Road Running & Cross Country Team Events, July - December 2001
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Cross Country Plate Competition Just like the "good old days" - but mince pies and flapjack as well! “Sweatshop” Surrey Cross Country League Division One, Race Three, Petersham, Richmond Park, 15 December 2001. Our old Cross Country Captain from the 1960s, Gerry North, was on the course and in his words it was, “Just like the good old days,” as a stream of claret and gold vests were prominent at the head of the field throughout the race and were finally led home by the man in form – Steve Sharp. A real effort had been made to round up a team that could claw back the 61 points advantage that Thames Hare & Hounds had over us – but with our rivals having a very rare “off” day, we actually went clear at the top of the league by 37 points. Not that we didn’t have our share of bad luck as well. International 800m runner Jason Lobo had a nightmare of a run and didn’t score; Kevin Nash (surely on for a place in the top three) twisted an ankle whilst warming up and couldn’t run at all; Al Stewart, suffering from a cold and running some 25 places lower than usual, came out after a lap when it was obvious that we had ten or more in front who could handle the situation; Skipper Rog Alsop, still fighting that groin strain, had to use every effort to get into the scoring team instead of his normal position some dozen or so higher. Without these setbacks we might well have scored less than 100 points. Actually we were very lucky to have Charles Herrington in the team this time – and at any time in the future. A few days earlier he had come off his Kawasaki at 55-60 mph to avoid hitting a car that had pulled out in front of him. His bike was a “write-off” but bruises and a taped up wrist and thumb were not going to stop him from turning out and he aided our effort considerably. Charles tells us that he is now finished with motor-biking! The Petersham corner of Richmond Park was at its windswept coldest as the field set out and before long a group of three were away from the pack – Steve Sharp, Gary Staines (South London) and Alistair Moses (Reigate). The Belgrave man looks the perfect runner with his light frame and balanced style; for the whole race, he seemed to be completely in control. It was a good day for 1500 metre-men, for Adam Zawadski, after a very gentle opening lap saw him well back in the first third of the field, tore through the pack to get up to 7th, while Chris Moss was a revelation, coming home a mere 4 seconds out of the frame. Old favourites Paul Freary and Lee Hurst gave us five men home in the first ten and the hot tea, flapjack and mince pies were being devoured before the team had closed in. Charlie Herrington pushed his bruised frame into the top twenty just two seconds ahead of another terrific run from Will Cockerell. Will has scored in every single league race over the past three seasons and seeing the Belgrave team stacked with star track men he was "blowed" if he was going to be pushed out now! His effort took him ahead of his rival Knut Hegvold and our injured Skipper. With all this low scoring we still found Thames men streaming home in the teens to thirties and incredibly they again managed to get ten through the funnel before us – just – as Joachim Wolf, with one of his best ever runs in this competition, carried home the lantern rouge for the Bels. – just behind the last Thames man. But it’s not over yet. We probably haven’t gone into the last race with an advantage in the last 30 years but with the remaining race at Coulsdon some six weeks off in the middle of the indoor season and the week after the Southern Championships, we’ll have to make every endeavour to turn out a strong squad to ensure that we hold on. In the youngsters’ race just three clubs turned out – South London, Belgrave and Herne Hill. First lad home for Belgrave was Paul Graham who recently represented Suffolk in the Schools