Alex Leprêtre led from the start to win the second Fitness First Metropolitan League, in warm sunshine, over a Wormwood Scrubs grassland course on Saturday 12th November. Out of a field of 458 and following solicitor Leprêtre was Highgate's Robel Bahelbi, who was never out of the front three. The 1st three teams in the Senior Men’s Division after 2 of the 5 league matches and, out of 24 clubs now reads; 1 Highgate Harriers 2933; 2 Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets 2774; 3 London Heathside 2178.
Highgate's 12 scorers in the top division were; 1 Alex Leprêtre 24:05; 3 Robel Bahelbi 24:22; 5 Pete Chambers 24:26; 12 Flurry Grierson 24:42; 14 Robert Wilson 24:49; 18 Harry Allan 25:16; 21 Sean Renfer 25:20; 37 Charlie Haywood 26:02; 39 Mattia Salvadori 26:04; 47 Henry Murdoch 26:29; 51 Farid Sousou 26:40; and 55 Roger Poolman 26:49.
The Women's Senior Division race was won by Rebecca Bunting of the top London Heathside team in 28:47, and the Highgate team were sixth of the 12 top clubs. However, they would have to field a few more runners in the final Met League matches to have a chance of winning the 'Combined Men & Women's' Howard Williams Cup at the end of the season. 'Hats off' to the three veteran Highgate women who ran out of the 199 finishers. They were; 40 Louise Faherty 32:59; 66 Sabina Russell 34:35; and 122 Natasha Cendrowicz 38:16.
First place in the Under 17’s Women’s race, and out of a field of 44 that included Under 15's, was Highgate Harrier Lauren Russell in 14:37.
Liam Bailey had a good run coming third in the Under 17's Men's race out of 74 with a time of 12:59 and will be bound to make the Middlesex team in his age group.