Road Running & Cross Country, January-April 2005
CSSC Capital Challenge 10 km, Battersea Park, 27 April 2005.
Women. 1 L Such (?) 36:05; 4 H Smethurst W40 38:59.
Sam's Run multi-terrain 10 km, Bushey Park, 24 April 2005.
1 M Farah (Newham &EB) 32:24; 3 S Sharp 33:53; 7 P Wicks 33:54; 8 W Cockerell 33:54.
AAA Men’s 12-Stage Road Relay Championship, Sutton Coldfield, 23 April 2005.
The Bels are back
“There was nothing [so] dramatic in the Men’s race. Belgrave Harriers hit the front on the fifth stage and thereafter never looked in danger of claiming their third victory in four years.”
“Belgrave’s was the fourth-slowest winning time in the Men’s 12 Stage in the past 30 years.”
The above were a couple of published comments after the race.
Well, if you didn’t see the contest, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you didn’t miss anything – but as far as this writer is concerned there was enough excitement to tide him over the twelve months before he gets his next fix of AAA 12-Stage exhilaration.
Having fielded a below par team in 2004 and suffered a beating at the feet of the men from Aldershot, we vowed, “We’ll be back,” and in true Terminator style we were – twelve men totally committed to getting back onto the victory rostrum. The pre-race message boards tipped a Birchfield-Belgrave duel, with the Midlanders boosted by their African members. For our part we felt Morpeth might get in on the act, while Salford and Newham & Essex could also be dangerous even though they both were missing men who had raced the streets of London the previous week.
Stage 1
Last man into the “dozen”, Will Cockerell has been reserve more times than he cares to remember. Last year he was left out of the squad as it was felt that his efforts in the London Marathon might have affected him more than he expected; but he reigned in his disappointment (after a good natured expletive was hurled at the Team Manager), bided his time and made the cut in 2005.
Will’s target was a finishing position of somewhere around 20 and although his time was a little slower than hoped for, his placing was fine. The show was on the road and having sent “Wardy” on his way and spent a few minutes slumped on the ground sucking oxygen back into his lungs, “Skip” could enjoy the rest of the race.
Ominously, Birchfield had already taken the lead through Zak Kihara and we were a minute and a half down.
1 Birchfield 26:30; 2 Leicester 26:34; 3 Shaftesbury B 26:34; 4 Altrincham 26:45; 5 Derby 26:46; 6 Newham &EB 26:46; 23 Belgrave 27:59.
Fastest 1 Z Kihara (Birchfield) 26:30; =2 M Geece (Leicester) and K Kyereme (Shaftesbury B) 26:34; 4 A Norman (Altrincham) 26:45; =5 J Gilby (Derby) and A Robinson (Newham &EB) 26:46; 23 W Cockerell (Belgrave) 27:59.
Stage 2
Glandular fever hit Richard Ward for six last summer. After a break, he worked his way back this winter until it looked as if he’d soon be back at his sparkling best. Track races in the ‘States had sharpened his speed and we hoped for his normal trick of tearing up the tarmac on stage two. It wasn’t to be. Deep down Rich still doesn’t feel quite right and although he gained a place it was an uncharacteristically subdued “Wardy” who announced that he’d now take another break to get himself sorted out.
1 Derby (+4) 41:08; 2 Altrincham (+2) 41:15; 3 Morpeth (+8) 41:21; 4 Owls (+9) 41:44; 5 Birchfield (-4) 41:49; 6 Shaftesbury B (-3) 41:55; 22 Belgrave (+1) 43:18.
Fastest: 1 E Malloch (Woodford GwEL) 14:20; 2 L Gunn (Derby) 14:22; =3 G Blackman (Harrow) and D Samuels (Morpeth 14:23; 5 J Macdonald (Trafford) 14:26; 6 J Ward (Altrincham) 14:30; =21 R Ward (Belgrave) 15:19.
Stage 3
So, two stages gone and we were two minutes down. We’d not expected to be near the front at this point so it was a matter of reminding ourselves of that fact and steeling the nerves; and just the guy to keep things rock solid was Erwin McRae. Somehow one just knew that this man was going to keep the Belgrave ship on course and soon he was calmly easing through the traffic. Disregarding the whirlwind that was Keith Cullen, pulling back 19 places for Highgate as he went sub-26, Erwin kept calm and moved the Bels up eight places to set things up nicely for Tim Watson.
1 Morpeth (+2) 1:08:04; 2 Woodford GwEL (+5) 1:08:47; 3 Shaftesbury B (+3) 1:09:02; 4 Aldershot F&D (+8) 1:09:10; 5 Highgate (+19) 1:09:22; 6 Tipton (+4) 1:09:26; 14 Belgrave (+8) 1:10:24.
Fastest: 1 K Cullen (Highgate) 25:53; 2 P Riley (Leigh) 26:08; 3 N Talbot (Notts) 26:10; 4 M Skinner (Blackheath) 26:27; 5 F Thompson (Aldershot F&D) 26:35; 6 M Scaife (Morpeth) 26:43; 10 E McRae (Belgrave) 27:06.
Stage 4
Twelve months earlier an unfit Tim Watson had filled the breech as our team crumbled during the week before the race. It had not been an enjoyable experience for him then, but what a difference this time around. A logical long stage man, it was felt that on this tough course we could utilize Tim’s strength and encourage him to let rip on the short lap. The young man duly obliged! It was a hot stage all round but another eight clubs fell by the wayside as Tim pressed the Belgrave cause.
1 Morpeth (0) 1:23:30; 2 Tipton (+4) 1:23:47; 3 Aldershot F&D (+1) 1:24:31; 4 Owls (+4) 1:24:49; 5 Hallamshire (+5) 1:24:57; 6 Belgrave (+8) 1:24:59.
Fastest: 1 S Hepples (Newham &EB) 14:15; 2 A Bowden (Harrow) 14:16; 3 P Nicholls (Tipton) 14:21; =4 N Pollock (Kent) 14:26 and G Taylor (Trafford) 14:26; 6 T Watson (Belgrave) 14:35.
Stage 5
Pre-race plans were that we would go ahead on stage 5 and in spite of the fact that we were a little behind schedule on times, Phil Wicks wasn’t having it any other way. One of the most exciting things about this guy’s running is the fact that it is all, still, comparatively new to him. He didn’t start running until he was eighteen and began with a couple of marathons. Three years later and he’s causing raised eyebrows, as, with a focus that totally belies his youth, he shows absolutely no fear of the toughest of courses. The opposition fell away to Phil’s stride until it was just Morpeth’s blue and white colours ahead – and then they too were gone as claret and gold hit the front right on cue and then pulled away by 12 seconds.
1 Belgrave (+5) 1:51:50; 2 Morpeth (-1) 1:52:02; 3 Tipton (-1) 1:52:10; 4 Leeds C (+4) 1:52:17; 5 Bristol &W (+7) 1:52:51; 6 Aldershot F&D (-3) 1:52:52.
Fastest: 1 N Jones (Salford) 26:27; 2 B Tickner (Wells C) 26:31; 3 P Wicks (Belgrave) 26:51; 4 S Deakin (Leeds C) 27:09; 5 M Dalkins (Birchfield) 27:20; 6 J Ward (Bristol &W) 27:25.
Stage 6
As our old coach Tom Carter used to say, “Don’t hit the front, old son, until you know you’re going to stay there!” And my goodness, didn’t we just intend to keep that lead now. Still the youngest man on the team at 20 (and with Phil Wicks, bringing the average age of the squad down to 26) Jonathan Blackledge must have more AAA senior road running medals than any athlete of his age ever. It’s a strange fact that in all of his races in Sutton Park he has never yet seen another athlete while out on his lap – and this year it was no different. Unbeaten over 1500m during the recent Achilles vs. American Universities he had returned to the UK just over a week earlier, fitted in a geography field trip which ended the previous day, and now raced the Sutton Park circuit before tackling an examination on the Sunday. The “Kid” didn’t disappoint, opening the gap to second placed Tipton to a minute.
1 Belgrave (0) 2:06:28; 2 Tipton (+1) 2:07:24; 3 Leeds C (+1) 2:07:44; 4 Birchfield (+3) 2:07:48; 5 Salford (+3) 2:07:53; 6 Morpeth (-4) 2:08:05.
Fastest: 1 F Tickner (Wells C) 14:21; 2 J Blackledge (Belgrave) 14:38; 3 M Openshaw (Birchfield) 14:50; 4 C Winward (Salford) 14:54; 5 K Farrow (Derby) 15:00; 6 H Jama (Ealing S&M) 15:05.
Stage 7
Getting ever fitter but surely still a minute short of his potential for this course, David Anderson faced some of the race’s hard men, among them Birchfield’s Kenyan, Wilf Taragon; and there was home grown talent too in the shape of short stage record holder Chris Davies (Telford) and Bristol & West’s Rob Whalley, but DA’s as tough as any of them and he was well psyched up for the challenge.
Only sketchy mid-lap information was being announced but phone calls to Belgrave fans out on the course told us that Taragon was into second place and bringing down the gap. The Birchfield Team Manager introduced himself to his Belgrave counterpart at this point and informed us that although they’d lose a minute to us on stage eight, they could match us man for man over the last four legs. A bit optimistic on his part, we thought, but: “Come on Dave. Hold that lead.”
