The curtain came down on the athletics season for the Loughton athletes this weekend but they finished it in style, with the Masters (35+) women taking regional gold at Bedford International Stadium on Saturday.
Having qualified top in their division over the course of the season, which began in May, the pressure was on. But the ladies delivered - winning the Eastern Masters regional final for the first time in the club's history.
Loughton AC - competing in a joint team with friends from Thurrock Harriers AC - shared the win with Peterborough & Nene Valley, taking the scalps of bigger eastern clubs such as Milton Keynes, Cambridge & Coleridge and Chelmsford.
The ladies notched up some excellent performances in searing heat. Top age-graded scores came from Emily McMahon (W70), who ran 16.7 over 100m, and Zoe Oldfield in the W45 category, running 5:11 over 1500m. Melanie Peddle - fresh from her national W55 record at the British Masters Championships last week - eased to a win in the 2k walk. Mel and Emily will move on to compete for the UK in Pescara, Italy in the European Masters Championships at the end of the month.
Ali Trauttmansdorff showed her versatility this weekend: hurdling and triple jumping for the team at Bedford on Saturday and heading to the Essex Half Marathon Championships in Pleshey on Sunday. Ali's time of 1.47 was enough to secure her county bronze in the W50 category. She is an exceptional athlete and just gets better and better!
Further north, Nick Barker continued his excellent road form with a huge personal best of 1.24:39 in the Great North Run. Nick has worked hard all summer and his PB is richly deserved.
Loughton athletes always 'run for fun' and the Bacchus half marathon provided a great opportunity to prove the motto on Sunday. Run over vineyards in the beautiful North Downs, the 13.1-mile course takes in wine-tasting en route! The Loughton team rose to the challenge in tough conditions and had a blast in the process...
If YOU would like to join us, contact us and come down to try us out. There's something for everyone!! We'd love to welcome you to Loughton!