Velocity Events End of '07 10 km, Harrietsham, 30 December 2007.

Men. 1 J Harrison (Unatt) 33:33; 24 P Cross M50 42:41.

Banstead Woods 5 km Trial, 29 December 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:37.

Bushy Park 5 km Trial, 29 December 2007.

Men. 1 T Elsey (HHH) 16:25; 2 R Stannard 17:12.

Serpentine Last Friday 5km, Hyde Park, 28 December 2007.

Men. 1 T Penfold (Birchfield) 15:09; 39 C Dickinson M55 18:02; 70 L Rehn M45 19:36.

Women. 1 R Townend (Winchester) 15:56; 14 V Goodwin 21:28; 18 M Noel W40 22:37; 19 H Smethurst W40 22:39; 29 J Beecroft 24:07.

Banstead Woods 5km Trial, 26 December 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:37.

Lauriston 30 minute Paarlauf, Wimbledon Common, 25 December 2007.

1 H Ahmed (HW)/J O’Halloran (HW) 5 miles/1479 yards; ...6 R Ward (Belg)/Sarah Allen (HHH) 5 miles/872 yards.

Christmas Caper, Torrington, 23 December 2007.

Men. 1 T Watson 1:00:54.

Richmond Park 5km Time Trial, 22 December 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:42.

Richmond Park 5km Time Trial, 22 December 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:42.

Telford 10 km, 16 December 2007.

Men. 1 D Webb (Leeds City) 29:32; 4 S Jones 29:57; 5 S Sharp 30:05.

South of Thames CC Assoc. Champs., Nork Park, Banstead, 15 December 2007.

After a quiet couple of weeks nursing a calf problem, Phil Wicks fancied a tester and made a late decision to turn out at Nork Park - a four lap course with a 500m lead in and finish alongside the football pitches. Sadly we'd lost half a dozen men in the week before the race and were therefore not going to be quite as competitive as we'd have liked.

It was as if "Wicksy" had been fired from a cannon as the runners set out. Any other pretenders to the title gave up their claim immediately as he'd stolen a 40 metre lead by the time the length of two football pitches had been travelled. Paul Rogers of Crawley and our own James Kelly led the rest of the charge and when the first lap had been completed these two were still locked together with Phil now 40 seconds ahead.

Herne Hill were already in command of the team race, unable to match the Belgrave fire power at the front of the race but packing their scoring six into the top twenty with spare men backing up close behind. James Fairbourn had made a bold start while Mal Byansi, Knut Hegvold and Tim Weeks completed our six.

Two laps gone and Phil was lapping the tail-enders. Rogers had moved away from James K but James F was holding on to a place inside the top dozen and both Knut and Tim were moving through well - and a lap later it was a similar story except that a slightly uncomfortable looking James Kelly had now been overtaken by Connor of Kent AC.

And so to the finish where Phil's final winning margin was 70 seconds. It's relatively rare for a man to defend his title in this event, the last man to do so being Horsham Blue Star's Rowland in 1982-3. James Kelly had found some of the downhill stretches unpleasant as the ghost of an old Achilles tendon injury visited him but, cock-a-hoop with his best ever run, was James Fairbourn - still fighting for places as he entered the finish funnel.

Looking completely composed, Tim Weeks was closing down on Knut and Malachi who had themselves come through the field in the latter stages. And a special word for Richard Merrick: under the impression that he was our twelfth man (in fact we only started ten) a flat car battery failed to deter him, and travelling by bike and train to the venue (leaping the barrier at Clapham to save time), he warmed up by pedalling furiously on the three mile climb from Ewell to Banstead.

7.5 miles. Men. 1 P Wicks 32:54; 2 P Rogers (Crawley) 34:05; 3 J Connor (Kent) 34:37; 4 J Kelly 34:51; 12 J Fairbourn 36:22; 25 K Hegvold M40 37:21; 27 M Byansi 37:43; 29 T Weeks 38:09; 65 S Zealey M40 41:35; 80 C Hobbs 43:24; 85 R Merrick 44:20.

Teams: 1 Herne Hill H 65; 2 Belgrave H 98; 3 Brighton & Hove City 110; 11 teams closed in.

12 to score: 1 Herne Hill H 373; 2 Brighton & Hove City 406.

Bedford H Half Marathon, 9 December 2007.

Men. 1 R Burgess-Gamble (Barnet &D) 1:09:56; 192 P Cross M50 1:32:05.

Thompson Brothers Mizuno Stockport 10 miles, 9 December 2007.

Men. 1 M Miles 50:22.

Cockington Christmas Caper 7 miles, Torquay, 8 December 2007.

Men. 1 T Watson 46:14.

Banstead Woods Time Trial 5 km, 8 December 2007.

Men. 1 W Clark (Epsom & E) 16:03; 2 R Ward 16:08.

Thanet Coastal 10 miles, 2 December 2007.

Men. 1 A Lowther (Medway &M) 55:33; 31 P Cross M50 1:08:23.

Scotiabank Half Marathon, Bridgetown, Barbados, 2 December 2007.

Women. 1 J Cheberon (Kenya) 1:17:22; 4 B Dagne 1:20:32.

Victory 5 miles, Portsmouth, 2 December 2007.

Men. 1 S Overall (Blackheath &B) 24:43; 6 N Speaight 25:19; 47 M Whiting 29:20.

Nature Valley 10 km, Bridgetown, Barbados, 1 December 2007.

Women. 1 J Cheberon (Kenya) 34:05; 3 B Dagne 36:44.

Scottish Universities CC Champs., Heriot Watt University, 1 December 2007.

Men. 10 km. 1 C McNulty (Strathclyde) 30:25; 6 K Gauson 31:18.

Oxford v Cambridge CC Race, Wimbledon Common, 1 December 2007.

Men. 1 P Natali (Camb) 39:06; 3 J Kelly (Camb/Belgrave) 39:25.

Wimbledon Common Time Trial 5 km, 1 December 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:33; 6 G Adams 18:11.

Serpentine Last Friday 5 km, Hyde Park 2007, 30 November 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:00.

Maylarch Eynsham 10 km, 25 November 2007.

Men. 1 A Prophett (Cheltenham) 32:46; 79 P Cross M50 39:59.

Hadleigh 10 miles, 25 November 2007.

Women. 1 N Belsome (Ipswich) 65:07; 7 S Cookson 1-W35 68:35.

UK Cross Challenge, Sefton Pk, Liverpool, 24 November 2007.

9.8 km. Men. 1 P Riley (Leigh) 30:18; 29 P Wicks 31:55; 71 M Pollard 33:44; 244 M Humphrey 40:57.

Richmond Park 5 km Time Trial, 24 November 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:40.

Bushy Park 5 km Time Trial, 24 November 2007.

Men. 1 R Stannard 16:04.

Seagate Elite Invitational 5 km, San Jose, USA, 22 November 2007.

Men. 13 T Bayley 14:19.

Insurance CC Champs., Richmond Pk, 21 November 2007.

Men. 1 A Weir (Fidelity) 30:52; 58 C Hobbs 38:34; 86 L Rehn M45 40:50.

Brooks Brighton 10 km, 18 November 2007.

Men. 1 S Sharp 31:10; 29 L Greatorex 34:13; 165 I Ball 39:05; 246 P Cross M50 40:26; 389 L Rehn M45 42:41.

Women. 1 N Harvey (South London) 34:20; C Eastham 44:35.

South of Thames 5 miles Team Race, Petersham, 17 November 2007.

Men. 1 D Lacy (Camb H) 28:46; 11 K Hegvold M40 31:04; 52 F Ward M50 33:42; 100 D Anderson M50 38:32.

Brighton & Hove 5 km Time Trial, 17 November 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:14.

Stebbing 10 miles, 11 November 2007.

Men. 1 M Muir (Ilford) 53:36; 69 P Cross M50 1:07:42.

49e Internationale VGZ Warandeloop Tilburg, The Netherlands, 11 November 2007.

Men. 1 R El Mostapha (Bahrain) 31:18; 4 P Wicks 31:31.

"Sweatshop" Men's Surrey CC League, Race 2, Wimbledon Common, 10 November 2007.

Well, this team had a different look to it ... but as far as the result was concerned it was "no change". For their home match Thames turned out a squad that was too good for the rest. The Bels might have challenged with two more strong runners but colds and injury ruled out a couple of men and in the event five new faces were into the scoring ten as compared with the opening match.

The Sharpman was supposed to be taking it easy on the first lap before coming through on the second; as it turned out he was well up there all the way through. Ok, one might have expected that, but not on the agenda was the forward running of 17 year-old Nick Goolab, training partner of "Sharpy" and cruising home in 11th, scoring 10th. Nick is right at the bottom of the U20 age group but will surely feature in the Championship events the other side of Christmas. And he wasn't the only young man to keep the more experienced men on their toes, for improving another 10 places on his October outing was 20 year-old James Fairbourn - still with only a couple of years of running behind him yet beginning to see a pathway into our major teams.

And yet another 20 year-old made his Surrey League début. Joe van der Toorn has been active for us on the track over 800 metres but in this, only his second cross country race since the age of 15 (the first was the previous week's "Hellrunner" 8 miles,) he comfortably got into the scoring 10.

But it was also a day for old favourites as The Skipper just kept clear of a seriously improving Neil Speaight (up 26 places) while it was good to welcome Kassa Tadesse back into the fold.  Lee Greatorex and Tim Weeks both improved more than ten places ... and aren't we pleased that veteran Steve Zealey turned out to close in the team! 

Unfortunately both Tom Ellacott and Warren Lynch had to come out of the race with calf muscle problems. Hopefully they'll both be injury free soon.  

1 H Lobb (Thames H&H) 28:42; 2 S Sharp (Belgrave) 28:48; 3 P Rogers (Reigate P) 28:53; ... 11 N Goolab U20 30:07; 13 W Cockerell 30:23; 14 N Speaight 30:30; 24 K Tadesse 31:19; 28 J Fairbourn 31:32; 31 L Greatorex 31:39; 36 J van der Toorn 32:01; 37 T Weeks 32:04; 78 S Zealey M40 34:12; 88 R Norville 34:52; 102 A Marek 35:52; 122 R Merrick 37:11; 131 M Taylor M40 38:01; 141 P Cross M50 39:10; 149 M Humphrey 39:54; 159 L Rehn 41:28.

Overall. 1 Thames Hare & Hounds 154; 2 Herne Hill H 227; 3 Belgrave H 255; 4 Ranelagh H 331; 5 Reigate Priory 508; 6 Hercules Wimbledon 534; 7 South London H 632; 8 Guildford & Godalming  642; 9 Wimbledon Windmilers 812.

Overall. 1 Thames Hare & Hounds 357; 2 Herne Hill H 447; 3 Belgrave H 518; 4 Ranelagh H 637; 5 Hercules Wimbledon 1063; 6 Reigate Priory 1127; 7 South London H 1212; 8 Guildford & Godalming  1305; 9 Wimbledon Windmilers 1524.

Women's Surrey CC league, Race 2, Cranford, 10 November 2007.

For the first time in a long while the Belles failed to turn out a full team of five and suffered the penalty of having the maximum scoring points added to their score. So in spite of Sarah Murphy's continued forward running the team crashed to =14th on the day and tumbled down the league table from 2nd to 7th.

There was good news in the Under 15 age group, however, where Megan Evans moved up from 10th in match 1 to 3rd here. Jo Foxley made a similar dramatic improvement and as a result they placed 7th as a team. Just a couple more girls in this age group and we could be challenging for a team win!

Senior Women. 1 A Braham (Thames H&H) 19:57; 2 L Hasell (Thames H&H) 20:08; 3 E Nelson (Epsom &E) 20:29 ... 5 S Murphy 21:11; 17 E Fogg 22:26; 47 C Eastham 24:32; 109 J Beecroft 28:26.

Teams. 1 Thames H&H 72; 2 Herne H 79; 3 Ranelagh H 84; 4 South London H 133; 5 West 4 161; 6 Stragglers 214; ... =14 Belgrave H 332.

Overall. 1 Ranelagh H 163; 2 Herne Hill 195; 3 Thames H&H 303; 4 West 4 308; 5 Stragglers 333; 6 South London 386; 7 Belgrave 425; 8 Dulwich R 436 ; 9 Reigate P 454; 10 Dorking &MV 472.

Under 15 Girls. 1 G O'Leary (Sutton) 18:08; 3 M Evans 18:56; 14 J Foxley 21:32.

Teams: =1 Guildford &G and Herne Hill H 37; 7 Belgrave H 134 (6th overall).

Stevenage Half Marathon, 4 November 2007.

Men. 1 D Wardle (Woodford GwEL) 1:07:34; 71 P Cross M50 1:29:34.

Mornington Chasers 10 km, Regent's Park, 4 November 2007.

Men. 1 A Symonds (Shaftesbury B) 33:42; 3 H Raidi 34:47.

Hellrunner 8 miles CC, Longmoor Army Camp, 4 November 2007.

Men. 1 N Sharp (unatt) 64:14; 16 J van der Toorn 72:10.

Ronhill Surrey Classic 10 km, Nonsuch Park, 4 November 2007.

Men. 1 T Doran (Elmbridge( 32:45; 7 M Webb M40 35:33; 202 D Davies M65 55:11.

USA Marathon Trial, New York, 3 November 2007.

Men. 1 R Hall 2:09:02; 86 B Poore 2:29:14.

ECCA National CC Relays, Berry Hill Park, Mansfield, 3 November 2007.

Sweet Victory at Berry Hill

"Well done Belgrave!"  "Good race lads!" 

As the two Belgrave teams warmed down together once the race was over they accepted the acclaim with justifiable pleasure.  The National Cross Country Relay is one of the hardest titles to win. Quite a few clubs can turn out four fast men, while on the other hand just one slightly below par effort in a foursome can be the difference between a team medal and tenth place. It had been a great race of very high standard with the lead chopping and changing; and it had been a day for keeping one’s nerve as our team were off the front but holding … and then building … a lead on rival quartets who were behind but sure to come good on the final circuit.

The start/finish had been moved along the course a little and although we were assured that the overall distance remained the same, one couldn’t help thinking that, as the finishing runners had to keep going to the timing mat, a few metres may have been added on to each stage.  The ground was firm and dry, the air was balmy and the sun shone brightly – were we really into November?

As normal the start was ferocious and out of the maelstrom of flying feet and jabbing elbows it was the Bristol & West and Gateshead vests showing ahead with Windsor’s James McIlroy and Stockport’s Steve Vernon in the second rank; but Stephen Sharp was close at hand, sparring with Andy Baddeley of Harrow and half a dozen others in the tightly bunched mêlée. Steve had recently taken a few days out of training with a cold but, relishing his task of getting us off to a good start and enjoying his new role as Running Vice-Captain, there was no way he was going to give less than his best. It was only on the sprint up the final climb that his lungs began to fail to suck in enough oxygen, but he was across the timing mat in 6th place in his second best time for the course. Harrow had grabbed a handy lead but none of the teams ahead of us were expected to be the ones to worry about.  The Beagles were in 15th (+15secs), Leeds were 17th (+17), Wells City 19th (+17) and Aldershot 30th (+34); absolutely no room for complacency though, for the equally dangerous Sale, Bedford and Notts AC men were breathing down Stephen’s neck.

Mark Pollard was disappointed with his form at the SEAA 6-stage and had to attend Sutton Park for the national event as reserve.  But he quietly bided his time on the periphery of the A team – and then grasped the opportunity to move into the scoring four at Mansfield when first choice Jonathan Blackledge had to pull out due to blisters that had turned septic after the Great South 10-miler. We needed Mark to hold steady in the face of the expected attack from Wells City’s Ben Tickner and the Beagles’ Keith Gerrard; as long as we were more or less on terms with those two teams at the end of the stage we felt that our chances of winning would be kept alive. 