Our lead did indeed come down but what a superb run by the Belgrave man, and hasn’t he come on in the three weeks since Milton Keynes.
1 Belgrave (0) 2:33:02; 2 Birchfield (+2) 2:33:24; 3 Bristol &W (+8) 2:35:00; 4 Morpeth (+2) 2:35:08; 5 Leeds C (-2) 2:35:21; 6 Aldershot F&D (+1) 2:35:27.
Fastest: 1 C Davies (Telford) 25:21; 2 W Taragon (Birchfield) 25:36; 3 R Whalley (Bristol &W) 26:09; 4 D Anderson (Belgrave) 26:34; 5 W Levett (Bedford &C) 26:46; 6 M Hudspith (Morpeth) 27:03.
Stage 8
Another man usually seen on the long stages, “Nasher” took off with the pressure of knowing that it was now a two-horse race and he had just 22 seconds in hand over our black-vested rivals. Never satisfied with his performance, and always looking for something faster, Kevin ran a “stormer”. In spite of the knowledge that the Birchfield man had him in his sights on the straights, our man opened the lead out to a huge two and a half minutes. Surely now it was all over.
1 Belgrave (0) 2:47:02; 2 Birchfield (0) 2:49:30; 3 Bristol &W (0) 2:49:51; 4 Leeds C (+1) 2:50:35; 5 Aldershot F&D (+1) 2:50:36; 6 Bedford &C (+3) 2:50:58.
Fastest: 1 K Nash (Belgrave) 14:40; 2 O Matthews (Bedford &C) 14:48; 3 J Willis (Bristol &W) 14:51; 4 A Murphy (Shaftesbury B) 15:07; 5 K Quinn (Aldershot F&D) 15:09; 6 A Osborne (Leeds C) 15:14.
Stage 9
With a third of the race to go we’d gained a substantial lead – yet hadn’t got a single man in the top ten times over long or short stages. All that was about to change. The Stags match us man for man? I don’t think so as the first of our awesome tail-end foursome were unleashed.
In fact Mark Miles is as unassuming a character as you could wish to meet; and to see him chatting with the official in charge of the takeover you’d think he was about to trundle off on a training run. But flick that switch and he’s a mean a racing machine. In great form, having run a blistering 10k in Ireland a couple of weeks earlier, “Milesey” took another minute out of Birchfield. Down the field the Beagles’ Mo Farah had the advantage of athletes to chase as he also set one of the day’s best times – but out on his own Mark’s 25:50 stood up as fourth best of the day. He has now run an amazing string of 25:45, 25:48, 25:50 and 25:51. What consistency; and what would he do if on stage one or three?
1 Belgrave (0) 3:13:32; 2 Birchfield (0) 3:16:28; 3 Bristol &W (0) 3:17:42; 4 Bedford &C (+2) 3:17:51; 5 Leeds C (-1) 3:18:00; 6 Aldershot F&D (-1) 3:18:49.
Fastest: 1 M Farah (Newham &EB) 25:33; 2 M Miles (Belgrave) 25:50; 3 D Deed (Bedford &C) 26:53; 4 J Moorhouse (Birchfield) 26:58; 5 B Hilton (Leeds C) 27:25; 6 M Steinle (Blackheath) 27:34.
Stage 10
With six national road relay gold medals to his name – and another two on the country – Stephen Sharp’s hunger for more is unabated. Like Mark before him and “Spenny” to follow, he’d gone way down the order to provide a “killer” finish but one day we must put him on stage two where surely he’ll go sub-14 in a big way. The only thing is, with these guys it doesn’t matter which one goes early, ‘cos all those that follow will still have to run from the front!
“Sharpy” was our fastest short stager and ended up in the top ten of the day – again in spite of making his own pace at the front. More importantly, another half minute had been stolen from Birchfield.
1 Belgrave (0) 3:27:56; 2 Birchfield (0) 3:31:22; 3 Bedford &C (+1) 3:32:30; 4 Bristol &W (-1) 3:33:23; 5 Leeds C (0) 3:33:34; 6 Aldershot F&D (0) 3:34:33.
Fastest: 1 S Sharp (Belgrave) 14:24; 2 L Cadman (Bedford &C) 14:39; 3 M Whitehouse (Birchfield) 14:54; 4 J Bailey (Sale) 15:14; 5 G Turner (Hallamshire) 15:26; 6 A Henderson (Wells C) 15:28.
Stage 11
“Spenny” was away … and as seconds became a minute, and that minute was joined by a couple of friends … the Sudanese athlete Mohammed Yacqub looked down the road in vain for his clubmate. This man was third fastest of the day over the same course in the Midland Relays – and he improved again here, but he was no match for Spencer Barden who went seven seconds faster still and became our second long-stager in the top ten. Also in action was Al Stewart - coming back to fitness and prepared to be on hand all day should an emergency occur. He managed to find a run for his old club Redhill Road Runners and proved that he'd made great progress with his fitness levels.
1 Belgrave (0) 3:54:01; 2 Birchfield (0) 3:57:34; 3 Leeds C (+2) 4:00:39; 4 Bedford &C (-1) 4:00:54; 5 Bristol &W (-1) 4:01:53; 6 Newham &EB (+2) 4:03:02.
Fastest: 1 S Barden (Belgrave) 26:05; 2 M Yacqub (Birchfield) 26:12; 3 D Agustus (Sale) 26:56; 4 D Bilton (Leeds C) 27:05; 5 K Stone (Newham &EB) 27:20; 6 M Blunden (Notts) 27:35; 9 A Stewart (Redhill) 28:04.
Stage 12
The last seven stages had seen all of our runners in the top three on their laps – three of them being stage winners – but there was another one to come yet as our smiling international 800 metre runner Chris Moss toured the circuit enjoying the applause – even joking with our supporters – and still ran 14:35. If it had been tight we’d have had every faith in his tactical ability but as it turned out, he was able to enjoy the occasion.
When we set out on this journey together some six or seven years ago our dream had been to emulate some of the great teams of the day – Tipton, Bingley, Gateshead and others. We’ve certainly got close to their achievements now with win number three and a fifth consecutive year of medalling. But, “fourth-slowest winning time in the Men’s 12 Stage in the past 30 years …” We all know about the “good old days” but surely there must have been some change in the course since Bristol’s 4:00:37 of 1980 when Tipton placed second in 4:01:51. And in those days the runners touched hands at the take over, adding another twelve times ten metres – 120m in all – to the overall length of the race. Is it possible for us, or some other club for that matter, to get near those times again?
1 Belgrave (0) 4:08:36; 2 Birchfield (0) 4:12:13; 3 Leeds C (0) 4:15:59; 4 Bedford &C (0) 4:16:20; 5 Bristol &W (0) 4:16:32; 6 Salford (+1) 4:19:03.
Fastest: 1 C Moss (Belgrave) 14:35; =2 R Bugden (Bristol &W) and T Payn (Birchfield) 14:39; 4 J Mills (Blackheath) 14:49; 5 A Dyson (Hallamshire) 15:03; 6 P Richards (Swansea) 15:13.
Fastest overall:
Long stages – 1 C Davies (Telford) 25:21; 2 M Farah (Newham &EB) 25:33; 3 W Taragon (Birchfield) 25:36; 4 M Miles 25:50; 5 K Cullen (Highgate) 25:53; 6 S Barden (Belgrave) 26:05.
Short stages – 1 S Hepples (Newham &EB) 14:15; 2 A Bowden (Harrow) 14:16; 3 E Malloch (Woodford GwEL) 14:20; =4 F Tickner (Wells C) and P Nicholls (Tipton) 14:21; 9 S Sharp (Belgrave) 14:24.
AAA Women’s 6-Stage Road Relay Championship, Sutton Coldfield, 23 April 2005.
Belles just miss the top twenty
Catherine Eastham writes:- It was very nearly a repeat of last year, when the Belles weren’t able to field a full team. This year, however, saw a bunch of athletes who won’t be upset to hear themselves referred to as ‘not at their best’. Birhan Dagne was full of cold; Sarah Murphy had been studying hard for exams; Tilly Heaton, Helen Smethurst and Louise Cooper had only had six days recovery from the marathon; and team manager, Catherine Eastham, really shouldn’t be calling on herself to compete at this level! Still, we did complete a team and an enjoyable day was had by all.
Stage 1
The fearless Sarah Murphy was happy to switch to leg 1 following a request from Birhan to swap. Sarah lined up right at the front, elbows out, willing to battle with the best. Unsurprisingly, the blistering fast start took its toll and Sarah admitted that she found the course tough going. Still, she brought the Belles home in the mid-30’s with a solid performance. We all know that she’s got plenty more to offer the relays in future years.
1 Swansea 16:11; 2 Charnwood 16:23; 3 Coventry 16:34.
Fastest: 1 C Dugdale (Swansea) 16:11; 2 T Kryzwicki (Charnwood) 16:23; 3 T Brown (Coventry) 16:34; 36 S Murphy (Belgrave) 18:35.
Stage 2
Suffering from a cold and breathing problems, Birhan Dagne showed what a team player she is by still competing for the girls. Sarah had set Birhan up in such a way that she was still able to pull back 21 places for the team, clocking the Belles fastest leg of the day at 16.44. The lead three teams had maintained their positions up front, although it was Salford’s Bev Jenkins who clocked the fastest leg time.
