Vale Mail Newsletter - 2022 Review

2022 Review

Vale Mail VALEOF AYLESBURY ATHLETIC CLUB

Dear Members

I thought to myself a few weeks ago... wouldn't it be nice to put out an edition of Vale Mail, we haven't produced one for so long. Now would be a brilliant time to do a '2022 Review'. Well, it seems we have been quite busy! What started out as a simple newsletter turned into this bumper issue, wanting to include as many photos as possible, illustrating everything that we do across the whole breadth of the club. More photos are available on Facebook and our website gallery .

It's been a 'getting back to normal' year competition wise. Reviewing the year, there have been happy and sad times as we have welcomed back normality.

There wouldn't be a club if it weren't for the volunteers who make everything happen. Our thanks go to everyone with any involvement in running the club, it wouldn't exist without you. Information is included throughout this newsletter for anyone considering getting involved. It really is rewarding. Currently volunteer numbers are very low and any help you can offer would be very much appreciated by those behind the scenes.

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this newsletter, especially Dan, who in writing the majority of our social media posts has provided a lot of the content herein. As well as providing many of the photographs.

Well done to all VoAAC athletes who competed throughout 2022, good luck for 2023! I hope you all enjoy reading this and catching up with the events that have taken place over the past year.

Clare Barker, VoAAC Chair

Follow us on:

Bucks Cross Country Championships

Campbell Park

The first cross country race of the new year, the Bucks Cross Country County Championships, took place in Milton Keynes. A very wet and muddy course awaited the athletes across all of the age groups.

A seven strong senior men’s team came away with 3rd place involving a 6th place for Kieran Lindars and further top 20 placings from Scott Ramsell and Roger Seed who were 19th and 20th respectively. Tim Jones took the gold in the V60 category finishing a minute and a half ahead of his nearest rival.

Other top 10 performances came in the shape of a bronze for Ewan Maxwell in the U17 men, a 5th for Thomas Fell in the U20 men and Sophie Delderfield finishing 8th in the senior women’s race. Sophie was also the 2nd V35 and Charlotte Steptoe was 3rd V40.

Full VoAAC results:

U13 Girls

17th Lucinda McRonald 9:46 22nd Isobel Ferguson 9:59

U15 Girls 13th Abigail Corby 15:15 16th Emma Corby 15:31

Senior Women

8th Sophie Delderfield 21:53 – 2nd V35 15th Charlotte Steptoe 25:13 – 3rd V40

U13 Boys 19th Joseph Storey 9:52

U17 Men

3rd Ewan Maxwell 16:20 11th Woody Day 17:22 U20 Men 5th Thomas Fell 17:22

Senior Men – 3rd Team

6th Kieran Lindars 24:34

19th Scott Ramsell 28:22

20th Roger Seed 28:52 23rd Robin Barrett 29:07 29th Adam Johnson 31:20 35th Trevor Lynch 34:06 36th Alan Roberts 36:47

V60 Men

1st Tim Jones 20:36

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

Chiltern League Round-Up

The Chiltern Cross Country League is for athletic clubs in the North West Home Counties, specifically Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire. VoAAC enters teams into the league each year and encourages all athletes within the club to compete. It is a great way for track and field athletes to maintain fitness during the winter.

College

The final two (of five) Chiltern League rounds took place in January and February at two venues in different counties.

The January round took place at Campbell Park in Milton Keynes. 39 Vale athletes took part with the top performances coming from Emile Jansen Van Rensburgh who claimed 9th in the U13 boys race with 10th place finishes for Kieran Lindars in the senior men’s race (6th in division 1), and Bali Horten in the U11 boys. Sophie Delderfield managed a creditable 13th in the senior women’s race (9th in division 1 and 2nd vet 35.)

The 5th and final round took place at Shuttleworth College in Biggleswade but unfortunately traffic and logistical issues at the venue meant that many were stuck in vehicles for long stretches, some missed their race while other races were cancelled altogether! Of those that were able to get a final race of the season, there were some fantastic performances on show and team results especially from the junior section. Luca Dolan took the highest VoAAC placing on the day with a superb 2nd in the U11 boys race. Not far behind were Peter Huck (making his VoAAC debut) with 4th and Kieran Lindars (6th) in the senior men’s race. Lucinda McRonald ran well to finish 13th (10th in division 1) in the U13 girls race.

Campbell Park and Shuttleworth

End of the season Results

Well done to all of those who competed in the league for the 2021/22 season, there were some excellent results throughout!

Full VoAAC results:

INDIVIDUAL OVERALL STANDINGS

Tim Jones - 1st (Vet 60 Men)

Sophie Delderfield - 1st (Vet 35 Women)

Kieran Lindars - 4th (Senior Men)

Roger Seed - 5th (Vet 50 Men)

Charlotte Steptoe - 5th (Vet 35 Women)

Ewan Maxwell - 8th (U17 Men)

Zachery Honour - 9th (U11 Boys)

Lucinda McRonald - 9th (U13 Girls)

Sophie Fawcett - 10th (U11 Girls)

TEAM OVERALL STANDINGS

These final results coupled with the first 3 rounds meant that (in their age groups):

U11 Girls - 3rd U17 Men - 5th

U13 Girls - 4th U11 Boys - 6th

U13 Boys - 4th U15 Girls 7th The club finished 9th overall .

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

End of the Winter season

February and March saw the end of the Cross Country and Indoor seasons.

NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cross Country continued into March with the England National Cross Country Championships taking place at a very muddy Parliament Hill in London.

Eleven VoAAC athletes took part and managed to navigate the course with the U13 girls and U13 boys fielding enough athletes to make a team.

In the U13 girls race it was Lucinda McRonald leading the VoAAC charge finishing in 235th. She was ably assisted by Isabella Banks (278th), Natasha Bradley (280th) and Riley Brown (383rd) to help the team to a 35th placed finish.

For the U13 boys, Charlie Crafts was the first VoAAC athlete home in 273rd, backed up by Lucas Garner (291st), Joseph Storey (296th) and Digby Martin (368th.) The team managed a creditable 39th overall.

Lucy Cuthbert (296th) and Iona Esslemont (324th) were our U15 girls representatives and Alan Roberts soldiered round the senior men’s race finishing 1752nd in a race that included over 2000 finishers!

MARLI JESSOP COMPLETES A GREAT INDOOR SEASON!

https://www.britishathletics. org.uk/.../day-1-live.../ (Heat can be found at 4:20:08) (Final can be found at 6:08:40)

18 year old Marli Jessop , who trains at VoAAC under coach Scott Grace, completed her indoor season by reaching the 60m hurdles final at the British Indoor Championships held in Birmingham in February.

Anyone who missed Marli competing in Day One of the championships can watch her race again via the British Athletics website (see link here top right).

February also saw Marli winning the BUCS British University Championships in Sheffield, and the Southern U20/Senior Championships at Lee Valley as well as winning a silver medal at the England U20 championships .

Marli finished her 60m hurdles indoor season ranked 4th in Europe, 2nd in the UK and 6th on the UK all time ranking for u20. Her indoor 60m hurdle time was also confirmed as 5th fastest in the world for her age group (U20)!

ENGLAND ATHLETICS U15/U17 COMBINED EVENTS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

VoAAC had one athlete at the national combined events indoor championships in Sheffield.

Olivia London took part in the U17 women category and came away with a creditable 31st place.

During the competition, Olivia managed two PB’s (in the Shot Put and 800m) and was only just outside her 60m hurdles best, while also jumping within a couple of centimetres of her bests in the Long and High Jump.

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

TEDDY HALL RELAYS

March also saw VoAAC Senior athletes fielding a team at the Teddy Hall Relays in Oxford. It started (and finished) at the famous Iffley Road Track (where Roger Bannister first broke the 4 minute mile barrier).

The VoAAC quartet consisted Oz Ellis , Andy Byerley , Andy Stephenson and then James Davis bringing the team home. They managed a very creditable 20th place out of 49.

KIERAN LINDARS TAKES PART IN THE CHALLENGE SALOU TRIATHLON

VoAAC Triathlete Kieran Lindars took part in the Challenge Salou event in Spain and managed a superb 12th place finish in an event which had the swimming section cancelled due to the low temperatures in the morning and was changed to a duathlon of a 4km run followed by 85km cycle and then 21km (half marathon) of running.

Kieran’s time of 1hr 10mins for the half marathon at the end was the 3rd fastest time of the day!

Start of the Outdoor Season

The Sportshall National Final, multiple running events and the start of the outdoor Track & Field season.

VALE TRIO HELP BUCKS TO SPORTSHALL SUCCESS!

Congratulations went to the Vale’s Adam Ankers , Thomas Babb and Ryan Ryder , who were part of the Buckinghamshire U15 Boys Sportshall Team who won the UK Sportshall National Final in Essex!

“

Brilliant day - huge thanks to all supporting and making these events happen and the training of the boys. Amazing show of sportsmanship.”

READING HALF MARATHON

Sophie Delderfield competed in the Reading Half Marathon and came away with a superb 4th place female in a time of 1hr 18mins 35seconds .

TRIO COMPETE IN GOOD FRIDAY 10 MILER

Three Vale athletes took part in the Maidenhead 10 mile race on the Friday of Easter weekend.

Nathan Jones had a storming run to finish 2nd in the race overall with a superb 53mins 13seconds.

Tim Jones (Nathan’s father) made it two 2nd places for the Jones family on the day by finishing in 82nd place and 2nd vet 60 overall with a time of 1hr 5mins 44seconds.

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

Alan Roberts completed the Vale’s trio by running 1hr 19mins 18seconds to come home in 223rd place.

VoAAC athlete parent

ELLIS TAKES 3RD IN GERMANY

Sunday 10th April saw VoAAC athlete Peter (Oz) Ellis compete in the Europe Triathlon Powerman Middle Distance Duathlon Championships in Alsdorf, Germany.

Oz completed an excellent performance in 2hrs 47mins 58seconds to finish 3rd in the Vet 35 category!

WYCOMBE PHOENIX HARRIERS INVITATIONAL & CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

The club had 14 of its young athletes competing (some for the first time) at the Wycombe Phoenix Harriers Invitational & Club Championships at the Little Marlow track.

Each of the athletes came away with a personal best which was a fantastic achievement!

Full VoAAC results:

U13 Girls

Zoe Partridge

75m –Heat: 12.52secs (-0.2) (wind legal PB) Final: 12.13secs (+2.1) (PB) Shot Put – 4:01m Long Jump – 3.28m (PB)

Natasha Rogers

75m –Heat: 11.30secs (-0.2) (wind legal PB) Final: 11.14secs (+2.1) (PB)

Long Jump – 4.02m (PB)

150m – 22.30secs (+2.5) (PB)

Lois Gromnicki

75m –Heat: 11.74secs (-0.2) (wind legal PB) Final: 11.64secs (+2.1) (PB)

150m – 23.15secs (+2.5) (PB)

U13 Boys

Krishan Shergill

100m – 15.72secs (+0.1) (PB) Long Jump – 3.27m (PB)

U15 Girls

Beatrice Peel

The standout performance of the day came from Ibukun Familoni in the U15 boys long jump who propelled himself to 6th in the country this season with a 5.65m leap!

