance which was just as well. We were taken by bus to our marshalling point but abandoned at the end and left to find our own way home. I had to stop traffic from a side road (with one crash barrier and a red flag) then turn them left on the wrong side of the road when there were gaps. Now not speaking Italian was probably an advantage as I suspect some of the answers I got were rather rude. In fact, it was quite like home. I think next time I am a marshal I will talk to the drivers in French.

Jeanne Coker

Simeon Williamson

Britain's Simeon Williamson reclaimed the 100m gold medal at the World Student Games - 24 hours after having it taken away from him in Bangkok. The Londoner won the first race in 10.28 seconds but officials later decided the race was run unfairly because of a timing malfunction. They ordered a rerun on the following day but European U23 champion Williamson won it again in a faster time of 10.22seconds. China's Zhang Peimeng took silver and Canadian Neville Wright the bronze.

Williamson was stunned after the first race when the Chinese and Ukrainian teams claimed timing sheets showed he had left the blocks .0001 seconds early. But while China's Zhang crossed in 10:30 in the rerun, Williamson actually increased his winning margin to 0.08 of a second. The second race was run in pouring rain at a near-empty stadium. And after crossing the line Williamson put his index finger over his mouth in a mocking attempt to silence his opponents. In front of a dozen cheering British fans, Williamson again grabbed a Union Flag - as he had the previous day - and completed a lap of honour.

The Gate September 2007

Hakeem Aderibigbe
Eric Guei
Jessie Mendes
and Frankie Lee-Farmer

A club record in the 4x100m relay with 45.1secs

London Schools

Gold IG Zahra Akinpeju discus

Silver IB Hakeem Aderibigbe 100m

Silver IG Hannah Ashman 300m.

Bronze JG Eucalypta Bradley 75mH

Bronze IB William Laing 1500

Gold IB 4 x 100m club record 45.1sec

Frankie-Lee Farmer, Jessy Mendes, Eric Guei and Hakeem Aderibigbe

Middlesex Championships

Michael Gallagher (U13): gold 75mH, silver 200m, bronze 100m

Samara Williams (U15) gold 800m

Oxford 5 Star Competition Overall winner Eucalypta Bradley Gold U15G Eucalypta Bradley Silver U13B Michael Gallagher Silver U11G Sheenelle Hayden 10 Step Competition Gold U9G Elisabetta Quacquarelli
		U17 8-Counties Middlesex Team Men (1st) Hakeem Aderibigbe and Eric Guei Women (4th) Hannah Ashman and Zahra Akinpeju

The Gate September 2007

FIXTURE LIST

Please check the website for the latest fixtures

The Gate September 2007

Coaching Times:
Tuesday:     5:00pm Young Athletes 11+ (X-Country & Middle Distance)
                  6:00pm Young Athletes 11+ (Track & Field) 
                  6:30pm onwards - Seniors (Track & Field)
Thursday:   5:15pm Young Athletes 7-11 (Track & Field & Games)
                  6:00pm Young Athletes 11+ (Track & Field )
                  6:30pm onwards - Seniors (Track & Field )
Saturday:   At Hampstead Heath Extension
                  11:00am Seniors & Juniors (Middle/Long distance)
Sunday:      10:30am onwards Seniors (Track & Field)
                  11:30am Young Athletes 11+ (Track & Field)
                  12.00am All ages Throws with John Wild

		Officers President Terry Driscoll Treasurer Joseph Lowe Secretary Nick Stockman
Information & Membership Kate Jenrick (Young Athletes 7-11 years) Juliet Kavanagh (All ages Sprint, Jumps & Throws) Jack Bayliss (middle/long distance) Astrid Wingler (middle/long distance) Sarah Chapman & Rhonda Munik (11 - 17 middle distance) Graham Norris (Youth Support Coordinator)

www.highgateharriers.org.uk

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