1 Swansea (0) 32:32; 2 Charnwood (0) 33:55; 3 Coventry (0) 34:24; 15 Belgrave (+21) 35:19.
Fastest: 1 B Jenkins (Salford) 16:20; 2 S Smith (Swansea) 16:21; A Hoban (Wakefield &D) 16:31; 4 B Dagne (Belgrave) 16:44.
Stage 3
With a sub 3:00:00 marathon in her legs, Tilly Heaton, was instructed not to overdo her race but to treat it as a training session and just pull the team round. Either she didn’t hear, or she’s in amazing form, as her sub 18.00 performance provided the Belles with their second fastest leg of the day. Tilly made it look so easy and she’s set for a solid summer’s racing if this relay’s anything to go by. Cathy Mutwa’s fastest of the stage just pulled Birchfield into the lead, but the margins between the top three clubs had closed considerably.
1 Birchfield (+17) 51:26; 2 Swansea (-1) 51:28; 3 Charnwood (-1) 51:31; 14 Belgrave (+1) 53:18.
Fastest: 1 C Mutwa (Birchfield) 15:59; 2 A Fox (Morpeth) 17:03; 3 C Martin (Telford) 17:08; 12 M Heaton (Belgrave) 17:59.
Stage 4
Helen Smethurst was delighted to be involved in the Nationals, despite having completed the marathon last week. Slightly disappointed with her 26-miler she was pleased to be able to go out and prove herself in a team race. Having had a fabulous year’s racing so far, Helen proved that she also has the potential to do some serious racing over shorter distances this summer. Clocking the 3rd fastest leg of the day for the Belles, Helen was also able to pull back a place, bringing the Belles just outside the top 10.
1 Birchfield (0) 1:09:33; 2 Telford (+2) 1:10:04; 3 Shaftesbury B (+12) 1:10:20; 13 Belgrave (+1) 1:12:09.
Fastest: 1 J Wright (Shaftesbury B) 16:57; 2 R Jones (Salford) 17:06; 3 L Jackson (Woodford GwEL) 17:09; 16 H Smethurst (Belgrave) 18:51.
Stage 5
The London Marathon had had a bigger impact on Louise Cooper than her team mates as, with tired legs, she found the switch to the shorter distance hard to cope with. Having been in a similar position last year, Louise knew what to expect of her body and was happy to go out and just bring the Belles home in a top 15 place. Her much appreciated run by no means reflects Louise’s usual ability over a short course. At the front, Birchfield were just holding on to their lead, but Bristol & West were gaining fast as Will Cockerell’s partner, Dorchie, pulled them up four places.
1 Birchfield (0) 1:27:43; 2 Bristol &W (+4) 1:27:50; 3 City of Glasgow (+5) 1:28:02; 15 Belgrave (-2) 1:31:59.
Fastest: =1 S Owen (City of Glasgow) and J O’Mara (Wakefield &D) 17:10; 3 D Lee (Bristol &W) 17:11; =24 L Cooper (Belgrave) 19:50.
Stage 6
Never has the glory leg been so misappropriately named! Struggling on as athlete after athlete passed by, Catherine Eastham battled along in a time that was slow even by her standards! Just missing out on a top 20 position, Catherine valiantly brought the team home in 21st spot. Having said “never again” last year, let’s hope that it’s a good many years before we see the team manager having to run a leg of the Nationals again! Still, at least the Belles were able to field a team this year. At the other extreme of the timings, Kate Reed of Bristol clocked the fastest leg of the whole day to pull Bristol into first place with a clear minute and a half lead.
1 Bristol &W (+1) 1:43:32; 2 Shaftesbury B (+2) 1:45:04; 3 City of Glasgow (0) 1:45:09; 4 Birchfield (-3) 1:45:45; 5 Highgate (+1) 1:46:22; 6 Wakefield &D (+3) 1:47:29; 21 Belgrave (-6) 1:53:12.
Fastest: 1 K Reed (Bristol &W) 15:42; 2 K Ramsey (Charnwood) 16:30; 3 L Elliott (Shaftesbury B) 16:48; 29 C Eastham (Belgrave) 21:13.
Fastest Overall: 1 K Reed (Bristol &W) 15:42; 2 C Mutwa (Birchfield) 15:59; 3 C Dugdale (Swansea) 16:11; 4 B Jenkins (Salford) 16:20; 5 S Smith (Swansea) 16:21; 6 T Kryzwicki (Charnwood) 16:23; 11 B Dagne (Belgrave) 16:44.
London Marathon, 17 April 2005.
Men: 1 M Lel (Kenya) 2:07:26; 14 K Tadesse 2:15:09; 80 W Lynch 2:32:44; 128 C McMillan 2:37:03; 155 T Hadfield 2:38:43; 336 M Kazimierski 2:46:50; 709 R Brown 2:55:21; 943 J Galley M40 2:58:46; 1705 S Brewer 3:09:25; 2668 P Cross M45 3:19:35; 9768 A Lane M70 4:09:42; 12596 D McMillan M55 4:24:00; 12994 J Walsh 4:25:59; 14214 J Hall M55 4:32:36; 22663 G Beecham M70 5:58:30; 22905 T Newell M65 6:07:17.
Women: 1 P Radcliffe (Bedford &C) 2:17:42; 50 L Cooper 2:56:30; 51 M Heaton 2:56:46; 80 V Clarke 3:01:29; 127 H Smethurst W40 3:10:09; 414 M Noel W40 3:29:36.
Combe Gibbett to Overton 16 miles, Hants., 10 April 2005.
Women. 1 J Laws (Barnet) 1:50:09; 2 E Fogg 1:57:52.
Basildon 5 miles, 10 April 2005.
Women. 1 B Dagne 28:07.
Arundel Park 10 km, 10 April 2005.
To finish off a very heavy mileage week, Tim Watson raced through the grounds of Arundel Castle, winning by about 40 metres from Chichester's James Baker.
1 T Watson (Belg) 33:10.
Wimbledon Premier 10 km, 10 April 2005.
Phil Wicks is building up a nice little win streak. This time it was Wimbledon 10km where in spite of the stiff hill in mid-race he ran a new personal best of 30 mins 29 secs to head the field by a huge margin. Phil's previous best for the distance was 31 mins 16 secs.
1 P Wicks (Belgrave) 30:29; 22 S Zealey 36:06; 79 P Cross M45 40:05; 234 C Eastham SW 45:17; 902 finished.
Great BUPA Ireland Run 10 km, Phoenix Park, Dublin, 9 April 2005.
Aussie Craig Mottram comfortably won after Telford's Chris Davies gave him a fright at 5k and an injection of pace was required. But there was a close battle for third place when Mark Miles surprised John Mayock by out-sprinting last month's European indoor 3000m silver-medallist. "I couldn't believe it when he flew away from me," admitted Mayock.
1 C Mottram (Australia) 28:34; 2 C Davies (Telford) 29:06; 3 M Miles 29:23; 4 J Mayock (Barnsley) 29:25.
Thames Towpath 10 miles, Chiswick, 3 April 2005.
1 P Gregory (Vale of Aylesbury) 54:23; 14 M Kazimierski 1:01:21.
Ward & Partners Paddock Wood Half Marathon, 3 April 2005.
Men. 1 B Ande (Hastings) 1:10:47; 7 J Clarke 1:15:21; 174 P Cross M45 1:32:24; 1520 finished.
Women. 1 S Hawkins (Maidstone) 1:25:09; 5 A Walker 1:28:53.
SEAA 12-Stage Road Relay, Milton Keynes, 3 April 2005.
A cracking race - and now it's four wins in a row
With the team feeling a little vulnerable in the face of a predicted onslaught from the Beagles and Bedford, things weren’t made any more comfortable when AW reporter Martin Duff announced that he’d already written the first two paragraphs of his report – describing a double win from Bedford & County. A challenge from Aldershot seemed less probable as, like us, they had athletes on duty for their universities in the Oxford/Cambridge vs Harvard/Yale match in the USA.
Stage 1
Skipper set the Belgrave ball rolling but found his hoped for time and position beyond him on this occasion as he finished vomiting and disappointed. As it turned out, nearly all our times were a little slower than expected. Some startling action from the front-runners meant that we just over two minutes off the front but Bedford hadn’t started as well as they’d have liked and Newham & Essex Beagles were half a minute behind us in 23rd.
Lee Greatorex, back after a calf problem, found that troublesome muscle tightening badly as he limped home for the Bs.
1 Woodford GwEL 23:36; 2 Reigate P 23:38; 3 Harrow 24:19; 16 Belgrave A 25:38; 32 Belgrave C 26:32; 45 Belgrave B 27:45; 61 teams started.
Fastest: F Lombard (Woodford GwEL) 23:36; 2 A Moses (Reigate P) 23:38; 3 G Blackman (Harrow) 24:19; 16 W Cockerell (Belgrave A) 25:38; 32 T Weeks (C-gst) 26:32; 45 L Greatorex (B) 27:55.
Stage 2
A good indoor season by Chris Moss had been followed by a foot problem requiring a few weeks off training; but no worries here as he blasted through the field to pick up 13 places and claim a slice of “National” action. Bedford followed in “Mossy’s” wake and moved to fourth but the boys from Essex made no advance at all.