High Jump – 1.33m (PB)

200m – Heat: 31.88secs (+2.7) (PB) Final: 32.15secs (+2.6)

Katie Clarke Shot Put – 8.98m 200m – 33.98secs (+2.0) Javelin – 21.61m (PB)

Darcy Bartlett Shot Put – 7.44m (SB)

200m – Heat: 32.93secs (+2.0) (PB)

Esther Cann

100m – 14.94secs (-0.5) (PB) Alexandra Knott 100m – 15.32secs (-0.5) (PB)

Isobel Ferguson 800m – 2:39.02 (PB)

Natasha Bradley

1500m – 5:27.87 (PB) Javelin – 7.43m (PB)

U15 Boys

Ibukun Familoni

Long Jump – 5.65m (PB) 100m – 12.31secs (+1.6) (PB) 200m – 25.37secs (+2.7) (PB) Elliot Corke

300m – 42.16secs (PB) 200m – 27.76secs (+2.7) (PB)

Year 5 Girls Quadkids

Erin Rogers

75m – 2nd 11.99secs (+3.3) (PB) Howler Throw – 4th 13.13m Long Jump – 1st 2.90m 600m – 6th 2:25.39 (PB)

Youth Development League

April saw the start of the YDL league matches with both our Upper and Lower Age Groups in action.

KESTRELS MOVE

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE

In 2013, through an initiative set up by UK Athletics, the existing National Junior Athletic League and the National Young Athletics League amalgamated to form the UK Youth Development League (YDL) for athletes under 20 years of age.

There are two different age group competitions within the YDL.

The Lower Age Group (LAG) for U13 and U15 athletes (school years 6, 7, 8 and 9)

The Upper Age Group (UAG) for U17 and U20 athletes (school years 10, 11 and for U20 - competitors who are 17 or over on 31st August within the Competition Year, but Under 20 on 31st December in the calendar year of competition).

U17 athletes are limited to 4 events and, if doing so, 1 MUST be a relay.

LAG and UAG competitions are held on separate weekend days, between April and August. YDL is similar to football leagues with promotion or relegation from the league at the end of the season.

A maximum of two athletes are selected for each event, as an A stream and a B stream.

Athletes are selected by the coaches and Team Managers to represent VoAAC at YDL league matches. During team selection an athlete’s commitment and attitude to training as well as their performance is taken into consideration. YDL is a team event with athletes competing against other clubs for points for their team. Where there are gaps in team selection, athletes may be offered the opportunity to compete in an event they are less familiar with in order to give them competitive/ event experience and to obtain additional points for their team. Occasionally athletes will be offered the opportunity to compete in a non-scoring (NS) event to obtain competition experience.

Athletes are encouraged to travel to YDL matches by coach (organised by VoAAC), travelling together forges relationships and creates a team atmosphere amongst the athletes. Parents also are encouraged to attend matches to support the team.

Each team must also provide officials (see page 21) at each match. We currently need officials for the LAG YDL, as well as Level 2 Officials for both LAG and UAG. Not providing officials can mean points being deducted from the team's match total.

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

UP TO U13 IN APRIL OF YEAR 6

Upper Age Group YDL - Match 1

VOAAC FINISH 2ND IN OPENING UPPER AGE GROUP YDL MATCH

The outdoor track and field season was now well and truly underway. The VoAAC had their opening Youth Development League (YDL) match of the season in April in Perivale, for the upper age group (U17’s and U20’s.)

There were victories for a number of athletes on the day, including wins on the track for

Full VoAAC results:

U20 MEN

100m

A 4th Quinlan Bartlett – 11.73s (+1.7)

B 3rd Christian Choy – 12.20s (-1.6)

200m

A 3rd Quinlan Bartlett – 23.86s (-0.8 )

B 3rd George Whincup – 24.27s (-1.9)

400m

A 1st George Whincup – 51.68s 3000m

A 1st Nathan Jones – 9m 19.34s

Long Jump

A 3rd Quinlan Bartlett – 6.10m

B 1st Christian Choy – 4.26m

4x100m

2nd Adam Ankers , Christian Choy , George Whincup, Quinlan Bartlett – 48.57secs

U20 WOMEN

Shot Put

A 2nd Amber-Eve Tottle – 7.91m

Discus

A 1st Amber-Eve Tottle – 18.59m

U17 MEN

100m

A 5th Adam Ankers – 12.23s (-1.7)

B 3rd Ryan Ryder – 12.64s (-2.8)

200m

George Whincup , Nathan Jones and Lucy Cuthbert and field triumphs going to Christian Choy , Amber-Eve Tottle , Nathaniel Arulanandam (twice), Ffion Mabey , Harriet Squire (twice) and Lucy Cuthbert again. This helped the team achieve a fantastic 2nd place on the day.

U17 WOMEN

A 4th Adam Ankers – 25.04s (-1.7)

B 2nd Ethan Perry – 25.61s (-2.1)

400m

A 4th Ethan Perry – 59.55s

B 3rd Ryan Ryder – 59.73s

800m

A 6th Thomas Young – 2m 24.26s

B 4th Jude Hudson – 2m 48.56s

1500m

A 2nd Woody Day – 4m 46.05s

B 2nd Jude Hudson – 5m 31.74s

3000m

A 2nd Thomas Young – 10m 12.86s

Long Jump

A 4th Ryan Ryder – 4.86m

B 1st Nathaniel Arulanandam –4.85m

Shot Put

A 3rd Nathaniel Arulanandam –9.62m

B 2nd Leo Tottle – 8.95m

Javelin

A 1st Nathaniel Arulanandam –39.56m

B 2nd Leo Tottle – 30.05m

4x100m

2nd Ryan Ryder , Nathaniel Arulanandam , Ethan Perry, Thomas Young – 50.81s

200m

A 4th Kianna De Mesa – 29.29secs

B 2nd Ffion Mabey – 30.01secs

300m

A 4th Kianna De Mesa – 46.66secs

3000m

A 1st Lucy Cuthbert – 13m 14.07s

1500m S/C

A 2nd Lucy Cuthbert – 6m 48.33s

Long Jump

A 2nd Harriet Squire – 3.27m

Shot Put

A 1st Ffion Mabey – 9.78m

B 1st Harriet Squire – 7.97m Discus

A 2nd Ffion Mabey – 24.70m

Javelin

A 1st Harriet Squire – 22.10m

B 1st Lucy Cuthbert – 20.67m

Outdoor Season Continues

Track & Field competition continues along with the odd marathon.

JESS HUNTS FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES QUALIFYING TIME

Lifetime VoAAC member Jess Hunter , coached by Scott Grace, came agonisingly close to the Commonwealth Games qualifying time for the 100m hurdles at the Loughborough International. Jess had competed earlier in the day in the guest race, clocking 13.30 seconds (+2.5) which would have been a new personal best had it not been for a slightly wind assisted run.

She managed to go even better as a guest in the match race finishing 2nd in a new personal best of 13.26 seconds (+0.3) which is 0.06seconds outside of the qualifying time for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham later in the Summer which raised

Jess to 41st on the UK all-time list for the 100m hurdles!

Scott Grace had another athlete in the race as Marli Jessop was representing GB Juniors in the match event. She came away with a 13.74 seconds clocking for 7th place.

To watch Jess and Marli’s race back follow the link below: https://www.vincosport.com /videos/154631/

DELDERFIELD SMASHES CLUB RECORD ON WAY TO 2ND IN EDINBURGH

VoAAC athlete Sophie Delderfield completed a superb Edinburgh Marathon in May, finishing 2nd and breaking her own club record in the process! Delderfield had previously only dipped under the 3hour mark once before for the marathon, doing so almost nine years ago. Today however, she obliterated that time by clocking 2hours 51mins 43seconds finishing just over 6 1/2mins behind the winner. This time puts her just outside the top 50 in the country this year for the distance.

HURDLERS CONTINUE QUICK START TO THE SEASON

Jess Hunter and her training partner Marli Jessop both continued their fine early season form.

Jess carried on from where she left off at Loughborough the previous weekend by recording two consistent performances at the European Athletics Permit meeting in Oordegem in Belgium. She clocked 13.29secs (+0.5) in her heat which was only 0.03secs slower than her time in Loughborough. In the final Jess finished 4th in 13.33secs (+0.3.)

Her training partner Marli Jessop kept things a bit more local with a fine pair of races in Dagenham at the Be Fit Today Outdoor Series meeting. She ran a 13.73secs (+0.3) and followed this up with a new personal best of 13.57secs (+2.0) later in the day. Their early season times placed them both in the top 15 in the country this season with Jess being equal 2nd with 13.26secs and Marli equal 12th on 13.57secs and also being 2nd U20 in the country to boot!

LARGE MEDAL HAUL FOR VOAAC ATHLETES AT COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

The weekend of the 14th and 15th of May saw the annual Buckinghamshire County Track & Field Championships take place at the Horspath Athletics Track in Oxford.

There were large medal hauls for VoAAC athletes in some age groups, none more so than Olivia London in the U17 women category who came away with 4 medals across the weekend, collecting a gold, two silvers and a bronze for her efforts. Other multiple medallists included Luca Toth (U17 men) who bagged 2 golds and a silver. Ibukun Familoni (U15 boys) claimed a double gold, a feat which was matched by Alex Byrom (Senior men) and Katie Clarke (U15 girls.) Ffion Mabey was the other VoAAC athlete to add more than one medal to her cabinet with a gold and a silver.

The other gold medallists were Alastair Walls and Quinlan Bartlett (both U20 men) and Jessica Hunter (Senior women.) James Hawkins (U13 boys), Leo Tottle (U17 men) and Lucy Cuthbert (U17 women) came away with a silver medal a piece with the final medal of the weekend being a bronze medal which went the way of Darcy Bartlett (U15 girls.)

Elsewhere there were personal bests for the boys from Zachary Honour , Joseph Storey , Aymen Bedjaoui , George Whincup and William Smith . On the girls side, Beatrice Peel , Lilah Stockton and Lucy Workman all set personal bests.

In total there were 22 medals captured which was one up on the Vale’s total at the championships last year with 6 more of those being gold this time round (13 golds to 7 last year.)

SOUTHERN ATHLETICS LEAGUE - MILTON KEYNES

The Southern Athletics League (SAL) is the area track and field league for clubs in the SEAA region who wish to compete in joint (male & female) teams. VoAAC enter a team into SAL each year. SAL is an adult league, with a minimum age of 15yrs, so is perfect for our older teens and Senior members. Entry is via the SAL Team Manager. We often find it difficult to put together a team in this age group as we don’t have as many T&F seniors training at the track as we would like. SAL offers the perfect opportunity to gain competition experience in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere.

U23 athlete Max Nicolle finished 3rd in the 1500m (a-string) in a seasons best time with U17 Woody Day backing his team mate up in the same race with a 3rd place in the b-string.

Alex Byrom (also an U23) ran a superb 400m hurdles (a-string) to take the victory in 59.5seconds. The team were hoping for a better turnout in the next match this weekend in Luton.

Full Vale results...

1500m

A 3rd Max Nicolle – 4m 13.5s SB

B 3rd Woody Day – 4m 50.2s400mH

22nd May saw the opening SAL match of the season in Milton Keynes. Unfortunately the team was quite short of numbers on the day but the athletes that did take part performed admirably.

400m Hurdles

A 1st Alex Byrom – 59.5secs

Lower Age Group YDLMatch 2

SECOND LOWER AGE GROUP YDL MATCH OF THE SEASON

The youngest track and field team we have comprises of the U13’s and U15’s and they travelled down to Bournemouth on the south coast to continue their summer season after opening in Winchester a couple of weeks before.

