Southern XC Championships 2019: Top 20 finishes for men and women's teams

Belgrave's senior teams both bagged respectable top 20 finishes at the SEAA Southern XC Championships at Parliament Hill.

Charlie Dickinson's women's team came 13th overall, with Georgie Fenn first home.

Will Cockerell's injury-depleted men's squad rescued a 17th, lead home by Andrius Jaksevicius.

Senior women team results

POS TEAM NAME TOTAL SCORE
1 THAMES HARE & HOUNDS 86
2 HIGHGATE HARRIERS 95
3 WYCOMBE PHOENIX HARRIERS 101
4 LONDON HEATHSIDE AC 157
5 HERNE HILL HARRIERS 201
6 SERPENTINE RC 216
7 ALDERSHOT 225
8 WINDSOR S E & HOUNSLOW 259
9 TONBRIDGE AC 300
10 TRENT PARK RC 339
11 FULHAM RC 347
12 CAMBRIDGE & COLERIDGE 357
13 BELGRAVE HARRIERS 388
14 CLAPHAM CHASERS RC 389

Senior women, individual, 8k

POS NAME GUN TIME SCORE
37 Georgie Fenn 00:31:03 37
75 Mhairi Hall 00:32:23 75
96 Emma Howsham 00:32:55 96
180 Mimi Corden-Lloyd 00:35:02 180
211 Lizzie Goldie-Scot 00:35:47
261 Ellen van der Velden 00:36:45

l-r: Goldie-Scott, van der Velden, Hall, Howsham, Fenn, Corden-Lloyd

Senior men team results

POS TEAM NAME TOTAL SCORE
1 ALDERSHOT 105
2 TONBRIDGE AC 115
3 SERPENTINE RC 167
4 BEDFORD & COUNTY AC 224
5 HIGHGATE HARRIERS 227
6 HERCULES WIMBLEDON AC 321
7 THAMES HARE & HOUNDS 556
8 KENT AC 601
9 VICTORIA PARK H & TOWER H 603
16 MARSHALL MILTON KEYNES 1085
17 BELGRAVE HARRIERS 1090
18 MEDWAY & MAIDSTONE AC 1109

Senior men, individual, 15k

POS NAME GUN TIME SCORE
32 Andrius Jaksevicius 00:48:23 32
48 Paskar Owor 00:49:18 48
115 Nick Buckle 00:52:05 115
188 Steve Gardner 00:53:55 188
353 Patrick McDougall 00:57:22 353
354 Alex Mills 00:57:22 354
707 James Morris 01:03:40

l-r: Jaksevicius, Mills, McDougall, Morris, Owor, Gardner, Buckle.

Women's TM report

This was a good result on the day. Half the team had been feeling unwell during the week leading up to the race but came and ran - and they were, remarkably, the first three Belles scorers: Georgie , Mhairi and Emma Howsham. They were supported by 4th scorer Mimi Corden-LLoyd, plus Lizzie Goldie-Scot and Ellen van der Velden.


This is a young developing team who all train together at Battersea and Wimbledon and encourage and support each other. It was wonderful to see all six warming up and chatting together on the playing fields before the race.vThere is a fine spirit within the team.

Early in the day, the notorious course appeared to be quite firm and grassy, but eight junior races of various lengths produced the usual sticky Parliament Hill mud particularly bad on certain parts of the course. All six Belles made a good start up the hill from the Lido although perhaps Mhairi and Emma might have been a little too optimistic. This made the longer second of the two lap race very hard when Mhairi managed to get ahead of Emma. Lizzie and MImi ran within sight of each other too for most of the race with Mimi slightly stronger at the finish. Ellen enjoyed her race just a day after running the Serpentine 5km, the tough and undulating course suiting her endurance strength.
The team finished a creditable 13th out of a total of 71 complete teams, all the more satisfying for beating local rivals Clapham Chasers by one point. 

Charlie Dickinson, women's team manager

Men's TM report

This was an extremely brave return by the Bels with every athlete paying ‘the blood price’.  It remains a really hard race to get a good team out for and we can savour that magnificent 2nd in 2015 all the more after a tough day like this.
  
As someone who bashed this one out 15 times in 17 years, I know how hard it is… but, then again, 95% of life is getting out the door.  Or in the case of the Southern, starting the damn thing.  Once you’re out there, it’s not so bad. The mind says:  “Ooooohhh 15k of Parla Hill bog!  No chance.”  But it was only 14k this year due to corners being sliced, and the bog was benign.
 
One of our biggest guns got a good natured ribbing from the lads on social media for choosing perhaps the world’s lowest key 10k on the Sunday instead.  But he didn’t fancy the hills, so what could we do - chain him to Andrius?   Not that AJ would complain; he just loves a challenge and was designed for this race like Jack Nicholson was designed to play Randle P. McMurphy.  32nd for the Dynamo.
 
We followed up with another lad in his late 30s.  It’s heart in mouth stuff to watch Paskar at Parliament Hill.  That elegant, dainty style is sooooo out of place with the sluggers all around, and yet he still hung in there for a top 50.  Congrats indeed. 
 
Both skipper Buckle and Steve were held together by sticky tape after really tough periods in the sport, but they both fought so hard with admirable returns and we hope that no lasting damage done.
 
As for Patrick and Alex...  Both withstood 55 mins of merciless abuse from the gaffer, the former of, “don’t you DARE get caught by Alex!” That latter with, “Catch Patrick, NOW!”  Both were so whamboozled by their instructions, they ended up tying.  Incredible, all that effort over 14 million millimetres, and they couldn’t be separated.
 
Many thanks finally to a very frisky James for acting as honourable sweeper, lest anything untoward happen up the field. 
 
Despite all our trouble we nibbled a spot up the Surrey league’s list to 5th, with Herne Hill plumb in sight and for now HW, THH and Kent a class above.

Will Cockerell, men's team manager

  • Top image by Fiona de Mauny, who has posted a full album of photos here.
  • Another album of excellent photos by Nigel Bramley is here.

Race videos

All News, Mens Road&XC, Road and Cross Country, Womens Road&XCAdministratorAndrius Jaksevicius, Georgie Fenn