Golden oldies set standard for Ranelagh (From Surrey Comet)

Golden oldies set standard for Ranelagh

9:37am Tuesday 31st July 2007

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Ranelagh Harriers were well represented in the popular Wedding Day race on Friday evening.

More than 40 Ranelagh runners were among the nearly 500 who took part in the 7km event in Bushy Park.

While Australian visitor Rafael Baugh was running away to a clear victory in a time of 22 minutes 10 seconds, pride of place for Ranelagh went to the club's more senior members.

Forty-year-old Paul "Popeye" Doyle again showed a clean pair of heels to his younger clubmates, finishing sixth overall in 23.28.

This brought him first prize in the over-40s category by an impressive 51 seconds.

His feat was emulated in the over-50s class by evergreen Chris Owens, 29th overall in 25.59.

Clive Beauvais nearly made it a hat-trick for Ranelagh in the over 60-class but, in the end, his time of 28.19 meant he had to settle for second behind Hercules Wimbledon's, as well as 73rd overall.

Of Ranelagh's younger men, Jonathon Stacey finished 14th in 24.28, two places and 11 seconds ahead of Ed Barker.

Peter Weir was next home in 27th place and, together with Doyle, they secured second place to Thames Hare & Hounds in the team competition.

Marc Snaith, David Rowe and Chris Brook also made the top fifty.

It was Thames Hare & Hounds to the fore also in the women's race.

Irish former Olympian Sonia O'Sullivan won by nearly half a minute in 24.25.

Ranelagh's first finisher was the reliable Marie Synnott-Wells, seventh in 27.29, and she was followed by Mandy Westlake, 18th in 29.21, Kerrie O'Connor, 19th in 29.35, and Evelyn Joslin, 27th in 30.42.

Together, they took fourth place in the team competiton.

Much further back, two of Ranelagh's oldest active members were fighting out their own battle.

John Hanscomb and Wally Garrod, both 71, are old rivals in every sense of the word and, on this occasion, it was the former who came out ahead, finishing 316th in 38.14, with Garrod 342nd in 39.34.

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