Scores of runners will be converging on Wimbledon Park on Sunday for the annual Geoff Moulden 10km road race. The race, which is being organised by Hercules Wimbledon Athletic club, starts and finishes on the running track and after a small loop in Wimbledon Park runners will head out onto the road.
They will do two laps of a circuit that takes in Wimbledon Park Road, Church Road - passing the all England tennis club - St Mary's Road, Arthur Road and Home Park Road before re-entering Wimbledon Park at the Home Park Road entrance. They then run parallel to the District Line, past the Revelstoke Road car park and then out again onto Wimbledon Park Road.
Last year's winner was Ben Moreau from Aldershot in a fast 31 minutes 10 seconds. Moreau won't be defending his title as he is competing for England in the Commonwealth Games marathon in Delhi. However, he showed he is in good form as he helped his Aldershot club retain the South of England six-stage road relay title at Aldershot on Sunday with the third fastest lap time of the day.
On line entries for the Geoff Moulden 10km will close on Friday night although entries will still be taken on the day at a cost of £15 per entry. Runners wishing to enter should turn up at Wimbledon Park track at 8.30am. The race starts at 9.30am. More information can be found on the event’s website www.wimbledonten.co.uk.
More than £600-worth of prizes provided by the Jog Shop will be up for grabs. The first man and woman will get £100 cash each. This year the race also incorporates the Veterans Athletic Club 10km championships.
Hercules Wimbledon's over 60 veterans were the second Surrey team to finish in the South of England road relay championships at Aldershot on Sunday. Fresh from his victory in the British Masters 10km championships at Goodrich, near Wolverhampton, Peter Giles was easily the fastest Hercules Wimbledon runner covering the 6km lap in 24:00 in lifting the quartet from 13th to 10th place on the final lap. His time was the 14th fastest for his age group and the second best by a Surrey runner. Other members of the Hercules Wimbledon team were Dennis Williams (13th in 28:07), Steve Badgery (13th in 28:08) and Maurice Sharp (13th in 26:11).
Hercules Wimbledon's senior team showed a massive improvement on last year in finishing 18th overall out of more than 60 teams compared with 43rd in 2009. Their total time of 1:57:56 was eight minutes faster than last year. Liam White brought the team in 20th in the opening lap clocking 19:07, the joint fastest time by a Hercules Wimbledon runner. Matthew Sharp (20:12) slipped to 25th place before Alex Robinson, matching White's time, got back to 20th spot.
Adam Przedrzymirski (19:46) moved up to 18th spot before Andrew Penney (19:17) moved up to 15th. Anchor leg runner Alex Urban (20:27) slipped to 18th. The Hercules Wimbledon B team which finished 41st in 2:05:22 was higher placed than last year's A team and also returned a faster overall time, by 33 seconds. Justin Kelly (19:55) was the fastest member of the team moving through from 51st to 44th place on the fourth leg. Other members of the team were Rory McMahon (49th in 20:06), Joe Toomey (56th in 21:58), Jamie Helmer (51st in 21:05), Phil Glynn (39th in 20:45) and Deon Coetzee (41st in 21:33).
Peter Lee (21:21) was the fastest member of the veterans over 40 team which finished 24th in 1:35:51. He moved through from 42nd to 30th place on the third leg. Other members of the quartet were Jeremy Purnell (50th in 23:48), Frank Wood (42nd in 24:08) and Peter Clarke (36th in 26:34).
Matthew Sharp, who is competing in the Amsterdam marathon on October 17, continued his preparations for the event by finishing third out of more than 200 runners in the Brooks Hove 10km road race in 35:31. He was just four seconds off his best time for the distance set in the 26.2 Valentine's 10km at Chessington in February.
This weekend, Hercules Wimbledon youngsters are in action in the Surrey cross country relays at Guildford on Saturday. The club is fielding teams in the men's under 17 and boys' under 15 championships.
* Hercules Wimbledon's track and field training sessions take place at Wimbledon Park athletics stadium on Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting at 6.30pm and Sunday morning at 10.30am. Further details from coaching coordinator Maurice Sharp on 020 8337 8707.
*Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club hold mid-week road running training sessions for marathon, cross country and road runners from Lauriston Cottage, 6a Southside, Wimbledon Common, at the junction with Lauriston Road, every Wednesday evening from 7pm. Contact Pete Mulholland on 020 8761 4308 for more details.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article