Reading Athletic Club

VETERANS’ LEAGUE MATCH 4: Sunday 5th July
Report: Sue Francis

Reading AC’s officials and veteran athletes did the Club proud at the fourth and final Veterans League match, their home fixture at Palmer Park, on a very hot Sunday afternoon. Not only did we stage an excellent match that was appreciated by the seven other participating clubs, but, with 13 wins, we achieved our best result of the reason, both the women’s and men’s teams finishing 3rd. What’s more, two Club records were broken.
The team got off to a great start with the 100m races – a W35 race win for Monia Conforti (14.0s), a W50 win for Leanne Wellings (14.3s), and 2nd places for both Alan Chan (M35A, 12.5s) and Ken Chan (M35B, 13.2s). In the 800m, Sarah Holmes made a return from injury and illness to take 3rd in the W35 A-race (2:38.5), Rachel Phillips smashed her own target to clock 2:52.0 (3rd W35B), and Sue Francis clocked a season’s best of 2:39.0 for 2nd W50. Máté Lorincz took 6 secs off his 800m PB in finishing 4th in the M35A race (2:31.4). Tony McCreery (M70) set a fine example to his younger team-mates as he volunteered to fill gaps in the 800m and 400m in addition to his usual throwing events. Tony was 5th in the M50 8000m against men 20 years his junior (3:19.0).
Kevin Cranmer had a very busy afternoon. Having already helped with pre-match set-up of the field events, he competed in three, securing excellent wins in the M35 javelin (34.14m), and pole vault (3.00m), and 3rd in the discus (25.93m). Kev was joined in the throws by Tony, who impressed with a win in the M60 javelin (21.78m) and 5th place in discus (19.90m). Other good field event wins for Reading AC came from Alan Chan (M35 long jump, 10.52m) and Julie Wilson (W60 discus, 22.99m). Julie also competed in the shot, where she was joined by Lee Fellowes, both securing 2nd places (Lee W35, 6.54m; Julie W50 8.70m). Lee is another great team-player who took on two further field events, triple jump (3rd W35, 5.84m) and 5th discus (13.98m).
Back on the track, the 400m races were next up, and two women’s Club records were broken! Leanne took 0.1s off the W50 Club record with 70.7s (3rd W50), while Sophie Crumly, usually a middle-distance runner, showed she has a great turn of speed, winning the W35 A-race to break the W35 record by 2.2s (61.6s). Lucy Daniells had a good run in the W35 B-race for 3rd (74.8s). Our men ran equally well, Jonathan Hiorns victorious in the M35 A-race (55.5s), Alan runner-up M35B (60.1s), and Tony 5th in the M60 race (91.0s).
Reading AC had a clean sweep in the women’s 3000m. Anna Godfrey led from gun to finish to be the outright race winner and 1st W35A in 11:06.7; Angel Langlade, competing in the 3000m for the first time, had a great run for 1st W35B (12:42.2), and Sue was 1st W50 (12:00.9). In the men’s race, Sandeep Simon ran well for 5th M35A (10:44.3), while Máté did well to break 11 minutes on tired legs (10:59.7, 4th M35B). Michael Twomey had a great race for 2nd M60 (11:47.3).
The final events were the 4x200m relays, where both our men and women had fantastic races. Alan, Ken, and Jonathan, with Kev on leg 4, won the men’s race in 1:44.4, leaving pre-race favourites Oxford City AC 1.5 s adrift. Oxford’s team manager said later how impressed he was by our men’s team! Reading’s women (Monia, Lucy, Anna, and Leanne) also ran brilliantly to finish 2nd (2:03.9).
It was a great end to a good season, where Reading AC’s women finished 3rd overall in the league and the men 4th.
Thank you to all who competed and all who officiated or helped for Reading AC (and co-hosts Reading Roadrunners) for their hard work to ensure the match went smoothly: Julie Dew, Helen Apsey, Chris Apsey (field team), Sarah Urwin-Mann, Richard Whybrow, Emily Whybrow, Ann Gordon, Sam Whalley (track team), Neil Walker, Derrick Nixon (starting team), Mark Balchin, Julie Rayfield, David Noble (timekeepers), Kevin Cranmer (field event set-up), Lincoln Ball (results spreadsheets and field cards set-up), Malcolm Francis (photos), Tony Page and Ian Giggs (results) and Toni McQueen (refreshments).

