There were some excellent performances in the final match of the Eastern Veterans Track and Field League at Bedford International Stadium, with athletes digging deep in search of valuable points for the club.
On the men’s side, Biggleswade AC went into the fixture placed fifth in the league table, needing to overturn a 14-point deficit to overhaul Luton AC, situated one spot higher.
The evening got off to a great start as Robin Wynde took a brilliant first place in the 2km walk. In difficult conditions for race walking, Wynde maintained great form throughout and took the win by a gap of almost seven seconds.
Biggleswade’s other big winner on the night was David Brown, who had a busy time combining officiating and competing duties. Brown took the honours in a highly competitive V50 800m, where the five athletes competing were separated by less than five seconds in a frantic finish. In addition to a valuable six points for the win, Brown also bagged his best time since May 2012. He later added a fourth place in the 200m.
Ian Skerratt ploughed on despite injuring himself in an early attempt in the V60 high jump, and his third place earned a vital four points. Chris Addams and John Haines took two and three points respectively in the V50 and V60 2000m, with Haines also taking four points for his third spot in the discus.
Stuart Goodwin endured a punishing night, competing in six events in 90 minutes, including a frenzied spell where his simultaneous participation in the high jump and discus was punctuated by track outings in the 200m and 2000m. For his trouble Goodwin earned a string of season’s best, while racking up more useful points for the club.
The evening was rounded off with the 4x200m relay, and Biggleswade AC’s men took an excellent third spot to cap off a successful night’s work which saw them not only reel Luton in, but take fourth place with an eight-point cushion to spare.
A depleted women’s team were unable to improve on last position in the six-team league, but those present put in some fine performances.
Lindsay Lister took second place in the V50 800m in a season’s best time, while Zoe Luscombe took fourth in the V35 equivalent.
Julia Mackay, having to contend with the worst of the evening’s rain, took fourth place in the V50 discus and fifth in the javelin, both with personal best performances.