Summer League fourth round

Ealing Eagles tightened their grip on third position in the Summer League table in the fourth round at Regents Park.

Tom Rowles was again the standout performer among the men, clocking 36.37 over the 10k course to finish in fifth place. There was also an impressive debut from Chris Lambert, who finished 18th in 38.43.

Javad Husain (22nd, 39.13), Brian Stakelum (24th, 39.17) and debutant Jason Snell (30th, 39.52) all crossed the line within 40 minutes.

For the women, Jennifer Watt enjoyed an impressive return to action after injury, coming 9th in 44.47. Yvonne Linney – also coming into form on the back of an injury layoff - was just four places further back in 45.21.

Nanda Griffioen, marking her final team appearance in white and black, finished 18th in 46.28, with another first-timer, Tracee Kean, just one place and five seconds behind her. Dutchwoman Griffioen, a popular member and coach, is leaving London to work in Ireland.

Eagles captain Lisa Emerson said she was delighted with the performance, given the team was missing several regulars who were taking part in the five-mile event at the Olympic Stadium to mark the anniversary of the Games.

“It was another successful weekend, which leaves us with a great chance of finishing in the top three,” she said.

“We’ve already made a massive improvement on last season, when we finished fifth, but we’ll be going all out in the last fixture to finish the season with as many points as possible.”

The team’s performance left the Eagles well clear of fourth-placed Dulwich Park Runners, who’d leapfrogged Serpentine in the nine-club table. However, the Eagles lost ground on neighbours Ealing, Southall and Middlesex, who closed the gap on leaders – and this round’s hosts – Mornington Chasers.

The Summer League campaign ends on August 18, when Serpentine host the fixture at Battersea Park.

• Away from Summer League, Jose Manuel Pabon notched up another race win to build on his already impressive record, winning the Bath Marathon in 3:48.08. That’s more than an hour slower than his club record over 26.2 miles but an impressive time over what was an extremely challenging – not to mention hilly – trail course.

August 8th 2013