Two days earlier an email from Paul Freary, still in Tokyo, had announced that he was “flying back to run for the B team” and, arriving at Heathrow the previous day, he was as good as his word. Coming off the longest lay-off in his athletic career due to a trapped nerve in his neck since last November, he’d had only had a handful of runs since starting again in February. It wasn’t one of his quickest relay runs – but it was probably one of his most painful!
1 Woodford GwEL (0) 40:10; 2 Blackheath &B (+4) 41:28; 3 Belgrave A (+13) 42:08; 33 Belgrave C (-1) 45:32; 38 Belgrave B (+7) 46:11.
Fastest: 1 C Moss (Belgrave A) 16:30; 2 E Malloch (Woodford GwEL) 16:34; 3 L Bowron (Ealing S&M) 16:51; 16 P Freary (B) 18:16; 30 J Van-Der-Toorn (C) 19:00.
Stage 3
Highgate’s Keith Cullen made most long stage runners feel totally inadequate as he stormed out to the lake and back in 23:16. It was the day’s fastest and a new course record, lifting his team 30 places. Dave Mitchinson also made great inroads to bring the Beagles up into the top half dozen while up ahead Blackheath sagged and Hassan Raidi, ready for a break from racing but gamely turning out for us, moved up a place to second. The passing years seem to have little effect on veteran marathoner Junior Galley – yet another run in the 26s and a few more miles under his belt as he approaches London.
1 Woodford GwEL (0) 1:06:05; 2 Belgrave A (+1) 1:07:37; 3 Basildon (+8) 1:07:50; 33 Belgrave B (+5) 1:13:04; 39 Belgrave C (-6) 1:14:15.
Fastest: 1 K Cullen (Highgate) 23:16; 2 D Mitchinson (Newham &EB) 23:55; 3 N Wetheridge (Basildon) 24:14; 6 H Raidi (Belgrave A) 25:29; 24 J Galley M40 (B) 26:53; 43 M Whiting (C) 28:43.
Stage 4
One of the rotten jobs as a team manager is telling a man that he’s reserve or maybe not in the team at all. But there are good things too and none better than phoning a young improving runner to tell him he’s in the squad. Hard work has brought John Charles on a bundle and first leg for the C team in 2004 has been converted in a mere 12 months to a place in the A team as he lined up with Woodford’s international Matt Shone and Newham’s Steve Hepples. Ignoring these two, John did all that was asked of him. Hepples came past on his way to the day’s fastest short stage and Basildon crept by as well but 4th place at this stage of the race was more than we could have dreamed of.
It was all Essex in front as Woodford Green were two minutes clear of Newham, then a further 40 seconds back to Basildon followed by the Bels., but Woodford had front loaded their stars and even the more economical Beagles had laid two of their aces down on the table.
1 Woodford GwEL (0) 1:22:38; 2 Newham &EB (+4) 1:24:37; 3 Basildon (0) 1:25:16; 4 Belgrave A (-2) 1:25:22; 28 B Belgrave B (+5) 1:32:02; 36 Belgrave C (+3) 1:33:21.
Fastest: 1 S Hepples (Newham &EB) 16:16; 2 M Shone (Woodford GwEL) 16:33; 3 J Atkinson (Blackheath &B) 17:15; 6 J Charles (Belgrave A) 17:45; 23 B Barton (B) 18:58; 26 T Elsey (C-gst) 19:06.
Stage 5
It was concertina time. Woodford still led but Stu Major closed up for the Beagles until they were only half a minute down. Moving even faster was our own Tim Watson who blasted the first half of his lap, overtook Basildon to move into third, and then paid for it as Thames Hare & Hounds came past and into the reckoning for the first time. Bedford had so far seemed subdued but were now in 5th and only a minute and three-quarters covered the top six.
Tenth fastest on the stage was our B team man Eliot Lyne, one of a trio of marathoners, all in heavy mileage mode but providing a huge boost to our second dozen who were now pushing minutes clear of the nearest B team opposition.
1 Woodford GwEL (0) 1:49:20; 2 Newham &EB (0) 1:49:53; 3 Thames H&H (+3) 1:50:04; 4 Belgrave A 1:50:23; 24 Belgrave B (+4) 1:58:25; 46 Belgrave C (-10) 2:07:25.
Fastest: 1 J McFarlane (Thames H&H) 24:01; 2 A Vernon (Aldershot F&D) 24:58; 3 T Watson (Belgrave A) 25:01; 10 E Lyne (B) 26:23; 56 H Corbett (C) 34:04.
Stage 6
As is often the case at Milton Keynes, it was turning decidedly breezy as the afternoon wore on; and it wasn’t just the weather that was changing. For the first time a new team headed the field. Woodford began the slide that was to eventually take them back to 15th and Newham, too, faltered, as Tom Ellacott passed them both and began to reel in the Thames man who had taken over at the front. As the gap came down it seemed that Tom might even go ahead but he’d put in a lot of graft over the first 4k of his lap and this tough Charlie Dickinson trained 1500m runner had to dig deep for the remainder of the circuit. And just in case this wasn’t enough to get the supporters going, Chris Axe was running 7th fastest for the Bs to take them into an extraordinary 15th place – four minutes clear of Aldershot's B team.
1 Thames H&H (+2) 2:07:42; 2 Belgrave A (+2) 2:07:50; 3 Newham &EB (-1) 2:08:07; 15 Belgrave B (+9) 2:16:39; 48 Belgrave C (-2) 2:29:23.
Fastest: =1 T Ellacott (Belgrave A) and D Shane (Basildon) 17:27; 3 T Stanley (Bedford &C) 17:37; 7 C Axe (B) 18:14; 50 Don Anderson M45 (C) 21:58.
Stage 7
Halfway. Our first six men had been given the task of getting the team to within a minute or so of the leaders, from which position the next three could pull us into the lead and, perhaps, give the last three a 1 minute cushion. In fact the early runners had done so much more than was asked of them and as Phil Wicks set off down the slope he had a mere 8 seconds to pull back on Thames before it was open road. This he duly did, giving Belgrave a first taster of the lead, but Bob Smith’s Beagles were far from done. As Phil drew away from Thames, on his way to our day’s fastest long stage, so too was he hunted down by Mark Warmby. This was some race! It was inevitable that the Beagles would go ahead by the end of the leg but Phil’s claret and gold debut was a cracker and he is surely a cert. now for our National twelve.
1 Newham &EB (+2) 2:32:03; 2 Belgrave A (0) 2:32:11; 3 Thames H&H (-2) 2:33:39; 17 Belgrave B (-2) 2:44:31; 51 Belgrave C (-3) 3:03:52.
Fastest: 1 M Warmby (Newham &EB) 23:56; 2 P Wicks (Belgrave A) 24:21; 3 (Medway &M) 24:52; 25 W Lynch (B) 27:52; 52 S Baxendale (C) 34:29.
Stage 8
Now it was "Sharpy" pressing home the attack and, without so much opposition, it was decisive. The 8-second gap was immediately obliterated and as he pushed on ahead the lead grew. Radio contact with our spotters out on the course relayed through the details: “It’s 34 seconds.” “He’s 50 seconds clear.” And finally the watches of those at the takeover showed that Stephen had opened up a full minute’s advantage as the “heavies” were wheeled out for leg 9 …
1 Belgrave A (+1) 2:48:32; 2 Newham &EB (-1) 2:49:34; 3 Bedford &C (+2) 2:51:15; 20 Belgrave B (-3) 3:03:59.
Fastest: 1 S Sharp (Belgrave A) 16:21; 2 L Cadman (Bedford &C) 16:41; 3 J Mills (Blackheath &B) 17:06; 21 C Dickinson M50 19:28.
Stage 9
… And among those “heavies”, David Anderson was the third prong in our sustained assault for a winning margin. Still some way from peak fitness after a year or more of Achilles tendon troubles, Dave is learning to manage his problem and after little more than two months of training his 24:34 in the in the increasingly windy conditions was just what we needed. He took another 38 seconds out of Newham to push the lead up to 1:40 and although Bedford’s Huw Lobb was 28 seconds faster, his team were over two minutes behind. Surely now we were safe.
1 Belgrave A (0) 3:13:06; 2 Newham &EB (0) 3:14:46; 3 Bedford &C (0) 3:15:21; 22 Belgrave B (-2) 3:32:43.
Fastest: 1 H Lobb (Bedford &C) 24:06; 2 David Anderson (Belgrave A) 24:34; 3 O Laws (Newham &EB) 25:12; 29 T St Leger M40 28:44.
Stage 10
As the tenth stage runners prepared to go out, Charlie Herrington shook hands with his Newham & Essex oppo. But it was the man in the blue and white of Bedford & County who proved to be fastest and as Newham went back a little and Bedford closed overall, the net result was that our lead fractionally went up to 1:44.
1 Belgrave A (0) 3:30:40; 2 Bedford &C (+1) 3:32:24; 3 Newham &EB (-1) 3:32:46; 20 Belgrave B (+2) 3:51:51.
Fastest: 1 J Fewtrell (Bedford &C) 17:03; 2 C Herrington (Belgrave A) 17:34; 3 A Donaldson (Newham &EB) 18:00; 11 J Webb (B) 19:08.
Stage 11
Now it was down to "Nasher" to face up to Newham’s final attack. Andy Robinson brought his club back into silver medal position yet again but this game of leapfrog between our rivals was actually doing us a favour. On each of stages 9 to 11 our runner ended up second fastest and on each occasion our lead increased. The wind was probably now at its worst but Kevin’s 24:47 set the seal on the race.
