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 Wimbledon, Putney, Wandsworth
Silver Service In a leafy location opposite Wimbledon Common in the heart of residential properties lies Parkside Hospital which is celebrating its 25th year serving the surrounding community. more
A Greener Mills Quite a crowd gathered to see inventor Trevor Baylis turn on the new Wind Turbine at Merton Abbey Mills. more
Tennis Photos On his first visit to the Centre Court, Michael photographed the epic encounter between Pancho Gonzales and Charlie Pasarell - at 112 games still the longest match in Wimbledon history. SUPERGIRLS contains reproductions of his photographs, classic action shots and revealing and intimate studies of over 30 leading female players... more
Wimbledon Bookfest achieved its place on the literary festival calendar, following the success of its first festival last October. Find out what's happening this year. more
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 Clapham, Battersea, Fulham
Trees for Cities has opened for its annual initiative in Battersea Park, taking place this year on Saturday 20 September. Click here for more
 Epsom, Sutton, Cheam
Kempton Race Nights It was a blustery warm evening at the races as the media from all over London were welcomed by the staff at Kempton. More
 Kingston
John Lewis staff took part in the wrong trousers day wearing a variety of outfits from jeans to pyjamas and raised over £300 for their Charity. There were a few eyebrows raised by their customers but once they knew why the usually impeccable staff were dressed as they were they were happy to see money being raised for children.Check out the building on July 6th for another suprise
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 Thousands swap shopping for Running
Location: Blogs Local NewsKingston |
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| Posted by: Local News Editor |
19/10/2007 |
A town more renowned for its excellent offering of brand name shops, was instead crammed with athletes of all ages and abilities who took to the streets in perfect autumn conditions to take part in one of the UK’s premier regional running races.
The 8.2 mile race
The start of the 8.2 mile event saw runners head out through Kingston’s historic market place over Kingston Bridge and then turn along the scenic Thames tow path passing Hampton Court Palace before crossing back over the river at Hampton Court Bridge, and winding their way back to the start in Kingston.
Defending champion and local runner Tom Kingsnorth, 27, (Thames Harriers) was the one to beat over the very flat and fast course, but he managed to hold onto his lead throughout the race, crossing the line to take his second successive title, in 45:19. It was a tough battle for 2nd and 3rd place between Rob Ward (Portsmouth Joggers) and James Brown (Met Police), finishing just two seconds apart in 46:17 and 46:19 respectively.
On his win Tom commented; “This is a great race, I really enjoyed it and the conditions couldn’t have been better. The race was perfect for me and my preparation for the cross country season ahead. I felt confident throughout, despite being put under pressure by Rob at Hampton Court, so managed to pull away to maintain a comfortable lead – whilst marginally slower than last year, I’m really pleased with my result.”
In the women’s race, newcomer to running Angela Hibbs, (Claremont Road Runners), destroyed the women’s field winning by a margin of more than 5 minutes in 50:32. Hibbs only took up the sport just over three years ago, when she entered the London Marathon, finishing in an impressive time of under three hours. Since then she hasn’t looked back and has already competed in the London and Edinburgh marathons this year. Competing in the 8.2 mile race for the first time, Angela is definitely a home-grown talent to watch for the future. Following behind her were Elaine Mayfield and Jennifer Hamer in 56:40 and 57:38 respectively.
16 mile
Taking in two laps of the Kingston course the 16 mile race set off at 8:30am and with 2006 winner not present, it gave last year’s 3rd placed Tony Lashmar his chance to put his name on the trophy. When the men went through the 8.2 mile mark in 48 minutes, it was Tony in first place very quickly followed by Mark Labbetts and Alex Brooks, with the group spread out in just under 60 seconds at this point.
The trio managed to keep a strong pace around the second lap however Tony managed to fend off the pressure and retain his lead throughout, crossing the line in a time of 1h34m25s time. Alex Brooks got his pacing right and in doing so was able to overtake 3rd placed Rabbetts at the 12 mile mark, finishing in a time of 1h36m15s.
The women’s event was an equally, or if not more so, contested event with the leading two women coming through neck and neck at the end of the first lap. Laura Cowley (Herts Phoenix), winner of this year’s Asics Breakfast Run, was the eventual winner claiming victory and a PB in 1h41m05s, having managed to pull away from her rival Kate Brown (Army Athletics) at the 13th mile. Kate finished in 2nd place in 1h42m26s and Dorothy Wilkinson (Elmbridge Road Runners) came 3rd in 1h44m14s.
On the success of the day John Lunt, Director of Human Race, the event’s organisers, commented “With such a large number of entries and the support of Asics and all our sponsors, partners and all our volunteers, the Kingston Running Festival is growing from strength to strength.”
For full race results and information on the Asics Kingston Running Festival or for details of other Human Race events including the Asics Kingston Breakfast Run (April 2008) or the Royal Windsor Triathlon and Eton Super Sprints visit www.humanrace.co.uk
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