HEART OF ENGLAND: SEASON WRAP-UP – WE CAME, WE SAW, WE WON (A LOT)
A couple of months ago, Colin asked if I’d take over the Heart of England team. I looked him in the eye, smiled politely, and thought:“These are some very big shoes to fill… but hey, why not jump straight in and see what happens?” Fast-forward to comp season: fixture clashes everywhere, athletes flying off to senior events, U15s and U17s disappearing to represent West Midlands Schools at the Mason Trophy, others vanishing for exams (how dare they prioritise education?), and the final meeting landing right in the middle of holiday season. Perfect timing! Was I panicking?Absolutely not (okay, maybe a little). But I looked at our talent pool, counted heads, and realised: we’re still in great shape. We filled every event. Everyone held their own. And some stars even stepped up an age group to compete in the age above, special shout-outs to Gabriella Blake and Amerai White, total legends.…
BRAT Round-up (WC 2nd June 2025)
Sandeep didn’t include himself in his weekly roundup, so i’ll include him. Attempting the Bolton 70.3 on Sunday, he managed to take an amazing 1 hour and 10 minutes off his previous best! He is simultaneously vowing never to do another one whilst scoping out future races, so I all think we know which way this is going! Well done Sandeep, a great performance, one to be proud of 👏👏👏 Super BRAT Leonie Goodwin finished in an awesome 5th in age group at the Eastbourne Triathlon. Tough swim with a windy and very hilly bike. Well done you. Super BRAT Jez smashed his way through Blenheim Triathlon. Well done Sir. Now how would you fancy running 56 miles in the blazing sun with 4000 feet of elevation??? Well take a bow Super BRAT Dan Robinson and Super BRAT Naomi Mitchell they did this at the weekend. What a monumental achievement…
Heart of England League – Results are in!
Huge thanks to everyone for your amazing effort! Special mentions: Matty, Alba & Robert – GCSEs + 2 days competing 👏 Amerai & Gabrielle – U15 girls stepping up to U17 with brilliant performances! Club records broken today:Muayyad – 300m (U15 boys)Jaya – High Jump (U13 girls)Austin – Equalled U15 boys High JumpAlisia – Equalled U15 girls 75m HurdlesU15 Girls Relay – smashed the old record by ~3 seconds! 🔥Hope I haven’t missed anyone!Massive shout-out to all the officials who put in a shift 💪And a big thank you to all the parents for bringing the kids and making it such a great day. 📅 Next match: 22nd June in Banbury – please save the date! Overall, an amazing performance from everyone. Wish me luck picking the next team with such a talented squad! 😅🙌 Results are here: https://hofe-league.org.uk/results-division-1/
BRAT Round-up (WC 12th May 2025)
Well, Super BRAT Claire Keene, 1st Place Roadford Lake Tri! Super BRAT’s John McKeon (5:19:34) and Leonie Goodwin (5:31:18) and Super BRAT Abbie Saker comes 7th 4:46:53………Wow you guys excelled at Outlaw Half yesterday….Amazing BRAT performance Super BRAT’s Paul Cannon and Helen Pike raced at 51 Fiver Triathlon. Helen finished 4th in Age group (2:52:41) It wouldn’t be a BRAT week without Ron Cattle competing Veterans Athletic Club 5 mile champs Battersea Park. 34:55 And Super BRAT Mark Ince setting another V50 record this weekend…..He did!!! James c Colclough M45 200m, Simon Pearce M40 PV, Karen Bailey W40 DT, Louise Robinson SW 400H, Alba Smith Pena 2000m S/C and Jenny Scott W35 HJ. What a BRAT team we have. Super BRAT Joseph Tuffin 2nd in the 3000m Loughborough International. Oh and what a day we had at Banbury Triathlon yesterday. BRAT Cleaned up the awards with the announcers stating…….”BRAT seem…
BRAT Juniors Secure Promotion as League Winners!
Let’s be honest, it’s not the most enjoyable drive to Corby. The dull grey clouds over the motorway did little to inspire enthusiasm. As we arrived in the stand, the weather felt more like that of an early April warm-up meeting as opposed to a league competition in the middle of summer! As Europe basks in a heat-wave where people are advised to not go out and to keep their curtains closed, summer in Corby felt more like a game-of-thrones ‘north of the wall’ escapade. A strong and persistent head wind on the home straight put pay to the majority of our sprinter’s chances of PBs. If you achieved a PB at the weekend, then you should be very pleased with yourself. The dark skies were occasionally pierced with downpours and the odd bit of sunshine, perhaps this is as good as it gets in Corby??? On that backdrop, seeing…