1 Belgrave A (0) 3:55:27; 2 Newham &EB (+1) 3:57:18; 3 Bedford &C (-1) 3:58:08; 24 Belgrave B (-4) 4:20:37.
Fastest: 1 A Robinson (Newham &EB) 24:32; 2 K Nash (Belgrave A) 24:47; 3 N Miller (Bedford &C) 25:44; 28 F Ward (Belgrave B) 28:46.
Stage 12
It was all over. Well, of course Knut Hegvold might have injured himself on the last stage – or gone off course – but he was put on 12 where we knew his experience and racing brain could be used to the full if we could only give him a 30 second advantage. In fact he had nearly four times that margin – and what did he do? He increased it.
Both the Bedford and Newham team managers admitted that they'd felt they had the beating of us on this occasion – but things just didn’t go their way. A fourth successive victory was ours – and Martin Duff had to rewrite his report!
Almost overlooked at this point was the extraordinary success of our B team. Fabien Bernard-Gaudin brought us home in 21st – and first B team – well inside the 25 limit for National qualification. But of course we can only send one team to the National championship. And when our Bs were taken out of the equation, 26th placed City of Portsmouth (who also won the spot prize for the day) slipped into 25th; our President’s “other” team will also go to Sutton Coldfield.
1 Belgrave A (0) 4:13:09; 2 Newham &EB (0) 4:15:45; 3 Bedford &C (0) 4:16:04; 4 Thames H&H 4:20:44; 5 Aldershot F&D 4:24:58; 6 Medway &M 4:28:27; 21 Belgrave B (+3) 4:39:34; 50 teams finished.
Fastest: 1 R Vint (Aldershot F&D) 16:22; 2 C Blackburn (Serpentine R) 17:08; 3 K Hegvold M40 17:42; 12 F Bernard-Gaudin 18:57.
Fastest Overall
Long stage (7.978 km): 1 K Cullen (Highgate) 23:16; 2 F Lombard (Woodford GwEL) 23:36; 3 A Moses (Reigate P) 23:38; 4 D Mitchinson (Newham &EB) 23:55; 5 M Warmby (Newham &EB) 23:56; 6 J McFarlane (Thames H&H) 24:01; 10 P Wicks 24:21; 14 David Anderson 24:34; 17 K Nash 24:47; 23 T Watson 25:01; 35 H Raidi 25:29; 41 W Cockerell 25:38.
Short stage (5.506 km): 1 S Hepples (Newham &EB) 16:16; 2 S Sharp (Belgrave) 16:21; 3 R Vint (Aldershot F&D) 16:22; 4 C Moss (Belgrave) 16:30; 5 M Shone (Woodford GwEL) 16:31; 6 E Malloch (Woodford GwEL) 16:34; 20 T Ellacott 17:27; 23 C Herrington 17:34; 27 K Hegvold M40 17:42; 28 J Charles 17:45; =47 C Axe 18:14.
SEAA Women’s 6-Stage relays, Milton Keynes, 3 April 2005
First ever road relay medals for the Belles
Catherine Eastham writes: A couple of weeks ago we thought that this could be the Belles' year for doing well at the "Southerns". Then, as athlete after athlete pulled out, the forecast was looking less promising, with expectations adjusted to a hopeful top 5 placing. Even when Birhan Dagne decided to join the team, it seemed highly unlikely that we’d make the top three. But hey, it just goes to show that you can never underestimate the Belles.
In the event, 2005 saw Belgrave’s women earn Silver medals, their first ever in this competition, with bonus bottles of wine for being the most improved team. On top of that, Birhan Dagne claimed the fastest overall leg of the day, and the Belles almost completed their first B team in this race. Coupled with the men’s A and B team wins, it was very nearly a Claret and Gold clean sweep!
Stage 1
Hoping for a fast, competitive race, Birhan Dagne elected to take the first leg. Having dropped out of the London Marathon, Birhan’s distance training stood her in good stead and she quickly took the lead. Finishing a couple of seconds clear of SLH’s Eleanor Baker, the Belles came home, as expected, in first place. Now it was down to the rest of the team to hold on. Louise Cooper, a surprising choice for the B team also finished strongly in 19th place with a faster than predicted run given her marathon mileage. Had Louise been selected for the A team and performed the same time, the medals could have been of golden hue.
1 Belgrave 18:48; 2 South London 18:50; 3 Headington 19:21; 19 Belgrave B 21:12; 34 teams started.
Fastest: 1 B Dagne (Belgrave) 18:48; 2 E Baker 18:50; 3 A Hirst (Headington) 19:21; 19 L Cooper (B) 21:12.
Stage 2
Our experienced captain Juliette Clark has been in this position on many previous occasions. A regular first or second leg runner for the Belles, Jules was not at all fazed by Birhan’s leading run and struck out on the 5.5km course with grit and determination. The competition amongst the Belles is getting ever tougher and having achieved three of Belgrave’s top six times over this course, Jules could be relied upon to keep the team near the top. She came in just one place down on SLH’s runner and had the Belles in a better place than hoped for. Shaftesbury’s runner had gained seven places to move into 3rd, just 12 seconds down. Back in the B team, Jayne Lawrence reminded herself just how tough the 5.5km course was as she was buffeted by strong winds. Another of our marathon runners, the distance felt, for her, somewhat short!
1 South London (+1) 39:31; 2 Belgrave (-1) 39:44; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet (+7) 39:56; 20 Belgrave B (-1) 43:41.
Fastest: 1 C Lodwig (Blackheath &B) 19.39; 2 M Cooper (Shaftesbury Barnet) 19:47; 3 J Kelsey (Winchester &D) 19:49; 9 J Clarke (Belgrave A) 20:56; 20 J Lawrence (B) 22:29.
Stage 3
Based back in Germany now, it was good news for the Belles that Christine Bertram had to be back in the UK this weekend. Having had an excellent cross country season and being focused more on the shorter distances, Christine was faced with the unenviable task of trying to maintain the Belles second spot. Gaining on the SLH runner ahead of her Christine then had to face Wells’ Gascoigne storming past and gaining four places to take the lead. The gap between the top five had narrowed though and four runners were lining up behind Christine at 10-second intervals as she remained in second and handed over to Helen Smethurst. Sarah Gailey had a strong individual run for the B’s maintaining a place just outside the top 20. At this stage, the Belles were also the first B team, over two minutes clear of the next B team, Ealing.
1 Wells City (+4) 1:00:47; 2 Belgrave (0) 1:01:24; 3 South London (-2) 1:01:34; 21 Belgrave B (-1) 1:07:36.
Fastest: 1 A Lethbridge (Aldershot F&D) 19:59; 2 S Davey (Phoenix) 20:30; 3 C Dickie (Windsor SE&H) 20:33; 7 C Bertram (Belgrave A) 21:40; 25 S Gailey (B) 23:55.
Stage 4
With nerves of steel Helen Smethurst started down the hill. Whether she looked behind and saw her rivals lining up behind her we’ll never know. Helen deserves the athlete of the day prize for not letting the pressure get to her during such a potentially hazardous leg. The honest expectation was that we’d drop two or three places and come back in around fifth, but to see Helen coming up the hill in the lead and looking exceptionally strong brought a murmur of excitement to the waiting crowd. The Belles were back in the lead with only two legs to go. Another brave athlete battling the course for the B team was David Lucas’ daughter, Liz. In her first competitive outing she helped to almost complete a B team.
1 Belgrave (+1) 1:22:06; 2 Highgate (+3) 1:22:13; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet (+1) 1:22:20; 30 Belgrave B (-9) 1:37:50.
Fastest: 1 J Booth (Ealing S&M) 18:54; 2 S Morris (Bedford &C) 19:00; 3 M McCallum (Winchester &D) 19:15; 30 L Lucas (B) 30:14.
Stage 5
What would Tilly Heaton be able to do, taking a very narrow advantage into leg 5? This could be the danger leg with clubs throwing a fast runner “curve ball” at the team. Tilly’s task was to try and maintain a top three position to give last leg runner Vicky Clarke a fighting chance and, as always, Tilly played it by the book. As both Highgate and Shaftesbury runners went past Tilly fought on until at the finish there was less than a minute separating the top three places. Meanwhile, somewhere out on the course, team manager Catherine Eastham was having a battle of her own. When you’re running around sorting out two teams and getting rather excited about your A team’s position, it’s rather hard to get round to warming-up, stretching and getting yourself into any fit state to race…
1 Highgate (+1) 1:41:30; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet (+1) 1:41:55; 3 Belgrave (-2) 1:42:22; 27 Belgrave B (+3) 2:02:17.
Fastest: 1 S Abel (Highgate) 19:17; 2 V Webster (Shaftesbury Barnet) 19:35; 3 K Hazlitt (Winchester &D) 19:35; 21 C Eastham (B) 24:27.
