The Senior Men’s team got off to a great start in defence of their Surrey Cross Country League title on Wimbledon Common on Saturday. All ten scorers finished in the top thirty to top the leaderboard with 153 points over Belgrave Harriers in second, with 204, on what was home ground for both Clubs. As always , the key to success in these races is turning out in numbers, and forty Club athletes duly answered the call to compete.

Where there are medals to be won you will inevitably find the unstoppable U13 Boys. Having claimed the National Cross Country title only a week earlier, the team were triumphant again at the Southern Road Relays at Rushmore Arena, Aldershot, on 21 September, albeit with a slightly different line-up as the age groups returned to normal. This time the victory went to the A team of Ivan Derian, Thomas Hennigan and Max Harrison, whose storming finish saw him record the second quickest final stage of the day. The same trio then went on to take the silver medals at the National Road Relays in Sutton Park, nr. Birmingham on 5 October.

The Club enjoyed its best results of recent times at the National Cross Country Championships at Weston Park, Staffordshire, on Saturday, with victory for the U13 Boys, led home by Theo Creed, who took the individual title in an impressive show of front-running – the first individual medal for the Club since Jeina Mitchell took the U15 Girls title in 1990. The U17 Men’s team won bronze medals, led in by Benjy Street, who was an excellent 16th, while the Senior Men finished fifth, the highest placing since the team of 1974 finished in bronze medal position (the team of 1970 were silver medallists).

The Club’s Masters athletes made history on 31 August at Horspath, Oxford when not only did the Men’s and Women’s teams both qualify for the Vets League Finals for the first time, but the women’s team clinched victory – by half a point! The Final was the culmination of a brilliant season in which both teams won every match in their League, and notched up 87 personal bests and 77 season’s bests along the way!

Two of the Club's athletes were invited into the spotlight at the UK Championships in Manchester on 30 June, in which the competition in every discipline ramped up as the event doubled as the trials for the Olympic Games in Paris.

U17 Conor Kelly (below) reaped the benefits of warm-weather training in Jamaica when, competing up an age-group, he won the gold medal in the 400m at the Southern U20 and Senior Championships in Eton on 9 June, in a PB of 47.38.

Thanks to a PB at the 1500m Night at Wimbledon Park on 29 May Charlie Wyllie has received an invitation to the UK Athletics Championships in Manchester on 29/30 June, where he will join sprinter Chad Miller, who goes in the 200m, as the best of the best compete for national titles and places on the team for the Paris Olympics.

At the May Championships over the weekend of 11/12 May, there were gold medals for U15 Oliver Cartwright in the triple jump, and George Johnson in the javelin. As an U17 George finished last season ranked 5th in the UK, and already in his first year as an U20 he is ranked eighth with a PB of 55.99m.

Showtime on London's streets, and a posse of 28 Club athletes were amongst over 53,000 finishers at this year's TCS London Marathon.

The Senior Men’s A team put in a record-equalling performance, finishing in sixth place at the National Road Relays, having flirted with the possibility of a bronze medal at the halfway mark, in the strong and swirling winds in Sutton Park, near Birmingham.

Congratulations to the Senior Men’s team who won historic bronze medals at the South of England 12-Stage Road Relay Championships in Milton Keynes on Saturday (which doubles as the qualification event for the Nationals) – the first medals for 52 years! Not to be outdone in the bright sunny, but windy conditions, the B team also made history, finishing in 14th overall and second B-team. The day was notable, too, for a solo U15 Boys 5K bronze for Thomas Whorton, who came home in 16:40, a PB by one minute, and a new HW Club record.

The Club’s Senior Men secured a brilliant fourth Tracksmith Surrey Cross Country League title in five years yesterday (10 February) at the final match of the season, held in the stunning grounds of West Horsley Place, near Guildford. There were League wins too for the U13 Girls and Boys, plus individual honours for young Theo Creed, who topped the U13 rankings with three wins and a second place over the season. Remarkably all the other junior teams finished in second place in their respective tables. A great overall Club achievement.

Congratulations to the Senior Men’s squad on a fantastic team silver at the Southern Cross Country Championships on Saturday 27 January at Beckenham Place Park. And to the super-consistent U13 Boys who also graced the medal rostrum.

Another win for the Senior Men on Wimbledon Common to extend their lead in the title race. There were wins, too for the U13 Boys and Girls.

