1965 Chigwell 100

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This race was organised by the Metropolitan Police Walking Club.

Out of the 54 starters, 10 were Dutch, 8 of whom completed the course, 6 of them for the first time. One of them was Hendrick J. Doornekamp who walked the whole race in clogs.

First home was Hew Neilson C145 in 19 hours 16 mins 37secs. This was his 3rd win (2 road and 1 track) and his 16th completion. In total 30 finished, 13 for the first time.

Holland now had 14 members of our society, Italy 2, Russia, France and Switzerland 1 each. This race also saw the addition of a new country to the growing international list, when John Kelly of the USA joined our ranks.

1965 Chigwell 100 – Results

1965 Chigwell 100 – Award Ceremony

 

 

1964 Leicester to Skegness

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The weekend of 3rd– 4th July 1964, saw 57 men (the largest number of starters to date) on the start line.

Most of the regulars were there plus a number of newcomers which included a good number from Holland.

 

Frank O’Reilly took the lead up to 30 miles but only by 3 minutes from Karl Abolins C233, with Neilson a further 3 minutes behind.  Abolins, who was no newcomer, having qualified in 1955 and finished 3rd in the 1960 track race, soon took the lead which he held to the end in 17 hours 32 minutes 16secs, proving his pedigree, O’Reilly finished 2nd, 15 minutes behind.

 

A week after the race Frank O’Reilly announced his retirement from race walking.  Five wins, two seconds and one “flop” (as he put it) in eight starts, was a remarkable record especially when two of those wins were sub 17 hours, the only man ever to achieve it.  His retirement left the way open for others like Abolins, who had suffered in the shadow of his dominance, to show their worth.

 

28 completed the race, 13 of them completing their first 100.  The result sheet showed that the accurate measurement of this course was 100 miles 350 yards.

 

1964 Leicester to Skegness –  Race Programme

1962 Leicester to Skegness

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This was the third race from Leicester to Skegness. 26 of the 45 starters completed the race, 13 of them for the first time.

The winner was Frank O’Reilly C276, his 4th win in successive years. He completed the course in 16 hours 58 minutes, 16 seconds, the second sub 17 hour time in his outstanding career and the only man to beat this time barrier.

 

1962 Leicester to Skegness – Results

1960 Walton, Surrey 24 Hour Track

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This 24 hour track race was organised to give Centurions and other long-distance specialists an opportunity to match themselves against the performances of others over the previous 50 or more years.

Some of the fast men were also invited to attack records up to 4 hours and 50 Km and in the shorter event, Don Thompson C631, recent winner of the 50 km gold medal at the Rome Olympics, broke his own National records at 20 miles, 3 hours, 25 miles, 4 hours, 30 miles and 50km.

For the first 12 hours a thrilling race was in progress, but the record of E.C. Horton, C63, set up in 1914 remained intact. At this point some of the competitors began to fall by the wayside.

One of the first to go was Frank O’Reilly, he was lying in third place at the time having dropped back from second. He had covered 70 miles in just over 12 hours, such was the quality of this race. He was feeling very unwell but struggled on to reach 78 miles in 14 hours.

In the meantime, Hew Neilson was having a terrific race at the front with Colin Young, a consistent 2 miles adrift in second place.

At 13 hours Neilson claimed his first record of the race with 77m 30y as opposed to 76m 930y by Richardson in 1936. His second came at 80 miles in 13h 34m 37s as opposed to 13h 55m 12s. From here he broke records all the way up to 24 hours. Young was closing slightly but it would be a few more hours before he also started to better the previous British figures.

The Centurion Handbook gives full details of Hew Neilson’s performance.

1960 Walton, Surrey 24 Hour Track

1959 London to Brighton & Back (106 miles)

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Due to detours caused by the extension of Gatwick Airport, the London to Brighton & Back course was lengthened by just over 1½ miles, making it approximately 106 miles.

52 started the race in pleasant conditions.

Frank O’Reilly of Lozells Harriers (who finished in second place the year before) soon went to the front and built up a substantial lead. By the turn at Brighton he was 40 minutes ahead of the field and having held a steady pace of around 6 mph was up on Billy Baker’s 1926 record time. His time at the finish was 18 hours 56 minutes 28 seconds.

The competitors included 7 member of L.A.T. Club of Amsterdam and a Swiss. They were led by Lieuwe Schol, a Finnish born Dutchman who qualified along with his team mate Herman Stakenburg to become the first of a long list of Dutch Centurions.

In total 20 completed 100 miles, 15 of them for the first time. 9 of the 20 completed the full distance, Lieuwe Schol being one of them.

Another to complete the full distance was Leslie Dennis of the promoting club who became the second St Dunstaner to join the Centurions.

The team race was won by Highgate Harriers, all three of them becoming new Centurions.

The winners and new Centurions were presented with their awards by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Harold Gillett M.C. at the Mansion House as had previously been done in 1947 and 1955.

 

1959 London to Brighton & Back – Programme