Stage 6
With the B team’s 5th leg runner still out on the course in front of the leading teams who were now nearing the finish, it was quite understandable that passers-by assumed that the figure plodding along in the Belgrave vest might just be that of the lead runner. Cheers of “Go on Belgrave”, “Well done Belgrave” echoed in the team manager’s ears, only to be followed by the side comment “She can’t be in the lead at that pace….”. Still, for a moment there… Not far behind and rapidly closing, Shaftesbury’s Rachel Felton had moved into the lead. Vicky Clarke had set out with a 50 second deficit on the lead, 30 seconds behind Shaftesbury. Stride by stride Vicky began to reel them both in. Soon we were into second and the gap to the leader was still shrinking as the runners went into the straight past the Belgrave tent. As the cheers echoed around her Vicky made one last ditch attempt up the hill, but the gap was just too great. Collapsing on the line just behind the team manager (who’d only just finished herself and got pipped by winners Shaftesbury by 2 seconds), the Belles were ecstatic. Yes, lessons will be learned from the race and there were lots of what ifs and maybes, which could have seen us win Gold. But for now, let’s just relish this outstanding performance and hope it's the first of many.
1 Shaftesbury Barnet (+1) 2:02:15; 2 Belgrave (+1) 2:02:33; 3 Winchester &D (+1) 2:04:09; 28 teams finished.
Fastest: 1 J Tarrant (Barnet &D) 19.32; 2 N Sykes (Bedford &C) 19:36; 3 V Clarke (Belgrave) 19:11.
Fastest Overall:
1 B Dagne (Belgrave) 18:48; 2 E Baker (South London) 18:50; 3 S Morris (Bedford &C) 19:00; 4 M McCallum (Winchester &D) 19:15; 5 S Abel (Highgate) 19:17; 6 A Hirst (Headington) 19:21; 26 V Clarke 20:11; 28 M Heaton 20:16; 42 H Smethurst W40 20:42; 47 J Clark W40 20:56.
Carmarthen Mayor's 5 km inc. Welsh Champs, 28 March 2005.
1 S Henshaw (Dees) 15:02; 2 T Watson 15:07.
Rivington Pike Fell Race, Horwich, Lancashire, 27 March 2005.
Cleared of all health problems by his doctor, Club President Gerry North's first question was, "Can I start training again?".
Within a week or so 68 year-old Gerry was taking part in one of the oldest fell races in the country - Horwich RMI Harriers' "Rivington Pike". A past winner (in 1959), Gerry took things a little more sedately this time, coming home in 385th.
3.25 miles/1700ft. 1 R Hope (Pudsey & Bramley) 17:46; 385 G North M65 35:22.
Easter International Festival of Running 4 miles, Dunboyne, Co. Meath, IRL, 27 March 2005.
Brooks sponsored Stephen Sharp wanted to put on a good show at this Brooks sponsored event - and didn't he do a wonderful job! It was a little windy but Stephen later admitted to having felt awesome as he powered away from a classy field, beating among others Vinny Mulvaney who was Ireland's first scorer in the recent World Cross. Our man's only problem came in the dying seconds of the race when the lead truck went to swing away from the course with the intention of leaving the winner to cross the line. Unfortunately Stephen was so close behind that he had to stop his finishing burst and come to a halt to avoid being run over.
1 S Sharp 18:45.
Maidenhead 10 miles, 25 March 2005.
A fabulous run from Phil Wicks took him to a personal best for 10 miles. After the first mile he was 200 metres clear and he just went further and further away until he crossed the finish line four minutes in advance of the next runner. The halfway point was reached in 24:56, 6 miles in 29:57 and 7 miles in 35:06 before, suffering from being out on his own, he began to fall behind even pace for 50 minutes over the last three miles. Phil's previous best for the distance was 52:01, set when winning the same event in 2004.
1 P Wicks (Belgrave) 50:48.
Serpentine Last Friday 5 km, Hyde Park, 25 March 2005.
With Huw Lobb apparently out to crack the course record (he didn't quite make it) there was a blistering start; our own Hassan Raidi was among the early takers. Two half-marathons in two weeks can't be ignored, however, and Hassan paid the penalty as the race unwound. John Charles took his running up yet another notch as he made a bid for A team status for the following week's SEAA 12-Stage Relay. Skipper Will Cockerell, who'd suffered a fall and a few days off running earlier in the week, managed to keep his young challenger at bay, while canny Erwin McRae came on strong to lead the Bels home - and feel the withering kick of international 800m man Matt Shone over the last strides.
1 H Lobb (Bedford) 14:41; 5 E McRae 15:26; 7 W Cockerell 15:45; 9 J Charles 15:59; 16 H Raidi 16:15; 42 T O'Neill M50 17:47; 49 R Poulter 18:08; 51 J Webb 18:11; 83 H Corbett M45 19:28; 118 A England (SW) 21:30.
VAC 5.5 miles CC, Wimbledon Common, 20 March 2005.
1 T Harran (Herne Hill) 34:41; 3 T O'Neill M50 35:06.
Bath Half Marathon, 20 March 2005.
Helen Smethurst took 2 minutes 20 seconds from her previous best for the distance.
1 S Partridge (City of Glasgow); 19 H Smethurst W40 1:23:47.
Fleet Half Marathon, 20 March 2005.
Not happy with his time at Hastings seven days earlier, Hassan Raidi turned his attention to Fleet and spearheaded a posse of Belgravians, mostly coached by Dave Lucas and all focussing on the London Marathon in a few weeks time. Eliot Lyne and Warren Lynch were just a little slower than Guildford but well on track for the marathon while John Clarke (coached by Paul Evans) reduced his best ever by a massive three minutes in spite of suffering from a cold. Junior Galley was 20 seconds faster than last year and was awarded the first veteran's prize. Tilly Heaton came down a further minute from her run at Guildford three weeks ago and was once again in the main prizes.
Men. 1 H Chepkwony (Kenya/Army) 1:06:18; 5 H Raidi 1:10:43; 11 E Lyne 1:12:44; 14 J Clarke 1:13:33; 19 W Lynch 1:14:18; 32 J Galley 1:17:23; 50 R Browne 1:20:07; 76 S Zealey 1:22:24; 97 G Reid 1:23:53; 257 P Cross M45 1:31:25; 306 S Brewer 1:33:10; 903 L Rehn M40 1:48:10; 2002 finished.
Team: 1 Royal Navy 22; 2 Belgrave H 30; 3 Signals Regt 33; 5 Belgrave B 101.
Women. 1 E Sheldon 1:21:37; 3 M Heaton 1:23:23.
Kingston Breakfast Runs, 20 March 2005.
Phil Wicks, just 21, scored his first win as a Belgrave Harrier, breaking the course record for the 8 mile circuit - a mark previously held by Richard Ward. It was a steady run for Phil, a warm-up for the following week's Maidenhead 10 miles.
8 miles: 1 P Wicks (Belgrave) 41:20 (Record).
16 miles: 1 T Bedford (Shaftesbury Barnet) 1:29:14; 3 C McMillan 1:31:19.
Milton Keynes Half Marathon, 20 March 2005.
After a two year break from running, our young Frenchman Fabien Bernard-Gaudin, still not yet 23 years of age, was delighted to run minutes faster than he expected in his first race. Now off to Paris for a few days, he will return to tackle the Hyde Park 5k next weekend.
22 F Bernard-Gaudin 1:20:47.
Derby Dawdle Dash 5 km, Markeaton Park, Derby, 20 March 2005.
A recent 15:32 time trial on the track told us that Bandana-man was getting back to form and although he would have preferred to have gone under 16 in this race, heavy traffic in the form of back-markers hampered Charles a little.
1 C Herrington (Belgrave) 16:01.
Coniston 14 mile Road Race, 19 March 2005.
The route from the village of Coniston is a tough one, with plenty of hills to test the legs. The first three miles are more or less uphill and the longest climb and steepest descent are reserved for the stretch between 10 and 13 miles. But swapping last week's south coast landscape for this week's beautiful Lake District scenery made no difference to Mark. It was another win in another fine time.
1 M Miles (Belgrave) 1:10:39.
IAAF World Cross Country Champs, Saint-Galmier, France, 19 March 2005.
The pace of this race was absolutely awesome. Spen, admitting to a little disappointment after the event, came home 10 seconds behind trial winner Steve Vernon but such was the density of talent that there were 16 places between them.
Men. 4.196 km: 1 K Bekele (Ethiopia) 11:33; 90 S Barden 12:54.
B&Q Eastleigh 10 km, 13 March 2005.
Mark Miles, Fiachra Lombard (Woodford GwEL) and Alister Moses (Reigate P) broke away from the pack and went through 5km in 14:30. With a kilometre to go they were still locked together but on the run in to the finish Mark unleashed a formidable sprint to carry him clear. Only Coventry's Glynn Tromans has run faster on this course.
Men. 1 M Miles (Belgrave) 29:11; 35 T Hadfield 33:30.
adidas Half Marathon, Silverstone, 13 March 2005.
Women. 1 B Dagne (Belgrave) 1:16:25.
Finchley 20 miles, 13 March 2005.
Women. 1 D Appleton (Havering); 144 M Noel 2:42:14.
Hastings Half Marathon inc. AAA, SEAA & Inter-County Champs, Hastings, 13 March 2005.
"I'm happy with that," said Erwin McRae when he consulted his watch at the end of the race. And so he should have been. Hastings is a tough, tough course with a severe hill after a couple of miles and a two-mile slog into the wind along the seafront to finish. Erwin has a sub-30 10k, a 2:22 marathon and a 66-odd half on his athletic CV so he's a good man to have in the mix when the relays come around.