Inter-Counties. In spite of Matthew Jiggins placing 7th and closing in a full team, we found ourselves in third team place – although still in the overall lead with just the one race to go. We were also third in the youngest category but here the overall position is really close and if we can just find five under 13s we can go into the lead. Senior and Under 20 Men: 1 S.Sharp (Belgrave) 27:53; 2 G.Staines (South London) 27:59; 3 A.Moses (Reigate Priory) 28:17; 4 C.Moss 28:21; 5 P.Freary 28:25; 7 A.Zawadski 28:32; 8 L.Hurst 28:42; 18 C.Herrington 29:39; 20 W.Cockerell 29:41; 21 K.Hegvold 29:44; 33 R.Alsop 30:23; 38 J.Wolf 30:41; 41 K.Quinn 30:48; 45 G.Lavender 30:59; 47 J.Lobo 31:09; 52 A.Jones 31:20; 78 M.Byansi 32:35; 85 W.Lynch 32:50; 86 L.Greatorex 32:53; 108 S.Zealy 34:01; 116 M.Anderson 34:31; 131 R.Marcus 35:22; 160 E.Asiedu 44:22. Teams: 1 Belgrave H 148; 2 Thames H&H 246; 3 Herne Hill H 256; 4 South London H 416; 5 Aldershot F&D 424; 6 Reigate Priory 560; 7 Ranelagh 625; 8 West 4 H 684; 9 Boxhill R 736. Overall after three races: 1 Belgrave H 549; 2 Thames H&H 586; 3 Herne Hill H 892; 4 South London H 1460; 5 Aldershot F&D 1481; 6 Ranelagh 1523; 7 Reigate Priory 1811; 8 West 4 H 1875; 9 Boxhill R 2108. Under 17 Men/Under 15 Boys: 1 P.Canavan (SLH) 16:04; 3 P.Graham 16:42; 7 M.Jiggins 17:21; 10 P.Cowling 18:16; 12 E.Rimdap 18:34; 14 J.Sines 18:51; 16 R.Collier 20:18; 17 J.Ordway 20:36; 18 R.Bailey 25:34. Teams: 1 South London H 29; 2 Herne Hill H 45; 3 Belgrave 46. Overall after three matches: 1 Belgrave H 109; 2 South London H 134; 3 Herne Hill H 222. Under 13 Boys: 1 P.Humphrey (South London) 17:44; 3 A.Graham 19:05; 4 C.Taylor 19:34. Teams: 1 Herne Hill H 71; 2 South London H 82.5; 3 Belgrave H 86.5. Overall after three matches: 1 South London H 225.5; 2 Belgrave H 237; 3 Herne Hill H 272.5.
Full Under 15/Under 13 results Promotion beckons Surrey Women’s Cross Country League Division Two, Race Three, Petersham, Richmond Park, 15 December 2001. Faced with the second marshalling error of the season, the junior girls headed off on a longer route than planned, this time going way beyond the ponds. On the plus side, at least all of the girls followed this route therefore the finishing positions weren’t affected. Louise Collier suffered from a hamstring injury prior to the race thereby explaining her drop down the field. However, Louise’s performance, together with the excellent runs from Lizzie Hodges and U13 Kirsty Burns helped the girls to finish in 3rd on the day and maintain overall 3rd position in the league. With the supporting cast of Sharena, Belinda and Emily, more at home in the sprints on the track, the girls look likely to finish in their highest team position in the league for a number of years. We didn’t have any U17/U20 athletes, with Debbie Hearn suffering from a cold. Unfortunately having missed one match already this puts Debbie out of any potential individual medal position for the end of season. The seniors, however, managed to pull together another strong field, despite a few injured and ill athletes, and still look to be on target to win Division 2. A large combined Div 1/ Div 2 pack started the race and with the ground frozen a hard and fast race was soon under progress. Our girls took the first short lap round the woods at a reasonable, safe pace picking up speed on the second longer lap. Anne Hegvold, as ever this season, proved a dominant force in the team but was just pipped to first Division Two runner home by our (once) very own Judy Oakley, now running for Tadworth. Despite this being her first cross country since leaving school, Juliette Clark showed that her remarkable triathlon and road talent could also be translated onto the cross country with 3rd place – perhaps we will see a new regular in the coming cross country races? The seniors were remarkably closely packed yet again, with our first 5 athletes coming home in the top 10. Nikki Haines came home 3rd for the Belles, in 5th overall, and