Alastair's Reports

Dave Bedford was the only British runner ever to break the 10,000m track World record with 27:30.8. It was at Crystal Palace on the 13th of July, 1973, exactly 50 years ago on the 13th of July 2023...

Malvin Greston Whitfield, was born in Bay City, Texas, October 11th 1924 & died November 19th 2015. Perhaps, the greatest compliment he ever had in his life was, by the President of the United States...

Known as Kip Keino by most, was brought up by an aunt, as his parents died when he was young. He came from Nandi, in the Rift Valley in Kenya. He will definitely go down as the first great African...

The last British World 10,000m record holder could have gone Faster! A.A “When you were running well and broke the 10,000m World record, some athletics fans pointed out that your run at Portsmouth, in...

Brian Stanford Hewson (Born Croydon 4th of April 1933-Died South Africa 13th of September 2022) My memories of going to the White City Stadium in the middle to late 1950’s was, to see a stylish two...

Christopher Thompson was born in Barrow in- Furness-on the 17th of April 1981. He has been a superb, road runner as well as a ‘Class’ middle distance track runner and a good cross-country man too so...

Alex Lepretre turned 30 recently and, has had an outstanding and surprising athletic career, so far. He did over 3 hours for a marathon back in 2014, as an ‘Under 23’ student. His next run over that...

“ You have been President of the Middlesex Association in 2012 and the seeding officer this year and, have won Middlesex titles over 400, 800 and 1500 and to add to that, you won the Middlesex 800 12...

William De Cothi was another who ran in the Berlin Marathon and the Highgate Harrier finished in a respectable time of 3:05.30. However, his best marathon time is 2:44.54, which he ran in 2019. An...

MAUREEN BONANNO-SMITH (10/7/35 to 16/8/22) achieved much in her life and became a Freeman of the City of London because of that. It was only a few years ago that she was guiding athletes at the finish...

So many athletes have benefited over the years due to the invention of the 'Night of the 10,000m PB's', which began in 2013 thanks to the originator Ben Pochee, once an international himself. One of...

Highgate Harrier Rebecca Johnson, who has been studying at Edinburgh University, has run some good times on the track recently. At the BMC Gold Standard meeting at Watford on 18 May she ran 4:25.65...

On the 14th of May, under the expert organisation of Ben Pochee's team, the Night of the 10,000m PB's truly lived up to it's name and all the way round the track was thick with spectators. For the...

Ron Hill MBE ‘A Legendary Character’ (March 2022) Ron Hill will go down in athletics history as one of the ‘Greatest’ all-round distance competitors, not just as a ‘Big’ Championship marathon winner...

Looking Back The first ever World IAAF athletics Cup was held in Dusseldorf, West Germany on the 2-4 of September 1977 and, in some ways, more exciting than the following one’s. Perhaps Dusseldorf...

On the 19th of February Highgate Harriers’ senior men go for their eighth consecutive victory, out of 21 clubs, in the Metropolitan League Cross Country at Trent Park, Cockfosters. They have an...

The Olympian and GB distance runner Timothy Frederick Kemball Johnston died in October 2021, aged 80. Tim went to Bedales public school, where he wrote some new records on the books, and then won two...

Ron Hill, who died on 23 May 2021, will go down in athletics history as one of the ‘Greatest’ all-round distance competitors, not just as a ‘Big’ Championship marathon winner but as one of the truly...

With the Tokyo Olympics approaching, Alastair Aitken looks back on Ann Packer, who won gold and silver at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and her husband Robbie Brightwell, who took a relay silver at the...

When I was 8 years old, I was taken, with my brother Ian, to my first ever big athletics meeting, which was the AAA Championships at the White City Stadium. My father, Colonel David Aitken, was a...

The Night of 10,000m PB's scheduled to be held at Parliament Hill Fields athletics track on June 5th 2021 has been cancelled, and the British Olympic 10,000m Trials and European Cup will now be held...

Olympic walker Vincent Paul Nihill died aged 81 on the 15 December 2020 in a care home, but as a competitive athlete he was among the very best race walkers in the world. For much of his life he lived...

The thoughts of everyone at Highgate Harriers are with the family, friends and club mates of Chris Smith of Thames Valley Harriers who has tragically died aged 43 whilst out running in the Perthshire...

On October 8th, George Gandy, the international coach, died in hospital aged 80. Anyone who is or was involved with high-level athletics will remember him as, countless Loughborough University...