We just had enough fire power to be in with a chance of retaining our AAA team title but Medway & Maidstone turned out a strong squad and although we got our last scoring man home ahead of theirs, the Kent club's first man, Michael Coleman, took too much time out of us. Our record in the AAA Half Marathon Team race now reads gold-silver-gold-silver in the last four years.
One might have expected the Bels to have picked up silver in the SEAA race, held in conjunction, but there, we later found, it was four to score and Hastings and Thanet got into the frame ahead of us.
1 F Mogaka (Kenya) 1:04:10; 10 E McRae 1:10:23; 16 H Raidi 1:11:49; 17 W Cockerell 1:11:56; 450 P Cross M45 1:35:25; 1003 E Asiedu M40 1:46:22; 1275 D McMillan M50 1:50:32; 3554 finished.
AAA Championship: 1 Medway & Maidstone AC; 2 Belgrave H
SEAA Championship: 1 Medway & Maidstone AC; 2 Hastings AC; 3 Thanet; 4 Belgrave H ?
CAU Inter-Counties Championship: 1 Surrey; 2 Kent; 3 Sussex
Surrey Championship: 1 A Weir (Thames H&H); 2 P Doyle (Ranelagh); 3 W
Cockerell (Belgrave).
Selwyn Relays, Cambridge, 13 March 2005.
R Ward 13:07.
Ed Prickett Relays, Nottingham, 12 March 2005.
S Sharp 12:46; R Ward 12:58.
BMAF Champs., Castle Park, Bangor, Northern Ireland,12 March 2005.
M40. 10 km.1 B Rushworth (Sunderland) 33:17; 35 A St Leger 36:57; 48 P Carstairs 37:59.
M50. 10 km. 1 M Hagar (Tipton) 35:12; 28 T O'Neill 39:51.
London Heathside 5 miles, Finsbury Park, 6 March 2005.
1 E McRae (Belgrave) 26:28.
Reading Half Marathon, 6 March 2005.
Men. 1 J Kimtai (Kenya) 1:01:50; 14 K Hegvold M40 1:11:43; 30 T Hadfield 1:14:08; 2422 P Cross M45 1:47:06; 2804 D Davies M65 1:48:51; 8943 finished.
Women. 13 V Clarke 1:22:23; 17 L Cooper 1:24:03.
Michael Penman Mob Match 10 km, Victoria Park, 5 March 2005.
1 J Charles (Belgrave/Orion H) 33:19.
CAU Inter-Counties & World Cross Trials, Wollaton Park, Nottingham, 5 March 2005.
Men. 4km: 1 S Vernon (Stockport) 12:41; 2
S Barden 12:44; 12 J Blackledge 13:11; 20 D Gauson 13:22.
12km: 1 G Tromans (Warks) 38:46; 18 M Miles (Warks) 40:45; 41 K Nash
(Surrey) 41:38; 55 P Wicks
(Surrey) 42:07; 83 T Watson (Hants) 43:03; 155 J Clarke (Herts) 44:39.
Women. 4 km: 1 L Dobriskey (Loughborough)
14:25; 4 G Tamirat 14:40.
8km: 1 H Yelling (Middx) 28:06; 8 B Dagne (Surrey) 29:24; 101 S Murphy
32:45.
Chiltern League 5 km, Eastway, 1 March 2005.
1 T Snow 15:45 (Woodford GwEL); 5 J Charles 16:25.
Guildford Half Marathon, Guildford, 27 February 2005.
Men. 1 E Lyne (Belgrave) 1:11:15; 2 W Lynch 1:13:18; 26 P Cross M45 1:28:05.
Women. 1 M Heaton 1:24:33.
VAC 5.5 miles, Wimbledon Common, 26 February 2005.
1 R Marriott (South London) 32:10; 6 T O'Neill M50 35:51; 8 M Nouch M50 36:24.
Serpentine Last Friday 5 km, Hyde Park, 25 February 2005.
1 J Shane (Basildon) 15:26; 17 A St Leger M40 17:21
Bramley 20 miles, 20 February 2005.
Women. 1 A Evans (Hardley) 2:10:03; 7 H Smethurst W40 2:19:14; 8 L Cooper 2:19:18.
Sussex Beacon Half Marathon, Brighton, 20 February 2005.
1 R Grant (Phoenix) 1:11:39; ; 132 P Cross M45 1:28:55; 523 D McMillan M55 1:40:04; 2102 finished.
ECCA National Cross Country Champs, Cofton Park, Birmingham, 19 February 2005.
Battered Bels do us
proud in National Cross
Magnificent Milesy gets the bronze
The rolling hills of Cofton Park were dusted with streaks of snow as the tent party arrived on course shortly after 7am and although the day was bright throughout, there was a continual raw wind that showed no mercy, particularly on the high sections of the course. The going was good and when the racing got under way the starts were fast and furious with the wind hustling the runners along the initial 300 metre downhill stretch.
Our women's champion from 2004, Birhan Dagne, was not defending her title but, on the positive side, this was the first time a very solid Belgrave women's team had tackled the "National". Yes there are other national events that we have targetted well in the past but the National Cross Country Championship is the ultimate team event for harrier clubs and it was great to have a strong quartette to support.
Sarah Murphy maintained her role as our leading team runner of late and her 39th place gave us a great start. Tilly Heaton and Louise Cooper backed up well and with Liz Horrobin closing in, we ended up in 12th place - a highly creditable result which when combined with the men's score in the following race, gave us the 5th best club performance for the two senior races (behind Tipton, Bristol & West, Sale and Leeds). And there was plenty of interest outside the Belgrave foursome as Gemma Phillips, Mark Miles' girlfriend, added to her reputation by placing 7th for Kendall AC and the Skipper's other half, Dorchie Lee was again scoring in Bristol & West's winning squad.
It had been a struggle to provide a competitive men's team to attempt a defence of our National Cross Country title and we knew that we would need every stroke of luck going our way to get up there. From Mark Miles, coming back from a low-key spell and not professing a liking for cross country, to Dave Anderson, with only two weeks of reasonable training behind him due to his ongoing Achilles tendon problems; from Hassan Raidi, short on background after a knee problem, to Kevin Nash, not really sure whether he was over the recurrence of his hip injury; all of them lined up running only for the sake of the team.
The downhill charge claimed an immediate victim as Mark Miles went tumbling but after a mile Spencer Barden was well positioned in a chasing group with Mark in the 30s and our scoring team all passing through by the 70s. Coventry's Glynn Tromans had already broken clear in his quest for a third victory and his nearest challenger was club-mate Steffan White, a winner himself back in '97. But Coventry were short on back-up and it was Belgrave, Tipton, Salford and the Beagles being announced as early leaders in the team stakes.
After a lap Salford and Tipton were driving forward and the Bels found themselves under pressure. Spen was beginning to look very uncomfortable although Mark Miles was working his way through and Kevin Nash was well placed in the 30s.
"Milesy's going to get a medal," shouted Richard Partridge to our Team Manager, "Do you want a bet on it?" Having lost money to Richard in the past and not wanting to bet against one of his own men, our TM declined the offer. Mark certainly was going well and around the second 4k loop was placed in a bunch of athletes in contention for the bronze with Coventry's Steffan White, currently in silver, beginning to look a bit "iffy".
David Anderson was having a remarkable run and Tim Watson, too, was rock solid. Hassan Raidi was closing in the team in around 80th with Will Cockerell close behind but Spen, in the high 'teens and going back, was in deep trouble. His quads were seizing up and tackling the climbs for the third time our "banker" came out of the race. But if this was a disappointment then it was more than made up for by the sheer delight witnessed on Mark's face as the race came to a conclusion. Tromans was unbeatable but White had indeed collapsed to be swept up by a group headed by Bristol's Rob Whalley with our man bursting clear of the "hopefuls" to sprint down the final straight in third place with fists clenched on either side of his head as he entered the funnel.
So, we lost both our pots - both the championship and the first Southern club - but it had been a bit of an impossible dream and there was great pride in our team. With "Geordie" Anderson's cry of "Bring on the 12-Stage" ringing in our ears, the group disbanded and we now look forward to the road relays.
Within an hour the park was all but deserted. That treacherous wind now brought in snow again as the tent was dismantled and those who had been on site soon after dawn had the world to themselves once more - and enjoyed the most hilarious moment of the day. Gordon Biscoe, taking one last chance to "inspect the plumbing" at the portaloos before journeying home, had to shout for help as, while occupying his place of convenience, it was connected to the sewage disposal unit before being fork-lifted onto the back of a lorry for transfer to who knows where!
Women. 1 H Yelling (Windsor SE&H) 28:21; 2 C Dale (Invicta EK) 28:51; 3 H Dean (Radley) 29:11; ... 7 G Phillips (Kendal) 30:02; ... 20 D Lee (Bristol &W) 31:05; ... 39 S Murphy 32:01; 67 M Heaton 32:51; 134 L Cooper 34:43; 208 L Horrobin 37:02; 451 finished.
1 Bristol &W (5, 6, 20, 24) 55; 2 Charnwood AC (4, 15, 17, 21) 57; 3 Tipton H 22, 36, 62, 69) 189; 4 Chester-le-Street (9, 19, 63, 101) 192; 5 Sale HM ( 33, 40, 65, 72) 210; 6 Windsor SE&H (1, 41, 93, 102) 237; 7 Liverpool H&AC 16, 18, 76, 152) 262; 8 City of Norwich (26, 34, 106, 109) 275; 9 Highgate H (48, 57, 68, 118) 291; 10 Bedford &CAC (11, 42, 148, 170) 371; 12 Belgrave H ( 39, 67, 134, 208) 448; 50 teams closed in.