The team performed brilliantly coming away with 2nd place on the day leaving them 3rd in the league table, level with St Mary’s Richmond AC on league points and only behind on match points.

Victories were few and far between but numerous personal bests were set across the age groups and the depth of the team shone through. There were victories on the day in the U15 boys for Elliot Corke in the 300m (A-string), Natasha Bradley in the U15

girls 1500m (A-string) and Lexie Giles in the U15 girls Shot Put (B-string.)

The U13 boys had the most joy with Harry Elkins and Dele Alakuro winning both strings of the 75m sprint in personal bests of 10.4secs and 10.6secs respectively. Dele followed this up with a victory in the Long Jump (B-string) and the 4x100m team of Harry , Dele , Dylan Nowell and Ryan Acheson brought the baton home in 57.4secs for another 1st place.

The U13 girls didn’t manage a victory across the events but there were numerous top 3 finishes and almost all of the athletes set a personal best in at least one of their events!

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

U15 Boys

100m

A 3rd Harry Owen – 13.2s PB

B 2nd Mikolaj Rozacka – 13.6 PB

200m

A 3rd Elliot Corke – 26.9s PB

B 3rd Matthew Binks – 40.2s PB

300m

A 1st Elliot Corke – 42.3s

B 3rd Matthew Binks – 45.9s

Long Jump

A 3rd Mikolaj Rozacka – 4.70m PB High Jump

A 3rd Mikolaj Rozacka – 1.30m PB Shot Put

A 4th Elliot Corke – 6.04m Discus

3rd Harry Owen – 16.62m Javelin

A 2nd Harry Owen – 33.62m PB 4x100m

3rd Matthew Binks , Harry Owen , Elliot Corke , Mikolaj Rozacka 53.5s

U15 Girls

100m

A 5th Olamide Alakuro – 14.5s PB

B 4th Alexandra Knott – 14.9s PB

NS Esther Cann – 14.5s PB

NS Lucy Workman – 14.8s 200m

A 5th Olamide Alakuro – 30.90s PB

B 3rd Lucy Workman – 30.40s PB 300m

A 2nd Emma Corby – 47.7s

B 3rd Abigail Corby – 48.1s

800m

A 3rd Emma Corby – 2m 35.2s

B 2nd Abigail Corby – 2m 38.6s

1500m

A 1st Natasha Bradley – 5m 22.8s

B DNF Lexie Giles

Long Jump

A 4th Danielle Roberts – 4.27m PB

B 3rd Beatrice Peel – 3.97m PB

High Jump

A 2nd Danielle Roberts – 1.45m PB

B 2nd Beatrice Peel – 1.30m

Shot Put

A 4th Poppy Haynes – 5.32m PB

B 1st Lexie Giles – 4.57m PB

Discus

A 2nd Emma Corby – 13.77m PB

Poppy Haynes – 10.72m

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

What it takes to make a competition happen

ATHLETIC COMPETITIONS CAN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT OFFICIALS

Officials truly are the beating heart of athletics and running and at the heart of all the action. Athletics competitions cannot happen without them and all are volunteers. VoAAC welcomes volunteers who are interested in becoming officials. There is no better way to see the action up close and to make a difference to athletes of all levels.

Every time we go to a YDL match, we have to take a team of officials with us. Many coaches double up as officials, but it is also a way for parents who are at a match supporting their athlete to get involved. YDL matches are a day long event and many parents like to come along and support their athlete and the team. Getting involved in the action can break the day up, making it seem less long, whilst still being able to watch the action.

At a YDL match for instance, if we do not take along the correct amount of officials, then our team is deducted points off their total for the day. This is something that we hate to see happen after all of our athletes hard work.

VoAAC provide support through out your journey to qualify as an official. At the moment we need a whole set of officials for the Lower Age Group in 2023, as all have moved up with their athletes to the

CAN YOU HELP ON THE DAY?

If you are supporting the team at competitions there are many ways that you can help out on the day. It might be as simple as supporting the team manager by making sure everyone gets their competition numbers, and helping with safety pinning them to athlete’s vests. Or ensuring athletes get to their events in time.

Upper Age Group. We have entered a team into 2023, as we don’t want to disappoint athletes, however, we really do need your help to make it happen.

An Assistant Track & Field Official course is a single four hour workshop. After which trainee officials need to gain experience by attending a minimum of two athletics meetings assisting a qualified Official and complete the Experience Log on the Application Form detailing each meeting which is signed off. All officials are DBS checked. An online H&S course is also required. Then you are up and running as an assistant official and able to help officiate at matches, supporting the team. It’s a great way to meet fellow parents and there is great camaraderie amongst the officiating team.

If your child competes and you are interesting in getting involved as an official, email Pat Card at voaacmembersec@btinternet.com . Pat is trying to arrange a group workshop if we get enough response. Minimum age is 14, so an interested sibling of older athlete is also eligible.

What do officials do?

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=4aSC_gkdYIs

TEAM MANAGERS

We are also looking for some parents who are willing to become YDL Team Managers, as again we are without these for the Lower Age Group for 2023. Since COVID, as with many grass roots sports, finding volunteers is very difficult. There is also a two year gap in new volunteers coming through the club due to COVID restrictions. All of this has a knock on effect and leaves us without the usual following through of age group support. Anyone volunteering to help Team Manage would be supported by current Team Managers to get you up and running. Please have a conversation with your child’s coach if it’s something you could help with.

Upper Age Group YDLMatch 2

What do officials do?

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=J57joWL14Nw

SECOND UPPER AGE GROUP YDL MATCH OF THE SEASON

The elder age group team travelled to Guildford for their 2nd match and came away with a 5th place on the day, putting the team in 4th after two matches. As with the lower age team we were level on league points with 2nd and 3rd place in the league, Stevenage & North Herts AC and St Marys Richmond AC, but 4th by virtue of lower match point scores.

The team was a bit thinner on the ground compared to the first league match but what the team lacked in numbers, it more than made up for in quality. There were a number of victories on the track and the field across both age groups with personal bests also being re-written across the board.

In the U20 men, Christian Choy took the win in the 100m (b-string), Quinlan Bartlett claimed the victory in the 200m (b-string) and in the 1 lap sprint Alastair Walls ran a superb 50.38secs personal best on his way to winning the 400m (a-string.)

Christian jumped his way to another 1st place with a 4.26m Long Jump (b-string.) The U20 men had two more victories to add before the day was through by taking the 4x100m race in 45.34secs (Quinlan and Christian being joined by two U17 athletes, Luca Toth and Thomas Babb ) and then following that up with a victory in the 4x400m ( Alastair , George Whincup , Quinlan and U17 Ryan Ryder ).

The U17 men were equally as successful on the track with a flurry of sprint wins from Luca Toth (100m and 200m a-string) and Thomas Babb (100m b-string.) In the field, Jack Redwood leapt to a b-string Long Jump 1st place.

There were two victories in the U17 womens events with Lucy Cuthbert battling her way to a huge PB in the 1500m S/C (a-string) of 6mins 31.80secs and Ffion Mabey also setting a personal best on her way to winning the Shot Put (a-string) with a throw just shy of 10m (9.91m).

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

Full VoAAC results:

U20 Men 100m

A 4th Quinlan Bartlett – 11.84s (-0.1)

B 1st Christian Choy – 11.95s (-1.3) PB 200m

A 3rd George Whincup – 23.86s (-1.0)

B 1st Quinlan Bartlett – 23.59s (-0.) PB 400m

A 1st Alastair Walls – 50.38s PB

Long Jump

A 3rd Quinlan Bartlett – 6.05m

B 1st Christian Choy – 4.26m Shot Put

A 2nd George Whincup – 7.76m PB Javelin

A 3rd Christian Choy – 16.97m PB 4x100m

1st Quinlan Bartlett , Thomas Babb (U17), Luca Toth (U17), Christian Choy – 45.34s

4x400m

1st Alastair Walls, George Whincup, Quinlan Bartlett , Ryan Ryder (U17) – 3:45.93

U17 Men

100m

A 1st Luca Toth – 11.64 (-1.5) PB

B 1st Thomas Babb – 12.23s (-0.5) PB

NS Jack Redwood – 12.07s (-0.4) PB

NS Saravanan Kannian – 14.40s (-0.4) PB 200m

A 1st Luca Toth – 23.05s (1.2) PB 400m

B 2nd Ryan Ryder – 60.38s 800m

A 4th Jude Hudson – 2m 37.30s PB 1500m

A 2nd Woody Day – 4m 29.13s PB

B 3rd Jude Hudson – 5m 17.63s

Long Jump

A 2nd Luca Toth – 6.21m PB

B 1st Jack Redwood – 5.47m PB Triple Jump

A 2nd Jude Hudson – 9.36m PB

Shot Put

A 2nd Leo Tottle – 9.15m PB

B 2nd Saravanan Kannian – 3.98m PB Discus

A 3rd Leo Tottle – 18.82m PB

Javelin A 4th Leo Tottle – 27.99m 4x100m 3rd Saravanan Kannian , Jude Hudson , Jack Redwood , Ryan Ryde r – 54.46s U17 Women 200m A 6th Kianna De Mesa – 29.29s (0.4) =PB B 4th Ffion Mabey – 29.72s (-0.3) PB 300m A 6th Kianna De Mesa – 47.70s B 5th Iona Esslemont – 53.56s PB 1500m A 4th Lucy Cuthbert – 5m 47.30s PB B 2nd Iona Esslemont – 6m 03.76s 1500m s/c A 1st Lucy Cuthbert – 6m 31.80s PB Shot Put A 1st Ffion Mabey – 9.91m PB Discus A 2nd Ffion Mabey – 28.28m 4x100m 4th Lucy Cuthbert , Kianna De Mesa , Iona Esslemont , Ffion Mabey – 59.14secs

June News

A number of our athletes were in track, field and road action throughout the month.

ATLETICA GENEVE - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (11TH JUNE)

We start in Switzerland where Jess Hunter was fresh off just dipping inside the qualifying time for the Commonwealth Games. Jess managed to improve her personal best (both wind assisted and not) to 13.12secs (wind legal) which sees her climb to 26th on the UK all-time list just ahead of Denise Lewis! Unfortunately this wasn't quite enough to satisfy the selectors for the Commonwealth Games with Jess missing out once the team was announced.

Here's what Jess's coach Scott Grace has to say about her 2022 season...

"Jess Hunter – 100m Hurdles. Jess returned to competition in 2022 after taking a break in 2021.

In her first season since finishing 2nd in the 2020 Indoor British Champs, and pre pandemic, Jess had her eyes set on the Commonwealth Games.

Her first big step towards this was coming second at the Loughborough International in May (fastest UK athlete). This competition really kick started Jess’ amazing season.

Following on from this, Jess raced in several major competitions, both in the UK and Europe. Through these competitions Jess ran multiple PBs, including two Commonwealth Games standards.

Sadly, due to a very restricted Team size for the Commonwealth Games, Jess wasn’t selected for the final team, but she used this disappointment to give her even greater motivation.

In late June Jess returned to her first Outdoor British Champs, since June 2019 in emphatic style, taking both a Silver medal, behind Cindy Sember (European No1) and also breaking 13.00 for the first time (albeit, slightly windy).

Jess’ finished her season in style and gained a very much deserved, first senior GB call up for the European Champs in Munich.

After waiting all week for her turn to race, she did not disappoint, winning her heat in one of the fastest times of the year and making the Semi-finals. All of this, including a very good interview all appearing on the BBC.