More or less on terms?  Mark was awesome as he turned on a “gutsy” display and did far more for the team than we were asking.  He was the key to our eventual success. Four of the teams ahead fell back … and behind … but while this was going on, our man was involved in a titanic battle to try to hold on to Matt Janes of Bedford, who were beginning to raise a few eyebrows, while the experienced Peter Riley of Leigh also came past.  Harrow had extended their lead and were now 33 seconds ahead of us but – good old Mark – Leeds and the Beagles, although shooting up through the field, were still around half a minute behind. With Mark Miles next we now believed we could do it – unless we’d underestimated Harrow and Bedford.

And then of course there was Notts AC!  With in-form Billy Farquharson next up for them, was this going to be their day?  Mark Miles set off with five seconds in hand over Billy but before long the Notts man was on him and they fought tooth and nail along the twisty paths in the woods, up onto the plateau, over the switchback and off round again.  During this struggle the Harrow and Bedford men came back to them and it was now Notts in the lead – were they going to live their dream?  Mark’s legs began to buckle over the last, difficult, 400 metres but he just would not give up and at the final take-over it was Notts, less than a second ahead of Belgrave, with Bedford not two seconds behind.  Leeds were now up to 4th, 25 seconds off the front, and with Dave Webb to come still had a remote chance, but for Wells City and the Beagles the gap was now impossible to bridge barring accidents.

It now remained for Phil Wicks to do the business while behind him men were trying to gun him down. He might be talented, but make no mistake, there’s a lot of pressure when being put into this position.  We’d already done it to him at Sutton Park and were now asking him to step up again.  Good job he seems to thrive on it!

Phil pounced on Notts’ Ian Boneham and then drove on hard in his quest to keep the chasers at bay.  It had all worked out to perfection.  Leeds were charging forward now.  They surely couldn’t catch the Bels but Notts and Bedford were both in Webb’s sights. Wells City had also saved their master-blaster Frank Tickner ’til last and Moumin Geele was turning in a sub-15 for Newham & Essex Beagles but their attacks were in vain.

Up front it was a fabulous performance from Phil who never looked in any sort of trouble, his time being on a par with Gary Staines’ 14:43 from 1996 and David Anderson’s 14:42 set during our record breaking run in 2003.  Behind, however, it was all change, as Leeds not only broke into the medals but also made sure that they were going home with nothing less than silver.  Great running came from Bedford & County who were rightly delighted to have earned national bronze medals – but one had to feel sorry for Notts AC who had made such a bold bid for the win yet ended up out of the frame.

Men's 4x5 km: 1 Belgrave H 1:00:04.10; 2 Leeds City 1:00:22.45; 3 Bedford & County AC 1:00:29.95; 4 Notts AC 1:00:31.15; 5 Well's City H 1:00:32.50; 6 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:00:38.65; 7 Bristol & West AC 1:01:04.50; 8 Aldershot, Farnham & Dist AC. 1:01:08.35; 9 Sale H 1:01:39.30; 10 Tipton H 1:01:59.55; ... 36 Belgrave H 'B' 1:05:14.10.

A – S Sharp (team position 6) 15:05.30; M Pollard (4) 15:08.45; M Miles (2) 15:04.55; P Wicks (1) 14:45.80.

B – N Speaight (45) 16:07.35; P Burkart (34) 15:59.25; N Goolab (31) 16:09.20; J Fairbourn (36) 16:58.30.

Fastest: F Tickner (Wells City H) 14:25.80; M Skinner (Blackheath &B) 14:33.85; D Webb (Leeds City) 14:39.65; P Riley (Leigh) 14:42.15;  P Wicks 14:45.80; M Geele (Newham & Essex Beagles) 14:48.10; A Baddeley (Harrow) 14:49.00; A Bowden (Harrow) 14:51.65; C Parr (Gateshead) 14:51.75; T Minshull (Trafford) 14:51.90; S Vernon (Stockport) 14:52.20; P Nicholls (Tipton) 14:52.35; D Bannister (Shaftesbury B) 14:54.65; A Vernon (Aldershot F&D) 14:55.90; M Watson (Bingley) 14:56.05; M Janes (Bedford &C) 14:58.25; B Tickner (Wells City) 14:57.80; B Farquharson (Notts) 14:59.45.

Reigate Priory 6 x 2.5 miles CC Relay, 3 November 2007.

While two teams were in action in far-off Mansfield, contesting the national championship, we were pleased to turn out a further team at Reigate.  Tim Weeks was player/manager for the day and the lads enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Richard Stannard brought the Bels in first on the opening leg and 16 year-old Alex Wright impressed as he ran our second fastest stage of the day.

Men. 1 Tonbridge AC 83:06; 2 Cambridge H 85:21; 3 Southampton RC 85:28; ... 11 Belgrave H 91:51; 30 teams finished, 33 started.

Belgrave - R Stannard 13:27; T Weeks 14:47; W Lynch 15:23; A Wright 14:41; S Zealey 17:54; unknown 15:39.

Bushy Park 5 km Time Trial, 3 November 2007.

Men. 1 J Goulis (Stragglers) 16:03; 2 W Cockerell 16:20.

Banstead Woods 5 km Time Trial, 3 November 2007.

Men. 1 D Baker (SLH) 17:40; 4 G Adams 18:47.

Poole Runners Winter 5 km, 2 November 2007.

Men. 1 C Power (Winchester) 15:13; 3 J Charles 16:10.

Puma Urban Escape 10 km Trail Race, Hankley Common, 28 October 2007.

Men. 1 D Mitchinson (Newham &EB) 37:48; 10 P Cross 1-M50 46:25.

Dublin Marathon, 28 October 2007.

Women. 1 A Ivanova (Russia) 2:29:20; 17 V Knight 2:54:16.

BUPA Great South Run, Portsmouth, 28 October 2007.

Men. 1 L Kibet (Kenya) 47:31; 9 P Wicks 49:06; 15 J Blackledge 50:58; 538 L Rehn M45 1:12:25.

Barnes Green Half Marathon, 28 October 2007.

Men. 1 J Baker (Chichester) 1:10:17; 3 T Ellacott 1:14:46; 189 J Pritchard 1:35:25.

Ron Hill Surrey Classic 10 km, Oxshott, 28 October 2007.

Men. 1 T Doran (Elmbridge) 33:39; 9 M Webb M40 36:23; 200 D Davies M65 54:39.

Scottish Relays, Cumbernauld, 27 October 2007.

Men. 4 x 4km. Fastest R Russell (Central) 13:03; 3 M Pollard (Inverclyde/Belgrave) 13:14.

Wimbledon Common 5 km Time Trial, 27 October 2007.

Men. 1 A Weir (Thames H&H) 16:29; 5 A Wright U17 17:05.

Bushy Park 5 km Time Trial, 27 October 2007.

Men. 1 P Adams (unatt) 16:01; 3 M Trees M45 16:09.

Stroud Half Marathon, 21 October 2007.

Men. 1 W Chinhanhu (Poole R) 1:06:52; 5 K Tadesse 1:12:09.

Wimbledon 10 km, 21 October 2007.

Men. 1 T Kingsnorth (Thames H&H) 33:11; 2 L Greatorex 34:01; 14 S Zealey M40 37:22; 27 G Reid 38:58; 35 P Cross M50 39:50; 73 L Rehn M40 42:47.

Women. 1 C Farley 40:13; 3 G Marek 41:21; 11 C Eastham 43:58.

Croydon 10 km, 21 October 2007.

Men. 1 M Skinner (Blackheath &B) 30:51; 6 M Byansi 33:50; 7 J Wolf 33:54.

Surrey County Veterans Cross Country Champs., Petersham, 20 October 2007.

Men. 6.19 miles. 1 P Doyle (Ranelagh) 34:24; 16 C Dickinson 1-M55 37:38; 57 P Cross 12-M50 41:52; 83 Don Anderson 20-M50 45:41; 106 G Collins 6-M65 53:25; 108 C Henn 1-M75 54:45; 112 T Stone 8-M65 57:26; 113 A Lane 4-M70 58:20.

Teams: M50. 1 South London H 11; 4 Belgrave 37.

M60. 1 Hercules Wimb. 13; 5 Belgrave 69.

ERRA Men's National 6-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, 20 October 2007.

Above: James Kelly, Phil Wicks, Stephen Sharp, Mark Miles, Jonathan Blackledge and Simon Jones enjoy another magic moment in the Belgrave road running story. It was the Club's sixth six-stage win in seven years.

What a race!  The conditions were great, fast times were turned in right down the line and no team dominated, even though the final gap between first and second seemed decisive.

Favourites Newham & Essex Beagles had a couple of guys wiped out at the last minute by illness and the rumoured appearance of Mo Farah proved to be no more than a myth.  As expected, Leeds City were powerful – and their B team made front page of the results sheet as well, the first B team to break into our National 6-Stage stats – but all along, in the week before the race and during the event itself, the Belgrave camp were quietly confident.  David Anderson ruled himself out of the squad, his Achilles tendon problems flaring up yet again, but James Kelly eagerly grasped the opportunity to go into the six and we still had Mark Pollard lined up should some other setback arise.

We felt that we could, possibly, take the Beagles to the wire even if they were at their very best and planned to put Phil Wicks out on the road with 30-40 seconds lead over Farah – now wouldn’t that have been a sight.  Thus, there was a slight feeling of disappointment when the Beagles’ bad news became common knowledge.

Stephen Sharp was a happy man on stage one and when the huge leading pack faced the hill together, our man was comfortably in the first half dozen.  So heavy was the traffic at the jostling front end that the spotters out on the course had difficulty relaying meaningful information back to the announcer who simply resorted to proclaiming that, “the lead pack is over 20 strong.” Always busy in the front rank it was Elswick’s Ryan McLeod who eventually proved strongest and he prised open a four second gap before the next half dozen poured through the takeover zone within five seconds.  Unfortunately for McLeod he had no second man to send away. Stephen had given us a great start in 4th and after seven runs in this race set a personal record of 17:18.  With the exception of Bedford & County, 5th, and Bristol & West in 8th, the main players were some way off the pace in the late twenties – where Mark Pollard was setting up our B team.

The second stage saw some huge risers. As the teams ahead of us fell back, Altrincham shot up 17 places to claim 2nd thanks to Matt Barnes, Birchfield’s Ndayisenga took 23 scalps to bring the Stags into 3rd and was chased by Wells City’s Ben Tickner who moved up 26 spots.  In the midst of this turmoil James Kelly, in his first national relay, calmly kept the Bels a stable 5th with “front-loaded” Severn AC 10 seconds clear in the lead.  Leeds City were still 42 seconds down the field in 14th and the Beagles were 21st.

What could Jonathan Blackledge do for us?  It was our hope that he’d take the Bels into the lead and sure enough our supporters on the course fed back the information that he had indeed gone ahead, clearing the front-runners before the hill was reached. But there were big moves going on behind. Steve Hepples had the Beagles baying as he overtook 16 men to move into 5th and more significantly the blue and yellow colours of Leeds were coming forward ... coming forward ... until Dave Webb and JB were slugging it out shoulder to shoulder.  Webb eventually gained the advantage. There were only three seconds in it but the Northern Champions were now feeling confident that by the end of the day they’d be able to take home the 6-Stage cup and put it on the shelf along with the 12-stage "pot".  

As the Leeds and Belgrave fourth stagers went out with little between them, any thoughts that this might now be a two horse race were quickly dispelled as Well’s City’s Frank Tickner was seen limbering up.  While our own Simon Jones and Leeds' James Walsh were locked together for the whole lap, Tickner’s progress was relentless; but against all expectations, he didn’t quite catch the lead pair who were knocking spots off each other in their effort to establish a break.  It was another cracker of a run from Sim who never seems to give us a dud.  He just lost out on the final sprint having spent seventeen and a half minutes gaining – 1 second!  And then, thundering across the line a pace behind, came Tickner.

The redoubtable Simon Deakin shot away for Leeds and was soon pulling away from our own Mark Miles. Deakin’s advantage grew as the hill was climbed and back at the takeover area we were informed that Leeds had broken clear; the gap became as much as 40 metres at one point but Mark knew exactly what he was doing. "I was playing it careful," he later told us. On the run out to the far end of the lap the break was closed down again. Coming back towards the Jamboree Stone the Belgravian and the Leeds City man were side by side and, urged on by our supporters, Mark pushed his foot to the floor and daylight opened up between them at an ever-increasing rate. The decisive blow had been struck.

With the strains of Queen's "We Will Rock You" belting out over the loudspeakers, Phil Wicks was brought out onto the start line a full 28 seconds ahead of his last leg rival Darran Bilton – and there was going to be no slip up now.  Later admitting to feeling far more nervous than normal, Phil nevertheless looked totally relaxed as he powered around the last lap to reduce his best time by over 40 seconds. And, barring accidents, with the title back in Belgrave hands, there was still a target – the possibility of beating our own course record. That mark was set in 2002 by a six that included battle hardened “veterans” Spencer Barden, Allen Graffin – and, yes, Mark Miles and Stephen Sharp, the latter two still in the team today.  This time the record was missed by just six seconds but with four of today’s team being aged 23 and 24 the odds are that they’ll improve that mark in the next few years.

So, gold and silver were sorted, but the battle for the bronze was far from over. Just a few heartbeats had separated Wells City, Notts, Bristol & West and the Beagles as that last stage was begun. Billy Farquharson was on a storming 17:10 run in his quest to get his blue and green Notts colours into the frame. But those Beagles had unleashed Moumin Geele who ran the day's third best to get his team into the medals at the last gasp. With a makeshift team they'd made the podium - and the pundits had got the first three correct (albeit in the wrong order).

Times have changed. We're running as fast as ever with a team that seems to have a lower average age each season but can no longer ever count ourselves as out and out favourites.  Some eight or nine clubs now have an excellent chance of medalling - just as it should be.

A word too about our 'B' team men.  It was the first time we've actually managed to finish a 'B' squad and highly satisfying it was too. Taking over from Mark Pollard, who was gamely attending as our 'A' team reserve, was our Skipper Will Cockerell - who couldn't have kept away from watching the titanic 'A' battle if he'd tried. Neil Speaight has a long way to go to get back to top form but to see such a high level competitor fitting into the Bs and making himself an integral part of the overall squad was terrific. James Fairbourn was rewarded for his upsurge in form with a place on the Sutton Park roadway while Mal Byansi was pleading with the TM to let him into the six. Dave Mason didn't get the call until late in the week but was as eager as anyone to make sure that we finished a second team.  Well done to you all - and to see both teams out on the course after their runs, supporting each and every man, made one feel proud to be a Belgravian.

1 Belgrave H 1:44:30; 2 Leeds City AC 1:45:20; 3 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:45:55; 4 Notts AC 1:45:58; 5 Bristol & West AC 1:46:14; 6 Tipton H 1:47:08; … 38 Belgrave H ‘B’ 1:55:14; 83 teams started and 79 teams finished.

A – S Sharp (team position 4, ranking on stage 4) 17:18; J Kelly (5, 14) 17:46; J Blackledge (2, 6) 17:30; S Jones (2, 6) 17:33; M Miles ( 1, 1) 17:14; P Wicks (1, 2) 17:09.

B – M Pollard (28, 28) 17:56; W Cockerell (35, 40) 18:44; N Speaight (36, 41) 19:09; J Fairbourn (39, 47) 19:31; M Byansi (39, 44) 19:49; D Mason (38, 44) 20:05.

Fastest: 1 C Davies (Telford AC) 16:42; 2 F Tickner (Wells City) 16:59; 3 M Geele (Newham &EB) 17:03; =4 P Nicholls (Tipton H), D Webb (Leeds City), J Ndayisenga (Birchfield) 17:04; ... 9 P Wicks 17:09; 15 M Miles 17:14

ERRA Women's 4-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, 20 October 2007.

Another top 20 spot for the Belles

1 Aldershot F&DAC 57:15; 2 Charnwood AC 57:56; 3 Havering Mayesbrook AC 58:57; 4 Bedford & County AC 59:00; 5 Chester le Street & D AC 59:34; 6 Bristol & West AC 59:39; ... 18 Belgrave H 1:02:11; 93 teams started, 78 teams finished.

