The 2024 Club Christmas Handicap is on Sunday 22nd December. It'd be great to see lots of athletes taking part!

All the details are on the poster below.

Congratulations to Tia Wilson on her selection to represent Great Britain as an U23 in the European Cross Country Championships which take place in Turkey on 8^th December.

Well done to everyone who competed at the Cross Challenge in Liverpool yesterday. Bedford and County results below:

Apologies to Etienne Maughan who was omitted from the List of SIAB competitors in the Article on SIAB in the September Newsletter. She represented England winning the 80m Hurdles.

In a dramatic finish to the over 16 Schools International Pentathlon, Thaila-Jade Mason fought back to claim a brilliant bronze medal in Glasgow last weekend. But the 800m was not the only drama of the day for the 17year old Bedford & County athlete.

With the events taking place in an unusual order, she placed a lowly 13^th of 15 competitors after the shot, despite throwing a personal best of 9.37 metres. But there was drama in the 60m hurdles which almost proved calamitous. She was leading the field when she turned her ankle on landing from the fourth hurdle and limped across the line albeit in a still decent time of 9.16 seconds. For a while it looked as if she might have to withdraw from the competition, but there was no serious damage and she was able to continue.

Well done to everyone who ran in the Eastern Cross Country Championships today at Nowton Park, Bury St. Edmunds.

The U13 boys were 1st as a team, with Ethan 3rd overall.  (Harry 4th, jake 16th). 

The U17 men were 2nd as a team (Sam 8th, Dylan 12th, Harry 14th).

Well done to all the athletes who were awarded the Bedfordshire Athletics Association’s County Badge last night for representing Bedfordshire over 2 or more seasons.

The county Cross Country championships are on Saturday 14^th December at Campbell Park, Milton Keynes.

The championships are being held in December this year instead of the usual January fixture.

The closing date for entries is Sunday 8^th December.

In wet and gloomy conditions, which preceded a six-hour thunder storm of biblical proportions, Thaila-Jade Mason claimed her sixth championship medal and second international of 2024, at the English Schools Heptathlon Championships in Stoke on Trent on 21/22 September.

Her first ever false start in the 80 hurdles did not augur well, but nevertheless she ran 12.25 sec, to place 6th after the first event. A superb high jump with first time clearances up to and including 1.65m (only a centimetre shy of her lifetime best) saw her leap into second place. However, her worst shot putt of the season of only 8.34m dropped her to 4th . With the storm clouds gathering and lightening about to strike, Thaila’s 200m run of 26.50 sec, saw her drop another place, but still within striking distance of the three above her.

Her best event, the long jump, opened the second day, but with conditions as they were, she was limited to just 5.48 metres. However, others were affected to an even greater extent, allowing her to regain second place; but with javelin and 800m metres at which her rivals were much stronger on paper, nothing could be taken for granted and her aim of being in the top four to secure an international vest was by no means certain.

Thaila took a giant step closer, amazing everyone, including herself, and shocking her rivals, when she launched the javelin out to 31.79m - a five and a half metre improvement on her personal best, consolidating her second place and putting herself further ahead.

Well done to everyone who ran in the South of England Road Relays yesterday. There were some outstanding team and individual performances from Bedford and County Athletes, including 3rd place for the Senior Men's A team. 

Results:

U13 Boys A - 14th
Ethan, Tyler & Harry N
U13 Boys B - 43rd
Thomas & Jake

U15 Girls - 51st
Eleanor & Megan

U15 Boys A - 33rd
Fraser, Harry & Oliver C
U15 Boys B - 44th
Henry, Oliver H & Dexter