Unfortunately, she hit a hurdle in the Semi-finals, which impacted her race, but this should not take away anything from an amazing season. Bring on 2023 and 2024."

LOUGHBOROUGH OUTDOOR OPENLOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY (22ND JUNE)

U23 Max Nicolle ventured to Loughborough for their midweek open meeting and came away with a seasons best in the 1500m.

PLYMOUTH HALF MARATHON - PLYMOUTH (19TH JUNE)

VoAAC debutant Chelsea Baker (recently representing the Royal Navy) ran a superb race around the hilly course in Plymouth and clocked a

superb 1hour 20mins 17secs on her way to a PB and 2nd female (26th overall.)

SOUTH OF ENGLAND U20/SENIOR CHAMPS - CHELMSFORD (18TH-19TH JUNE)

The VoAAC had two representatives in this event with a third who is coached at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium by Scott Grace.

Alastair Walls continued his impressive outdoor season with a 5th placed finish in the U20 men's 400m final just outside his PB time. Alex Byrom dipped under 60seconds in the 400m hurdles again in his heat.

Here's what Alastair's coach Scott Grace has to say about his 2022 season...

"Alastair Walls had the joy of competing at the 2022 English Schools National Finals for Bucks. Alastair was competing in his second English Schools and first as a Senior Boy in a very competitive field.

Alastair's call up is a credit to yet another strong season, by the clubs No.1 400m athlete.

At the champs Alastair delivered a great personal best, running 50.19, narrowly missing out on both the final and breaking the sub 50 second mark.

He also record PBs in the 100m and 200m in 2022 and continues to grow in promise."

Marli Jessop (coach Scott Grace) representing Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers AC took the victory in the U20 women's 100m Hurdles and managed a PB, championship record and a qualifying time for the World U20 Championships in the process!!

Here's what Marli's coach Scott Grace has to say about her 2022 season...

U20 Men

400m

Heat 4th Alastair Walls – 50.84s

Final 5th Alastair Walls – 50.49s

Senior Men

400m Hurdles

"After narrowly missing out on the European U20s in 2021, Marli had her eyes firmly fixed on the World U20s in Cali.

Marli started her season indoors in 2022, and very clearly showed she was in the shape of her life and a contender for any race.

In her indoor season alone, Marli took the British University title, running 8.28 seconds over the 60m Hurdles, which ranked her number 5 in the World for U20s. She followed this up with Southern Gold and National Silver in the same event and finished her indoor season making the final of the British Champs finishing very close to a medal.

Marli continued her great form into the outdoor season, racking up several new 100m Hurdles PBs, including a new South of England U20 record. This early form helped her gain her first GB call up for the Loughborough international, where Marli delivered another composed, mature performance in her race and let the senior athletes know she was in great shape.

After the Loughborough International and taking the South of England title, Marli continued her great form also taking the England U20 national title and making her first outdoor British Champs final, alongside her training partner, Jess.

Finally in June, Marli's hard work and great season was rewarded with a GB call up for the World Juniors in Cali, Columbia. Marli went into the champs ranked in the World Top 10 and delivered two great runs in the heats and semi-finals, narrowly missing out on the final."

U20 Women

100m Hurdles

Heat 8th Alex Byrom – 59.84secs

Heat 1st Marli Jessop* – 13.61s (+1.5)

Final 1st Marli Jessop* – 13.38s (+1) (PB)

*Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers coached by Scott Grace at VoAAC

BUCKS COUNTY SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The county schools championships took place in a sun drenched Milton Keynes in June, where athletes were representing their secondary schools from all over the county.

The event is split into school year groups based on the English Schools Championship system with U13's being year 7, U15's (Juniors) covering years 8 and 9 and U17's (Inters) being from years 10 and 11.

The VoAAC had numerous athletes competing with nine coming away with personal bests and two taking home two gold medals each.

In the Year 7 boys category, James Hawkins finished 7th with personal bests in both of his events (100m and Long Jump) while Zoe Prescott managed a 5th (800m), 6th (Javelin) and 8th (Long Jump) from her three events with the latter two providing her with personal bests.

Up into the Junior age category Elliot Corke finished 2nd in the boys 300m. On the girls side, Danielle

Full VoAAC results:

Year 7 Boys (U13)

100m

7th (3rd in race) James Hawkins –14.3s (PB)

Long Jump

7th James Hawkins – 3.68m (PB) Junior Boys (U15) 300m

2nd Elliot Corke – 42.3s Inter Boys (U17) 200m

2nd Luca Toth – 22.9s (PB)

4th Adam Ankers – 24.3s (PB)

6th Ethan Perry – 25.1s (PB) 400m

3rd Ethan Perry – 66.4s

Triple Jump

2nd Luca Toth – 13.09m (PB)

Roberts finished joint 2nd in the High Jump with VoAAC team mate Beatrice Peel in 5th, Natasha Bradley ran well for a personal best in her 300m heat and Seren Young picked up a PB in the 1500m.

In the final age category, the Inters, there were personal bests for Luca Toth (2nd in 200m and Triple Jump), Adam Ankers (4th in 200m) and Ethan Perry (6th in 200m.) The Inter Girls gave the VoAAC their victories on the day with Olivia London winning both the 80m hurdles and 300m hurdles while Ffion Mabey continued her fine start to the summer season with victories in the Shot Put (PB and first time over 10m) and Discus. Lucy Cuthbert battled well in her three events with two 3rd's (3000m and 1500m steeplechase) and a 6th place (Javelin.)

Well done to all of the competitors and a big thank you especially goes to the officials from the VoAAC who gave up their Saturday to helping the event to run smoothly!

Year 7 Girls (U13) 800m

5th Zoe Prescott – 2mins 51.5s

Long Jump

8th Zoe Prescott – 3.52m (PB) Javelin

6th Zoe Prescott – 7.62m (PB) Junior Girls (U15) 300m

Heat – 3rd Natasha Bradley –48.0s (PB)

Final - 6th Natasha Bradley – 48.5s 1500m

11th Seren Young – 5mins 35.9s (PB)

High Jump

2nd Danielle Roberts – 1.35m

5th Beatrice Peel – 1.30m

Inter Girls (U17) 3000m

3rd Lucy Cuthbert – 12m 56.5s

80m Hurdles

1st Olivia London – 12.6secs (PB) 300m Hurdles

1st Olivia London – 48.7secs

1500m Steeplechase

3rd Lucy Cuthbert – 6mins 38.1secs

Shot Put

1st Ffion Mabey – 10.09m (PB) Discus

1st Ffion Mabey – 27.46m Javelin

6th Lucy Cuthbert – 20.01m

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

CPM THAME 10K (26TH JUNE)

U20 athlete Thomas Fell took 8th place in the race taking over two minutes off his previous best set in the same race last year!

Veteran Tim Jones blew away the competition by dipping under 40 minutes and beating the next nearest in his age group by over five and a half minutes!

The final Vale athlete was Sharon Maisey who, in her first road race since 2016 ran well to finish within a minute of her PB and finish 3rd in her age category.

8th Thomas Fell (U20) –35m 33s (PB)

35th Tim Jones (V60) –39m 41s (1st in age category)

SOUTHERN ATHLETICS LEAGUE - LUTON (12TH JUNE)

After a low turnout at the match last month, the team managed a better one this time round with some great performances and victories on the track and in the field.

Donelle Arulanandam completed a jumping treble victory with wins in the Long, High and Triple Jump events. Alex Byrom won the 400m hurdles a-string

Men

1500m

A 3rd Woody Day – 4m 55.3s

400m Hurdles

A 1st Alex Byrom – 61.6s

Women

High Jump

116th Sharon Maisey (V45) –46m 46s (3rd in age category)

and Annabel Ralston took the b-string in the womens Hammer.

There was a 2nd place for LeAnn Carroll in the a-string Hammer and a 5th in the a-string Discus. Woody Day was 3rd in the 1500m a-string for the men.

Discus

A 1st Donelle Arulanandam – 1.60m Long Jump

A 1st Donelle Arulanandam – 5.12m

Triple Jump

A 1st Donelle Arulanandam –11.37m (SB)

A 5th LeAnn Carroll – 22.17m (SB) Hammer

A 2nd LeAnn Carroll – 34.82m (SB)

B 1st Annabel Ralston – 33.72m (SB)

Upper Age Group YDLMatch 3

CAN YOU HELP ON THE DAY?

MATCH

3 - 26TH JUNE – WALTON-ON-THAMES

With the team sitting in 3rd position in the league standings, they travelled to Walton for the third match of the season.

The team performed brilliantly with no less than 17 wins across the two age groups on the day. In the U20 men there were victories for Adam Ankers (200m b-string), Alastair Walls (400m a-string), George Whincup (400m b-string and Shot Put a-string) and the 4x100m relay quartet including Alastair, George , Christian Choy and Luca Toth .

In his actual age group of the U17’s, Luca won the 200m a-string and the Long Jump a-string both with PB’s in the process. Also in the age group, Thomas Young won the b-string 1500m, there was a double victory in the Shot Put strings for Nathaniel

Arulanandam (a-string) and Leo Tottle (b-string.) Leo also won the a-string Discus and b-string Javelin, both with PB throws.

In the U17 women age group, Lucy Cuthbert showed her versatility by winning both the 1500m steeplechase (a-string) and the Discus (b-string.)

The throws served the club’s athletes well as Ffion Mabey (a-string) and Harriet Squire (b-string) took a duo of wins in the Shot Put and Iona Esslemont won the b-string Javelin with a personal best.

With the team finishing 2nd in the match, they also sat in 2nd in the team standings. With the top two gaining promotion, they were positioned within striking distance of going up.

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

Third Upper YDL Match at Walton-On-Thames

Full results from the day.

U20 MEN

100m

A 4th Christian Choy – 11.5s (PB)

B 3rd Adam Ankers (U17) – 11.6s (PB)

200m

A 3rd George Whincup – 23.2s (PB)

B 1st Adam Ankers (U17) – 24.0s (PB)

400m

A 1st Alastair Walls – 51.6s

B 1st George Whincup – 51.8s

Long Jump

A 2nd Christian Choy – 4.95m (PB)

Shot Put

A 1st George Whincup – 7.98m (PB)

Javelin

A 2nd Ben Wellman (U17) – 27.42m (PB) 4x100m

1st Alastair Walls, Christian Choy, George Whincup, Luca Toth (U17) –45.7s

U17 MEN

100m

A 2nd Luca Toth – 11.1s (PB)

B 3rd Thomas Babb – 11.7s (PB)

NS Nathaniel Arulanandam –12.9s (PB)

NS Ben Wellman – 13.8s (PB)

200m

A 1st Luca Toth – 23.0s

B 2nd Thomas Babb – 24.2s (PB)

800m

A 4th Thomas Young – 2m 23.2s (PB)

1500m

A 2nd Woody Day – 4m 36.7s

B 1st Thomas Young – 4m 51.3s

Long Jump

A 1st Luca Toth – 6.41m (PB)

B 2nd Saravanan Kannian – 3.07m (PB)

Shot Put

A 1st Nathaniel Arulanandam –9.39m

B 1st Leo Tottle – 8.73m

Discus

A 1st Leo Tottle – 20.81m (PB)

B 2nd Thomas Young – 11.16m (PB)

Javelin

A 2nd Nathaniel Arulanandam –43.59m (PB)

B 1st Leo Tottle – 35.29m (PB) 4x100m

4th Thomas Babb , Nathaniel Arulanandam , Saravanan Kannian , Adam Ankers – 53.3s

U17 WOMEN

100m

A 4th Kianna De Mesa – 14.1s (PB)

200m

A 6th Ffion Mabey – 29.9s

B 4th Kianna De Mesa – 28.9s (PB)

800m

A 3rd Iona Esslemont – 3m 12.7s

1500m

A 4th Iona Esslemont – 6m 26.6s 1500m S/C

A 1st Lucy Cuthbert – 6m 22.2s

Long Jump

A 2nd Lucy Cuthbert – 4.04m (PB)

B 2nd Harriet Squire – 3.29m (PB)

Shot Put

A 1st Ffion Mabey – 9.76m

B 1st Harriet Squire – 8.20m (PB)

Discus

A 2nd Ffion Mabey – 28.51m

B 1st Lucy Cuthbert – 13.66m (PB)

Javelin

A 3rd Harriet Squire – 19.07m

B 1st Iona Esslemont – 10.32m (PB)

4x100m

2nd Lucy Cuthbert , Ffion Mabey , Kianna De Mesa , Iona Esslemont – 59.0s

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

WORLD MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS, TAMPERE (FINLAND)

One of our long serving athletes, Alan Roberts , took part in the World Masters Athletics Championships in Tampere (Finland) at the end of June and early July.