Belgrave - B Dagne (7) 14:27; S Murphy (22) 15:47; M Heaton (22) 16:50; C Bryson (18) 15:07.

Fastest: 1 S Twell (Aldershot F&DAC) 13:41; 2 S Morris (Windsor SE&H) 13:57; =3 H Yelling (Windsor SE&H), V Gill (Aldershot F&DAC) 14:05; =5 M Ross-Cope (Stoke), R Townend (Winchester) 14:06,   ... 14 B Dagne 14:27.

Bushy Park 5 km Time Trial, 20 October 2007.

Men. 1 O Laws (Newham &EB) 15:39; 2 R Stannard 15:51; 3 M Trees 16:52.

Beckley 10 km, Near Rye, 14 October 2007.

Men. 1 J Mountford (Unatt) 36:16; 10 P Cross M50 41:36.

Brooks Westward League, Redruth, 14 October 2007.

Men. 1 K Toher (Newquay &P) 26:10; 6 T Watson 27:06.

Cabbage Patch 10 miles, Twickenham, 14 October 2007.

Women. 1 B Dagne 56:20; 18 H Smethurst 4-W40 1:07:09.

Scottish West 4 x 4 km Relay Champs., Irvine, Ayrshire, 13 October 2007.

Men. 2nd fastest M Pollard 11:47.

"Sweatshop" Men's Surrey CC League, Wimbledon Common, 13 October 2007.

With Brockwell Park no longer available for Surrey League competition due to red tape, the opening league fixture switched to our own course on Wimbledon Common. Only those "long in the tooth" will remember that this exact course was regularly used for the opening race way back in the early 60s. It turned out to be a popular switch with the runners, for we had a large turn out of over 170; and no wonder, for four of the clubs now contesting Division One are based on the Common: Belgrave, Thames, Hercules Wimbledon and Wimbledon Windmilers.

Our own team was a little depleted with most of the top guns taking a break from racing in the middle of a run of high powered events. So it was left to James Kelly, making his league debut, to tackle the sharp end of a Thames squad strengthened by the appearance of Huw Lobb. James pushed on hard from the start, knowing that he was likely to be in for a hiding. It was a courageous move that had him in oxygen debt towards the end.

The Skipper was in good form, benefiting from hard training for the Istanbul marathon, but he found World Aquathlon Champ Richard Stannard snapping at his heels ... and we had three men home in the first ten; not a bad start at all.  Knut Hegvold and Pete Willis occupied 20th and 21st with our next pair, in the 30s, including James Fairbourn - three minutes faster and 47 placers higher than in January on the same course - impressive improvement eh!

And if such heroics weren't enough, we had Sharky Speaight close behind, back in action after some severe surgery. Lee Greatorex and Tim Weeks closed in the ten inside 50. 

Sixty points cover the top three teams and with Ranelagh also within striking distance of the top three it looks as if we may have a tighter competition on our hands this winter.

1 H Lobb (Thames H&H) 26:33; 2 J McFarlane (Thames H&H) 26:42; 3 J Kelly (Belgrave) 27:01; ... 9 W Cockerell 27:45; 10 R Stannard 27:52; 21 P Willis 28:33; 22 K Hegvold M45 28:34; 37 J Fairbourn 29:28; 38 M Trees M45 29:40; 40 N Speaight 29:45; 42 L Greatorex 29:52; 50 T Weeks 30:33; 74 W Lynch 31:30; 75 J Webb 31:35; 82 S Zealey M40; 84 F Ward 32:02; 114 C Hobbs 34:08; 119 A Neail 34:50; 131 P Cross M50 35:43; 138 M Taylor M45 36:10; 150 L Rehn M40 37:02; 151 H Corbett M45 37:20; 154 M Humphrey 37:33; 165 D McMillan M55 42:03; 169 T Stone M60 49:14; ...170 finished.

Teams: 1 Thames H&H 203; 2 Herne Hill H 220; 3 Belgrave H 263; 4 Ranelagh H 306; 5 Hercules Wimbledon AC 529; 6 South London H 580; 7 Reigate Priory AC 619; 8 Guildford & Godalming AC 663; 9 Wimbledon Windmilers 712.

Surrey Women's CC League, West End, Esher, 13 October 2007.

Catherine the Great!

1 C Bryson (Belgrave) 27:15; 2 C Elms (Dulwich) 27:31; 3 L Watson (Stragglers) 27:44; ... 8 S Murphy 27:56; 13 M Heaton 29:11; 14 E Fogg 29:15; 57 C Eastham 33:00; 156 finished.

Teams: 1 Ranelagh H 79; 2 Belgrave H 93; 3 Herne Hill H 116; 4 Stragglers AC 119; 5 Reigate Priory AC 122; 6 West 4 117; 30 teams closed in.

U15/U17. 1 G Peez (Woking) 17:12; 13 M Evans (10-U15) 19:02; 27 N Anderson (12-U17) 20:12; 41 J Foxley (28-U15) 21:58.

Teams: U17. 1 Guildford & Godalming AC 22; 9 Belgrave H 93; 10 teams closed in. U15. 1 Guildford & Godalming AC 37; 7 Belgrave H 134; 17 teams closed in.

Above: Jonathan Blackledge (61) heads the field soon after the start of the National 10 km Championships. Stephen Sharp (65) is also handy and the South are already well on the way to winning the Inter-Area Match.

UK, AAA, SEAA & CAU Intercounties 10km Championships, Chichester, 7 October 2007.

What a shambles was the start of this race.  A change in the starting arrangements meant that the elite runners (UK, AAA and Inter-county men and women) started out on the road, with the masses starting in the car park.  Barriers were erected to initially keep the two fields apart.  But the two streams met after only fifty metres, by which time elite athletes were running into the barriers while those starting conservatively found themselves having to thread through a wall of club runners who had gone out hard.  In the melee Winchester's Louise Damen crashed into the barriers and was out of the race with a damaged wrist before the event was 10 seconds old!

There was much confusion also as club runners were commandeered by County team managers for the Inter-county event resulting in them being given alternative race numbers which didn't necessarily reflect the fact that they were entered under their old numbers in the various club championships.

But it was a great race for all that, with 10 men going sub-30 including our own Simon Jones and Stephen Sharp.  It was a huge advance for Simon who'd been threatening to do this for months. It was Stephen's best clocking since 2003. Jonathan Blackledge closed in our scoring three with a time 1 second better than he achieved at the beginning of the year, and James Kelly took over a minute off his best to give us a great scoring four in the SEAA race. 

But Oooh! Them Beagles did it on us, reversing the result of the SEAA 6-Stage Relay and setting the scene nicely for a Road Running showdown in Sutton Coldfield where the National 6-Stage Relay takes place in two weeks time.

Birhan Dagne ran a sprightly 33:24 to get into the prizes and with Sarah Murphy and Catherine Eastham making it three, the Belles were not far away from the team medals.  

Men. 1 W Chinhanhu (Poole R) 29:18; 2 J Mays (Kent AC) 29:26; 3 G Thompson (Crawley AC) 29:29; ... 7 S Jones 29:46; 10 S Sharp 29:51; 17 J Blackledge 30:15; 34 J Kelly 30:53; 113 L Greatorex 34:42; D Mason 35:02; 277 P Cross M50 41:04.

Teams: UK & AAA 1 Newham & Essex Beagles (29:32, 29:45, 29:45) 1:29:02; 2 Belgrave H (29:46, 29:51, 30:15) 1:29:52; 3 Bedford & County AC (29:48, 30:32, 31:21) 1:31:41.

SEAA 1 Newham & Essex Beagles (as above + 30:42) 1:59:44; 2 Belgrave H (as above + 30:53) 2:00:45; 3 City of Norwich AC (30:28, 31:10, 32:36, 33:28) 2:07:42.

Women. 1 K Reed (Bristol & West) 32:07; 2 H Yelling (Windsor SE&H) 33:19; 4 B Dagne (Belgrave) 33:24; 39 S Murphy 38:20; 68 C Eastham 45:16.

Teams: UK & AAA 1 Winchester & Dist (33:59, 35:16, 36:44) 1:45:59; 2 Bristol & West (32:07, 36:13, 38:33) 1:46:53; 3 Aldershot F&D AC (34:43, 35:03, 37:48) 1:47:34; 4 Belgrave H (33:24, 38:20, 45:16) 1:57:00.

SEAA as above but 5 Belgrave H.

Geoff Moulden Wimbledon 10 miles, 7 October 2007.

Men. 1 H Lobb (Bedford &C) 51:58; 9 W Cockerell 57:08.

Belgrave H Yacht Handicap, Wimbledon, 6 October 2007.

Berlin Marathon, 30 September 2007.

Men. 1 H Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) 2:04:26 (WR); 843 J Webb 2:57:23; 7386 L Rehn M40 3:37:59.

Great North Run, Newcastle to South Shields, 30 September 2007.

Men. 1 M Lel (Kenya) 1:00:08; 1344 P Cross M50 1:35:07.

Women. 1 K Goucher (USA) 1:06:57; 9 B Dagne 1:14:12; 19 C Bryson 1:20:55; 5252 L Horrobin 1:48:13.

Lancaster 5km, 29 September 2007.

Men. 1 D Bannister (Shaftesbury BH) 14:49; 3 P Freary 15:45.

Aldershot Road relays, inc. Men's SEAA 6-Stage Championship, 29 September 2007.  Photos

SEAA Champs - a fine race but the battle's not over

A year or more of generally being in the doldrums has coincided with rival teams growing in strength.  No longer do we attend road races as odds-on favourites - it's more likely that we're regarded as the underdogs – but the sport is more interesting for that and when it all goes right then victory is even sweeter.

The team line-up wasn’t settled until the preceding Tuesday evening when David Anderson and the Skipper had a “shoot out” over two laps of “the Bridges” - two laps of 3km with the protagonists running in opposite directions. As a result, come race day, David was back in the A team after too long an absence, taking charge of stage one.

A powerful start from Harrow’s Adam Bowden took him well clear of a bunch of a dozen athletes that was gradually whittled down until Blackheath’s Atkinson and our own Davy were alone in 2nd and 3rd.  Eighteen-fourteen:  not at all bad after what had variously been reported as “five weeks of running” or “one real session.”  The Beagles had a slow start and were down in 13th, half a minute behind the Bels although their B team were lying 8th. Bedford weren’t far away though and dark horses Wells City were also close at hand.

Great things were expected of Mark Pollard – and they still are!  But he wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders on this occasion. Harrow and Blackheath slipped back but Ben Moreau of Aldershot came through strongly to head the field while Beagler Hepples was on a sub-18 rescue mission. Young Mitch Goose of Norwich also came by and the net result was that we’d dropped one place.  Mark gave everything he had to finish his tour of duty – and although disappointed is quietly determined that he’ll set the record straight next time out.

Enter Simon Jones, fighting for a spot in the National line-up and clashing with Newham’s Michael East.  Ok, East turned out to be a long way short of his best – but Simon wasn’t to know that as he showed no fear and coolly cruised past all the men ahead.  His 8:59 for the first circuit and 9:13 for his second gave the Bels a marvellous 25 second advantage; a “gutsy” and courageous run, acknowledged by all who watched it.

A relaxed Stephen Sharp gradually extended the lead until he was 34 seconds to the good, notching up second fastest for the stage.  It was a two-horse race now and things were looking good for the Bels, but way down the field, Wells City’s Frank Tickner was ripping out an astounding 17:11.  It was the best time on the course since 1989, eclipsing performances by such luminaries as Keith Cullen and Mo’ Farah. But this drama was a minute and a half off the front where Stephen had already sent a determined Phil Wicks on his way.

Phil’s aggressive start yielded an 8:41 first lap.  He’d gone for it big time, determined to record a startling time.  But Rushmoor Arena bit back at him over the second circuit and much to his disappointment he could only record what ended up as fourth fastest of the day, fastest Belgravian, and an entry to the sub-18 club.  Disappointed he may have been, but the Beagles were now left with the nigh on impossible task of pulling back a minute and a half.

The experienced Dave Mitchinson had been saved 'til last to put the Beagle boot in should things be close.  There was a lot of pressure on Belgrave’s James Kelly. Sure there was no way 91 seconds could be pulled back – but would the responsibility of a last leg run affect the newest member of our team?  Far from it: our Anglo-American 24 year-old went out hard to make sure that there were no immediate inroads being made into his lead – and then switched into cruise control to make sure that all was safe. It was a mature run. 

As a fine race by the Bels came to a conclusion the Beagles’ team manager proffered a hand to his Belgrave counterpart – but make no mistake, the battle will be renewed with intensified vigour in three weeks time.

And before we consign this race to the history books - we must congratulate the Bs.  They fought hard for the highest possible place and as third B team home have earned the Bels the right to place two claret and gold vests on the start line at Sutton Park.       

1 Belgrave H 1:49:39; 2 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:50:44; 3 Bedford & County AC 1:51:47; 4 Wells City H 1:52:14; 5 Aldershot, Farnham & D 1:52:33; 6 Newham & Essex Beagles ‘B’ 1:54:47; … 27 Belgrave H ‘B’ 2:02:18; … 89 teams started; 69 teams finished.

A – David Anderson (team position 3, ranking on stage 3) 18:14; M Pollard (4, 6) 18:34; S Jones (1, 1) 18:12; S Sharp (1, 2) 18:14; P Wicks (1, 1) 17:59; J Kelly (1, 4) 18:26.

B – W Cockerell (20, 19) 18:59; P Willis (19, 24) 19:53; K Hegvold M45 (19, 23) 19:52; J Fairbourn (21, 27) 20:36; D Mason (23, 31) 20:56; M Humphrey (27, 48) 22:02.

C – T Weeks (71) 21:30; Don Anderson M50 (79) 24:43.

Fastest: 1 F Tickner (Wells City) 17:11; =2 S Hepples (Newham &EB) and A Bowden (Harrow) 17:54; 4 P Wicks (Belgrave H) 17:59; 5 D Deed (Bedford &C) 18:02; 6 B Tickner (Wells C) 18:04; … =9 S Jones 18:12; 12 D Anderson and S Sharp 18:14; … =20 J Kelly 18:26.

Serpentine R Last Friday 5 km, 28 September 2007.

Women. 94 M Noel W40 21:09.

Beckenham Trail 10 km, 23 September 2007.

Men. 1 M Clayton (Beckenham) 37:39; 13 P Cross 2nd-M50 42:41; 21 S Stracey SW 44:45.

Bushy Park Time Trial, 22 September 2007.

Men. 44 N Levy 19:27.

Hydro Active Women's Challenge, Hyde Pk, 16 September 2007

17 C Bryson 17:13.

Faversham 10 km, 16 September 2007.

Men. 1 S Rigby (unknown) 34:23; 36 P Cross M50 41:35.

New Forest Half Marathon, 16 September 2007.

Men. 1 L Rodrigues (unatt) 1:10:48; 444 D McMillan M55 1:49:53. Women. 2 E Fogg 3:20:39.

Experian Robin Hood Half Marathon, Nottingham, 16 September 2007.

Women. 1 J Muia (Kenya) 1:14:00; 2 B Dagne 1:14:56.

Banstead Woods Time Trial, 15 September 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:27.

Self Transcendance 5km, Battersea Park, 10 September 2007.

Women. 1 M Evans 21:25.

Canvey Island Rotary 10 km, 9 September 2007.

Men. 1 H Zietsman (Strollers) 34:27; 19 P Cross 1st-M50 41:14.

Bristol Half Marathon inc. English & UKA Champs., 9 September 2007.  Photos

The National Half Marathon Championship crops up at different venues each year and this time it was the turn of Bristol to host the English Road Running Association and UKA Championships. We'd already had a rewarding trip to the "Bristol Half" in 2006 when we swamped the head of the field with Belgrave vests. But this year, with the major championships incorporated, the race was no pushover. There were also changes to the course and in addition to the long drag out through the Avon Gorge, there were tricky hills, twists and turns to negotiate on some of the cobbled streets of the City.