non-scorer Mathilde Heaton (still waiting clearance from London Irish), was just 2 places further down in 7th. Syreeta Stracey showed she’d still got the pace for cross-country despite her focus being on middle distance track events, and similarly with our 5th scorer, Vicki Goodwin in 17th. Another welcome return to the team came in the form of Karen Fenner whose form was still strong despite having a baby earlier this year – there’s rather a lot of that happening with the Belles at the moment! Kate Dillane maintained her steady pace throughout and finished in 27th. With just one more match to go (Coulsdon 2nd February) it looks like it’s definitely promotion for the Belles. However, we already know of a few absentees from the team for this race so please can everyone else make sure they’re fit and ready for the next race. Club Champion positions at present show Anne Hegvold with a strong lead in 1st place (29 points). Nikki Haines is currently in 2nd with 17 points, Tania Sturton in 3rd with 16 points and Vicki Goodwin/Syreeta Stracey are in 4th with 13 points each. The competition will also take into account the Southerns and Nationals, so there could be a few surprises still in the final positions! Senior Women: 1 J.Oakley (Tadworth) 21:49; 2 A.Hegvold (Belgrave) 21:53; 3 J.Clark (Belgrave) 22:25; 5 N.Haines 22:51; 7 M.Heaton (n/s) 23:00; 9 S.Stracey 23:20; 17 V.Goodwin 24:38; 18 K.Fenner 24:45; 27 K.Dillane 25:37; 40 F.Eagle 26:35; 60 S.Howard 28:36; 75, N.Mills 29:19; dnf T.Sturton; 107 finished. Teams: 1 Belgrave H 34; 2 Stragglers 93; 3 Sutton R 143. Overall after three races: 1 Belgrave H 48 (117); 2 Stragglers 47 (212); 3 Reigate Priory 39 (435). Under 15 Girls: 1 M.Knespl (Herc.Wimb) 18:37; 14 L.Collier 20:30; 15 L.Hodges 20:35; 17 K.Burns (U13) 21:11; 25 S.Macgregor 21:53; 39 B.Cobden-Ramsey 23:37; 40 E.Collins (U13) 23:58; 48 finished. Teams: 1 Sutton & District 49; 2 Dorking & MV 58; 3 Belgrave H 71. Overall after three races: 1 Sutton & District 35 (162); 2 Guildford & Godalming 30 (198); 3 Belgrave H 30 (216).
Cross Country Plate Competition Thames run riot on our own patch! “Sweatshop” Surrey Cross Country League Division One, Race Two, Wimbledon Common, 17 November 2001. Christmas came early for Thames Hare & Hounds this year - and they were most generous in the quantity of stuffing that they loaded onto the Belgrave platter! We knew we were on dodgy ground when we found that several of our regular low scorers were unavailable due to recent over-racing, being in New Zealand or due to run at Margate or other exotic locations. But an outside chance of a win was still being considered on the eve of the race - and even if we were second then the overall deficit at the end of the day would surely only be 20-30 points. As it worked out, Thames themselves were short of a few men - but they certainly didn't need them as they closed their team in with the 25th man home. We now face the task of pulling back 61 points and as it is rare for Thames to ever have a bad day, even two Belgrave wins will not guarantee that we can do that. It's going to be exciting, that's for sure. As your scribe was stuck in the office producing the results he cannot give a blow by blow account of the race but it must be recorded that there were some fine runs from the Bels to keep us in the game. For a man not keen on cross country Steve Sharp seemed to enjoy himself immensely and Steve Kennefick, Captain Rog. (running with a groin strain) and Will Cockerell all improved on their Brockwell Park runs. For Knut Hegvold, the recent celebration of a 40th birthday has made no impression on his psyche as he was up with the leaders from the start; who is to say that this Norwegian international will not place higher yet. Maybe we can invoke the spirit of Knut's famous namesake and get him to command the Thames tide to cease its flow. Unofficially he now leads the veteran competition from Ranelagh's Hugh Jones. Not one of the remaining five of our scorers – Joachim Wolf, Guy Lavender, Kevin Quinn, Alister Jones and Lloyd Catley – had been among the “ten” in match one, a fact which says a lot for our depth these days. The Youths and Boys competition is also being hotly contested by two teams. With Matthew Jiggins leading the way, the Belgrave lads packed well to move ahead of South London Harriers who had taken match one by just 4 points. However, the situation was reversed in the under 13 race where once again Luke Shettle had to settle for second place behind South London’s Humphrey. But that team race is also far from over as there are only 7.5 points between the Bels and leaders SLH. It’s going to be difficult but it’s by no means impossible that all three team titles could be taken by Belgrave by the end of the season. Many thanks to all the course marshals and particularly Don Anderson and Tony Binda who did a great job marking out the trail - also to Gordon Biscoe who controlled the start and finish areas and to all the officials who turned out to help. Senior and Under 20 Men: 1 D.Taylor (Herne Hill) 26:06; 2 S.Sharp (Belgrave) 26:34; 3 G.Staines (South London) 26:45; 8 K.Hegvold (M40) 27:39; 13 S.Kennefick 27:58; 14 R.Alsop 28:00; 16 W.Cockerell 28:09; 27 J.Wolf 28:41; 28 G.Lavender 28:47; 36 K.Quinn 29:03; 39 A.Jones 29:10; 52 L.Catley 29:46; 56 M.Byansi 29:56; 57 P.Carstairs (M40) 29:57; 66 W.Lynch 30:18; 73 L.Greatorex 30:37; 76 M.Webb 30:42; 86 M.Anderson 31:14; 87 J.Skilbeck-Nelson (U20) 31:14; 88 S.Connor 31:16; 92 S.Zealy 31:27; 136 R.Harding 33:48; 142 R.Marcus 34:22; 155 H.Corbett (M40) 35:10; 161 J.Murray 36:36; 169 finished. Teams: 1 Thames H&H 145; 2 Belgrave H 226; 3 Herne Hill H 290; 4 South London 435; 5 Ranelagh H 438; 6 Aldershot F&D 448; 7 West 4 645; 8 Boxhill R 669; 9 Reigate Priory 799. Positions after two matches: 1 Thames H&H 340; 2 Belgrave H 401; 3 Herne Hill H 636; 4 Ranelagh H 898; 5 South London H 1044; 6 Aldershot F&D 1057; 8 Reigate Priory 1251; 9 Boxhill R 1372. Under 17 Men and Under 15 Boys: 1 M.Lloyd (South London U15) 15:40; 2 M.Jiggins (Belgrave U15) 16:06; 3 P.Cowling (Belgrave U15) 16:39; 5 W.Bailey (U17) 17:26; 6 E.Rimdap (U15) 17:27; 7 J.Sines (U17) 17:50; 8 R.Collier (U15) 18:46. Teams: 1 Belgrave 23; 2 South London 69; 3 Herne Hill 118. Positions after two matches: 1Belgrave H 63; 2 South London H 105; 3 Herne Hill H 177. Under 13 Boys: 1 P.Humphrey (South London) 16:32; 2 L.Shettle (Belgrave) 16:55; 3 B.Ladbroke (South London) 17:10; 6 C.Taylor 18:45. Teams: 1 South London H 61; 2 Belgrave 87.5; 3 Herne Hill 91.5. Positions after two matches: 1 South London H 143; 2 Belgrave H 150.5; 3 Herne Hill H 201.5 Strong running from Anne Hegvold Surrey Women’s Cross Country League Division Two, Race Two, Tilford, 17 November 2001. Louise Collier proved that she could deliver the goods by winning the second race of the season, despite previous race’s set-back. The girls are holding third position in the league, and with the strong performances of Catherine Olawore and Lizzie Hodges, chances are that they will continue on this form. Little Kirsty Burns, as an U13, is still running well, placing 14th U13 girl. Hopefully, she’ll maintain this interest, and we’ll see her running well in this race for the next couple of years. Debbie Hearn is getting back into racing again, and managed 9th position in her first race of the season. A touch more speed work is perhaps needed still, but with 2 more league matches to go, there’s a chance she can still pull a strong performance out of the bag. Anne Hegvold, for the senior’s, had an excellent race and showed that she is a talent to be watched. First in Division 2, she was part of the leading pack of four overall, which was eventually won by Clare Pauzers (Herne Hill). Non-scorer Mathilde Heaton is waiting to be cleared to run for Belgrave, but will help reinforce the team packing we’re seeing a lot of this season. Nikki Neal (previously Haines) is back racing with a vengeance having had a baby at the beginning