In the two weeks or so that Alan was out there, he certainly made use of the time! He took part in no less than six championship races across various terrain and also had time to fit in a parkrun in the city for good measure!

Competing in the Vet 55 category, Alan started his campaign with an 800m , coming home in 7th place in his semi-final with a time of 2mins 52.24secs .

Alan’s full results:

29th JUNE

800m (Semi-final)

7th – 2mins 52.24secs

30th JUNE Cross Country Championships (8km)

23rd – 34mins 34secs

2nd JULY

5000m (B Final)

The next day he made it round the Cross Country Championships course to finish 23rd.

After a day’s rest he was back on track to finish 12th in the B Final of the 5000m and followed this up three days later with a 13th place finish in his 1500m semi-final. That was his last race on the track in Tampere as his final three events consisted of a 10k road race in which he was 14th V55 finisher, a parkrun the day after and then finishing with a Half Marathon where he finished 18th in 1hour 46mins 13seconds .

8th JULY

12th – 22mins 26.49secs

5th JULY

1500m (Semi-final) 13th – 5mins 58.13secs

10k Road Race (Final) 104th – (14th V55) 46mins 23secs

10th JULY Half Marathon 18th – 1hour 46mins 13secs

Ridgeway Relay 2022

RIDGEWAY RELAY (26TH JUNE)

Ridgeway Relay 2022

CAPTAIN’S WRITE UP

by Robin Barrett

"For those of you who don’t know, the Ridgeway Relay is an annual ten-legged relay race which covers almost the entire length of the Ridgeway National Trail path (around 89 miles) starting at Ivinghoe Beacon and finishing in the town of Marlborough. The Vale have been taking part in this event for many years, normally entering an A and a B team, where our A team usually finish in the top of 3 out of around 40 teams, but have successfully won the event on four previous occasions. This year we entered just the one team which was a mix of A and B team runners, so the aim was to enjoy ourselves, stay competitive and hopefully finish in the top 10.

The race started bright and early at 7.30am on the top of Ivinghoe Beacon and Mark Baines got us off to a flying start finishing the first leg (11 miles) in 1 hour 11 minutes in 2nd place. Next up was Jodie Digby who ran an excellent second leg (6 miles) with a couple of tough hill climbs in 47 minutes and still keeping us in 2nd place. Team Captain Robin Barrett was on leg 3 (9.4 miles) conquering Lodge Hill but dropping the team back a little as some faster runners started to come through, finishing in 1 hour 11 minutes and handing over to Vicky Sheldon for leg 4 in 7th. Vicky only found out she was running leg 4 (5.4 miles) a few days before the event after another team member tested positive for COVID, so hats off to Vicky for stepping up at the last minute and running a solid leg in 48 minutes and keeping the team in 7th overall. Ridgeway Relay debutant Scott Ramsell was up next for leg 5 (10.1 miles) and successfully managed to run his leg faster than he cycled it earlier in the week in a time 1 hour 8 minutes whilst gaining us one place up to 6th.

James Davis made a rapid start to leg 6 (10.4 miles) picking up not one, but two places early on in his leg and battled the heat and the hills to finish in 1 hour 12 minutes leaving us in 4th. Charlie May only just made it in time for the start of leg 7 (9.1 miles) arriving at

the changeover with James fast approaching, he had about 20 seconds to get his race number on and get running. Once Charlie did get under way, he ran a superb seventh leg in a time of 58 minutes taking the Vale up to the dizzy heights of 3rd place! The top three finishing teams overall receive a bottle of wine at the end for each team member, so with that winning bottle of Chardonnay on his mind Adam Johnson set off on leg 8 (7.8 miles) and finished strongly in a time of 59 minutes keeping the Vale in 3rd. Alan Roberts set off on leg 9 (10.7 miles) arguably the toughest leg of the race with a couple of big hills including an exposed final couple of miles on a windy day (which it was!). Alan raced hard and conquered those hills finishing his leg in 1 hour 32 minutes handing over to Will Ralston for the final leg of the race with the Vale in 6th. Leg 10 (9.4 miles) requires a little more navigation than the other legs as the race route comes off the Ridgeway path towards the end to finish in Marlborough, but Will had done his homework and ran a fantastic final leg without getting lost and gaining two places in the process, finishing his leg in a time of 57 minutes and casually bringing the Vale home in 4th position overall. So, no free bottle of wine this year (sorry Adam!) but I think it’s fair to say the team exceeded their own expectations finishing easily inside the top 10 and instead earning a top 5 finish and having a great time along the way. Thanks to all the runners for taking part and performing so brilliantly and also to those who supported the team and helped with lifts, logistics, and generally cheered us on! We’d really like to try and enter two teams again for the Ridgeway Relay next year, so if you’ll be 17 years old or older by June 2023 and fancy taking part in this fantastic race, watch out for e-mails and notices about the Ridgeway Relay in early Spring 2023."

The Prize!

July News

Track, field and road action continued and July saw the return of the Waddesdon 5k.

OXON & BUCKS MIDWEEK OPENS (HORSPATH, OXFORD)

6th July

U17 athlete Elliot Corke made the journey over to Oxford and was rewarded with a 300m PB, finishing

in a time of 41.14secs. Woody Day had also travelled and ran 2mins 18.53secs for the 800m.

ENGLISH SCHOOLS ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sport City, Manchester – 8th July 2022

The VoAAC had two athletes in action at the English Schools Athletics Association Championships in Manchester and Alastair Walls ran a superb PB of 50.19secs for 5th in his senior boys 400m heat. Meanwhile, Olivia London went well in the inter girls 300m hurdles. She flew round the track in her heat, finishing 3rd in a fantastic new lifetime best of 45.42secs putting her 16th in the country on the U17 list this season in the process. Unfortunately she couldn’t replicate that time in the final, coming 8th in 47.38secs. Both Alastair and Olivia will have gained precious experience competing at such a prestigious championships.

Livvy (Olivia) London had a break out season in the 300m Hurdles, not only making her first English

WATFORD OPEN MEETINGS

13th July. In his first outing over the distance, Elliot Corke clocked 60.49secs for a PB in the 400m. The sub-60 second barrier is surely in his sights the next time he takes the event on. There was another personal best that evening from Woody Day in the 800m where he clocked 2mins 16.05secs.

Schools finals, but running a massive PB in the qualifying rounds to take her into the final.

Here's what Livvy's coach Scott Grace has to say about her 2022 season...

"Livvy London had the joy of competing at the 2022 English Schools National Finals for Bucks. Her performance at the time was a top 10 ranked run for the 300m Hurdles and great recognition for this young upcoming star.

Whilst she couldn’t quite replicate the great race in the heats, she done herself proud in making an English Schools final in her debut year.

Livvy continued to deliver some great performance in the 300m Hurdles and several other events through the season and is looking very promising for 2023 and beyond."

27th July. Woody Day was the sole VoAAC competitor at this meeting and he ran a 4mins 37.47secs 1500m.

VoAAC Official

Officials are the beating heart of athletics

"Officiating is a great way to get involved and understand athletics. Working in a team I was always able to support my own child’s events."

SOUTHERN ATHLETICS LEAGUE

The penultimate Southern Athletics League match of the season took place in July with the team travelling to Sandy in Bedfordshire.

SOUTHERN ATHLETICS LEAGUE

The final Southern Athletics League match of the season took place in August with the team travelling back to Sandy in Bedfordshire.

What do officials do?

Match results:

MEN 100m

A 3rd Aymen Bedjaoui (U20) –12.0secs

B 5th Ivan Rogers (V45) –13.2secs PB 200m

A 2nd Alex Byrom (U23) –24.5secs 1500m

A 5th Woody Day (U17) – 4mins 45.3secs

400m Hurdles

A 1st Alex Byrom (U23) – 63.0secs

Long Jump

A 4th Ivan Rogers (V45) – 4.26m PB

WOMEN

2000m Steeplechase

A 2nd Lucy Cuthbert (U17) –8mins 59.1secs PB Javelin NS Lucy Cuthbert – 20.88m

Match results:

MEN 400m

A 2nd Ewan Maxwell (U20) –53.5secs SB 1500m

A 5th Woody Day (U17) – 5mins 04.9secs https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=J57joWL14Nw

Lower Age Group YDLMatch 3

CAN YOU HELP ON THE DAY?

THIRD LOWER AGE GROUP YDL MATCH OF THE SEASON

The team travelled by coach to Kingston UponThames, London for the third match of the season. It was another hot day for the athletes but they all competed well with numerous athletes coming away with personal bests.

All five victories for the club on the day came from the U15 girls with Seren Young and Natasha Bradley claiming wins in the 1500m, Katie Clarke winning the a-string Shot Put, Poppy Haynes taking the b-string Discus and Darcy Bartlett picking up maximum points in the b-string Javelin. Olamide Alakuro set 2 PB’s in the 200m and High Jump. There were also 2 PB’s for Darcy Bartlett (300m and Discus), Beatrice Peel (Long Jump and High Jump.) A further five athletes set one new personal best each – Lucy Workman (300m), Emma Corby and Lucinda McRonald (both 800m), Katie Clarke (Javelin) and Poppy Haynes (Discus.)

In the U15 boys, Matthew Binks had a fantastic day as he set 3 new personal bests in the 200m, 300m and Shot Put while Raphie London (1500m), Mikolaj Rozacka (Shot Put) and Harry Owen (Javelin) also improved on their personal bests.

The quartet then combined at the end of the day to finish 2nd in the 4x100m relay.

In the U13 boys, there were PB’s galore with Theo Knowler setting four(!) in the 75m non-scoring, 150m, 800m and the Shot Put. Digby Martin (150m and 800m) and Dylan Hart (75m non-scoring and Long Jump) came away with 2 PB’s each. Dele Alakuro also set 2 PB’s in the jumps (Long and High Jump) while Zachary Honour also set 2 new best marks in the 1200m and the Shot Put.

Every athlete that took part for the U13 girls set at least one PB on the day. Isabella Lamborn set three new bests in the 75m (non-scoring), 800m and Javelin. There were two PB’s for Zoe Prescott (75m and High Jump), Sophie Fawcett (75m and Long Jump), Matilda Valind (75m non-scoring and 800m), Lois Gromnicki (150m and Javelin), Katie Leumfo (150m and Shot Put) and Madeleine Richards (1200m and Shot Put.)