There was no time to admire the masts and funnels of Brunel's S.S.Great Britain, moored in the harbour, as thousands of runners set out towards the Clifton Suspension Bridge.  Kenyans Tewodros Shiferaw and Simon Tonui made a charge for the front but then came Phil Wicks, running alone in 3rd, about 200 metres down as they headed out alongside the River Avon after four miles.  Simon Jones had plenty of company in around 10th - as did Mark Miles, 40 metres down on Simon.  

Having reached the turn at 4.5 miles Billy Farquharson of Notts AC joined Phil in sprightly fashion and seemed inclined to press on ahead of him if he could; they remained locked together for the next few miles. Simon was duelling with Dave Mitchinson of the Beagles and then as Mark came through there seemed to be a flood of Notts AC vests, while our local rivals Thames Hare & Hounds were also well forward.  Will Cockerell was sweeping up and keeping an eye on familiar Thames men around him - Phil Sly, Andy Weir, John McFarlane and Simon Wurr.

Back into the city and the ups and downs and cobbled roadways began to take their toll and the Kenyans were slowed to around 5:15 per mile.  Farquharson had gone back now but Winchester's Toby Lambert was intent on making an impression and he'd closed right down on Phil who had to push hard at the end to get away again.

It was 23 year-old Phil's first serious assault on the 13.1 mile event so not surprising that he notched up a huge personal best. As quoted after the race:

Also 23 - but with a great deal of experience at half marathons, Simon Jones was equally delighted with his sub-66, chopping half a minute from a mature personal record but he'd run extraordinarily hard to do it - and claim Dave Mitchinson's scalp - feeling somewhat unwell as he entered the finish.

What can you say about Milesey?  Only a few weeks of running behind him and his late decision to run clinched the team golds.  And a gutsy run from Will Cockerell too, fighting hard to step into the three should anyone up ahead fail.

Men. 1 T Shiferaw (Kenya) 1:03:01; 2 S Tonui (Kenya) 1:03:08; 2 P Wicks 1-UKA, 1-ERRA (Belgrave) 1:04:43; 4 T Lambert (Winchester) 1:04:54; 5 B Farquharson (Notts AC) 1:05:22; 6 H Chepkwony 1:05:32; 7 S Jones (Belgrave) 1:05:58; 8 D Mitchinson (Newham &EB) 1:06:11; 9 G Raven (Sale H Manchester) 1:06:17; 10, B Hope (Woodford GwEL) 1:07:22; ... 14 M Miles 1:07:48; 29 W Cockerell 1:10:54; 255 C Hobbs 1:27:37.

ERRA & UKA Champs. 1 Belgrave H 3:18:29; 2 Notts AC 3:20:28; 3 Thames H&H 3:28:06.    

Open Team Race. Result not yet known.

It's tough being a team manager! The Skipper removes a few more millimetres of fingernail. "Where's Warren?  shall I move them all up one place or hang on?"

Meanwhile, Malachi wonders if that lead is going to be enough to hold back SLH.

Photos by Richard Xerri and more pictures by Richard are to be found at www.runninginlondon.com

Surrey County AA Road Relays, 8 September 2007.

Bels hold on to Surrey title

It was great to see some new and old faces on the roads of SW19 - and after some doubt as to whether our team would be strong enough to retain their title, and an intriguing battle with South London Harriers, the boys came away as champions again. In fact the senior men's category was the only one in which SLH didn't prevail - so well done to them.

Not quite sure of his fitness for a long run, Malachi Byansi elected not to go to Bristol for the half marathon the next day, deciding to test himself over three miles instead.  It was a good move for the Bels as he brought us home in 3rd, just three seconds off the lead with Herne Hill and Dorking & Mole Valley in one and two.

Three weeks off with a foot injury meant that Richard Ward's return to fitness had been delayed somewhat but his decision to tackle the relay gave the team a boost and as Dorking dropped away Rich held us steady in second. Herne Hill were now 23 seconds to the good. Back in 12th spot for the 'B's the long lost "Gerry" Adams made a welcome return to the team - receiving his silver medal from 2000 before his leg commenced! And what a shock on stage two for the 'C' team - as British League Team Manager Bill Laws turned out, belying the fact that he faces his 70th birthday next year.

Ever improving James Fairbourn took charge of stage three.  Herne Hill proved to be below their best and James took full advantage by moving the Bels ahead - but behind, South London H were also advancing. Our own Dave Mason set out with an 11 second advantage over the vastly experienced Jason Simpson.  Dave battled well but was unable to hold a rampant Simpson who recorded the day's second fastest time.

But the day's fastest was about to be clocked by James Kelly, next up for the Bels.  James relentlessly pulled back the 1 minute and 1 second to the lead and then set about securing a margin of all but half a minute over the "Irrepressibles". Great running, Jim, and a fine marker laid down for the SEAA relays three weeks hence.

So, it was veteran Knut Hegvold with a 29 second advantage up against SLH's Stuart Major.  Stuart has been out of action for months and it was good to see him back on the road - but not so good to see that he had a Belgrave vest in his sights! No need to worry though.  Knut might be the wrong side of 40 but as a one time Norwegian international he has faced all situations in his career.  Knut went away a little and then when Stuart came back towards the end, all he had managed to achieve was a 4 second gain.  The Bels were home and dry.

Many thanks to all those who chipped in to help with the organisation.  Our own team manager was doing time "inside" and his place was taken for the afternoon by Captain Will, saving his energy for Bristol - but not his fingernails!

Senior Men. 1 Belgrave 1:30:29; 2 South London H 1:30:54; 3 Hercules Wimbledon AC 1:35:01; 4 Herne Hill H n/s 1:35:36; 5 Sutton R 1:38:02; 6 Walton AC 1:38:09; 11 Belgrave H 'B' 1:41:22.

A - M Byansi (3) 14:52, R Ward (2) 15:08; J Fairbourn (1) 15:31; D Mason (2) 15:47; J Kelly (1) 14:12; K Hegvold M40 (1) 14:59.

B - J Galley M40 (17) 16:22; G Adams (12) 16:46; M Humphrey (12) 17:06; W Lynch (12) 16:33; R Norville (11) 17:34; R Harding (11) 17:01.

C - M White (31) 17:28; W Laws M65 (52) 24:15; D McMillan M55 (50) 20:23.

Kent Coastal Half Marathon, 2 September 2007.

Men. 1 S Cable (Istead & Ifield) 1:24:14; 19 P Cross 2nd-M50 1:34:31.

Serpentine R Last Friday 5 km, 28 September 2007.

Men. 1 H Lobb (Bedford &C) 15:16; 19 C Dickinson M55 17:56.

Mersea Island 10 miles, 26 August 2007.

Men. 1 J Atkinson (Blackheath & B) 53:08; 38 P Cross M50 1:10:33.

Burnham Beeches Half Marathon, 19 August 2007.

Men. 1 A Buckley (Gateshead) 1:09:17; 39 M Clayton 1:23:57; 153 P Cross M50 1:33:54.

Women. 1 M Lee (unatt) 1:18:25; 7 E Fogg 1:31:26.

London Pride 10 km, Hackney, 18 August 2007.

Women. 1 I Menzies (Aldershot F&D) 38:27; 1 W35 H Smethurst W40 40:50.

She Runs He Runs Bluewater 10 km, 12 August 2007.

Men. 1 G Thompson (adidas) 30:49; 115 P Cross M50 43:07.

Banstead Woods Time Trial, 11 August 2007.

Men. 1 J Wolf 16:38.

Swansea Bay 5 km, 7 August 2007.

Men. 1 S Jones 15:29.

Harlow 10 miles, 5 August 2007.

Men. 1 S Powell (WGwEL) 55:03; 89 P Cross M50 1:13:48.

Joan Rhodes & Fred Norris Memorial 5 km multi-terrain, Radcliffe, 2 August 2007.

Men. 1 P Freary 15:22.

Chorley Night Series 4 miles, 1 August 2007.

Men. 1 P Freary 20:25.

Great Wales 10 km, Cardiff, 29 July 2007.

Men. 1 F Kibiwott (Kenya) 28:36; 10 S Jones 30:13; 38 A Bodin U20 33:59.

Wedding Day 7 km, Bushy Park, 27 July 2007.

Men. 1 R Baugh (unatt) 22:10; 7 W Cockerell 23:33.

Dinosaur 10 km, Deal Seafront, 22 July 2007.

Men. 1 M Coleman (Medway &M) 31:17; 85 P Cross M50 44:49.

Banstead Woods 5km Time Trial, 21 July 2007.

Men. 1 R Ward 16:23.

Bushy Park 5km Time Trial 21 July 2007.

Men. 1 J Lock (Thames Turbo) 15:51; 2 W Cockerell 16:13.

BBC Running Club 10 km, Regents Park, 19 July 2007.

Men. 1 P Sanders (club not known) 36:47; 10 P Cross M50 2nd Vet. 41:27.

Severn 5 km, Gloucester, 19 July 2007.

Men. 1 S Jones 14:32.

Standard Chartered 5km, City of London, 19 July 2007.

Men. 1 P Wicks 14:06.

Self Transcendence 3 miles, Battersea Park, 16 July 2007.

Men. 1 T Kingsnorth (Bristol &W) 15:18; 3 M Humphrey 16:19.

Elmore 7 miles, 15 July 2007.

Men. 1 K Quinn (Aldershot F&D) 38:45; 3 J Wolf 39:42.

Julie Button Elmbridge 10k, 15 July 2007.

Men. 1 J Simpson (S London H) 32:13; 6 W Cockerell 33:45; 239 L Rehn M40 47:21.

BUPA Capital 10k, 15 July 2007.

Men. 1 I Kirui (Kenya) 29:22; 11 M Byansi 33:31; 13 M Kinane34:26; 16 J Fairbourn 35:29.

Women. 1 H Yelling 33:23; 5 B Dagne 34:54.

Banstead Woods Time Trial, 14 July 2007.

Men. 1

R Ward 16:29.

Lord Mayor's 5 km, Norwich, 14 July 2007.

Men. 1 M Miles 14:34; 3 S Jones 14:58.

Women. 1 G Miles (Kendal) 16:47; 2 B Dagne 17:07; 3 C Bryson 17:24.

Reigate Priory AC Midsummer 10 km, 11 July 2007.

Men. 1 T Elsey (Herne Hill) 34:46; 3 J Wolf 35:46; 41 P Cross M50 42:29.

Swansea Bay 5km, 10 July 2007.

Men. 1 S Jones 15:00

St. Annes Carnival 5k, Lytham St. Annes, 8 July 2007.

Men. 1 T Abyu (Salford) 14:54; 4 P Freary 15:59.

Felstead 10 km, 8 July 2007.

Men. 1 C Bloomfield (Billericay) 31:49; 72 P Cross M50 41:43.

Wimbledon Common 5 km Time Trial, 7 July 2007.

Men. 1 K Quinn (RR) 16:35; 3 J Wolf 16:51; 4 M Humphrey 17:12; 37 H Corbett M45 20:43.

Hampstead Midsummer 10 km, 1 July 2007.

Men. 1 H Dodwell (Highgate) 32:49; 41 P Cross 2nd-M50 41:43.

Harry Hawkes 8 miles, Thames Ditton, 1 July 2007.

Men. 1 A Weir (Thames H&H) 42:32; 4 W Cockerell 43:49.

Asics British 10 km, London, 1 July 2007.

Men. 1 S Baldini (Italy) 29:27; 2 P Wicks 29:33; 3 S Tonui (Kenya) 30:35; 36 A Bodin U20 35:50.

Dorney Dash 10 km, 30 June 2007.

Men. 1 T Crossland (Leeds City) 32:12; 6 P Willis 33:20; 18 J Fairbourn 35:13.

Horwich Carnival Races, 24 June 2007.

Carnival 5 km. 1 G Kidane (Birchfield /Ethiopia) 14:01; 3 M Miles 14:21.

British Masters 5km Champs. 1 G Lee (Owls) 15:15; 2 P Freary 15:25.

Dysart Dash 10 km inc. Surrey Champs., 24 June 2007.

Men. 1 J Simpson (SLH) 32:16; 3 W Cockerell 33:15; 4 K Hegvold M40 33:26; 17 T Fordyce 35:49; 18 J Webb 35:53; 118 P Cross M50 41:36; 326 C Henn M75 55:11.

Teams: 1 Belgrave 24; 2 Ranelagh 25; 3 South London 26.

Women. 1 C Diss (Herne Hill) 37:39; 3 S Murphy 38:57.

Wimbledon Common 5 km Time Trial, 23 June 2007.

Men. 1 K Quinn (RR) 16:23; 2 J Wolf 16:43.

White Horse 5 km, Sandhurst, 21 June 2007.

Men. 1 P Owor 14:27.

Dulwich 5 km, Dulwich Pk, 20 June 2007.

1 B Noad (Highgate) 15:04; 16 W Lynch 18:10; 51 L Rehn M40 20:19; 56 P Cross M50 20:34.

Sri Chinmoy 2 miles, Battersea Park, 18 June 2007.

Men. 1 T Kingsnorth (Thames H&H) 9:58; 3 M Humphrey 10:49.

Penn & Tylers Green Penn 7 miles, High Wycombe, 17 June 2007.

27 P Cross M50 48:51.

BUPA Great Women's Run 10 km, Sunderland, 17 June 2007.

Women. 1 R Cheruiyot (Kenya) 33:14; 10 B Dagne 35:51.

VAC 5 miles, Battersea Pk, 12 June 2007.

Women. 1 E Viljoen 32:33.

Bracknell Forest 5 miles, 12 June 2007.

Women. 1 S Gee (Bracknell) 31:27; 2 L Cooper 33:35.

Swansea Bay 5km, 12 June 2007.

Men. 1 S Jones 14:54.

Sri Chinmoy 2 miles, Battersea Park, 11 June 2007.

Men. 1 T Kingsnorth (Thames H&H) 9:48; 3 M Humphrey 10:52.

Southend Half Marathon, 10 June 2007.

Men. 1 M Muir (Ilford) 1:13:07; 34 M White 1:27:02; 81 P Cross M50 1:32:38; 239 L Rehn M40 1:44:21.

Teams: 1 Springfield Striders 9; 11 Belgrave 354.

Women. 1 V Clarke 1:23:48; S Spender 1:48:41.

Wimbledon Common Time Trial 5 km, 9 June 2007.

Men. 1 C Strzadala (unatt); 11 M Humphrey 18:05.

Chorley Night Series 4 miles, Astley Village, Chorley, 6 June 2007.

Men. 1 S Stokes (Sale) 19:16; 2 P Freary 20:04.

Self Transcendence 2 miles, Battersea Pk, 4 June 2007.

Men. 1 T Kingsnorth (B&W) 9:46; 4 M Humphrey 10:36.

Puma Trailfox Garburn 21km Trail Run, Staveley, Cumbria, 3 June 2007.

Men. =1 A Jones (Salford)/P Riley (Leigh) 74:10; 16 M Byansi 1:27:45.

Women. 1 S Partridge (Leeds City) 1:29:17; 3 M Heaton 1:36:38.

Dorking 10 miles, 3 June 2007.

Men. 1 J Simpson (South London) 53:11; 4 W Cockerell 57:06; 106 P Cross M50 1:10:28.

Wimbledon Common Time Trial 5 km, 2 June 2007.

Men. 1 R Dzikowski (West 4) 17:15; 3 M Humphrey 17:47; 26 H Corbett M45 20:29.

Canterbury Half Marathon, 27 May 2007.

Men. 1 A Mahiaddine (Thanet) 1:13:40; 71 P Cross M50 1:34:15.

Hilly/Sweatshop Chorley 10 miles, Worden Park, Leyland, 27 May 2007.

Men. 1 N Goodliffe (Holm) 50:32; 3 P Freary 52:04.

Bushy Park Time Trial 5 km, 26 May 2007.

Men. 1 R Baugh (unatt.) 15.29; 4 W Cockerell 16:23.

Staines 10 km, 20 May 2007.

Men. 1 N Mapp (Owls) 31:57; 53 P Cross M50 40:47.

