| This week saw only one event, instead of the usual selection during the Summer, but it was the highly significant Southern Track Championship although held, for convenience, with the corresponding combined events contest rather than the other track events. It was a pity that the previous week’s field of over 40 at Lee Valley was not repeated probably because of the very high £13 entry cost. The size of the field did not affect the winning time as Tom Bosworth of Tonbridge broke 21 minutes for a new Championship best performance. Tom is part of the recently created high performance Race Walking Group at Leeds Met University and his high speed at minimal effort and displaying good style, showed the good work going on at the Group. Surrey Walking Club had three out so was well represented although Mick Harran did not finish. This was due to confusion over a judge’s signal which was an advance warning, not a disqualification, but which occasioned Mick to leave the track while he was leading the Surrey group. Peter Hannell, like the most of the rest, found the heat difficult but recorded a slightly better time than recently and was pleased with the bronze medal. Gary Macdonald’s performance was similarly satisfactory under the conditions but not as good as he hoped for this high profile event. |