The team finished 4th on the day with a total of 325.5pts.

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

U15 Boys

100m

A 5th Harry Owen – 13.4secs

200m

A 4th Matthew Binks – 27.0s PB

B 4th Raphie London – 29.3s PB 300m

A 5th Matthew Binks – 42.8s PB

1500m

A 6th Raphie London – 4m 56.3s PB

Long Jump

A 4th Mikolaj Rozacka – 3.97m

B 3rd Raphie London – 3.91m

Shot Put

A 2nd Mikolaj Rozacka – 8.87m PB

B 2nd Matthew Binks – 5.67m PB

Discus

A 4th Harry Owen – 15.74m

Javelin

A 3rd Harry Owen – 34.23m PB

4x100m

2nd Harry Owen , Mikolaj Rozacka , Raphie London , Matthew Binks –53.8s

U15 Girls

100m

A 5th Alexandra Knott – 15.5secs

B 6th Esther Cann – 15.1secs 200m

A 6th Olamide Alakuro – 30.90s PB

B 5th Beatrice Peel – 31.9s 300m

A 4th Lucy Workman – 49.8s PB

B 4th Darcy Bartlett – 54.5s PB 800m

A 4th Emma Corby – 2m 33.7s PB

B 3rd Lucinda McRonald – 2m 45.4s PB

1500m

A 1st Seren Young – 5m 29.4s PB

B 1st Natasha Bradley – 5m 30.8s

Long Jump

A 3rd Beatrice Peel – 4.04m PB

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

B 3rd Lucy Workman – 3.88m

High Jump

A 3rd Beatrice Peel – 1.35m PB

B 2nd Olamide Alakuro – 1.30m PB

Shot Put

A 1st Katie Clarke – 9.35m

B 5th Poppy Haynes – 5.25m

Discus

A 3rd Darcy Bartlett – 13.67m

B 1st Poppy Haynes – 12.28m PB

Javelin

A 2nd Katie Clarke – 22.56m PB

B 1st Darcy Bartlett – 14.98m PB

4x100m

4th Esther Cann , Olamide Alakuro , Alexandra Knott , Lucy Workman - 58.6s

4x300m

3rd Beatrice Peel, Lucinda McRonald , Seren Young , Natasha Bradley - 3mins 29.6s

U13 Boys 75m

A 3rd Malachi Burton – 10.9s

B 2nd Dele Alakuro – 11.1s

NS Theo Knowler – 11.6s PB

NS Dylan Hart – 11.9s

Lower Age Group YDLMatch 4

What do officials do?

watch?v=4aSC_gkdYIs

FOURTH LOWER AGE GROUP YDL MATCH OF THE SEASON

The 30th July saw the second LAG YDL match of the month and final match of the season take place, this time with the team travelling to Crawley.

The team had seven winners on the day across the various age groups. Harry Owen set a PB of 8.21m on his way to victory in the U15 boys Shot Put. Esther Cann claimed the win (and a PB) in the U15 girls 300m b-string and Poppy Haynes won the b-string Shot Put. Katie Clarke and Darcy Bartlett showed their prowess with a double victory in the a and b-string Javelin, with both setting personal bests in the process.

The other maximum point hauls came for Harry Elkins in the U13 boys Long Jump with a PB leap of 4.07m and, in one of the final events of the meeting,

a quartet of Harry , Dylan Nowell , Krishan Shergill and Malachi Burton flew round the 4x100m relay to victory.

The team finished 4th on the day with a total of 264pts. This means that the team finish 4th overall in the division and will stay in the division next season.

A special mention to team manager Gill Clarke and Gail Workman who assisted with team managing. Also to Rebecca London and Nicky Walls for officiating at the matches and those parents who helped where they could. A fantastic team effort all round!

Full VoAAC results from match 4 can be found overleaf.

Full Vale results from match 4:

U15 BOYS

200m

A 5th Harry Owen – 29.20s (+1.3) PB 1500m

A 3rd Joseph Storey – 5m 27.92s PB

Long Jump

A 3rd Joseph Storey – 3.29m PB

Shot Put

A 1st Harry Owen – 8.21m PB Javelin

A 2nd Harry Owen – 30.64m

U15 GIRLS

100m

A 5th Lucy Workman – 14.80s (+0.2)

B 3rd Esther Cann – 14.88s (+0.3) 200m

A 5th Beatrice Peel – 31.90s (+1.2)

B 5th Darcy Bartlett – 32.43s (+0.9) PB 300m

A 3rd Isobel Ferguson – 47.49s PB

B 1st Esther Cann – 53.18s PB 800m

A 3rd Isobel Ferguson – 2m 34.29s

B 2nd Daisy Walls – 3m 32.10s PB 1500m

A 2nd Natasha Bradley – 6m 02.28s Long Jump

A 4th Lucy Workman – 3.94m

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

B 4th Katie Clarke – 3.61m SB

High Jump

A 4th Beatrice Peel – 1.30m

B 2nd Katie Clarke – 1.30m PB

Shot Put

A 2nd Katie Clarke – 8.75m

B 1st Poppy Haynes – 5.56m PB

Javelin

A 1st Katie Clarke – 23.42m PB B 1st Darcy Bartlett – 16.68m PB 4x100m

3rd Daisy Walls , Poppy Haynes , Lucy Workman , Esther Cann –60.48s 4x300m

2nd Isobel Ferguson , Beatrice Peel , Lucy Workman , Darcy Bartlett – 3m 32.84s U13 BOYS 75m

A 3rd Malachi Burton – 11.12s (+0.5) B 3rd Krishan Shergill – 12.07s (+0.3) PB 150m

A 3rd Digby Martin – 21.49s

Waddesdon 5k

VOAAC WADDESDON 5K

Alan Roberts returned from the World Masters Championships in Finland and immediately turned his attention to being Race Director for the Waddesdon 5k.

Here is an excellent write-up courtesy of our friends at RunABC (article located here) ….

Race Director Alan Roberts’ best time (16:15) would have placed a handy fifth in his own promotion on Wednesday night (20 July) at the Waddesdon Manor Summer 5K – back after a two-year absence due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Alan has recently returned from representing British Masters at the World Masters Championships in Tampere, Finland, competing in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10K, cross country, and half marathon in the M55 category. Back home he was hosting the latest edition of this race, held with the kind permission of Lord Rothschild and the National Trust from Waddesdon Manor visitor car park.

The course is a simple up, to the front of the Waddesdon Manor House, built in the style of a French château for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild and completed in 1889 and back. Fortunately, the intense heat of the previous two days had passed and although still warm it was an overcast evening that enabled the athletes to give 100% effort and that certainly was the case between Dacorum AC team mates James French (16:03) and Adam Edgeworth (16:04) as they battled for victory and club bragging rights.

Also beating the Race Director’s 1988 PB were Louis Peterson (Chiltern Harriers, 16:11) and the host club’s Thomas Fell (Vale of Aylesbury, 16:13) – both of whom are under-20 juniors.

The women’s top trio were W45 Kate Rennie (Dacorum, 17:38), Chelsea Baker (Vale of Aylesbury, 18:03) and Melanie Phair (Wycombe Phoenix Harriers, 18:39).

There were 49 athletes running faster than 20:00 and 222 finished in 37:37.

As you might expect with an event organised by a master athlete the results were age-graded and there was a clean sweep of the best marks by Dacorum athletes Sarah Roberts (W60 23:02, 94.0%), Kate Rennie (W45 17:38, 91.6%) and Simon Townsend (M55 18:22, 84.6%).

For r ace results via the runABC South race listing click here .

Click here for e vent information on the Vale of Aylesbury AC website , including entry details for the 2023 Waddesdon 5k race.

For all Images, courtesy Barry Cornelius Photos , click here.

Since its inception in 2004 the race has grown and now attracts over 300 runners. Information and entry details are available at www.voaac.org.uk The race is also open to non-members.

Wednesday 20th July 2022 saw the return of our popular summer evening 5k race set in the grounds of Waddesdon Manor!

Outdoor Season Continues

Track & Field competition starts to wind down with the last YDL league match of the season.

DOUBLE SELECTION DELIGHT FOR SPRINT HURDLERS!

Jess Hunter put her Commonwealth selection disappointment behind her by being selected as part of the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team for the multi-sport European Championships taking place in Munich between 11th – 21st August. Jess went on to win her heat in one of the fastest times of the year, making it to the semi-finals. Unfortunately Jess hit a hurdle in the semi-final which impacted her race.

WATFORD OPEN MEETINGS

10th August

Woody Day was again competing at a Watford Open, returning to the 800m event, this time with a 2mins 18.11secs clocking. U17 athlete Lucy Cuthbert joined him by running 2mins 46.46secs for the 2 lap event.

EUROPEAN TRANSPLANT & DIALYSIS GAMES

At the tail end of August, VoAAC athlete Trevor Lynch made the short journey across to Oxford to take part in the European Transplant & Dialysis Games with the Athletics events taking place at Radley College.

For a bit of background on the event – The Games comprise a week of multi-sport competition amongst solid organ transplant recipients and kidney dialysis patients from over 25 countries across Europe (Trevor has received two bone marrow transplants to treat lymphoma). The event is similar to the Paralympics Games or Invictus Games, and had over 400 competitors attending in Oxford.

Trevor, competing for Ireland, performed brilliantly in the Vet50 category and he became a double European silver medallist! He competed in three events across the week and took silver in the 800m and 1500m and he was just outside of the medals in the 5k as he finished 4th.

Jess's training partner Marli Jessop (both coached by Scott Grace) qualified for the World Junior Championships taking place in Cali, Columbia from 1st – 6th August. Marli was ranked 8th in the competition so she had a good chance of making the final. Marli had two great runs in the heats and semi-finals, narrowly missing out on the final.

24th August

Lucy kept the middle distance theme going at the next Watford Open by running the 1500m and coming away with 5mins 55.54secs to her name.

Trevor’s endeavours helped his Ireland team to 6th in the medal table out of 26 countries.

Trevor said of his campaign, “I did much better than I expected, after being injured for much of the year! The thrill of competition encouraged me to push hard! But, more than anything, this event increases the profile of organ donation and how it can save lives”

UPPER YDL MATCH 4 - 7TH AUGUST – STEVENAGE

With promotion almost within their grasp, a holiday depleted VoAAC team travelled to Stevenage for the final league match of the season.

The team did not disappoint and won 14 events on the day. In the U20 men there were wins for Christian Choy (100m b-string) and Alastair Walls (400m a-string.) The quartet of Christian, Alastair, Quinlan Bartlett and Luca Toth claimed the victory in the 4x100m relay.

U17 men wins went the way of Woody Day (1500m a-string), Thomas Babb (High Jump b-string), Ryan Ryder (Shot Put b-string) and Ben Wellman (Discus b-string.)

