THE past two weekends have seen the running of the The London Indoor Games Athletics Championships. They have grown in popularity since their inception ten years ago and draw athletes from all over the country and, indeed, all over Europe. The event used to take place on one weekend, but this year saw it split into two weekends with U17 and upwards on the first weekend and U15 and below this weekend. Four Harlow athletes participated.

Arthur Cowan, who only joined the club at the beginning of September, ran 60m in the U20 races. His first round performance of 8.14s was good enough to see him progress to the D final. He was fourth in this race and improved his time to 8.04s. This was an encouraging first ever run and sets him up well for the outdoor season.

This weekend, three junior athletes took part: Noah Brown ran 60m, Holly Austin ran 60m and 200m, and Kitty Tyson ran 60m flat and 60m hurdles. Noah Brown is in his first year as a U13 athlete had an excellent day. In his first run, he ran 9.18s and this was good enough to make the B final. He was seventh in this event but went quicker, in 9.14s. He was certainly up against some good second year U13s and held his own.

Kitty Tyson ran a conservative first round in the 60m hurdles but performed well enough to be in the A final. In this final she was fourth in 10.34s. This was an excellent result in a high quality field that brought together all of the current top seven in the country. Later in the day, she reached the U13 Girl’s D Final in the flat 60m. She came fourth in 9.14s.

Holly Austin was the club’s sole U15 participant. She ran close to her PB twice. In her first round she equalled her best indoor time of 8.81s, and in the G Final she ran 8.84s and was fourth. The 200m, with only a single race for the athletes, was seeded by current rankings. Austin was third in her heat and just outside her PB. She ran the distance in 29.39s.

The club now turns its attention to the final Cross Country League match of the season. For the first time in manty seasons there are three teams, the U13 Boys and the U15 Boys and Girls teams who have an opportunity to end the season in a ‘placed’ position.