James Findon, Author at LUCA

Outdoor Series Meet 2: Preview

April 27, 2018 James Findon

King’s go into the meet 61 points up but will be weary of a strong UCL team. Over 150 athletes will head to Lee Valley tomorrow to compete in the second meet of the LUCA Outdoor Series. At Parliament Hill, King’s opened a healthy 61 point gap, but they will be all to aware that strong starts don’t always mean strong finishes. It was at Lee Valley two years ago where Essex Blades started the day 41 points ahead of UCL and King’s, who were tied for points. UCL narrowed […]

The Battle of the Hill – LUCA Outdoor Series Meet 1 Report

April 25, 2018 James Findon

King’s top the Outdoor Series Championship after the first meet at Parliament Hill. The fourth annual LUCA Outdoor Series got underway on a mild April Sunday in Highgate. The original fixture had been postponed due to snow, but conditions were almost perfect for the start of the outdoor season. The event started with the traditional 10,000m championship, won by Ula Krajinska (KCL) and Philip Coales (UCL). Then, onto the short hurdles and 1500m. UCL took 1st place in both the 100 and 110 hurdles with wins for Juliette Champaud and Joshua Hia. Imperial enjoyed […]

Two marathons in two weather extremes in one week

April 24, 2018 James Findon

By Richard Sun, PhD student, QMUL. I love running and sometimes I have crazy idea, such as to do back-to-back marathons, and the two marathons are two of the bests in the world, Boston and London. Throwback to April of last year, I did my first sub-3 hours marathon in Manchester and qualified for Boston and London (Good for Age). Though there is only a 6-day gap between the two marathons, I signed up both because I couldn’t wait. The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon which begun […]

Students shine in hottest London Marathon on record

April 23, 2018 James Findon

On a sweltering day in London, fifteen students and alumni from LUCA clubs lined up for the 38th London Marathon. One of these runners was Rob Pope, a former student of the Royal Veterinary College. Pope ran this year’s London Marathon dressed as Tom Hanks’ Oscar-winning character, Forest Gump, in 2 hours, 36 minutes and 28 seconds. His achievement earned him a Guinness World Record for the fastest male marathon runner in a film character costume. This wasn’t the first time Pope has run dressed as Gump, as we’ve previously reported here. There was also […]

Marking 50 years since the GPO Tower Race

April 18, 2018 James Findon

Tower running is celebrating its 50th anniversary in the UK this year, with the first recorded stair race having taken place in April 1968 at London’s GPO Tower (now BT Tower). Students from the University of London competed against the University of Edinburgh in a time trial format race up the 798 steps. Edinburgh came out on top. The tower had been commissioned by the General Post Office to support microwave aerials carrying telecommunications transmissions from London to the rest of the country. Work began in June 1961 and was […]

Records tumble as King’s grab an early lead

April 15, 2018 James Findon

Preliminary results put King’s College in a 61 point advantage over second place UCL. Seven championship records were broken at the first meet of the 2018 series. Preliminary results are available to download here. A full race report will follow. LUCA Outdoor Series Team Standings Position Club Stage 1 1 King’s 239 2 UCL 178 3 Imperial 110 4 LSE 60 5 UEL 38 6 RVC 29 7 SMU 19 8 Goldsmiths 11 9 Barts 9 10 RHUL 7 LUCA MVP Standings Position Name Club Points 1 Joshua Hia UCL […]

UCL aim for third consecutive Outdoor Series title

April 12, 2018 James Findon

The fourth LUCA Outdoor Series gets underway this Sunday at Parliament Hill. Reigning champions, UCL will claim home advantage as they attempt an assault on an unprecedented third consecutive series title. The club has every right to feel confident after securing a double indoor championship victory in November and finishing first and second in the Men’s and Women’s LUCA XC league respectively. On returning to the venue where they beat King’s in a convincing varsity performance last month, UCL president Henry Murdoch said “UCL are undefeated at athletics over the […]

LUCA Awards and AGM: Save the date

April 9, 2018 James Findon

LUCA is proud to announce preliminary details of this years AGM, awards and afterparty. The AGM and awards evening will be held at Bush House on Sunday 27th May. King’s College will host the evening at the newly refurbished Bush House, Aldwych, WC2B 4RD The event will start with the AGM at 3pm. Everyone is invited to attend. The meeting will start with the executive committee presenting an overview of the year and the results of the competition surveys. Members can submit motions to be debated and voted on at the […]

LUCA to build new athletics stadium

April 1, 2018 James Findon

LUCA has submitted plans to build a new athletics stadium in the heart of London. The outdoor stadium will be the centrepiece of a major new athletics complex which will include an indoor 200m track, strength and conditioning gym, swimming pool and a variety of bars and restaurants. Members of LUCA affiliated clubs will be able to use the facilities for free. UKA Athletics have already expressed interest in using the training facilities. The stadium itself will boast a capacity of 67,000, placing it in direct competition with London Stadium […]

Limited tickets left for London Students Run X Love Trails Festival

March 22, 2018 James Findon

Tickets for the 10K are still available, but the 5K is now SOLD OUT. The London Students Run, presented by Love Trails Festival will take place this Sunday in Victoria Park. Weather conditions are forecast to be ideal and over 200 runners have registered across both races. Love Trails Festival have kindly donated epic prizes to the event – a pair of Salomon Speedcross 4 trail shoes for the male and female winners of the 5k and 10k races on the day, as well as a 15% discount for all participants for the coveted tickets to […]