The U17 women gained the team a fantastic total with 7 wins between them. There was a double

U20 MEN

100m

A 2nd Quinlan Bartlett – 12.10s (-0.9)

B 1st Christian Choy – 12.15s (-0.9) 200m

A 2nd Luca Toth (U17) – 24.11s

B 2nd Quinlan Bartlett – 24.15s 400m

A 1st Alastair Walls – 51.23s Long Jump

A 2nd Quinlan Bartlett – 5.99m

Shot Put

A 4th Christian Choy – 6.56m (PB) Javelin

A 5th Christian Choy – 9.29m 4x100m

1st Alastair Walls , Christian Choy , Quinlan Bartlett , Luca Toth (U17) – 45.36s

U17 MEN

100m

A 4th Luca Toth – 12.01s (-0.6)

B 2nd Ben Wellman – 13.87s (-1.2)

200m

victory in the 100m for Ohuninioluwa Murele (a-string) and Kianna De Mesa (b-string.) Kianna also won the b-string Javelin. Olivia London had two wins on the day in the 80m Hurdles (a-string) and in the Long Jump (a-string) where she also leapt to a PB. Lucy Cuthbert completed the victories for the Vale with wins in the 1500m Steeplechase (a-string) and the Long Jump (b-string.)

These results meant that the Vale not only gained promotion but won the match on the day! A superb promotion for the team which is well deserved. Special thanks to team manager Pat Card, Rebecca London, Paul Mabey and parents who came along to matches and of course the athletes who put in the hard work to finish 2nd in the table and achieve promotion!

4x100m

A 3rd Adam Ankers – 24.95s

B 2nd Thomas Babb – 25.24s 400m

A 3rd Ryan Ryder – 57.43s PB 800m

A 2nd Ryan Ryder – 2m 33.38s PB 1500m

A 1st Woody Day – 4m 40.64s

Long Jump

A 2nd Luca Toth – 5.73m

High Jump

A 2nd Adam Ankers – 1.55m PB

B 1st Thomas Babb – 1.40m PB

Shot Put

A 2nd Adam Ankers – 7.47m PB

B 1st Ryan Ryder – 6.68m PB

Discus

A 3rd Thomas Babb – 21.06m PB

B 1st Ben Wellman – 13.32m PB

Javelin

A 2nd Ethan Perry – 20.83m SB

B 2nd Ben Wellman – 14.37m PB

4th Thomas Babb , Ethan Perry , Ben Wellman , Adam Ankers –49.38s

U17 WOMEN 100m

A 1st Ohuninioluwa Murele –13.59s PB

B 1st Kianna De Mesa – 14.23s 200m

A 3rd Olivia London – 28.17s 80m Hurdles

A 1st Olivia London – 12.77s

1500m Steeplechase

A 1st Lucy Cuthbert – 6m 45.08s

Long Jump

A 1st Olivia London – 4.77m PB

B 1st Lucy Cuthbert – 4.33m PB Discus

A 2nd Lucy Cuthbert – 13.11m Javelin

A 3rd Ohuninioluwa Murele –19.96m PB

B 1st Kianna De Mesa – 15.33m SB

European Triathlon Long Distance Champion 2022 - Kieran Lindars

SPECTACULAR DAY AT CHALLENGE ALMERE-AMSTERDAM

In September VoAAC athlete Kieran Lindars headed off to the 2022 Challenge Almere-Amsterdam, which incorporated the European Long Distance Triathlon Championships. After recovering from a serious crash in the bike ride section of last year's race, Kieran was looking to try again this year.

Kieran exited the water with the following group behind the early leader, Germany’s Lukasz Wojt, in the 3.8km swim section of the race. Completing the swim in 00.46.40.

Heavy rain during the first 30 minutes of the bike ride hampered many athletes, with a couple, including Wojt having issues. Kieran kept going, keeping up with the leaders, completing the 180km bike section in 04:22:45, totalling 05.10.59.

Kieran started the run section in the chasing pack, who were some eight minutes behind the leader once they'd racked their bikes. Before long, with two leaders out in front, Kieran started chasing them down.

About a third of the marathon done, with one of those leaders starting to struggle, Kieran went into second place. About half way through the marathon, Kieran took the lead.

After running the first half-marathon in an impressive 1:16:08 Kieran started to drop the pace slightly, still leading by a big margin over his second place rival.

With late challenges happening behind him for second and third positions, Kieran kept out in front. Despite cramping in the final home stretch of the race, Kieran bought home the race victory with a marathon time of 02:42:54.

Kieran's finishing time was 7:55:44 ! Crowning him European Triathlon Long Distance Champion 2022!

Breaking the eight hour barrier is an incredible achievement for a Long Distance Triathlon athlete.

INTERVIEW WITH KIERAN AT THE FINISH LINE

The race of his life earned Kieran Lindars the European title and victory at Challenge AlmereAmsterdam. Watch his interview as he crossed the finish line having won the event: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=HX__scE7Fx4

VoAAC Official

Officials are the beating heart of athletics

VoAAC must provide officials at matches and competitions in order for athletes to be able to compete. The same as a referee and sideline officials must be provided for a football, rugby or hockey match to take place.

We currently have gaps in our age groups, where for instance U13 and U15 athletes have NO officials to take to competitions. COVID-19 has meant two years worth of volunteers stepping forward being missed, leaving this age group in particular severely depleted of volunteers.

Anyone above 14yrs can qualify to be an official. All it takes is a day to qualify, followed by attendance at a few matches to be officially signed off and ready to officiate at assistant level for the club.

The club will be happy to organise a closed workshop for our volunteers to attend together and qualify as a group if we have enough volunteers step forward.

The alternative is match points being deducted from our teams at YDL if we do not supply the correct amount of qualified officials. WE DO NOT WANT THIS!

Winter is the ideal time to qualify, before the Track & Field season starts again in April. If you are able to help bolster our team of officials. Contact Pat Card at: voaacmembersec@btinternet.com

“Having been an athlete for many years you see the hard work officials put in, especially being volunteers. It feels right to give back to the sport that has given me so much joy over the years.”

Chiltern League - Match 1

2023 CHILTERN LEAGUE MATCH 1

The beginning of October marked the start of the cross country season with the first Chiltern League match taking place in Oxford. The weather held and VoAAC had some excellent results.

Luca Dolan (U11 boys) came home in 5th place followed by his six team mates. Paul Gregory was 1st in the vet 60 category. Fresh from his European Long Distance Triathlon success, Kieran Lindars was the first senior man home in 32nd place. U20 athlete Ewan Maxwell was the second senior man home and was 6th in his age group.

The U11 girls achieved 9th place with Erin Rogers leading her three team mates home. We had a record number of U13 girls running (12), with new member Gabriella Cheung the first VoAAC athlete in. A 5th place for the team. A 5th place also for the U15 girls team.

The senior men had a fantastic 14 athletes taking part and they finished in 8th place.

Archie Lynch , another new member was our sole representative in the U17 and finished a creditable 21st.

The U13 boys had an excellent seven athletes competing and they achieved 6th place on the day.

Wherever you came in the race you are important. Every one of you contributing to our overall position and after match 1 we were sat in 9th overall.

Full results can be found at the following link: http://www.chilternccl.co.uk/cl2022m1.htm

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

Winter Season

The London Marathon amongst others, a Duathlon and road races round up October.

AMAZING VOAAC PERFORMANCES IN THE LONDON MARATHON 2022

VoAAC member Sophie Delderfield has just taken over two and a half minutes off her personal best for the marathon and set a new club record in the process by clocking 2hrs 48mins 47seconds in the London Marathon!

The superb time meant she finished 31st of all of the women in the mass race.

GREAT SOUTH RUN

On Saturday 15th October, Sophie Delderfield was in action again, taking to the streets of Portsmouth in the Great South Run. She came away with an excellent 14th place in the elite women’s race.

On his debut at the distance, William Ralston completed the course in a sub 3 hour time of 2hrs 55mins 49seconds.

Alan Roberts finished in a time of 4hrs 14mins 5seconds.

ABINGDON MARATHON

Just over a week later, VoAAC athlete Tim Jones entered the Abingdon Marathon in challenging conditions.

POWERMAN MALAYSIA DUATHLON

On the other side of the world, Oz Ellis competed in the Powerman Malaysia Duathlon and finished in 8th place in the Elite category (4500 athletes took

FOUR OR MORE T-SHIRTS!

Don't forget, all athletes competing in four or more Chiltern league matches in a season will recieve a VoAAC 'four or more' t-shirt from Pat.

As modelled here by Kieran!

Tim ran well to clock 3hours 14mins 50secs to finish as 4th vet60.

part overall). With split times of 00:36:10 for run 1, 01:27:04 for the bike section and 00:42:28 for run 2, Oz's final time was 02:48:21.

FRANKFURT MARATHON

Sunday, Oct 30th, saw Peter Huck race in the Frankfurt Marathon in Germany. Peter ran a superb 2hours 25mins 9secs to finish 22nd overall in the elite men’s race!

Chiltern League - Match 2

2023

CHILTERN LEAGUE MATCH 2 – 12TH NOVEMBER

The second Chiltern League match of the winter season took place at the Teardrop Lakes in Milton Keynes. This match incorporated the UKA Cross Challenge and Home International so the senior men had over 500 finishers in their race alone!

There were 12 VoAAC senior male athletes running with GB triathlete Kieran Lindars first home for the VoAAC in 94th place (23rd in the Chiltern League race) with Max Nicolle just a few seconds behind in 96th (24th in the Chiltern League race.) Tim Jones was 3rd vet 60 home in the Chiltern League race. Emile Jansen Van Rensburg led the U15 boys team home in 46th place (14th Chiltern League) and Rufus Martin did the same for the U13 boys finishing in 36th position (16th Chiltern League). The U11 boys had an 8 strong team out with two

Full VoAAC results:

SENIOR MEN 94 (23) Kieran Lindars 33:21 MS 20 96 (24) Max Nicolle 33:27 MS 21 145 (46) James Davis 35:04 MS 34 193 (77) Mark Baines 36:49 MS 53 216 (90) Scott Ramsell 37:37 MS 61 272 (130) Aaron Ward 39:13 M20 9 282 (137) Robin Barrett 39:41 MS 80 332 (174) Tim Jones 41:36 M60 3 343 (181) Adam Johnson 42:10 MS 91 348 (185) Andrew Byerley 42:32 M50 24 430 (224) Trevor Lynch 47:20 M50 36 435 (227) Alan Roberts 47:47 M50 37 U15 BOYS 46 (14) Emile Jansen Van Rensburg 17:01 66 (29) Lucas Garner 18:02 73 (32) Rhys Williams 18:18 81 (36) Ben O'Sullivan 19:01 83 (38) Joseph Storey 19:03

top 10 finishes headed by Luca Dolan in 4th (2nd Chiltern League) and Bali Horten in 10th (8th Chiltern League).

For the Senior Women, Daisy Goldhagen was 138th (54th Chiltern League) with Louise Card not far behind in 148th (60th Chiltern League). Lucy Cuthbert (83rd overall, 23rd Chiltern League) and Iona Esslemont (96th overall, 32nd Chiltern League) were the two VoAAC competitors for the U17 women, while Lucinda McRonald led the Vale home in the U15 girls race in 39th (13th Chiltern League). Gabriella Cheung ran well for 24th overall (12th Chiltern League) in the U13 girls age group while the U11 girls had two Vale athletes in attendance with Ellie Acheson in 23rd (18th Chiltern League) and Hannah Edwards 41st (30th Chiltern League).

