Written by Alex Seftel
NAL Premiership Round 1 – Eton – Saturday 1st June
Start lists and results on OpenTrack
Thames Valley Harriers go into this year’s National Athletics League season looking to be crowned champions for a fourth consecutive season.
The West London-based club have triumphed every year since the NAL reformed for 2021 to include both male and female events as part of the same competition.
One person well-placed to ask about their success is hurdler Chris McAlister, who has competed for Great Britain at two World Athletics Championships and continues to support his club by taking part in the league.
“Thames Valley Harriers is just so much fun to compete for,” said McAlister, who is also a civil servant. “The team managers put a lot of effort into team bonding so you get to know everybody and that creates such a vibe.
“It actually makes the away trips — often the hardest to get people to — the highlight of the season.”
Other internationals who have competed for TVH include Molly Caudery, Zoey Clark, Amelia Campbell, Jade Lally and Joel Clarke-Khan.
“We are just drowning in talent,” McAlister joked. “The team managers work like a recruitment agency, but it only works because they are adding to a beautiful interwoven core of Wormwood Scrubbers (club legends) who turn up every match and amass points.”
“A lot of credit needs to go to Manuel (da Silva) and Phil (Wetton),” the 2019 world semi-finalist continued. “When I joined in 2014, we were relegated to Division Two of the (old) British Athletics League, so success has been a long time coming.”
There is a new NAL structure for 2024, with eight Premiership clubs competing against one another at all three matches during the summer, starting at Eton this Saturday 1st June.
The top division will then head to Woodford on 7th July, before a final title decider on 3rd August at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium.
McAlister’s Thames Valley will face strong competition from Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow, who have the likes of Jake Norris, Charlotte Payne and Jodie Smith in their side.
It must also be remembered that Harrow AC finished just 31.5 points behind TVH last year, 319.5 points ahead of third placed Woodford Green with Essex Ladies.
“We want to keep winning, but we are under no illusions — the competition is getting stronger and stronger, year on year,” said TVH captain Niki Faulkner.
“What we can guarantee is that we will be there every match, giving our absolute all.”
“The NAL team is a huge part of the club’s identity and it is something that we are massively proud of,” the middle-distance runner insisted.
Faulkner and McAlister are clearly both well-immersed in the sport and enriched by the idea of enjoying a great team spirit within club athletics.
But Chris is adding another string to his bow this year by organising his own track and field event for the first time.
“I have been around far too many European circuit meets to think how we are missing out on these in the UK,” he said.
“We do bits well like Night of the 10K PBs, British Milers Club — but athletics is so much richer than that, we can do better as a whole — my dream is to create a UK circuit better than the European ones.”
The Roger Armstrong Memorial Meeting will take place on 5th July in Sutton, South London, featuring open races and elite competition with music and prize money.
Entry for the meeting can be made through the OpenTrack platform here, with full details of the NAL’s structure and fixtures for 2024 available here.