National Sports Open Weekend is 18-19th July, with free taster sessions at Better Leisure Centres, including Palmer Park:

National Sports Open Weekend - 18th and 19th July Better leisure centres, libraries, swimming pools, gyms, spas, pitches and other community spaces. Find you nearest centre and join the movement.

Congratulations to all Reading AC athletes at the England Athletics championships in Bedford at the weekend. Georgie Langdon qualified for the final in the U20 800m and had an overall best performance of 2:12.48 minutes. Ibrahim Turay competed in the 200m clocking 23.03 secs.
In the decathlon which also served as the British Championships Sammy Ball won the competition to become outdoor British Champion to complement his indoor title in February. Meanwhile With his coach Mike Dyer watching on, Will Alexander completed his first senior decathlon with an impressive 7,085 points and some fantastic performances including PBs in 100m, 110m hurdles, discus and equalling his pole vault PB.

Reading AC’s veteran long- and triple-jumper Dave Shields was in action at the Welsh Masters Champs in Yate last weekend, bringing home two silver medals in the M65 age category. In the triple jump, Dave leapt to a season’s best of 7.75m. The long jump followed almost immediately, and, with fatigued legs, Dave jumped 3.40m.
Dave (who is a GB/ US dual national) was also delighted to learn that he finished 4th in the M65 USA 2026 indoor triple jump rankings and has been awarded ‘all American’ status, having been in the top 10 many times since 2014, for which he received a commemorate jacket – the only person outside the USA to receive this from the USA Masters. Well done Dave!

STADIUM CLOSED: due to a fire at Palmer Park training is cancelled tonight

As temperatures soar, Reading Athletics Club emphasises athlete safety during training. There will be extended rest breaks in shaded areas and additional hydration stations—both indoors and at the clubhouse—to ensure proper cooling and hydration.

We recommend participants hydrate thoroughly beforehand, and bring additional water and electrolytes to training, aswell as wearing suitable clothing, hats, and sunscreen to stay protected.

Please familiarise yourself with our poster around heat illness, and contact the on-site first aid immediately if athletes show signs of heat exhaustion.

Please prioritise your well-being: if feeling unwell, pause training until conditions improve. If you are uncomfortable training in the heat please remain at home until the temperatures return toAs temperatures soar, Reading Athletics Club emphasises athlete safety during training. There will be extended rest breaks in shaded areas and additional hydration stations—both indoors and at the clubhouse—to ensure proper cooling and hydration.

We recommend participants hydrate thoroughly beforehand, and bring additional water and electrolytes to training, aswell as wearing suitable clothing, hats, and sunscreen to stay protected.

Please familiarise yourself with our poster around heat illness, and contact the on-site first aid immediately if athletes show signs of heat exhaustion.

Please prioritise your well-being: if feeling unwell, pause training until conditions improve. If you are uncomfortable training in the heat please remain at home until the temperatures return to normal.

