HERCULES Wimbledon Athletic Club has a double interest in Britain’s team competing in Sunday’s European cross country championships at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin with teenager Ellen Weir and Stuart McCallum both making the squad.

The pair are flying out with the British team on Friday before inspecting the course on Saturday and racing on Sunday. Weir, 18, a pupil at Wimbledon High School, qualified for the junior women’s team after finishing fifth in the trial race in Liverpool’s Sefton Park. The 4km junior women’s race is due off at 10.28am and is the second of the seven races.

“I’m really excited about racing in Dublin and hope to do well,” said Weir who will be competing in her second international competition. She made her international debut in Tallinn, Estonia, in June when she finished 12th in the European junior 5,000 metres championship. She is ranked fourth Under-20 in Britain for the distance this year. The teenager took a break from racing to time the runners in the annual Oxford v Cambridge Universities races on Wimbledon Common last Saturday.

While she made the British cross country team at her first attempt, it was fifth time lucky for 26-year-old McCallum who finished sixth in the senior men’s 9.8km trial race in Liverpool. His 10km race is due off at 1.13pm. The championships are scheduled to be screened on the BBC TV Red Button for five hours from 10am.

Hercules Wimbledon had two winners among 28 runners who took part in 14 different 5km parkruns on Saturday. Over-45 veteran Gina Galbraith posted the top age-graded performance in winning the women’s race at Fulham Palace in 18 minutes 37 seconds. Clubmate Andrew Davies was second men’s veteran Over-45 finisher in 19:58.

Over-50 veteran Peter Collins posted the top men’s age-graded performance in finishing 12th out of 344 runners on Wimbledon Common. He clocked 19:42, his fastest time since July 2019. Another supervet Lisa Thomas posted the top women’s age-graded performance in finishing 55th and fifth woman in 22:01.Over-60 veteran Richard Evans had the second best age-graded performance clocking 21:17. Marathon exponent Tom Cheetham was third veteran Over 55 in 21:56.

Jonny Earl posted a runaway victory down under winning the Philip Island event near Melbourne by more than three minutes in 16:53.

Hercules Wimbledon’s Grace Batchelor chopped 33 seconds off her previous best in finishing second in the women’s race in Bushy Park in 20:16 while Chris Ore took 37 seconds off his previous best in finishing runner-up in Groveland, Enfield, in 19:18, five seconds behind the winner.

Hercules Wimbledon’s Lisa Thomas and Anna Garnier were top women’s Over-55 and Over-65 finishers, respectively, in the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5km race in Hyde Park in 20:05 and 22:38.

Hercules Wimbledon’s James Greene clocked a personal best of 37:16 in finishing 39th out of 356 runners in the Richmond 10km road race. He was the best of six Hercules Wimbledon runners in the race. Annmarie Seymour took almost two minutes off her previous best in finishing seventh woman Over 45 in 44:38.