Bognor Promenade 10 km, 20 May 2007.

Men. 1 J Baker (Chichester) 31:45; 6 L Greatorex 34:22.

Women. 1 E Nelson (Epsom &E) 35:29; 9 C Eastham 45:05.

BUPA Great Manchester 10 km, 20 May 2007.

Men. 1 M Kogo (Kenya) 27:21; 32 S Jones 30:08; 43 P Freary 30:54.

UKA 100 km Championship, Edinburgh, 20 May 2007.

Women. 1 A Salt (Trentham) 8:14:39; 3 L Cooper (Eng) 9:21:39.

Hornsey YMCA 10 km, Crouch End, 20 May 2007.

Men. 1 M Byansi 33:03.

Farthing 5 km, Coulsdon, 19 May 2007.

Men. 1 J Burdett (South London) 17:58; 3 M Humphrey 18:37.

Wimbledon Common 5 km Time Trial, 19 May 2007.

Men. 1 M Farmer (South London) 15:45; 10 H Corbett M45 18:14.

Parklands 4 x 3 miles relay, Richmond Park, 17 May 2007.

Men. 1 Thames H&H 59:32; 2 Herne Hill 1:00:57; 3 Thames H&H 1:02:02; 13 Belgrave 1:08:41 - J Fairbourn 15:40 (4), D McMillan M55 (21) 20:33; M Humphrey (14) 16:14; M Whiting (13) 16:14.

Self Transcedence 5 km, Battersea Pk, 14 May 2007.

Women. 1 V Clarke 18:14.

Ranelagh Surrey Half Marathon Champs, Petersham, 13 May 2007.

Men. 1 J Simpson (South London) 1:08:57; 2 P Buckley 1:11:50; 55 G Reid M45 1:24:02; 135 P Cross M50 1:30:53; 390 D McMillan M55 1:46:55; 525 C Henn M75 1:54:35.

Teams: 1 South London H 31; 2 Ranelagh H 39; 3 Stragglers 41; 7 Belgrave 180.

BA Concorde 10 km, Cranford, 13 May 2007.

Men. 1 M Boucher (Aldershot F&D) 34:21; 2 M Humphrey 35:23.

Oxford Road 1 Mile, 12 May 2007.

Men. 1 J Thie (Cardiff) 4:06; 2 J Blackledge 4:08; 3 P Wicks 4:09.

Bushy Park 5 km Time Trial, 12 May 2007.

Men. 1 A Bodin U20 16:15.

Wimbledon Common 5 km Time Trial, 12 May 2007.

Men. 1 O Edwards (Shaftesbury B) 16:10; 2 W Cockerell 16:19; 11 G Adams 18:43.

Waterloo 15 km multi-terrain, Crosby, Lancs., 7 May 2007.

Men. 1 P Freary 49:58.

Barry Jones 5 miles, Wimbledon, 7 May 2007.

Men. 1 H Dodwell (Highgate) 26:07; 2 M Byansi 27:06; 10 D Mason 29:20; 22 G Reid M45 32:05. Teams: 1 Herne Hill 29; 2 Hercules Wimb. 33; 3 Belgrave 33.

Esher Church School 10 km, 7 May 2007.

Men. 1 M Humphrey 35:51.

Great Edinburgh 10 km, 6 May 2007.

Women. 1 J Prokopcuka (Latvia) 32:53; 9 B Dagne 35:26.

Bluebell Trail 10 km, Angmering, 6 May 2007.

Men. 1 J Baker (Chichester) 33:12; 20 P Cross 41:39.

Sutton Runners 10 km, Beddington Park, 6 May 2007.

Men. 1 N Hodges (Dorking &MV) 32:51; 12 J Fairbourn 35:05; 20 T Weeks 36:12.

Regents Park Summer 10 km, 5 May 2007.

Men. 1 H Raidi 32:34.

Wimbledon Common Time Trial 5 km, 5 May 2007.

Men. 1 A Wilson (unatt) 16:19; 18 D Anderson M50 20:26.

Dave Clark 5 km, Morden Park, 3 May 2007.

Men. 1 J McMullen (Thames H&H) 15:28; 3 A Bodin U20 15:30; 5 P Buckley 15:47; 33 P Cross M50 20:54.

Middlesex University 5 km, 2 May 2007.

Men. 1 L Mangleshot (unatt.) 18:46; 2 M Humphrey 19:08.

Chorley 4 miles, 2 May 2007.

Men. 1 A Ford (Blackpool) 19:18; 3 P Freary 19:48.

Cherry Creek Sneak Elite 5 miles, Denver Colorado, 29 April 2007.

Men. 1 D Kite (Colorado) 25:06.7; 3 N Speaight 26:04.3.

Nicola's 5 miles, Canvey Island, 29 April 2007.

Men. 1 C Bloomfield (Billericay) 25:07; 75 P Cross M50 32:51.

Purley Cross 10 km, 29 April 2007.

Men. 1 M Humphrey 38:07.

Puma Trailfox Hawkshead Trail Race, Hawkshead, Cumbria, 28 April 2007.

Men. 1 S Vernon (Stockport) 55:34; 13 J Kimaiyo 65:16.

Wimbledon Common 5 km Time Trial, 28 April 2007.

Men. 1 A Bodin U20 15:53.

Serpentine Last Friday 5 km, Hyde Park, 27 April 2007.

Men. 1 A Marriott (Wells City) 15:18; 5 H Raidi 16:05; 189 M Culshaw M40 28:39.

Women. 1 A McKeown (N Herts) 17:52; 3 S Cookson 19:12.

Bolton 10 km, 22 April 2007.

Men. 1 P Freary 32:10.

Bushy Park 5 km Time Trial, 21 April 2007.

Men. 1 R Stannard 15:34.

Women. 1 L Hasell (Thames H&H) 17:55; 12 C Eastham 21:30.

Flora London Marathon, 22 April 2007.

Men. 1 M Lel (Kenya) 2:07:41; 18 M Miles 2:24:20; 32 M Byansi 2:29:40; 36 W Cockerell 2:30:39; 70 W Lynch 2:35:35; 493 M Kazimierski 2:54:07; 3149 P Cross M50 3:28:49; 3154 M Taylor M45 3:28:52; 7917 S Baxendale 4:01:27; 12342 E Asiedu M40 4:27:33; 13544 L Rehn M40 4:34:36; 14002 J Walsh M45 4:37:12; 16387 P Coughlan M60 4:51:09; 18396 D Davies M65 5:04:14; 24423 T Newell M70 6:44:19.

Women. 1 Z Chunxiu (China) 2:20:38; 34 T Heaton 2:54:57; 86 N Neal 3:05:00; 109 L Cooper 3:08:18; 219 S Murphy 3:18:51; 840 M Noel W40 3:44:40; 10315 S Parkes 6:41:59.

Mini-marathon. Girls 13-14. 13 M Evans 17:01; 26 K Galley 17:30.

Arundel Park 10 km, 15 April 2007.

Men. 1 J Simpson (South London) 34:25; 35 P Cross M50 44:29.

Dunsfold 10 km, 15 April 2007.

Men. 1 D Taylor (B&B) 32:34; 2 P Freary 33:11; 4 J Kimaiyo 33:55; 7 K Hegvold M45 34:59; 21 M Kazimierski 37:38.

YMCA Hawker 10 km, Kingston, 15 April 2007.

Men. 1 M Humphrey 36:12.

BUPA Great Ireland Run 10 km, 15 April 2007.

Women. 1 V Mitchell (Australia) 33:06; 7 B Dagne 35:07.

Totton 10 km, 15 April 2007.

Women. 1 L Spencer (Chichester) 34:33; 14 E Fogg 39:47.

Above: the end of a good day's racing and we're still in the medals.

ERRA Men’s National 12-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, 14 April 2007

Having assembled a team that, on paper, had a good chance of winning, we faced all sorts of difficulties in the 48 hours before the start. Even during the race things didn’t go to plan with most turning in a run with which they were less than happy.  And yet this has to go down as perhaps our feistiest performance ever.  Twice we battled towards the front of the field and went into the second half of the race a couple of minutes down but still not totally giving up on a win. We finally came away with bronze medals that were truly worth the struggle. A trace of early disappointment gave way to the feeling that we had fought well and, let’s face it, although things didn’t go our way we still medalled – for a seventh consecutive year. New guys coming into the team went home with hardware that once might have been no more than a dream and prospects for the future continue to look exciting.

Early worries about niggles that may have kept crucial team members on the sidelines were discarded only for "Milesy" to phone in with a cold, and it was confirmed early on the Saturday that he wouldn’t be running.  Mark knows from bitter experience how such a problem can develop into a full-blown chest infection and with only seven days until his marathon début it was something he couldn’t risk.

So with a hole blown in the long stage line-up the running order was thrown up in the air and Simon Jones’ meticulously planned handicap competition was binned as short stage runners went long and long stage runners went short in an attempt to reduce our predicted overall time.

But the worries didn’t stop there.  Before the race the team manager was requested to appear before the race referee to receive a warning: “the report that you ran an ineligible runner at the SEAA race will be ignored here – but you must abide by the rules.” 

“What!”  Exclamations of incredulity were followed by the more detailed accusation from another team manager that the person we ran as Jonathan Blackledge (wearing 608) on stage six at Milton Keynes was actually an under age, non-cleared athlete.  All we can do is direct you to this link so that you can determine for yourself whether it was Jonathan or not!

We’ve encountered some rough conditions at Sutton Park but for once the sky was blue, the air was still – and it was hot.  Malachi Byansi was rewarded for his 8th placing first stage SEAA run with a position on the start line in the National race … and within half an hour he was our first disappointed man of the day as he ran perhaps half a minute slower than expected for an opening position of 28th. But let’s take a look at the statistics in hindsight … and note that this time he had improved to become 7th Southern man home.  Mal’s run was fine.  Ex-Belgravian Rick Hayman placed 19th for Sale Harriers in 27:26.

Early leaders Kent AC, for whom Jermain Mays’ opener was the day’s third fastest, were displaced by Severn AC on the second stage, while serious contenders Tipton were 4th and Newham & Essex Beagles rocketed up to 7th.  Belgrave’s position was improved too, as Padraic Buckley moved up eight places. We were two minutes ten off the lead and now it was the turn of Neil Speaight.

Originally down for last leg, should things be tight for a win, Neil had stepped into a long stage role to keep our challenge alive. At this point we should correct an earlier report that Neil is moving up to 5,000 metres on the track – he’s still tilting at 1,500 metres but intends to hit the event with more background and endurance work than ever before.  Tucking in behind Blackheath’s Mike Skinner, six places were won by Neil – but again in a long stage time that we might have thought would be faster. Another one time Belgrave man took the Beagles up to 6th – John Clarke – but it was Tipton now in charge with previously under-rated Cardiff in 2nd.

An extraordinary run came from Shugri Omar on lap four.  One of the stage’s biggest movers, he came up ten places to carry our colours through the takeover zone in 4th – the sort of run surely worth 14:25 but in fact – 14:54.  With few exceptions all runs now appeared to be on the slow side and could only be put down to the still, hot air – particularly on the out and back stretch up to the far point of the long stage.

Living up to his promise to tackle a long stage to strengthen the team if we lost anyone, Stephen Sharp was up next and here, surely, was where we’d make an impression.  But no less than five of the day’s fastest long stage runs were thrown up on lap five and, just to make things worse, Steve was suffering from a stomach problem that had him wishing it was a straight race, groaning afterwards: “ … I tell ya, I’d have come out …”  

Tipton and Leeds were looking worryingly strong now, although the word on the course was that Tipton were front-loaded.

The Skipper had mixed feelings on receiving a call into the team on race morning.  His heart was heavy for Mark, but nevertheless pleased to be getting an outing on the hallowed tarmac of Sutton Park.  He hit his short stage just as he intended before sending “Wicksy” away to start the second half of the contest.  Phil is intent on setting a blazing time on the long stage some time or other but on this occasion, with his tight calf muscle holding him back, he had to be satisfied with a Belgrave best of the day and a time just five seconds slower than his previous best as he dragged the team up four more spots.   Leeds, known to be at full strength and expected to be solid to the end, now went ahead of Tipton while  Cardiff were 3rd.

We’ve never seen a bad run from Jonathan Blackledge in Sutton Park and he flogged himself around the short lap to overtake the Morpeth and Notts AC teams, drawing closer to all ahead of him as he clocked second fastest on the stage – 14:37.  Simon Jones was fresh from a best ever 10k the previous weekend and on lap nine he pushed past Tipton, the Beagles and Sale for a super run, beating some illustrious names and giving way only to Morpeth’s Ian Hudspith.  A minute clear of second placed Morpeth, Leeds were now looking out and out winners but the chase for a medal was really on for the Bels as Si had brought us to within 13 seconds of bronze.

Tenth stage was entrusted to Mark Pollard who had been nursing a sore shin for some weeks, bolstering only a little running with workouts in the swimming pool and on the bike.  He was terrific, faster than anyone else on the lap except Darren Bilton who extended Leeds’ advantage to two minutes.  Not only did Mark move past Cardiff, he pulled back 50 seconds on Morpeth, failing to catch their runner by just one second.  What a début!

With eight national team golds in his trophy cabinet it was up to Paul Freary, using every ounce of his experience to give our final man enough to hold off the advancing Beagles and keep us in the medals.  Paul clung on to Morpeth’s Mark Hudspith for as long as possible and at the end of the stage we had a minute and 21 on the Newham boys – with a powerful Mark Warmby due to take over and eager to attack our own Richard Ward.

Warmby was going to have to run a blinder to do it – but all round the lap he was cutting down the gap until, as the final turn was reached, the Belgrave man seemed just out of reach.  Even then, further urging from his team mates had him chasing again and it was with huge relief that we welcomed "Wardy" at the end of the finish straight, still with 11 seconds in hand.

Belgrave: M Byansi (28) 27:51; P Buckley (20) 15:23; N Speaight (14) 27:20; S Omar (4) 14:54; S Sharp (11) 27:17; W Cockerell (12) 15:34; P Wicks (8) 26:40; J Blackledge (6) 14:37; S Jones (4) 27:06; M Pollard (3) 14:36; P Freary (3) 27:44; R Ward (3) 15:41.

Teams: 1 Leeds City AC 4:11:31; 2 Morpeth H 4:13:42; 3 Belgrave H 4:14:43; 4 Newham &EB 4:14:54; 5 Cardiff AAC 4:16:20; 6 Tipton H 4:16:37; 7 Notts AC 4:16:53; 8 Sale H 4:17:13; 9 Owls AC 4:18:09; 10 Shaftesbury BH 4:18:16; … 70 teams started; 66 teams finished.

Fastest legs

Long stage (5.38 miles). 1 J Ndayisenga (Birchfield H) 25:21; 2 P Nicholls (Tipton H) 25:52; 3 J Mays (Kent) 25:53; 4 S Deakin (Leeds City) 25:54; 5 R Russell (Thames Valley H) 25:59; 6 G Comish (Sale H) 26:01; 7 I Hudspith (Morpeth H) 26:08; 8 G Thornton (Kent) 26:13; 9 D Bannister (Shaftesbury BH) 26:15; 10 B Farquharson (Notts AC) 26:16.

Short stage (2.995 miles). 1 N McCormick (Morpeth H) 13:39; 2 F Tickner (Wells City) 14:00; 3 J Mellor (Liverpool H) 14:09; 4 D Bilton (Leeds City) 14:30; 5 M Warmby (Newham & EB) 14:31  6= S Dirrane (Leeds City) and S May (Owls) 14:32; 8 J MacDonald (Trafford) 14:34; 9 M Pollard (Belgrave H) 14:36; 10 J Blackledge (Belgrave H) 14:37.

ERRA Women’s National 6-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, 14 April 2007

It was a successful day for the Belles in Sutton Park as we ended up fourth Southern team and tenth overall in our second best ever time. 

Birhan Dagne impressively came home third on the opening stage, her 16:23 being our best ever for the circuit apart from her own 16:19 in 2002. Great running followed from Vicky Clarke who was soon past Shaftesbury, dropping away dramatically on this stage, but was then overtaken by Winchester.