Men. 1 G Tromans (Coventry G) 37:53; 2 R Whalley (Bristol &W) 38:25; 3 M Miles (Belgrave H) 38:28; 32 K Nash 40:15; 53 David Anderson 40:50; 66 T Watson 41:15; 97 H Raidi 42:01; 111 W Cockerell 42:17; 175 J Clarke 43:20; 182 J Charles 43:26; 229 T Hadfield 44:14; 450 P Carstairs M40 47:06; 990 Don Anderson 54:42; S Barden dnf; 1316 finished.
1 Salford H&AC (13, 15, 19, 21, 51, 69) 188; 2 Leeds City AC (16, 28, 41, 45, 50, 52) 232; 3 Tipton H (20, 25, 35, 36, 56, 60) 232; 4 Newham &EB (17, 46, 48, 55, 59, 95) 319; 5 Bristol &WAC (2, 12, 38, 83, 101, 106) 342; 6 Belgrave H (3, 32, 53, 66, 97, 111) 362; 7 Coventry G ( 1, 5, 30, 75, 125, 297) 533; 8 Sale HM (7, 29, 39, 105, 155, 268) 603; 9 Bedford &CAC ( 33, 49, 112, 114, 181, 184) 673; 10 Kent AC (23, 76, 86, 129, 194, 227) 735; 102 teams closed in.
26.2 Valentine's 10 km, Chessington, 13 February 2005.
1 M Boyle (HHH) 32:25; 19 C Dunkley 37:35; 68 P Cross M45 41:18; 410 D Davies M60 53:59; 552 H Wilson W45 58:54; 656 finished.
Wokingham Half-Marathon, Wokingham, 13 February 2005.
Women. 1 A Braham (unatt) 1:20:14; 10 L Cooper SW 1:25:27; 677 D McMillan 1:44:37.
Women's Surrey CC League, Race 4, Ewell, 12 February 2005.
Close - but not close enough
Despite two wins out of three in the league the Belles went into the final match in second place behind Ranelagh. Ranelagh had had an outstanding opening match, beating the Belles by 55 points and the Belles just hadn’t been able to make up the ground. A 17 point deficit stood between the team and the league championship going into the final race.
Sadly, it was not going to be our day. A number of key players had been lost over the season due to injury and illness. Those competing were also suffering from winter snuffles and it was not a full strength team that lined up alongside countless blue and yellow Ranelagh vests. With the course being like a quagmire and with tight bends and concrete paths to cross it was not the easiest of courses for any of the athletes but the Belles still gave it their best shot.
Front runner Sarah Murphy has been going from strength to strength over the season but the mud claimed one of her spikes which slowed her somewhat as she battled to retrieve it (the paths were too stony to run without shoes.)
Tilly Heaton showed her consistency, just a couple of places behind Sarah, and the Belles second scorer. Her marathon training is reaching an intensive period and a battle over the Ewell course must have been a shock to the system.
Surprise athlete of the day was Angela Walker whose 17th place showed that she is quickly returning to form despite a year’s absence due to back problems. Less than 2 weeks earlier Angela had achieved 12th place in the Barretts Canterbury 10 miler in 67.57.
With Juliette Clark having to pull out on the second lap it was down to Helen Smethurst and Syreeta Stracey to round up the A team’s position. With both finishing in the low 20’s this would normally be a good team result but Ranelagh had already finished seven athletes ahead of us, with more to follow.
The Belgrave B team had performed well all season but with only three athletes scoring for the B’s on this day, their position in the league also suffered. Sarah Gailey gamely ran despite a post-birthday hangover, whilst new runner Sarah Castle showed that she’d been putting in some extra training since her last race finishing further up the field than previously.
It was a sad day for the Belles as right up to the start of the last race we had seriously hoped that we could do enough to retain the championship. Ranelagh however pulled out all the stops and put together an unbeatable team. Their first win of the league title in its 26 years was well deserved. Next year let’s hope it’s a different story and the Belles get the hunger for winning yet again.
U17W/U20W. No young athletes competed on the day and no Belgrave athletes featured in the individuals’ championships. Belgrave only managed to place 11th in the Final League Table with 83 points (based on 1 race).
U15G. No young athletes competed on the day and no Belgrave athletes featured in the individuals’ championships. Belgrave only managed to place 10th in the Final League Table with 270 points (based on 3 races).
U13G. Because of a transport hiccup, no young athletes competed on the day. However, Megan Evans had done sufficient work over the previous 3 matches to earn the top honour in the individuals’ championship scoring 6 points - a fabulous result for this promising youngster. From a team perspective it wasn’t so good as Megan often raced on her own in this age group and the Belgrave U13 team only managed 13th place with 408 points (based on 3 races).
1 D Lee (Thames H&H) 24:04; 2 E Nelson (Epsom &E) 24:27; 3 R Disley (Thames H&H) 24:42; 9 S Murphy 25:30; .11 M Heaton 25:40; 17 A Walker W35 26:32; 22 H Smethurst W40 26:59; 25 S Stracey 27:10; 56 C Eastham 30:16; 75 S Gailey 31:54; 121 S Castle W35 40:16; dnf J Clark W40.
1 Ranelagh H 47; 2 Belgrave H 84; 3 Ranelagh H 'B' 152; 4 South London H 153; 5 Thames H&H 178; 23 Belgrave H 'B' 532.
Final League Result
1 Ranelagh H 245; 2 Belgrave H 299; 3 Thames H&H 508; 4 South London H 540; 16 Belgrave H 'B' 1328; 35 Belgrave H 'C' 1315 (2 races only).
"Sweatshop" Men's Surrey CC League, Race 4, Coulsdon, 12 February 2005.
Harry sees us home!
The last race of the series was mostly a non-event. The top half of the league table was “set in stone” and what with the conflict of the AAA indoor championships, the National Cross Country Championship looming just seven days ahead and the fact that the marathon boys were busy putting in training miles instead of racing, the result was that several teams only turned out the bare ten men – including the Bels. This gave rise to some dramatic movement in our plate competition as some of those who don’t often get the chance to earn big points, cashed in on the occasion. Harry Corbett doubled his score, shot up to 16th place in the table and was made the man of the match for saving us the indignity of an incomplete team.
If the top half remained static, there was much more at stake down in the basement as Ranelagh pulled out all the stops to avoid dropping to division two. Aldershot, Farnham & District are heavily involved in the Hampshire League and accordingly accept a lowly spot in the Surrey League; they could have been prey to Ranelagh but packed enough fire power on breezy Farthing Downs to stay up. Reigate Priory AC were also in danger but a powerful double whammy from Ali Moses and Paul Rogers bolstered their score - and sure enough it was the boys in blue who went down.
1 A Moses (Reigate P) 28:24; 2 P Rogers (Reigate P) 28:29; 3 E Robinson (Aldershot F&D) 28:40; 20 W Cockerell 30:43; 22 T Ellacott 31:19; 25 K Hegvold M40 31:42; 39 C Axe 32:22; 53 J Webb 33:02; 55 T St Leger 33:08; 64 W Drey 33:35; 66 M Humphrey 33:39; 80 M Kazimierski 34:37; 114 H Corbett M45 39:12.
1 Thames H&H (5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 21, 36, 69, 74) 257
2 South London H (9, 10, 18, 32, 42, 43, 45, 49, 55, 57) 360
3 Guildford & Godalming AC (23, 26, 30, 33, 38, 41, 47, 48, 50, 70) 406
4 Aldershot F&D AC (3, 19, 27, 35, 40, 46, 51, 60, 67, 72) 420
5 Ranelagh H (13, 15, 16, 31, 44, 53, 58, 61, 65, 66) 422
6 Herne Hill H (4, 6, 17, 24, 28, 34, 81, 82, 89, 90) 455
7 Belgrave H (20, 22, 25, 39, 52, 54, 62, 64, 73, 88) 499
8 Reigate Priory AC (1, 2, 37, 56, 63, 68, 71, 75, 76, 78) 527
9 Dulwich R (29, 59, 77, 79, 80, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87) 740
Final League Result
1 Thames H&H 769; 2 Belgrave H 1258; 3 Herne Hill H 1396; 4 South London H 1682; 5 Guildford & Godalming 1868; 6 Aldershot F&D 2072; 7 Reigate Priory 2156; 8 Ranelagh H 2185; 9 Dulwich R 2985.
Ashford & District 10 km, 6 February 2005.
1 M Coleman (Medway &M) 30:23; 82 P Cross 40:25; 411 finished.
Asics Watford Half-Marathon, Watford, 6 February 2005.
1 H Lobb (Bedford &C) 65:55; 2 K Tadesse 66:39.
Hampshire League, Wimborne, Dorset, 12 February 2005.
1 T Payne (Portsmouth) 29:25; 7 T Watson 31:00.
Scottish East District League, Corstophine, Edinburgh, 6 February 2005.
1 S Cairns (Hunters BT) 31:05; 2 D Gauson 31:14.
Afford Rent-a-car 5 miles, Alsager, 6 February 2005.
1 N McCormick (Morpeth) 23:40; 4 M Miles 24:03; 28 R Alsop M40 26:49; 667 finished