of the year, and was possibly surprised at the strength of the team this season. Tania Sturton had a reliable run as always, despite a leg injury, and Vicki Goodwin returned to cross-country after a few years absence, her more recent focus being on the track. There were a few absentees, resulting in the Belles just being pipped by the Stragglers. With two matches to go, and our lead to date being confirmed, we still have a chance of promotion as Division 2 champions, but the Stragglers have proved they won’t stand by and let that happen easily. With the next race practically on home turf at Richmond we should be able to field a strong team and extend our lead. Senior Women. 1 A.Hegvold (Belgrave) 20:07; 3 M.Heaton (n/s Belgrave) 21:05; 5 N.Neal 21:24; 9 T.Sturton 21:56; 16 V.Goodwin 23:37; 35 F.Eagle 25:45; 54 N.Mills 27:17; 74 D.Hopkins 31:24. Teams: 1 Stragglers 58; 2 Belgrave H 62; 3 Reigate Priory 264. Overall after two races: 1 Belgrave H 31 (83); 2 Stragglers 31 (119); 3 Reigate Priory 26 (264). Under 20 Women. 1 J.Gardner (Guildford & Godalming) 18:48; 9 D.Hearn 21:32. Overall after two races: 1 Guildford 12 (20); 2 Ranelagh H 9 (83); 3 Epsom & Ewell H 9 (94; 6 Belgrave H 2 (78). Under
15 Girls. 1 L.Collier 12.35; 13 C.Olawore 13.26; 16 L.Hodges
13.35; 25 K.Burns (U13) 14.08; 39 C.Hopkins 15.23. South of Thames "Junior" Cross Country 5 miles, Farthing Downs, Coulsdon, 10 November 2001. For the first time this winter the men’s team placed just out of the medals but made up for it by providing the two individual male winners. A group of four broke away on the first loop around Farthing Downs with a representative from each of the main protagonists in the team event. Our own Stephen Kennefick, a past winner of the North of Thames Senior Championship, looked comfortable in that foursome and not too far behind was 17 year-old Jonathan Blackledge, leading the under 20 competition by a street. Out on the second circuit it came down to two men - Kennefick and Haarer of Ranelagh. Each man took his turn at testing his rival until from half a mile out and all the way down the long descent to the finish, it was one almighty sprint. Eventually it was the Ranelagh man who cracked but as Stephen said afterwards, “It was just the luck of the draw, it could so easily have been me!” Jonathon maintained his high order placing and is in a position to contest the under 20 award for the next two seasons. Alister Jones shows every sign of being a regular scorer in races ahead while Warren Lynch ran well to close in the team. It was the first time that a women’s race has been incorporated in the event. We didn’t have a Belgrave squad but Tania Sturton, fresh from a win in the colours of St. Mary’s University College in the week, placed a creditable 7th, enjoying the extra distance. Men 1 S.Kennefick (Belgrave) 29:14; 2 P.Haarer (Ranelagh) 29:20; 3 I.Munt (Herne Hill) 29:31; 7 J.Blackledge (1st U20) 30:04; 16 A Jones 31:01; 45 W.Lynch 31:31; 61 L.Greatorex 33:26; 89 D.Anderson 35:27; 162 finished. Teams: 1 Ranelagh (2, 5, 6, 22) 35; 2 Herne Hill (3, 10, 12, 21) 46; 3 Kent (4, 8, 11, 26) 49; 4 Belgrave (1, 7, 16, 45) 69; 30 teams finished. Women
1 J.Butler (Blackheath) 33:31; 2 C.Pauzers (Herne Hill) 34:19; 3
F.Clark (Crawley) 34:47; 7 T.Sturton 37:20;30 finished. Bels. up against it in Priory Relay Left: Reigate Priory 6 x 2.5 miles Cross Country Relay, Reigate Priory Park, 3 November 2001 In spite of setting an overall time 20 seconds faster than our winning performance of last year, the Bels. had to settle for second place behind a Herne Hill Harriers outfit who were clear winners. Our rivals immediately made an impression with their B team leading the first stage, through Andy Weir, and their A team lying 3rd, just ahead of our own Joachim Wolf, who gave us another solid start. Skipper Roger Alsop then set about the runners ahead with a determination that took Belgrave into the lead on stage two with the club’s fastest run of the day. It was