Sarah Gailey had the unenviable job of taking over for the third stage while in the frame – and not surprisingly had to give way – but we were still in the top ten and Tilly Heaton, Juliette Clark and Catherine Bryson kept us at this level to the end. Catherine became our third fastest ever for the course with a time a full minute faster than her previous best.  

Belgrave: B Dagne (3) 16:23; V Clarke (3) 17:47; S Gailey (9) 19:04; M Heaton (10) 18:18; J Clark (10) 18:27; C Bryson (10) 17:16.

Teams: 1 Charnwood AC 1:41:14; 2 Aldershot F&DAC 1:41:23; 3 Chester-le-Street &D 1:41:56; 4 Winchester &DAC 1:42:18; 5 Leeds City AC 1:45:04; 6 Bingley H&AC 1:45:11; 7 Bristol &WAC 1:45:37; 8 Windsor SE&H 1:45:40; 9 Telford AC 1:46:24; 10 Belgrave H 1:47:15; … 56 teams started; 45 teams finished.

Fastest legs (2.995 miles): 1 S Twell (Aldershot F&DAC) 15:57; 2 S Morris (Windsor SE&H) 15:58; 3 H Yelling (Windsor SE&H) 16:05; 4= S Bush (Aldershot F&DAC) and J Potter (Charnwood) 16:10; 6 S Murray (Chester-le-Street) 16:15 ... 9 B Dagne (Belgrave H) 16:23.

Lewes AC Easter Fun Run 10 km, 9 April 2007.

Men. 1 R James (Lewes) 32:21; 46 P Cross M50 41:57.

Halton Bridge Race, Runcorn, Cheshire, 8 April 2007.

Men. 1 T Elly (Salford) 25:06; 3 P Freary 26:24.

Easter Bunny Run 10 km, Gloucester, 7 April 2007.

Men. 1 A Hunt (Cardiff) 30:34; 2 S Jones 30:36.

Healthspan Easter 10 km, Port Soif, Guernsey, 6 April 2007.

Men. 1 W Chinhanhu (Poole) 29:19; 5 N Speaight 31:02.

Maidenhead Easter 10 miles, 6 April 2007.

Men. 1 P Wicks 49:41; 15 J Fairbourn 57:07; 638 D Davies M65 1:26:21.
Teams: 1 Vale of Aylesbury 57; 21 Belgrave H 491.

Women. 1 C Pusey (Burnham) 1:01:07; 71 C Eastham 1:17:47.

Above: Young guns go for it. Phil Wicks (left) was fastest of the day on a long stage and Jonathan Blackledge (right) was fourth best on the short lap . Photos by Steve Wicks.

SEAA Men's 12-Stage Road Relay, Milton Keynes, 1 April 2007.

Bels lose an exciting SEAA 12-Stage race

Going into this race we knew we’d be short of a winning team.  A “stag do”, house moving, marathon training, Scottish Relays, Irish Relays … you name it and all had combined to ensure quite a different look to our line-up. It was felt that it would be most unlikely that we’d continue our winning streak … maybe we wouldn’t medal at all. In reality it turned out to be one of the most exciting races we can remember as our super fast short-stagers interleaved with lesser-known long stage men who had gladly answered the call. We shifted some of our power runners forward with the idea of letting them run, as far as possible, the stages they wanted, giving them the chance of chasing runners without covering huge gaps - they responded with fastest laps of the day.

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers were solid all the way through, taking the lead on the opening leg and holding it to the end – apart from stage ten when an audacious "Wardy" stole a break of half a minute. We were up and down the field like a yo-yo in the early part of the race until Phil Wicks put some distance between the Bels and their pursuers.

Each lap was 146 metres shorter than normal, due to building works in the regular takeover area.  The Milton Keynes wind … well, we always say that it’s windy in this corner of the world but on this occasion it was something else. The net result was that even though the course was short, the times were more or less the same as normal.

Malachi Byansi’s progress over the last year has been a revelation.  This man has been in our C teams at MK!  A best of 26:30 in 2001 had been followed by a worst of 29:10 in 2004.  Mal was delighted that a way into the A team opened up for him this time and his 24:53 to give us 9th at the end of the opening lap, instead of a predicted 15th-20th, was our first thrill of the day.  Kojo Kyereme had grabbed a handy 5 seconds advantage over Dave Mitchison for the Beagles up at the front and we were just under a minute in arrears.

The intention had been for Shugri Omar to bring us up to around 10th on the first short stage but with that objective already achieved and with the competition on this leg weaker than normal, he took the Bels into 2nd spot and we were just 17 seconds off the pace. Pete Willis was another keen to show what he could do in the A squad – but where it all went right for Malachi, it all went wrong for Pete!  Crossing the finish line a full minute later than he was expected, it was “pull off the vest and sit disconsolate on the kerb-side” time.  The wind had killed him.  But we’ve all been there and Pete will bounce back.  For the Bs James Fairbourn deserves a special mention for his positive run.

Funnily enough, our team position was exactly what we had expected with a quarter of the race over and, entering the fray somewhat earlier than normal, we had a little run of superstars lined up next to redress the balance.  After a career at the shorter middle distances that has brought him runs in the 1:45 and 3:38 region, big Neil Speaight is moving up. A super 5 miler at Alsager has shown his potential and the spring road relays are a further stepping stone along his route to 5,000m races on the track.

Neil took out seven men ahead of him, failing to catch Wells City by only two seconds, but Shaftesbury still had a two minute advantage – what could "Wicksy" do about that. Plenty!  Running for the north London club, Richard Willis is no slouch.  It’s doubtful that he had any knowledge of what was going on behind him for he saw no opposition throughout his run – 7th fastest of the day – but Phil Wicks was stirring up a hurricane, halving that lead and setting a time of Cullen-esque proportions – 23:20 – unbelievable. And by the time Jonathan Blackledge had done a similar job on the following short leg, the Shaftesbury lead was down to just ten seconds at half distance.

Tom Ellacott now had the unenviable job of trying to hold our position.  Although unable to keep close to Shaftesbury’s James Trapmore, the gap to third place, opened up by Jonathan to well over four minutes, was something that we felt we could defend to the end and Tom’s solid but lonely run was just what we needed.

Now it was time for "Sharpy" to have a crack and, piling on the pressure, the gap came down to 23 seconds as Stephen ran what turned out to be the fastest short stage of the day – 16:13.  Our fourth long stage debutant now made his entrance. Padraic Buckley’s athletics cv. shows that he’s run for Leevale AC in Ireland, Iona College in the USA and has even had a spell with Tipton Harriers.  Padraic has come back to running after a lot of soccer – and are we glad he has!  Initially he gained on the man ahead but on that infamous part of the long stage that has thrown our men before (Charlie Herrington, Alaster Stewart), he went off course, only to be brought back by the urgent shouts of our supporters.  It was only a loss of five or six seconds but the impetus was lost and now they hit the wind.  But it was good running from Padraic and there were only 48 seconds between Shaftesbury and the Bels. The Beagles were gradually securing third spot for themselves, although keeping an eye on Woodford Green in 4th and Bedford in 5th. 

Into action now came Richard Ward with a mere three weeks of training behind him after another injury-enforced lay-off.  Maybe he could narrow the gap a little … The team manager’s day dreaming was interrupted by a phone call from out on the course: “Richard Ward’s gone ahead … and the Shaftesbury man isn’t responding."  This information was relayed to a nervous looking Skipper as he prepared to take on the graveyard shift yet again. … Another phone call: “We’re 20 seconds clear,” and before long "Wardy" was in sight and Will Cockerell was away in the lead … and half a minute had gone before Shaftesbury’s black and white stripes hove into view.  Was this enough?  Surely, after our thoughts of failing to get into the frame, we couldn’t win it?

Orlando Edwards was three and a half minutes faster than our Will in the National Cross Country Championships and soon he was eating into the Belgrave advantage. Inevitably they came together and the Shaftesbury man pushed to go away – Will clung on.  Will pressed on the pedal – but they still remained locked together.  Edwards surged – and a little daylight opened.  The gap became five, six seconds – but it wasn’t over, for as Shaftesbury’s leader swept around the final corner and into the take-over straight, a flash of a claret and gold was seen over his shoulder – Will was closing!  Just two seconds in it after four hours of running.

Eighteen year-old Alex Bodin had been placed on last leg in the thought that the gaps would be massive by now whether we were 5th, 3rd or (dream on) the leaders.  As both runners set out, Belgrave and Shaftesbury’s supporters joined in urgent conversation: “What’s your man gonna do?”  “Well, he’s about 15 minutes for 5k but we don’t know how fit he is.”

Young Alex ran a mature leg.  He must have been nervous but he handled the situation perfectly and ran a time exactly as predicted.  A great job by him, then, but it was too big an "ask" on this occasion as the Shaftesbury man ran 28 seconds quicker.  What a baptism of fire, though, and an experience that will stand him in good stead for decades to come.

Congratulations to Shaftesbury

Congratulations to Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers … and now we have two weeks before the National.

For the first time at Milton Keynes we failed to finish a B team; in fact only three teams did – and as a result, with none of them being placed high enough, no Southern B teams will go to Sutton Park. One record we haven't lost though - we have never failed to medal in nine outings at MK. 

A Team: M Byansi (9) 24:53; S Omar (2) 16:43; P Willis (10) 27:05; N Speaight (3) 16:14; P Wicks (2) 23:20; J Blackledge (2) 16:19; T Ellacott (2) 26:17; S Sharp (2) 16:13; P Buckley (2) 25:53; R Ward (1) 17:22; W Cockerell (2) 26:12; A Bodin (2) 17:42.

B Team: M Humphrey (40) 28:40; D Mason (36) 18:34; J Fairbourn (37) 27:54; A Marek (32) 19:50; J Kimaiyo (32) 26:37; J Webb (29) 18:51; D Anderson (35) 32:24; 8 D McMillan (38) 24:19; P Coughlan (38) 38:03; team dnf.

Teams: 1 Shaftesbury BH 4:13:43; 2 Belgrave H 4:14:13; 3 Newham &EB 4:15:34; 4 Woodford GwEL 4:17:36; 5 Thames H&H 4:21:52; 6 Aldershot F&DAC 4:22:03; … 37 teams finished.

Fastest legs

Long stage (7,826m). 1 P Wicks (Belgrave) 23:20; 2 S Plummer (Woodford GwEL) 23:55; 3 K Kyereme (Shaftesbury BH) 23:56;  4 D Mitchison (Newham &EB) 24:01; 5 M Draper (Windsor SE&H) 24:02; … 20 M Byansi 24:53.

Short stage (5,356m). 1 S Sharp (Belgrave) 16:13; 2 N Speaight (Belgrave) 16:14; 3 K Gerrard (Newham &EB) 16:15; 4 J Blackledge (Belgrave) 16:19; 5 D Smith (Tonbridge) 16:34; … 7 S Omar 16:43; 25 R Ward 17:22; 36 A Bodin 17:42.

SEAA Women's 6-Stage Road Relay, Milton Keynes, 1 April 2007.

There were some times set on stage one that would have shown up well in the men's race and in the thick of this action Catherine Bryson set the Belles team going with a 19:19 clocking - our fastest of the day.  Further back, Southern 20k Race Walking Champion Maureen Noel took a break from "heel and toe" action to sample life on the road relay circuit.  Eventual winners Bedford & County ended lap one a lowly 19th.

While Thames took over from Windsor at the front, Helen Smethurst came home 9th, handing over to Rosie Powell.  Now Shaftesbury led, and just as the order was chopping and changing at the front, so it did further down the field as Sarah Gailey completed leg four for the Belles and sent Juliette Clark on her way.

Our most experienced relay runner with five SEAA 6 stages behind her, "Jules" move up five places as Aldershot took their turn at the head of the procession. It just remained now for team manager Catherine Eastham to close in the team for a very respectable 11th place - now that's something the men's outfit just cannot aspire to!

A Team: C Bryson (7) 19:19; H Smethurst (9) 20:36; R Powell (11) 21:35; S Gailey (12) 21:18; J Clark (7) 20:23; C Eastham (11) 23:12.

B Team: M Noel (29) 22:46; J Beecroft (29) 23:57; Clare (25) 20:43; team dnf.

Teams: 1 Bedford & County AC 1:54:07; 2 Aldershot F&D AC 1:54:59; 3 Shaftesbury BH 1:5:46; 4 Highgate H 2:02:32; 5 Arena 80 2:03:39; ... 11 Belgrave H 2:06:23; 24 teams finished.

Fastest: 1 J Wilkinson (Bedford &C) 17:41; 2 S Morris (Windsor SE&H) 17:54; 3 S O'Sullivan (Thames H&H) 18:08; 4= S Abel (Highgate H) 18:15; 4= V Webster (Shaftesbury BH) 18:15; ... 19 C Bryson 19:19.

Bushy Park Time 5 km Trial, 31 March 2007.

Men. 1 R Stannard 16:04.

Wimbledon Common Time 5 km Trial, 31 March 2007.

Men. 1 M Gray (unatt) 17:36; 20 Don Anderson M50 20:27.

Liverpool Half Marathon, 25 March 2007.

Men. 1 B Fish (Blackburn) 67:15; 3 P Freary 71:24.

Serpentine Last Friday 5 km, 30 March 2007.

Men. 1 S Collins (Enfield &H) 15:48; 10 M Humphrey 17:13.

Bath Half Marathon, 25 March 2007.

Men. 1 T Shiferaw (Ethiopia) 1:02:09; 10 S Jones 1:07:28; 14 C McGee 1:09:08; 24 M Byansi 1:10:33; 56 W Lynch 1:15:00; 362 C Hobbs 1:26:38; 1072 L Rehn M40 1:37:22.

Teams: 3 Belgrave H

Women. 1 L. Yelling 1:09:28; 3 B Dagne 1:16:27; H Smethurst 1:26:29.

Reading Half Marathon, 25 March 2007.

Men. 1 S Kasimili (Kenya) 1:03:06; 4 M Miles 1:04:29; 13 R Ashe 1:09:43; 48 L Greatorex 1:14:56; 268 R St. Clair 1:24:54; 404 P Cross 1:27:32; 927 M White 1:34:58.

Women. 1 L. Damen 1:10:47; 18 T Heaton 1:23:30; 20 S Murphy 1:23:38; 28 L Cooper 1:25:55; C Eastham 1:44:29.

Eastleigh 10 km, 25 March 2007.

Men. 1 F Tickner 29:38; 3 J Blackledge 30:16; R Bale M60 44:30.

Amida 10 km, 25 March 2007.

Men. 1 M Humphrey 35:12 (started well over a minute after the rest of the field).

Carterton 10 km, 25 March 2007.

Men. 1 P Willis 34:01.

Wimbledon Common 5 km Time Trial, 24 March 2007.

Men. 1 C Phelan (South London) 17:09; 5 S Ryan 17:58.

Finchley 20 miles, Ruislip, 18 March 2007.

Men. 1 P Sanger (Epsom &E) 1:54:56; 3 W Cockerell 1:56:24.

adidas Silverstone Half Marathon, 18 March 2007.

Men. 1 H Ramaala (RSA) 1:06:53; 5 K Tadesse 1:13:50; 278 P Cross M50 1:31:04.

Women. 1 L Yelling (Bedford &C) 1:14:34; 2 B Dagne 1:16:55.

Bushy Park 5 km Time Trial, 17 March 2007.

Women. 1 L Watson (Stragglers) 18:16; 8 C Eastham 22:14.

Wimbledon Common 5 km Time Trial, 17 March 2007.

Men. 1 K Kyereme (Shaftesbury B) 15:24; 10 S Ryan 18:04.

Asics Fleet Half Marathon, 11 March 2007.

Men. 1 M Miles 1:06:05.

Hastings Half Marathon, 11 March 2007.

Men. 1 G Baaru (Kenya) 1:03:22; 221 P Cross M50 1:29:53; 1055 L Rehn M40 1:45:46; 1221 D McMillan M55 1:48:48.

