HAVING made the best start of the 71
teams in the two national leagues
this season, Thames Valley Harriers
men’s and women’s squads are
going for a double double this
weekend, having taken the honours
in last month’s double fixture at
Leigh, writes Tom Pollak.
The defending UK Women’s
League champions were fresh
from flying the flag for Britain in
the European champion clubs
contest in Spain and will be aiming
to consolidate their position at the
top of the league. With two wins out
of two, meanwhile, TVH men will
be going for the hat-trick and their
target of regaining premier division
status.
Apart from hosts Windsor, Slough,
Eton & Hounslow, TVH face the
shortest journey of the nine teams
travelling to the Thames Valley
Athletics Centre, Eton – around 20
miles from their Linford Christie
Stadium HQ in West London.
Both their men’s and women’s
teams have made solid starts in
the UKWL premier division and BAL
division one and go into Saturday’stwo matches with commanding
leads.
The battle at the top of the British
Athletics League is much closer at
the halfway stage with Birchfield
and Newham & Essex Beagles
having won a match each. Withthe third premier division match in
Sheffield, most teams face a long
journey north with hosts City of
Sheffield & Dearne enjoying home
advantage.
The second UK Women’s League
division two match will form a joint
fixture at Sheffield with Enfield &
Haringey facing having won the
Chelmsford opener by half a point.
The UK Women’s League division
one match is at Ridlins Park,
Stevenage, with the British Athletics
League division four match.
Shaftesbury Barnet, who won a
close opening affair at Allianz Park,
will be aiming to tighten their grip
at the top.
There was another tight finish in
the opening UKWL division three
match at Bedford with hosts and
local rivals Marshall Milton Keynes
achieving the same score. TheyPREVIEWS UPCOMING EVENTS
NATIONAL LEAGUES, VARIOUS VENUES, SATURDAY JULY 6
Thames Valley target double top
SARAH TUNSTALL (right), who won
individual silver last time this event
was staged in its uphill format
two years ago, heads Britain’s
16-strong team.
Joining recent trials champion
Tunstall will be Rebecca Hilland,
who was with her when Britain
won team gold in 2017. Former
UK steeplechase record-holder
Hatti Archer, who was 10th in the
2016 World Mountain Running
Championships, and last year’s
bronze winner Emma Gould
complete a strong senior women’s
team.
Trials winner Jacob Adkin will
be joined in the GB men’s team
by his coach, Robbie Simpson, theCommonwealth marathon bronze
medallist, and Andrew Douglas,
winner of the opening two stages
of the World Mountain Running Cup
this year.The junior teams include 2018
International Youth Cup champion
Matthew Mackay.
From an international point
of view, Switzerland’s Maude
Mathys will be chasing her third
consecutive title as she runs on
home soil in the shadow of the
world-famous Matterhorn.
Challenging her will be Austria’s
three-time winner Andrea Mayr,
who has also won the world title six
times and is an uphill specialist.
Recent world trail champion
Blandine L’Hirondel of France will
be dropping down in distance to
10.1km (1020m of ascent) – the
juniors run 5.9km (448m+) – while
Anais Sabrie of France will belooking to go one better than her
silver of last year.
On the men’s side, Norway’s
Johan Bugge, who was fifth and
top European at last year’s Worlds,
is among the top entrants.
Italy’s men include Cesare
Maestri, runner-up last year and
former world champions Xavier
Chevrier and Martin Dematteis.Great Britain team
Men: Jacob Adkin, Sebastian Batchelor,
Andrew Douglas, Robbie Simpson.
Women: Hatti Archer, Emma Gould,
Rebecca Hilland, Sarah Tunstall.
Junior men: Ben Bergstrand, Euan
Brennan, Joseph Dugdale, Matthew Mackay.
Junior women: Pippa Carcas, Lauren
Dickson, Florence Duff, Eve Pannone.Tunstall will look to better 2017 performance
EUROPEAN MOUNTAIN RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIPS (UPHILL), ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND, SUNDAY JULY 7
SATURDAY SEES THE LATEST BRITISH ATHLETICS LEAGUE AND UK WOMEN’S LEAGUE EVENTS
British Men’s League
returns this weekend