hoped that Charles Herrington and Rob McHarg would be able to extend the advantage but both were unable to turn in times as fast as they would have liked and with Herne Hill’s Dave Taylor on the final stage the Bels. were up against it. Lee Greatorex was promoted from the B team when it was realised that we were going to be one man short and in spite of a strong performance the red and black of Herne Hill once again went ahead. Will Cockerell made sure that at least the silver medals would be salvaged, running two seconds faster than his previous best for the course. New member Alister Jones, Running Captain with New Zealand’s Wellington Olympic, was welcomed into the squad as he started out for the B team and he was followed by Austrian 800 metre champion Mario Handle, another newcomer, who was fastest B runner. Teams: 1 Herne Hill H 1:22:14; 2 Belgrave H 1:24:19; 3 Brighton & Hove AC 1:25:45; 33 teams started; 30 finished. A – J.Wolf 13:56; R.Alsop 13:35; C.Herrington 13:48; R.McHarg 14:02; L.Greatorex 15:01; W.Cockerell 13:57. B – A.Jones 14:21; M.Handle 13:53; D.Kelleher 15:51; K.Quinn 14:27; S.Connor 15:24; W.Lynch 15:50. C – W.Lynch 15:22; S.Zealy 15:34; D.Anderson 18:03 (delayed start); H.Corbett 18:10; R.Bale 18:29. Fastest: D.Taylor (HHH) 12:52; A.Moses (Reigate Priory) 13:11; M.Buss (Brighton & Hove) 13:34.
National 6-Stage Champions! Men's AAA 6-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Coldfield, 27 October 2001.
Spencer Barden, Lee Hurst, Alaster Stewart, Paul Freary and Steve Sharp take charge of the trophy. Photo by Leo Coy
It was our third trip to Sutton Park for the “Six-Stage” and as it turned out it really was a case of “third time lucky”. This event was first held in 1969 but was not tackled by the Bels until thirty years later – 1999 – when we came away just out of the medals in 4th. Then last year saw us fight back from a first leg 35th to a final place of 6th. This time we took the lead on the third lap and after a tremendous battle with Southern 6-Stage winners Windsor, Slough Eton & Hounslow, held on until the end where the final margin of victory was no more than 4 seconds. It was a day when the whole race took on a Southern slant as Newham & Essex Beagles came home 4th, Blackheath 8th and Aldershot 10th. With third place going to Welsh Champions Cardiff, only four slots were left in the top ten for the normal favourites from the North and Midlands; previous Champions Morpeth were down in 7th. While Windsor had the top two fastest times of the day plus another in the top ten, for the Belgrave team only Steve Sharp gained a top ten clocking. The Bels. strength was in the fact that the whole team was solid – a mere 23 seconds covering fastest to slowest of the six men. No wonder team selection had been so tough! With a couple of stages to go the odds seemed to be favouring WSE&H but nothing is certain in athletics and this time the gods smiled in our direction. Conrad Milton and the Windsor Team Manager were magnanimous in defeat after they really believed that they’d got it; and all credit to Windsor runners Sam Haughian and Mo’ Farah who ran superbly. The course was longer than the advertised normal distance, probably being right on 6 kilometres and as a result all individual times were about 30 seconds longer than of recent years. Sixty-five teams started and 64 finished Stage 1 A few Sutton Park ghosts had to be faced by Lee Hurst. His nightmare last leg in the 12-stage did not leave him with any great appetite for a late run so, offered first stage, he grabbed the chance. Lee looked good and felt it as he limbered up. We were looking for a top 15 place – hopefully 12th – and by golly he got it right on the nail. The Windsor man was just a second ahead while a fair sprinkling of other clubs in the top dozen were not expected to stay there for too long. 1 Birchfield H 17:22; 2 Blackheath H 17:26; 3 Swansea H 17:28; … 12 Belgrave H 17:49. Fastest: M.Boulstridger (Birchfield H) 17:22; M.Skinner (Blackheath H) 17:26; D.Naylor (Swansea H) 17:28; L.Hurst (12th) 17:49. Stage 2 Paul Freary’s training had been going so well that he’d been predicting a 17 flat time for himself but a minor cold during the last week had knocked his confidence back a shade and he was urged not to go off too fast. Imagine the consternation then when the announcer relayed the fact that going out past the Jamboree Stone “Freary for Belgrave was up to 4th!” Imagine too the even greater concern shown when they returned to the same spot some 1500 metres later and it was announced that he was now in second! In fact he had latched onto Windsor’s Ben Whitby and the two of them had motored through the pack. Paul had run a “blinder.” The positions remained the same until the end of the leg and Paul’s 17:30, converted due to the extra course length, gave him 17:00. Another target hit dead centre. 1, Windsor SE&H 35:14; 2 Belgrave H 35:19; 3 Newham & Essex Beagles 35:23. Fastest: R.Finch (Southampton) 17:12; R.Whalley (City of Stoke) 17:15; B.Whitby (Windsor SE&H) 17:26; P.Freary (5th) 17:30. Stage 3 Planning to give him plenty of people to chase we’d put Steve Sharp on three never dreaming that at this point we’d be so far forward. In no time flat he was tearing lumps out of the solitary man ahead and then steadily opened up a gap until he was 44 seconds ahead of the men from Berkshire who sank to 7th. But there was an almighty shake-up going on behind Steve as Swansea, Salford and Cardiff carved up the opposition and Aldershot’s Chris Thompson set the day’s fastest time to that point. Our man later said that it was hard being out there on his own but had to admit that it is something he is going to have to get used to! 1 Belgrave H 52:45; 2 Swansea H 53:02; 3 Salford H 53:08. Fastest: C.Thompson (Aldershot F&D AC) 17:02; M.Morgan (Swansea H) 17:13; M.Vaux-Harvey (Kidderminster) 17:19; S.Sharp (4th) 17:26. Stage 4 The first hit from Windsor’s “double-whammy.” As our own Kassa Tadesse set out on his tour of Sutton Park, Sam Haughian was in pursuit of the day’s fastest run. Man after man fell like wheat at harvest time to Sam’s scything stride. Newham, Aldershot, Cardiff … Swansea … Salford … until just a claret and gold vest remained ahead. Over half a minute was taken out of Kassa but there was still a ten second advantage in our favour when Sam ran out of road. Superb running; but thanks to Kassa we lived on and as our man ran down to the Park gates to meet a taxi to whisk him off to Birmingham New Street Station the battle was taken up by Al Stewart. 1 Belgrave H 1:10:13; 2 Windsor SE&H 1:10:23; 3 Salford H 1:10:50. Fastest: S.Haughian (Windsor SE&H) 16:54; K.Tadesse (Belgrave) 17:28; I.Gillespie (Birchfield) 17:33. Stage 5 Tom Hart vs. Al Stewart? Pretty much on a par we would have thought. The Windsor supporters didn’t seem to think so and as they urged their man to drive on up the hill the gap came down … and down. There were hearts in mouths as the Windsor man closed to within one second but he didn’t go ahead and that canny Paul Freary read the situation perfectly. “Al,” he called softly but clearly, “You’ve got it. He’s come up that hill miles too fast. He’ll never last now.” How right Paul was. Al took in his words, stayed relaxed and worked away. The gap went up. It stretched back to it’s original 10 seconds and then another 10. There was now a 200 metre gap behind Windsor to Cardiff and Salford – medals now looked “on” but just how much could Al give to Spen for the final showdown over stage six. 1 Belgrave H 1:27:59; 2 Windsor SE&H 1:28:34; 3 Cardiff AAC 1:28:40. Fastest: M.East (Newham & Essex Beagles) 17:28; A.Jones (Cardiff) 17:30; A.Stewart (Belgrave H) 17:46. Stage 6 Al veered off through the take-over zone exit, punching the air in exultation as Spen set out having reassured his team mates: “Don’t worry if the gap comes down – I’m going to take it steady for the first mile or so .” If there was a man in our squad that could hold off Mohamed