Several Bedford and County athletes were in action at the Milton Keynes Jumps and Throws Meeting on 13th September.  The highlight of the day came in the Javelin, where Sadie Werrett not only won the Javelin competition, but also set a new Under 15 Girls club record of 39.09, which exceeds Olivia Da Costa's 37.86, set in 2009.  Sadie also won the women's Shot Put with a throw of 9.14.  Well done to Sadie, who moves into 5th place in this year's U15 Girls UK rankings for the Javelin.   At the same meeting, Graeme Packman threw 30.44 in the Discus, and Richard Martin threw 53.33 in the hammer.

Congratulations to Dan Jarvis, who won the bronze medal in the 3000m Steeplechase at the British Championships at Sportscity, Manchester last Saturday, 5th September.  

At the BFTA on 12th September, Under 17 Etienne Maughan ran a fast 200m, finishing second in her race in 24.71 – this moves Etienne into this year’s UK top ten for her age group.  Her fellow Under 17, Serena Van Beek came third in her 200m race in 28.23.

Athletes from Bedford and County AC made up for a late start to the season with some wonderful times over 800m in the London Inter-Club Challenge at Lee Valley athletics centre on Sunday 6th September.  The standout performance of the day was from Under 17 Alex Alston, who chopped nearly three seconds off of his PB in finishing second in the C race in 1:57.19.  Alex was on the money throughout the race, and had enough left to produce a fierce finishing kick that propelled him through the field in the last 100m to within a quarter of a second of the winner. 

Congratulations to Eitenne Maughan, who has broken Bedford and County's Under 17 Women's 100m record.  Competing in her first outdoor competition of 2020, in Dagenham on 23rd August, Etienne was electronically timed at 12.00 (she ran a hand-timed 12.00 in 2019).  Etienne's new mark breaks the former record of 12.2 set by Charlotte Underwood in 2013.

 The MK 5k PB Special road race lived up to its name on Friday 21st August, as five competitors from Bedford and County Athletics Club achieved personal bests over the fast 5000 metre course.

James Minter on his way to a PB at Milton Keynes (photo by Matt Bray)

Congratulations to Belinda Sergent, who has broken Bedford and County's long-standing Women's Triple Jump record.  Competing in Bournemouth on 9th August, Belinda jumped 11.74m (as well as a longer, windy, 11.80m leap).  This exceeded the previous club record of 11.54m, set by Andrea Hall back in 1998.  Belinda has been aiming for the record for some time.  Her new PB represents a considerable improvement on her previous best - which was 11.38m, and moves her into this year's national top thirty.

There were some excellent results for Bedford and County athletes in the Bedfordshire AAA Virtual 10 K race that was held between 13th and 19th July.

Rebecca Murray won the ladies race in 37:41 and was fourth fastest overall, whilst Sue Bosher was second in the ladies race and the faster F35 in 39:52.  Penelope Francis was the fastest Under 20 Woman in 55:47.  Emma Coombes completed the course in 52:41, Maddie Brodie ran 54:50, and Claire Perusko (47:08) was the fastest F50.

A big well done to Darren Deed, who came first in the M40 category in the England Athletics Virtual 5k Road Running Championships in a time of 14:48.  Darren also finished in 13th place overall in a field of over 1700 runners.  Ewan Wilson also had a good run, finishing 19th in the M45 category in 17:01.  The event took place between 11th and 13th July.  All competitors ran solo on their chosen 5k route, recording and submitting their times electronically.

Bedford and County sprinter, Raphael Bouju, who is qualified to run for Holland, is currently spending three weeks training in Papendal, in the Netherlands with the Dutch national squad.

If this had been a normal year, the English Schools Championships would have taken place in Birmingham between 10th and 11th July.  Sadly, the Coronavirus crisis forced the cancellation of that event, like so many others.  However, the English Schools Athletics Association gave youngsters the chance to compete in a virtual version of the championships - throwing, running and jumping, solo at local tracks, with their coaches or teachers adjudicating their efforts.  Five Bedford and County athletes took part, and there were some fine performances.  The results are:

Bedford and County athletes have taken part in two virtual races recently: the British Milers Club 3k Virtual Time Trial, and the British Masters 5k Virtual Relays.