Veterans League match 3:
Reading AC Veterans fielded a small team for their third league match at Tilsley Park, Abingdon, on Thursday evening, but did well to finish 4th out of eight competing teams in both the men’s match and the women’s match. It was a warm and, typically (for Abingdon), breezy evening.
The first track event of the evening was the 2000m race walk, where the men and women competed together in a combined race with a large field of 16 competitors. Reading AC’s Sarah Ball and Ray Stevens had a great battle and pushed each other all the way, with Sarah crossing the line in 16:23.2, a 2-second PB (1st W50) and Ray (who recently celebrated his 80th birthday) just behind in 16:24.9 (2nd M60). Next up were the 1500m races. In the M35 race, Charlie Madelaine and Eoghan Murphy made it a clean sweep for Reading. Charlie led the race from gun to finish to win the A-string in 4:23.4, while Eoghan, returning to action after an injury lay-off, shook off two rivals in the last lap to win the B-string 4:27.9. The women’s race featured a large field of 15 runners, as W35 and W50 competitors were grouped into the same race. There was a bit of jostling and accidental heel-clipping on the first lap as the runners settled into position. Gilly Meek kept out of trouble and went straight to the front, demonstrating how much she has improved in confidence this year as she led the race for 1000m. In a competitive last lap, Gilly and W50 team-mate Sue Francis had a good battle to the line, with Gilly clocking a season’s best of 5:25.5 (4th W35-A) and Sue 5:25.9 (1st W50). Angel Langlade was competing in the veterans’ League for the first time and did well (5:52.4, 3rd W35-B), while non-scorer Lucy Daniells clocked 6:03.8.
Lucy was soon back in action in the 200m, with Shirley-Ann Dix and Leanne Wellings. Shirley, usually a middle-distance runner, showed a good turn of speed to finish 4th W35A (30.9s), with Lucy having a solid run in 32.5s (3rd W35B). In the W50 race, Leanne had a great race around the bend with her Oxford ‘rival’ and clocked a season’s best to finish 2nd (30.3s). Alan Chan and Ken Chan teamed up to contest the M35 race, both putting in solid performances for 3rd A (25.7s) and 3rd B (27.7s), respectively. Team stalwart Ray competed in the M60 race, against men 20 years his junior, to score valuable points for the team (53.2s, 6th). The 200m races were followed by two men’s 5000m races, which were tough for the runners on such a warm evening. Our sole competitor in the M35 race, Joe Hayes, a member of Reading AC’s winning Endure24 team, was still feeling the effects of Endure24 in his legs but still had a good run for 7th M35A (20:00.6). Michael Twomey and Neil Walker (both M60s) competed in the combined M50/M60 race, and both ran very well. Michael dropped down an age group to be our scorer in the M50 competition (5th, 20:35.6), while Neil was 3rd M60, running nearly 90 seconds faster than last year (21:26.2).
The team was short of field eventers for this match, but those who competed did well. Lee Fellowes was 3rd in the W35 long jump (3.19m) and 4th in the javelin (13.41m). Sarah competed in the W50 javelin (3rd, 17.92m) and hammer (2nd, 18.62m). Tony McCreery (M70) did well in the M50 hammer and the M60 shot (5th, 7.13m). Alan was 2nd in the M35 long jump (4.73m), while Dave Shields (M60) jumped a seasons’ best for 5th in the M50 event (3.60m).
The final event was the medley relay (200m, 200m, 400m, 800m). Unfortunately, Reading’s men were unable to field a team, but the women rose to the challenge. Lucy led off with a good 200m and handed over to Leanne who pulled the team up to 2nd place on her 200m leg. Shirley ran a great 400m to hold 2nd place, but Radley AC’s runner quickly passed Sue on the 800m stage, and Sue brought the team home 3rd (4:56.5).
Many thanks to Reading AC’s officials - Sarah Urwin-Mann (our track judge), Julie Dew, Lincoln Ball, Helen Apsey and Chris Apsey (our field team). Steve Fabes, from host club Abingdon AC said, “I would like to personally thank the field team from Reading AC last night. They went above and beyond what was required of them to help ensure we completed our field event programme, and were a real credit to Reading AC. Without their help we would have finished really late. I’m sincerely grateful”.

Sue Francis (Team Manager)

Congratulations to Reading ACs Jacob Cilliers for his performances at the Bauhaus Down Syndrome World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria last week.

Representing his native South Africa, Jacob, a very popular athlete at Reading Athletic Club, secured first place and gold medal to become the World Champion in the discus throw.

In other events, and in difficult conditions due to the heat and long wait times between throws Jacob also achieved fourth position in the shot put and eigth place in the javelin throw.

Well done to everyone involved in Jacob’s development and especially to his dedicated parents and coaching adviser Nigel Spratley-Kemp.