Women. 1 B Dagne 1:16:02.

Roddlesworth Roller 6 miles, Abbey Village, Chorley, 11 March 2007.

Men. 1 P Freary 31:24.

Wimbledon Audi 10 km, 11 March 2007.

Men. 1 J Sumpter (?) 32:01; 4 K Hegvold M40 (omitted from official result) 33:14; 40 G Reid M45 38:20; 67 C Hobbs 40:32.

Wimbledon Common Time Trial 5 km, 10 March 2007.

Men. 1 W Clark (Epsom &E) 16:07; 21 Don Anderson 21:13.

Above: Lap one of the senior men's race. Mal Byansi was leading Belgrave runner but Simon Jones (second from right) is on his tail. Below: Catherine Bryson was our highest placed runner of the day.

ECCA "National" Cross Country Champs., Herrington Country Park, Sunderland, 10 March 2007.

You’d have to say that this was a disappointing day; thirty-two men were entered – which came down to eight on the start line – and six who made it to the finish.  We were within a whisker of the dreaded days when we failed to complete a team.  Then there were our two senior women who run like demons every time they are let off the leash in the championships – but nobody else to back them up; just two additional runners placed somewhere between 100 and 125 would have meant a top ten team place.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom on the reclaimed and turfed spoil heaps that were, as recently as 2000, an open cast mine on the site of the century old Herrington Colliery.  We did at least have runners in four different races to support.

The U17 Men’s event was early on our programme and it was a first ever taste of “big time” cross-country for fifteen year-old Hugh John. At the bottom end of the age group, he nevertheless had the courage to start strongly to claim a place in the 60s, hold that position throughout race, and then overtake a few on the run in to the finish.  In the same age group next year he could well get near the top 20.

An “as expected” run came from James Fairbourn in the U20 men’s 10k – the sole survivor of a team that had threatened to medal before a variety of problems took out Messrs. Billington, Bodin and Gauson. Anaemia has been identified as the cause of recent below par runs from James but he now looks as if he’s on the upward path again.   

In the senior women’s race, as always, there was very little between Catherine Bryson, starting a little steadier than normal, and Sarah Murphy. There was half a minute gap splitting them in the “Southern” but here it was down to just 5 seconds after 33 minutes of running. 

Eight races had now taken place and one would have expected the ground to have churned up badly but a constantly driving wind had sucked the moisture from the parkland and it remained firm to the end.  Malachi Byansi made a fast start, eager to beat the Skipper to win the cross-country plate and maybe the “Parker Bowl” for first Belgravian home.  Mal was ahead of our posse as the field climbed past the Miners’ Memorial, buffeted by the wind, but that self-professed loather of cross-country Simon Jones was on his tail and by lap two was leading our team.  Simon had agreed to run around Christmas time, hoping that he might sneak home in March as sixth scorer in a medal-winning outfit.

At this point it became obvious that Brad Poore had come out. The foot pain that has restricted his marathon training so much recently was flaring up again.  Ok – so Dave Mason was going along nicely now as our sixth scorer while Will Cockerell and Pete Willis were slugging it out ahead of an out of sorts John Kimaiyo.  But on the final lap, up at the Miner’s Memorial again, it was noted that our Pete was also missing. Twice on some rough ground he’d jarred his hip and now Matt Whiting was completing our six and every finisher was a scorer!

It was a good run from Simon but now he’s itching to show at least 60 of those ahead of him that he’s a different animal on the tarmac. Mal Byansi, too, ran well up to form and was back in the top 100 for the first time in years.

But now another race was on – the one for trains and planes – and there was no time for our post race tea and bun party. We hear that the Skipper only made his flight by the skin of his teeth. And after being delivered to Durham station in time for his five o’clock train, Jonesy’s journey was delayed and a mate had to be summoned from Cardiff to Bristol to save him sleeping on the platform.  For the rest it was a six or seven hour slog down the A1(M)! Thankfully the race will be in Birmingham next year.   

Senior Men’s 12 km. 1 F Tickner (Wells C) 37:31; 2 H Lobb (Bedford &C) 38:11; 3 G Raven (Sale) 38:14; … 71 S Jones 40:41; 92 M Byansi 41:20; 194 W Cockerell 43:50; 244 J Kimaiyo 44:58; 250 D Mason 45:07; 331 M Whiting 46:42; 916 finished.

Teams: 1 Leeds City 162; 2 Bedford &C 226; 3 Sale H 287; 17 Belgrave H 1178; 71 teams closed in.

U20 Men’s 10 km. 1 K Deighton (Bridlington 32:12; … 106 J Fairbourn 38:08.

U17 Men’s 6 km. 1 D Forrester (St Helen’s Sutton) 20:38; … 59 H John 22:53.

Senior Women’s 8 km. 1 L Yelling (Bedford &C) 28:56; 2 H Yelling (Windsor SE&H) 29:35; 3 L Damen (Winchester &D) 29:40; … 37 C Bryson 32:56; 41 S Murphy 33:01.

Irish CC Championships, Sligo, 10 March 2007.

Men's 12 km. 1 G Murray (St. Malachy's) 38:19; 18 C McGee 40:35; 31 P Buckley 42:24.

Teddy Hall Relays, Oxford, 7 March 2007.

Men. Fastest: J Blackledge 17:23.

Berkhampstead Half Marathon, 4 March 2007.

Men. 1 A Jackson (Shaftesbury B) 1:13:07; 80 P Cross 2-M50 1:30:42.

International 10 km, Barcelona, Spain, 4 March 2007.

Men. 3 S Sharp 30:02.

Puma 10 km, Woburn Abbey, 4 March 2007.

Men. 1 M Draper (Blackheath) 31:07; 2 J Blackledge 31:09; 3 P Freary 33:08.

Trafford 10 km, Partington, 4 March 2007.

Men. 1 P Riley (Leigh) 29:33; 2 M Miles 29:40.

Heathside 5 miles, Finsbury Park, 4 March 2007.

Men. 1 B Noad (Highgate) 24:30; 4 P Buckley 26:41; 5 C McGee 26:49.

SLH Schools Race, Coulsdon, 3 March 2007.

U18 Men. 1 N James (Judd) 20:41; 3 H John 21:08.

Bushy Park 5 km Time Trial, 3 March 2007.

Men. R Stannard 16:06.

Women. 1 C Saunders (Thames H&H) 19:10; 9 C Eastham 22:10.

Wimbledon Common 5 km Time Trial, 3 March 2007.

Men. 1 W Clark (Epsom &E) 16:29; 25 Don Anderson M50 22:00.

Eastbourne Half Marathon, 25 February 2007.

Men. 1 J Baker (Chichester R) 1:11:24; 62 P Cross M50 1:31:33.

Lostock 6 miles, 25 February 2007.

Men. 1 T Cornthwaite (Blackburn) 30:28; 2 P Freary 30:37.

Bramley 10 and 20 miles, 25 February 2007.

20 miles - Men. 1 D Mitchinson (Newham & EB) 1:45:44; 20 L Greatorex 1:59:04.

20 miles - Women. 1 H Foundling-Walker (Honiton) 2:03:42; 10 H Smethurst 5th-W40 2:18:28 (1:08:33 at 10 miles).

10 miles - Women. 1 M Neal (Headington) 1:02:40; 41 C Eastham 1:17:21.

CAU Inter-Counties Championship, Wollaton Park, Nottingham, 24 February 2007.

Men's 12 km. 1 F Tickner (Avon) 39:25; 8 P Wicks (Surrey) 40:43; 101 M Byansi (Surrey) 44:06.

U20 Men's 8 km. 1 J Pepper (Herts) 27:04; 14 G Billington (Suffolk) 28:15.

Women's 8 km. 1 H Yelling (Middlesex) 29:33; 63 S Murphy (Surrey) 33:15; 220 L Cooper (Berkshire) 38:16.

SLH v Blackheath Mob Match, Coulsdon, 24 February 2007.

Men's 7.5 miles . 1 P Tucker (Blackheath &B) 48:09; 13 M Humphrey 53:17.

Bushy Park Time Trial 5 km, 24 February 2007.

Men. 1 B Kiptum (Kenya) 15:43; 2 R Stannard 16:21; 4 A Bodin U20 17:09.

Catforth Canter 5 km, Nr. Preston, 23 February 2007.

Men. 1 P Freary 15:29.

Last Friday 5 km, Hyde Park, 23 February 2007.

Men. 1 T Boardman (Leigh H) 15:19; 12 M Whiting 17:06.

Draycote Water 35 miles, Rugby, 18 February 2007.

Women. 1 A Salt (Trentham) 4:00:35; 3 L Cooper 4:21:59 (Marathon 3:11:54, 30 miles 3:41:56, 50km 3:49:57.

Sussex Beacon Half Marathon, 18 February 2007.

Men. 1 J Baker (Chichester R) 1:08:33; 143 P Cross M50 1:27:09; 872 C Moynihan 1:42:53; 1328 D McMillan M55 1:49:29.

Bushy Park Time Trial 5 km, 17 February 2007.

Men. 1 S Perkins (Ranelagh) 15:54; 3 R Stannard 16:44.

Wokingham Half Marathon, 11 February 2007.

Men. 1 W Chinhanhu (Poole) 1:04:52; 4 S Jones 1:07:45; 5 M Byansi 1:08:57; 11 M Trees M40 1:12:43; 208 P Cross M50 1:29:13.

Women. 1 A Braham (BBC) 1:17:19; 30 R Trees 1:30:48.

Buller Marathon, Westport, New Zealand, 10 February 2007.

Men. 1 M Lukes (Christchurch) 2:38:13; 9 P Coughlan 3:02:26.

Love Run 10 km, Battersea Park, 10 February 2007.

Women. 1 V Clarke 38:13.

26.2 RRC Valentines 10 km, 11 February 2007.

Men. 1 G Price (Shaftesbury B) 31:34; 4 L Greatorex 34:11.

"Sweatshop" Surrey Cross Country League, Match 4, Petersham, 10 February 2007.

Men. 1 Dave Anderson (Belgrave) 28:53; 2 C Smith (HHH) 28:57; 3 L Jones (Reigate P) 29:16; 6 M Byansi 29:50; 7 G Billington U20 29:51; 14 P Buckley 30:16; 16 T Watson 30:29; 19 W Cockerell 30:35; 23 T Ellacott 30:59; 31 K Hegvold M40 31:38; 56 J Webb 33:07; 63 J Galley M40 33:26; 75 A Marek 34:15; 96 M Taylor M40 35:46; 109 A Allen 37:22; 119 H Corbett M45 38:55; 122 P Cross M50 39:27; 129 S Baxendale 41:14.

Teams: 1 Belgrave H 236; 2 Herne Hill H 273; 3 Thames H&H 336; 4 Ranelagh H 350; 5 Reigate Priory 441; 6 South London H 509; 7 Stragglers 561; 8 Guildford & Godalming 581; 9 Dulwich R 808.

Overall: Herne Hill H 773; 2 Thames H&H 1220; 3 Belgrave H 1346; 4 Ranelagh H 1499; 5 South London H 2113; 6 Reigate Priory 2175; 7 Guildford & Godalming 2178; 8 Stragglers 2221; 9 Dulwich R 2895.

U17/U15. 1 J Wheldon U17 (Herne H) 15:56; 3 H John U17 16:16; 9 J Taylor-Holland 19:33.

Teams: 1 Herne Hill H 43.5; 2 Belgrave H 94.5; 3 South London H 97.5.

Women's Surrey Cross Country League, Match 4, Petersham, 10 February 2007.

Women. 1 C Diss (Herne Hill) 21:10; 2 G Bruinvels (Dorking MV) 21:20; 3 R Townend (guest) 21:21; 7 S Murphy 21:43; 16 M Heaton 22:40; 19 J Clark W40 22:48; 24 S Gailey 23:28; 25 E Fogg 23:32; 30 H Smethurst W40 23:44; 112 S Howard 29:03.

Teams: 1 Belgrave H 81; 2 Ranelagh H 87; 3 South London H 90; 4 Herne Hill H 133; 5 Reigate Priory 154; 6 Thames H&H 165.

Overall: 1 Belgrave 273; 2 Ranelagh H348; 3 Thames H&H 511; 4  South London H 570; 5  Stragglers 589; 6 Herne Hill H 631.

U15. 1 I Brinsden (Epsom &E) 17:18; 4 M Evans 17:58; 8 K Galley 18:30; 17 J Foxley 20:50.

Teams: 1 Sutton & Dist 28; 2 Belgrave H 66.

Bushy Park Time Trial 5 km, 10 February 2007.

Men. 1 C Payne (Tortoise & Hare) 16:20; 3 R Stannard 16:54.

Watford Half Marathon, 4 February 2007.

Men. 1 T Abyu (Salford) 1:04:50; 2 M Miles 1:06:04; 5 H Raidi 1:09:12; 16 K Tadesse 1:13:38; 206 R St. Clair 1:29:56; 233 P Cross M50 1:30:46.

Women. 1 L Yelling (Bedford) 1:13:42; 8 V Clarke 1:26:34.

Puma Longleat 10 km, 4 February 2007.

Men. 1 P Parry (Bristol &W) 32:43; 2 P Freary 32:54.

Alsager 5 miles, 4 February 2007.

Men. 1 J Mays (Kent) 23:39; 8 N Speaight 24:07.

Surrey Schools CC Champs, Reigate, 3 February 2007.

Junior Girls. 1 A Gorecka (C Surrey) 14:39; 9 M Evans 15:58.

Wimbledon Common Time Trial 5 km, 3 February 2007.

Men. 1 N Gould (Thames H&H) 16:34; 5 A Marek 18:10; 20 Don Anderson M50 20:20.

Bushy Park Time Trial 5 km, 3 February 2007.

Men. 1 P Edmondson (Tipton) 16:03; 2 R Stannard 16:12.

BUSA Champs & World Cross Trial, Bath, 3 February 2007.

Men. 11.28 km. 1 F Tickner (Wells) 33:13; 7 P Wicks 33:47.

BUSA B race: 7.64km 1 S Perkins (Birmingham) 23:16; 100 M Humphrey 27:19; 219 finished.

17th Armagh International 5 km, 1 February 2007.

Men. 1 C Hesch (USA) 14:07.8; 6 S Sharp 14:18.2; 8 J Blackledge 14:25.2; 17 S Jones 14:39.6. Teams: 1 Belgrave 31; 2 Team Puma 37; 3 Swansea 57.

Scottish Athletics 4 km CC Champs., Bellahouston Park, 28 January 2007.

Men. 1 A Hay (Central) 12:28; 5 K Gauson (1st U20) 12:45.

Romsey 5 miles, Hants, 28 January 2007.

Men. 1 M Trees M40 26:34.

Women. 1 E Sheldon (Soton) 28:31; 10  R Trees 32:47.

Canterbury 10 miles, 28 January 2007.

Men. 1 M Coleman (Medway &M) 51:18; 25 M Kazimierski 1:02:37; 86 P Cross M50 1:07:18.

Bluewater 4 km Time Trial, Greenhithe, 28 January 2007.

Men. 1 M Humphrey 14:28.

Bushy Park Time Trial, 27 January 2007.

Men. 1 R Stannard 16:32.

SEAA Cross Country Championships, Holkham Hall, Norfolk, 27 January 2007.

Going into the men’s 15,000 metres race with a good winning streak behind him, Phil Wicks was being talked up by the pundits but he’s still only 22 and there were others equally determined to win with more experience of the nine mile slog that is the Southern Cross under their belts and sharing the mantle of “favourite”. The young man was certainly going to give it a go though and planned to take up the running even though he knew that it was unlikely that he’d be able to drop his main rivals.  The course was deceptively tough – three laps of firm grassland across Holkham Hall’s deer park, a few wooded paths and long, long open slopes to test all but the fittest.

