Hillingdon AC Ladies Veterans team do us proud, finishing the season in third
The Hillingdon AC Ladies Veterans team did the club proud again over the 4 x SCVAC competitions this summer, coming third overall behind tough competition from Serpentine (the winners) and Herne Hill, reports team manager Maria Hernandez-Humm. Delighted to welcome some new faces to the team, Caroline Ford, Kathryn Curruthers and Boo Smith, but we also had a number of injured athletes who were sorely missed. Hope you are recovering well ladies!
The first fixture at Battersea was a rather cold and wet affair, but we are used to this British summer weather! We were able to fill every event with a Hillingdon AC athlete and had some stand out performances from Sharon Dooley and Caroline Ford winning the 100m A & B stream, Pauline Fischer winning the 400m in the W60 category and Jo Miles winning the 2000m walk in the W60 category. Must thank a reluctant Lynn Hyde for stepping up in the W35 2000m walk, really appreciated, ensuring the team came a close 3rdoverall.
Our 2nd fixture was at home at Uxbridge track. Again not great weather but as always the team spirit was fantastic. Due to injuries and holidays we were really short of athletes particularly in the W60 group with Pauline Fischer and Cathy Girvan holding the fort, Pauline covering the track (winning the 3000m) and Cathy the field events. Wins from Claire Tompsett in the 200m, 35A stream, Melanie Spencer in the 800m 35B stream and Maria in the womens 50’s 200m, Long Jump and Triple Jump. Hillingdon AC came 3rd in the fixture.
The penultimate fixture was back to Battersea, but the weather could not have been more different. Bathed in sunshine, it was a balmy night, perfect for athletics. The womens ladies were superb in the 100m, with Sharon Dooley, Caroline Ford and Maria Hernandez- Humm winning for 35A, 35B & 50 respectively. Special mention to Melanie Spencer, Angela Duncan and Cathy Girvan for getting out of their comfort zone in the 2000m walk, lots of cheers from their team mates. On the field events Kim Weir won the hammer for the 50’s and Sharon Talbot the javelin also for the womens 50’s. We were a close 3rd in this fixture just 6 points behind Herne Hill Harriers.
The final fixture was at Perivale track and again a lovely summers evening to finish off. Down on athletes for W60, Angela Duncan was our only W60 lady for this fixture, covering the 800m and Hammer, but we were able to cover all the other events in the W35 and W50 categories,enabling us to come 2nd in this fixture. It goes to show that if we can cover every event we are a force to be reckoned with!
I would really like to thank all the ladies of the Vets team who competed, including Lucy Duncan, Zoe Dobbs and Karen O’Rourke, for their support and camaraderie. Hoping all will be back to fitness for the 2018 season.