U13 BOYS 37 (16) Rufus Martin 13:00 41 (18) Jack Wood 13:15 50 (26) James Hawkins 13:30 52 (27) Ethan Alcock 13:38 53 (28) Harrison Fairburn 13:39 57 (31) Digby Martin 13:54 U11 BOYS 4 Luca Dolan 6:50 10 Bali Horten 7:08 41 Angus McRonald 8:12 42 Archie Knowler 8:13 50 Chibuikem Eke 8:22 51 Devon Powell 8:25 52 Rohan Martin 8:25 61 Theo Rickard 8:43

SENIOR WOMEN 138 (54) Daisy Goldhagen 33:38 FS 147 (60) Louise Card 33:58 FS 203 (92) Anna Cuthbert 37:20 FS 230 (108) Victoria Sheldon 38:53 F55 258 (126) Amanda Esslemont 41:11 F35

U17 WOMEN 83 (230 Lucy Cuthbert 23:09 96 (32) Iona Esslemont 26:04 U15 GIRLS 39 (13) Lucinda McRonald 18:44 55 (25) Abigail Corby 19:41 57 (27) Emma Corby 19:50 60 (30) Sarah Cintalova 19:55 83 (47) Lexie Giles 24:39 U13 GIRLS 24 (12) Gabriella Cheung 13:49 40 (20) Sophie Fawcett 14:42 43 (22) Leia Logan 14:54 50 (28) Alessia Dolan 15:26 52 (29) Tilly Valind 15:33 57 (33) Isabella Lamborn 16:03 U11 GIRLS 23 Ellie Acheson 8:42 41 Hannah Edwards 9:22

Vale of Aylesbury AC: Vale Mail

Winter Season Continues

November sees more Cross Country, Triathlon and Sportshall events.

CLASH DAYTONA 2022

Kieran Lindars , off the back of a sub-8 win at Challenge Almere with a 2:42:54 run and finishing 7th last time at Daytona in 2019, was looking to move up this time around the track. After a hard race in the heat of Daytona, Kieran finished in 11th place with a time of 02:31:09.

KIERAN LINDARS: BREAKFAST WITH BOB AT CLASH DAYTONA

Watch Breakfast with Bob from CLASH Daytona 2022 filmed on location at the Daytona International Speedway.

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=E_Ndo2ySVCs

U13 AND U15 SPORTSHALL

December saw the start of the competitive Sportshall season, with VoAAC U13 and U15's athletes attending a trials competition, along with athletes from other clubs, from which the Bucks County Sportshall teams would be selected. Any VoAAC athletes selected for the county team will be travelling down to Sussex in February 2023, as part of the Bucks County Team, competing in the South East Regional Sportshall finals.

The Sportshall content is designed to aid athletics development in an indoor environment. It is fast moving, fun, indoor athletics. All athletes took part in events including: Standing Long Jump, Standing Triple Jump, Vertical Jump, Speed Bounce (20 seconds), High Stepper, Soft javelin throw, Chest Push, shot, 2 lap run and 1 lap hurdles run.

PTO WORLD RANKING

Congratulations to Kieran Lindars on moving up 83 places in the World Professional Triathlon Organisation (PTO) rankings to 82nd.

His target for this year was top 100. World ratings 5th Dec 2022 discipline: OVERALL (swim/bike/run) https://stats.protriathletes.org/ rankings/men

A big thank you to all of the VoAAC coaches and parents who helped officiate at the competition, it couldn't have happened without your help!

Well done to all of the athletes who competed. There were some great results, available here: http://www.mkac.org.uk/ static/22buckssportshallu15.htm

library image

SOUTHERN MASTERS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Southern Masters Cross Country Championships were held in Horspath, Oxford (Shotover) on Saturday December 10th, and the VoAAC was represented by four athletes –Tim Jones , Andy Byerley , Alan Roberts and Trevor Lynch .

In what was one of the coldest Decembers in recent years, the event took place in lovely winter sunshine, albeit at a temperature of 2c – even colder at the top of the hill! The route was 9.4k using a variation of the course we follow for the Chiltern League XC events at Shotover – including the obligatory 'twice up the hill' for good measure.

Andy, Alan and Trevor competed as a team in the vets (50 – 59) category, while Tim competed in the 65-69 category.

Tim performed really well and took first place in his category in a time of 42:51 – almost a full

PARENT HELPERS

Thank you to all of our new parent helpers who have pitched in over the last few months with our KESTRELS groups as they moved indoors for the winter. We hope you are all really enjoying the experience and will continue when we move back outdoors in April!

Being a parent helper is a really important role within the club. Helping coaches run sessions and helping to providing athletes with more opportunities within groups.

We are always on the lookout for more parents to get involved. Being a parent helper means you don't need to commit the time required to qualify as a coaching assistant (the first step on the coaching ladder), but still provide help within sessions. The more parent helpers we have the less pressure

two minutes ahead of the next placed athlete in the category.

The VoAAC Vets 50 team finished in 7th place (out of nine teams) in the Vet 50 category, and 21st out of 27 overall.

Individually, the guys finished as follows (in their age group):-

1st Tim Jones – 42:51

17th Andy Byerley – 42:05

33rd Trevor Lynch – 48:08 12th Alan Roberts – 51:58

there is to have to commit your time every week. We recommend all coaching volunteers (14+ yrs) starting out within athletics attend a Leading Athletics workshop , a two-part webinar that will provide you with the knowledge and confidence to help run a session.

Hopefully some of you will be bitten by the bug and will want to progress further by becoming a coach. It is a really rewarding experience and the club will support anyone wanting to progress within our coaching team. We can't have athletes without the coaches needed to train them.

Anyone thinking about helping out at training, please speak to Clare when you are at the track or email: voaacgeneralsec@btinternet.com

Grand Prix

GRAND PRIX 2022

The Grand Prix is a points based internal competition where VoAAC members compete against each other in a number of local races over the course of the year. There’s a cash prize for the top three men and women as well as 12 months free membership for the winners! Races in this year’s competition included the Aylesbury Parkrun, Maidenhead 10 mile, the Mota-vation Series as well as our own Waddesdon 5K. Points awarded are based on members’ six best performances across 16 different rounds with extra points also awarded for the top three aged graded percentages, top three finishes in their age categories and any top three team finishes in each race. To date the results for 2022 are now almost complete so the unofficial final standings for the top three men and women are as follows. A full list of the year’s results can be found on our website .

Notable performances from 2022 include:

• James Davis at the Aylesbury Parkrun – to date James has now notched up a staggering 31 Parkrun victories in 2022 equalling his 5K PB of 16m 22s in the process.

• Peter Huck in the Mota-vation Series – Peter stormed to victory in the 2nd of this 5-race series in Oxfordshire finishing 1st by over a minute. Peter also went on to compete in his 1st marathon in Frankfurt in October finishing in an incredible 2 hours 25 minutes.

• Tim Jones has finished 1st in his age category in five of his Grand Prix races as well as 2nd in another and 4th in the Abingdon Marathon. Tim’s marathon time of 3h 14m at Abingdon was also the 10th fastest time nationally for the V65 age group.

• Sophie Delderfield has also had a terrific year marathon running, finishing 3rd at Edinburgh in 2h 48m and following this up with an amazing 2h 51m at London. Sophie has also had three half marathon victories all under 79 minutes as well as victory at the Eynsham 10K.

We are trying to create a bank of volunteers who will marshal for us at different events. If you are able to help bolster our team of marshals, please contact Pat Card at: voaacmembersec@btinternet.com

Races can't happen without

Marshals!

Each club entering a team into the Chiltern League is responsible for providing marshals to help at at least one of the matches. Match 2 saw our turn to provide marshals. A huge thank you to everyone who stepped forward to help out on the day.

Without Marshals, much the same as officials at competitions, athletes can not compete and events cannot happen. Volunteer Marshals are a really important part of the club, if you can offer a couple of hours or an odd afternoon it would mean so much.

Race marshals are needed not only for Chiltern League matches, but for the Waddesdon 5k road race and when it returns, our Boxing Day Race. Not only do marshals provide guidance to athletes competing and the general public, but they also provide support and encouragement to athletes

great fun and there is a real camaraderie amongst the marshals at any event. Plus you feel like you are really making a difference and the athletes are always very appreciative of your time”

taking part, often waved to and thanked by athletes as they pass by. Not only really rewarding, marshalling can be great fun. We would like to build up a team of marshals within VoAAC, more hands make light work!

If this is something that you could help out with, please let us know. Thank you!

“It's

VoAAC Marshal

library image

Catching up with old friends

In July Dan Barber (VoAAC Exec/Social Media Officer) caught up with past VoAAC athlete Karl Goodman.

FORMER VALE ATHLETE TURNED COACH KARL GOODMAN MAKING WAVES ACROSS THE POND!

Karl Goodman was an athlete with VoAAC from 2007-2014 before heading off to the USA to the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina, then finishing his competitive track career at the University of Texas in Arlington. Having dipped under 23seconds and 50seconds for the 200m and 400m respectively whilst with the VoAAC, he went on to lower his PB’s to 21.76secs and 47.40secs in 2018 with the latter set in Bedford at the South of England Championships on his way to a 2nd place finish.

and Mekenze Kelley became the US U20 400m champion in 52.10secs. Jefferson will now go on to represent the USA at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon later this month.

In the latest development in Karl’s career, he has recently been named associate head coach at Coastal Carolina! Congratulations to Karl and his charges and we’ll be following his career progression with interest!

Dan Barber caught up with Karl recently to find out how he is feeling during this whirlwind of a season... Hear their conversation at https://www.voaac.org.uk/former-vale-athleteturned-coach-karl-goodman-making-wavesacross-the-pond/

Karl spent the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons at the University of Texas in Arlington working as a graduate assistant coach directly under associate head coach Jordan Durham and former GB sprinter turned assistant coach Tyrone Edgar. Karl moved to Coastal Carolina University in 2019 where he became an assistant coach on their track and field program.

Karl currently has two US national champions as Melissa Jefferson won the 60m NCAA title indoors and most recently the 100m at the US National Championships in a scintillating 10.69secs (+2.9)

Other news

Unfortunately news of other friends wasn't so good this year.

PETER HOARE

Sadly Peter passed away in November after a year long battle with deteriorating health. Peter was a long time member of VoAAC and friend and colleague to everyone within the club and beyond. A passionate athlete himself for the club in his younger years, coach, track timekeeping official for both club and county and beyond, VoAAC executive committee member and current President, as well as being on numerous other committees over the years for athletics locally. As well as our maintenance man when required. His loss to the club and beyond is enormous and he will be very much missed by us all. Following Peter's funeral the club made a donation to Thames Valley Air Ambulance in Peter's memory.

Together with past VoAAC chairman, athlete, coach and Boxing Day race organiser, Graham Gorman , who also sadly passed away in September 2021, the club has lost almost a 100 combined years of athletics knowledge and experience! Both Graham and Peter are very sadly missed!

PASSING OF THE QUEEN

In September VoAAC acknowledged the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Her Majesty visited the Stoke Mandeville Stadium on 2nd August 1969 to see the work of WheelPower and to officially open the facilities at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, birthplace of the Paralympic Movement and home to VoAAC.

BEN GREGORY

Great Britain and Wales decathlete 'in coma' after bike crash.

Ben Gregory has represented Great Britain, is a multiple Welsh champion and competed at three Commonwealth Games.

In August Ben, a former VoAAC athlete, was left in a critical condition after being involved in a serious bike crash. His partner, Naomi Heffernan, said on social media: "Ben... has a fractured skull, neck and multiple haemorrhages to his brain. He's in a coma and on life support."

Ben survived, but has been left with life changing injuries, although recent social media posts from Naomi show promising improvements with Ben up and learning to walk again.

A JustGiving fundraising page has be set up and VoAAC have donated towards helping support Ben's recovery. If you would also like to donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ bengregzrecoveryfund

TRAINING KIT