It was Aldershot’s Matt Ashton who reached the top of the first climb with a clear 10 metres advantage, Phil heading the rest; but with a mile gone all the favourites were gathered together in the top ten as the field set out on the main loop over Howe Hill to the distant tower of St Withburga’s Church. By the time they returned, the pattern of the race had been set with Huw Lobb (Bedford) pushing on at the front, Phil a pace or two behind and then Dominic Bannister (Shaftesbury Barnet) another two steps in arrears. Already they had built up a huge advantage over the rest.

As the second lap unreeled, the elastic attaching Bannister to the leaders snapped, unable to withstand Lobb’s surging running style. The Belgrave man also appeared to be drifting back a pace or two occasionally but on the other hand, he looked comfortable enough and always closed up immediately.  The pair were far ahead now and onlookers gasped at the sheer pace of these two: “How can they possibly run that fast for 15k?”

Going out to the church for the third time Lobb put in a monster effort and the gap went up to 10 metres.  Was this it?  Then up the climb near the church at the furthest point Phil just had the feeling that maybe Huw was beginning to weaken.  He drew up alongside, moved ahead and then, approaching a sharp little rise, pushed again.  The Bedford man was a few metres adrift now but all that was left was the long climb to the top of the course and the drop back down to the finish – perhaps half a mile in all.

The duo had been lapping runners constantly throughout their last circuit and as they began the final long rise Phil went past Sam Baxendale, his own journey far from complete but happy to expend valuable energy on an encouraging shout. Phil tore up that long slope, removing any chance of a come back by Huw Lobb, turned, and then allowed momentum to give wings to his raking stride. The winning margin at the end was 80 metres.

“A classic race,” AW correspondent Martin Duff exclaimed at the end.  Indeed it was; and all credit to Huw Lobb who had done everything in his power but nevertheless had to accept a fourth defeat from Phil this winter.

It was only the fifth time that a Belgravian had won the event: Bert Footer in 1933, Tom Carter in 1946, Len Herbert in 1947 and Gerry North in 1967.

As a team we placed a respectable 6th.  Malachi Byansi is piling in the miles in preparation for the London Marathon and impressed here with 52nd.  The Skipper had his sights on Mal and Pete Willis some 30 places ahead of him for most of the race and got the better of Pete as the finish neared only to have to give way again: “I made him hurt though!”  Also pleased with his run was Dave Mason; his 122nd was considerably higher than he had ever achieved before.

Of our women's team only Sarah Murphy and Catherine Bryson made the trip to northernmost Norfolk for the 2007 SEAA Cross Country Championships but both ran extremely well, contesting very high places in the early stages of the race.  Normally racing over shorter distances, Sarah has plenty to offer at the longer events and is planning to run “London” in April. Catherine’s versatility is becoming legendary.  In the last few weeks she’s enjoyed a Surrey League win followed by a gold medal winning scamper in the SEAA 3000 metres Indoor Championships.  Here her run was particularly courageous as she picked up a stone in her shoe at the beginning of the race – an unfortunate and painful incident that made a mess of her foot over the ensuing 8k.

Men 15k. 1 P Wicks (Belgrave) 45:55; 2 H Lobb (Bedford &C) 46:11; 3 D Bannister (Shaftesbury B) 46:46; … 52 M Byansi 50:52; 84 P Willis 52:38; 85 W Cockerell 52:39; 118 J Kimaiyo 54:34; 122 D Mason 54:49; 159 M Whiting 56:36; 459 S Baxendale 1:10:22; 507 E Taylor 1:14:20; 553 finished.

Teams. 1 Bedford &C 68; 2 Newham & Essex B 92; 3 Shaftesbury B 134; 4 Herne Hill H 232; 5 City of Norwich 448; 6 Belgrave 462; 38 teams closed in.

Women 8k. 1 L Damen (Poole) 28:19; 2 S Bush (Aldershot F&D) 28:53; 3 V Webster (Shaftesbury B) 29:04; … 17 C Bryson 31:09; 25 S Murphy 31:40; 203 finished.

Last Friday 5 km, Hyde Park, 26 January 2007.

Women. 1 C Wilding (Serpentine) 17:56; 4 H Smethurst (W40) 19:06; 15 M Noel W40 22:09.

Dartford 10 miles, 21 January 2007.

Men. 1 C Bloomfield (Billericay S) 52:47; 107 P Cross M50 1:08:31.

Four Villages Half Marathon, Helsby, Cheshire, 21 January 2007.

Men. 1 T Abyu (Salford) 1:04:56; 2 M Miles 1:06:10; 4 P Freary 1:09:02.

Women. 1 L Gardner (Lancs & Morecambe) 1:16:59; 11 L Cooper 1:26:25.

38th Sprintcross, Breda, Netherlands, 21 January 2007.

Women. 1 F Kiplagat (Kenya) 18:43; 5 B Dagne 20:32.

UK Cross Challenge, Blackweir Park, Cardiff, 21 January 2007.

U20 Men. 1 L Carey (Nuneaton) 26:26; 3 G Billington 27:02.

Australian World CC Trials, Canberra, Australia, 20 January 2007.

Men. 1 M Dent 23:42.

Rough 'n' Tumble 10 miles multi-terrain, Marlborough, 14 January 2007.

Men. 1 V Graffagnino (Clevedon) 1:08:16; 101 P Cross M50 1:29:33.

Bermuda International 1 mile, Hamilton, Bermuda, 14 January 2007.

Men. 1 N Speaight time not known.

Garstang 10 km, 14 January 2007.

Men. 1 A Thake (Lancs) 31:55; 7 P Freary 34:45.

2007 Edinburgh Great Run, 13 January 2007.

Men. 4 km. 1 S Lebed (Ukraine) 12:20; 19 J Blackledge 13:24; 22 D Gauson 13:31.

Women. 6.1 km. G Burka (Ethiopia) 23:25; 20 B Dagne 26:12.

Chiltern League, Slough, 13 January 2007.

Men. 1 P Wicks 26:58.

"Sweatshop" Men's Surrey Cross Country League, Wimbledon Common, 13 January 2007.

On a wind-wracked Common it was left to veterans Mike Trees and Knut Hegvold to lead home the Belgrave band. But if we were missing a few right up the sharp end, it was good to welcome back Sean Ryan and Jason Webb, both after a long period of absence.

With a thin team, even the Cockerpillar was in subdued mood, dragging himself from his sickbed to run round one hundred or more positions lower than normal - and fail to score - simply to keep his plate hopes alive and Surrey League sequence intact.

Thames' John McFarlane had the race completely under his control but no club currently seems interested in chasing Herne Hill's squad; their dense packing and solid support seem unlikely to be challenged in the near future.

Our own score of 400 for 4th place now drops us to a point within range of Ranelagh Harriers as we go to the fourth and final race in the series on their home patch at Petersham in Richmond Park in a few weeks time.

In the Young Athletes race Joe Taylor-Holland's swift return to racing after a torrid time in the county championships was rewarded with a much better run here where he was fourth home in his U15 age group.

The challenge for the Bels on this afternoon came in the form of organising the race and here we must pay tribute to Gordon Biscoe who masterminded the officials and start/finish areas, Don Anderson who marked the course, and the Belgravians who stood out in the elements for an hour or so to point out the way. Thanks too to the Thames Hare & Hounds Chief Pioneer Wendy Lynas who kept us informed of the latest position regarding fallen trees and blocked paths.

Senior/Junior Men. 1 J McFarlane (Thames H&H) 26:44; 2 I Lockett (HHH) 27:02; 3 A Barnes (HHH) 27:25; 12 M Trees M40 28:16; 16 K Hegvold M40 28:30; 19 M Byansi 28:38; 31 R Stannard 29:16; 37 A Bodin U20 29:39; 60 J Webb 30:55; 61 T Fordyce 31:03; 61 S Ryan 31:08; 84 J Fairbourn U20 32:11; 101 T O'Neill M50 33:11; 105, R Norville 33:38; 113 M Taylor M45 34:14; 131 W Cockerell 36:17; 134 P Cross M50 36:23; 144 C Moynihan 38:00; 155 finished.

Teams: 1 Herne Hill H 173; 2 Thames H&H 221; 3 Ranelagh H 341; 4 Belgrave H 400; 5 Guildford &G AC 422; 6 Stragglers AC 554; 7 South London H 583; 8 Dulwich R 693.

Overall: 1 Herne Hill H 460; 2 Thames H&H 884; 3 Belgrave H 1110; 4 Ranelagh H 1149; 5 Guildford &G AC 1597; 6 South London H 1604; 7 Stragglers AC 1660; 8 Reigate Priory AC 1734; 9 Dulwich R 2087.

U17/U15. D Sellman U17 SLH 14:33; 7 J Taylor-Holland 4th U15 16:19.

Surrey Women's CC League, Wimbledon Common, 13 January 2007.

Senior Women. 1 C Bryson 23:16; 2 L Watson (Stragglers) 23:20; 3 E Nelson (Epsom &E) 23:22; 9 S Murphy 24:21; 14 M Heaton 24:32; 24 J Clark W40 25:35; 32 H Smethurst W40 26:25; 38 S Gailey 26:46; 71 L Cooper 28:49; 107 M Noel W40 30:47; 130 J Beecroft 32:17; 167 finished.

Teams: 1 Ranelagh H 60; 2 Belgrave H 80; 3 Stragglers 101; 4 South London H 114; 5 Thames H&H 161; 6 Herne Hill H 175.

Overall: 1 Belgrave H 192; 2 Ranelagh H 261; 3 Thames H&H 347; 4 Stragglers 374; 5 South London H 480; 6 Herne Hill H 481.

Under 15 Girls. 1 G Shepherd (Epsom &E) 18:01; 10 M Evans 19:38; 22 J Foxley 22:59; 33 finished.

Wimbledon Common Time Trial, 5 km, 13 January 2007.

Men. 1 K Quinn (RR) 15:58; 17 Don Anderson M50 21:05.

Tadworth 10 miles, 7 January 2007.

Men. 1 K Quinn (RR) 57:27; 3 A Bodin U20 58:29; 56 P Cross M50 1:11:04.

Suffolk CC Champs, Holbecks Park, Hadleigh, 6 January 2007.

U20 Men. 1 G Billington 28:29.

Yorkshire CC Champs, Skipton, 6 January 2007.

Men. 1 D Webb (Leeds) 40:13; 29 P Willis 44:50.

Stephen Sharp (252) was always handy and although John Downes (127) made a move in the last half mile, Steve had it covered and sprinted away for the win. Photo by Jeremy Hemming.

Middlesex CC Champs, Horsenden Hill, 6 January 2007.

Sharpy takes the Middlesex race

Stephen Sharp described the conditions at Horsenden Hill as the worst he had ever experienced in the UK and the race was a far cry from the easy outing he had had over Wormwood Scrubs to take the title last year.

The Belgrave man sat with the leading group for the first half of the four lap race but then moved ahead on lap three with only London Irishman John Downes able to stay the pace.  A fall briefly took the wind out of Stephen's sails and Downes was strong enough to take the lead towards the finish but Stephen's superior speed meant that he was able to move away comfortably over the last 300 metres.

Senior Men's 12 km. 1 S Sharp (Belgrave) 43:50; 2 J Downes (London Irish) 43:53; 3 M Blunden (Notts) 44:32.

Soon after the start and Catherine Bryson sets the early pace with Rachel Disley and Naomi Warner (both Thames H&H) in attendance. Sarah Murphy heads the chasers, including Birhan Dagne (4). Photo by Alan Mead.

Surrey County CC Champs, Lloyd Park, Croydon, 6 January 2007.

After a kilometre Birhan had moved through to the front group and Sarah too had slipped ahead of Catherine. By the end of the first 4 km lap, with conditions under foot now atrocious, Birhan was looking as strong as any of the others around her in the leading bunch - but it was a telling second circuit and the Aldershot duo of Emily Adams and Susie Bush both got the better of the Belgrave woman.

The rest of the team had held up well over the full 8 km. Sarah and Catherine fought hard to give us three in the top ten and with Tilly Heaton powerfully closing in the team in 16th - and Sarah Gailey not too far away as back-up - it was a clear win for the Belles to start 2007.

Under 15s Megan Evans and Joanna Foxley (in her first ever cross country race) are at the bottom end of their age-group and did well in the mud. Megan's powerful finish held several girls at bay and with luck these two plus a couple of others, will be fighting for team medals in twelve months time.

The under 15 boys race saw Joe Taylor-Holland in action but a lost shoe and a bout of sickness put paid to his hopes and he was happy just to get the race over.  Alex Bodin in the junior men's event was also suffering from some kind of bug and came out on the second lap, suffering from a tight chest.

John McFarlane (Thames H&H) and Phil Wicks lead the charge. Towards the left Malachi Byansi (3) and Dave Mason. Photo by Steve Wicks.

And so, with the course now a quagmire, the light failing and the rain increasing in intensity, the men's 12 km race got under way.  Phil Wicks was immediately at the head of the procession but last year's winner John McFarlane of Thames Hare & Hounds was right on his shoulder and just easing ahead as the runners poured down the steep slope at the end of the early loop.  Phil wasn't having any of this though, and after 1500m as the leaders tackled the sharp climb to go out on the main loop, our man was confidently pushing forward.

On the drift back down the slope to finish the first lap Phil had a lead of over 30 seconds and as he set about the climbs on the second circuit, knees lifting and legs driving into the inclines, it looked for all the world that he was on a "hill session".  Mike Trees, Malachi Byansi and Will Cockerell were battling things out in the teens, Dave Mason had started hard but was finding the conditions tricky, while Richard Stannard, not as fit as when we saw him last in October, had gone off steadily but was working his way through.

After 8 km Phil's lead was around 1:45 and far from being content with that, he stretched it to two and a half minutes exactly by the finish - a really dominating performance.  His 41:46 compared well with winning times over previous years, especially considering the slippery state of the course.  Mike Trees belied his approaching 45th birthday to get home in the top dozen (unfortunately for us not scoring) and having had a short break Mal Byansi's run showed that he had lost little over the Christmas period.

A special word for Don Anderson who closed in the six - having run the newly instigated Wimbledon Common Time Trial in the morning.  As a result we placed 5th as a team - but with a little more support we could so easily have picked up silver medals. 

Senior Men 12 km. 1 P Wicks (Belgrave) 41:46; 2 J McFarlane (Thames H&H) 44:16; 3 I Lockett (Herne H) 44:20; 12 M Trees M40 46:33; 15 M Byansi 47:16; 19 W Cockerell 47:31; 32 R Stannard 50:05; 49 D Mason 51:56; 149 Don Anderson M50 1:04:00; 186 finished.

Teams: 1 Herne Hill 79; 2 South London 199; 3 Thames H&H 205; 4 Hercules Wimb. 255; 5 Belgrave 265; 16 teams closed in.

U15 Boys 4 km. 1 J Hay (Aldershot F&D) 15:08; 40 J Taylor-Holland 18:55.

Senior Women 8 km. 1 E Adams (Aldershot F&D) 32:26; 2 S Bush (Aldershot F&D) 32:53; 3 B Dagne (Belgrave) 33:09; 9 S Murphy 35:09; 10 C Bryson 35:23; 16 T Heaton 36:39; 34 S Gailey 39:50; 98 finished.

Teams: 1 Belgrave 38; 2 Ranelagh 52; 3 South London 87; 4 Thames H&H 88; 5 Kingston & Poly 154; 11 teams closed in.

U15 Girls 4 km. 1 G Shepherd (Epsom &E) 17:12; 16 M Evans 19:06; 49 J Foxley 24:33.

Wimbledon Common Time Trial 5 km, 6 January 2007.

Men. 1 D Talbot (Thames H&H) 16:49; 15 D Anderson M50 20:35.

New Year's Day 10 km, Hyde Park, 1 January 2007.

Men. 1 J Powell (Durham C) 32:30; 6 M Byansi 33:41; 30 M Kazimierski 37:40.

Women. 1 L Andreucci (ITA) 36:51; 7 H Smethurst 1st-W40 40:25.

Wymondham New Year 10 km, Norfolk, 1 January 2007.

Women. 1 J Clarke (Norfolk G) 38:32; 3 N Neal 39:52.