Barely a week into 2024 and the U13 Boys team were already laying down a golden marker for the rest of the cross country season, coming home first at the Surrey County Championships at Denbies Vineyard on 7 January.

A break in the dreary weather, a resounding team win and a long-waited individual victory from GB international Stuart McCallum – what a Saturday on Mitcham Common for the Club's senior men's squad.  'Awesome running from all on a lovely sunny autumn day; and great for Stu to finally debut in the Surrey League', enthused team manager, Dave Grima. After two matches, the Club sits at the top of the Division 1 table, 181 points ahead of second place Belgrave Harriers. 

The Club’s Senior Men’s team kicked off the defence of their Surrey Cross Country League title in fine form at the first league fixture in Richmond Park on Saturday (14 October), finishing in second by a mere two points to Belgrave Harriers.

The Club’s Senior Men had their best day ever at the National 6-Stage Championships in Sutton Park, when the A team finished in sixth with the B team in 17th (and second B team).

When sprinter Paul Wignall packed his bags to head for the European Masters Championships in Pescara, Italy, in September, his goal was simply to make the final of the individual M70 400m – little did he know that on the return journey he would be adding a complete set of medals: gold, silver and bronze, to his luggage.
 

A record two senior men's teams in the top eight, and silver medals for the U13 Boys at the Southern Road Relay Championships!

On the day when the Diamond League rolled back into town to deliver world class athletics to the London Stadium once again, the Club’s U20 Men’s 4 x 100m relay team seized their moment to shine on the track. As the arena began to fill to its 50,000 capacity, announcing the biggest audience for a one day athletics meeting in the world, the team of Daniel Guinness, Joshua Martin, Marcus Gayle and Freddie Arkell came home clear winners in 40.52 to set a new all time Hercules Wimbledon club record in the process.

The Club was represented by over 100 athletes competing at the Surrey County Track and Field Championships at Kingston over the weekend of 20/21 May. Between them they collected 25 medals: 11 gold, eight silver and six bronze.

An impressive contingent of Club athletes were out pounding the streets of London on Sunday 23 April, cheered on by an equally impressive crowd of supporters stationed at key points around the course.

Some had earned Championship places, Good for Age places, or Club places. Some were running for charities; and on the elite start, lining up alongside four of the five fastest marathon-runners in the world, waiting for the fastest of them all, Eliud Kipchoge, to start the race, was Hercules international, Alex Milne.

For a brief moment during the National 12-stage Road Relays at Sutton Coldfield on 15 April the Senior Men's squad asked, 'dare we dream?' Having finished just outside the medals at the Southern Relays a fortnight earlier the A team had high hopes of matching if not bettering the sixth place achieved last year, which was the highest placing since 1973.

West Ham United may have taken over the London Stadium, where they were busy beating Southampton last Sunday, but athletics was right back where it belongs in Olympic Park as for the first time the Southern (SEAA) 12/6 stage Relays were staged around its paths in the shadow of the Velodrome. The Club's teams were out in force, with the Men's A team finishing a fantastic fourth to match last year's position.

The Senior Men won the Surrey Cross Country League title for the third time, overhauling Guildford & Godalming’s 24-point lead in the final showdown in Lloyd Park on Saturday, 11 February, with team captain Fred Slemeck sealing the individual honours thanks to his super-consistent performance over the four matches.

More success for the Senior Men’s team who clinched the bronze medals at the Southern Cross Country Championships at Beckenham Place Park today – the first team medal for 49 years!

The Senior Men got off to a great start to the New Year, winning the Surrey County Cross Country Championships at Lloyd Park yesterday (7 January). Team Captain Freddie Slemeck also bagged the individual bronze medal; and there were team silvers for both the U13 Boys and U13 Girls, with Thomas Whorton taking the individual U13 Boys silver medal, and Isabella Harrison the U13 Girls bronze medal. U20 Ellen Weir also had a great run, coming home fifth in the Senior Women's race.

Alex Milne shaved a sliver from his best marathon time in Valencia on 4 December as he came home in 64th place in 2:17:40.

Congratulations to the Senior Men’s team of Andrew Penney, Fred Slemeck, Ed Mallett and Finn Johnson who were crowned SEAA London Cross Country Champions on Parliament Hill last weekend.