At what might well end up being the last track event of the already truncated 2020 season, a handful of  Colchester Harrier sprinters tested out their grass training at an evening meet held at Chelmsford Athletic Centre on Wednesday 9 September.

Despite seemingly excellent conditions, a swirling wind dampened hopes of an official time for new girl Lexie Richards as she made her debut in the U13 girls 100m. Placed in lane seven she took a good fourth place in 14.82 (2.1).  Just minutes later and also making her first appearance in a green vest was U13 Samantha Yearwood, competing not only as the youngest in a predominantly U15 race but alongside team-mate Hollie Martin-Whymark.  In what turned out to be a thrilling battle for the line between four athletes, Martin Whymark placed an excellent joint third place. Just four tenths of a second split the top four girls, with Wymark result as 13.886 just 4 100dths splitting the difference in the tie. Yearwood clocked a legal PB of 14.3s. for fifth place.

Later in the evening in a small field of U20 women Maya Rattray enjoyed a good start and a relaxed run to cross the line in second to record 13.02s (0.7).

With the floodlights on athletes also had an opportunity to test out their 200m speed: first up was Yearwood, again facing mostly U15 girls  in lane three she just ran out of steam metres from the line to slip into second place over all, but registered as first U13  in a respectable time of 28.74s (2.3).  Martin- Whymark clocked 28.78 (2.3) for third in her heat.

Sam Shippey made his first appearance in an outdoor race this year, having trained with a middle distance group during lockdown and clocked a Season Best time of 23.61 (1.7) for fifth.  Rattray  closed the evening for Harriers competing in the last heat of the night; competing in a mixed race she finished third overall and second women in 27.31 (1.8).

Given the somewhat trying conditions of the last six months, where training has moved from public playing fields to a Cricket Pitch (via a very brief sojourn at the track) the Club are very proud of the hard work and dedication of these young athletes who have shown resilience and adaptability in order to continue their passion for the sport.