Belgrave toil in first round of the National Athletics League

Belgrave finished sixth overall at Chelmsford and will require some big performances in the next two fixtures to avoid relegation from the Championship.

The team was hit by some late withdrawals through illness and injuries. This was somewhat tempered by some brilliant individual performances on the day, many of whom were competing in their first NAL for the club.

The day started with some very solid runs by Alessandra MacDonald, Laura Darcey and Mike Burslem in the 400mH before arguably the run of the day by Lara Mangan, who took a whopping seven seconds off her 800m PB as she went gun to tape in the women’s B race.

The ever-reliable sprints combination of Sam Ige and Joe McGrath ensured we secured 20 points in both the 100m and 200m, while there was a very strong debut run by Carmen Gadea Arcos in the women’s 100m. Sian Harry was just outside her PB when securing the win in the 400m.

Over in the field events, Mia Callenberg, Jodie Albrow and Ram Choudry put in their usual consistent performances, ensuring we secured some decent points in the throws and jumps, while there were some very encouraging debuts by Allegra Simpson in the Javelin, Naomi Storm in the Pole Vault and Iona Fisher in the Hammer Throw.

We would like to thank everyone who turned out on the day, as well as all of the officials and Chelmsford AC for hosting.

Allegra Simpson

Credit: Steve Wilkin