Farah it was Spen – but we’ve been in this situation before. Team Manager and Lee Hurst counted down the seconds … 25 … 30 … 35 and then Mohamed set off like a man on a mission. The gap did indeed come down; it was halved by the Jamboree Stone. Then up to the cone and back again and we were told that it was back to 20 seconds. The tension at the finish was excruciating. The announcer wound it up for the climax: “They are past Keeper’s Pool, Belgrave leading. They’re approaching the finish. Here’s the lead motorbike. Here’s Belgrave – but that gap’s not 20 seconds.” No. Indeed it wasn’t. Unbearably it was down to six or seven and shrinking. But Spen had judged it to perfection. We were home by a few ticks of the timekeeper’s watch before Mo’ also swept across the line. Oh! Sweet Relief. 1, Belgrave H 1:45:28; 2, Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow 1:45:32; 3, Cardiff AAC 1:46:31; 4, Newham & Essex Beagles 1:47:04; 5 Birchfield H 1:47:11; 6 Salford H 1:47:29; 7 Morpeth H 1:47:48; 8 Blackheath H 1:47:50; 9 Bingley H 1:48:24; 10 Aldershot F&D AC 1:49:14. Fastest: M.Farah (Windsor SE&H) 16:58; I.Hudspith (Morpeth) 17:02; I.Grime (Newham & Essex Beagles) 17:28; S.Barden 17:29 (4th). Fastest of the day: 1 S.Haughian (Windsor SE&H) 16:54; 2 M.Farah (Windsor SE&H) 16:58; =3 C.Thompson (Aldershot F&D AC) & I.Hudspith (Morpeth H) 17:02; 5 R.Finch (Southampton) 17:12; 6 M.Morgan (Swansea H) 17:13; 7 R.Whalley (City of Stoke) 17:15; 8 M.Vaux-Harvey (Kidderminster) 17:19; 9 M.Boulstridger (Birchfield) 17:22; =10 B.Whitby (Windsor SE&H), B.Tickner (Wells City H), S.Sharp (Belgrave H) & M.Skinner (Blackheath) 17:26.
Straight in at No. 7 in our first ever Women's "National 4 Stage" Women’s AAA “National” 4-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Coldfield, 27 October 2001. This was the “big-time” and no mistake. In the 25 years that our women’s team has been in existence we have never tackled logistics like these – getting accommodation booked, transporting athletes up to Birmingham over two days, getting them to the course, haggling with officials about the inclusion of a non-scoring runner in the “B” team. Catherine Eastham assisted by Tania Sturton did a grand job and gave the supporters so much more to enjoy than the one men’s race. A new level of performance is also being looked for these days and to have both men’s and women’s squads together added greatly to the occasion and gave us an additional and unlooked for bonus – unofficial top combined men’s and women’s team. There really is an excellent chance now of medals in next Spring’s Southern 6-Stage event – and who knows what to follow in the National event. Eighty-six teams tackled the first of the four 4.134 kms circuits and 73 completed the race. Stage 1 It didn’t take long for the fastest time of the day to get logged; Helen Pattinson swept around in 13:59 for Preston Harriers chased hard by Charnwood’s Tara Krzywicki and then there was a little gap before a close knit bunch hove into sight with – Birhane Dagne for Belgrave in 4th. What a start! But of course it didn’t stop there for just 22 seconds later Getty Tamrat, not yet eligible for first team competition, fought her way up the final rise ahead of another knot of runners in 9th place. 1 Preston H 13:59; 2 Charnwood AC 14:03; 3 Arena 80 AC 14:28; 4 Belgrave H 14:34; … 9 Belgrave H B 14:56. Fastest: H.Pattinson (Preston H) 13:59; T.Krzywicki (Charnwood) 14:03; C.Hoyte (Arena 80 AC) 14:28; B.Dagne 14:34 (4th); G.Tamrat 14:56 (9th). Stage 2 Juliette Clark has been in great triathlon and duathlon shape recently, handling the half-marathon type distances with ease. You’d have thought that she might be lacking a little pace – but oh! no. Parkside’s international Andrea Whitcombe swept through moving from 11th to 1st and Wakefield, Shaftesbury and Swansea also squeezed past Juliette but the Belgrave girl wasn’t the slightest bit “fazed” in this company and overtook Arena 80 and Preston Harriers for a net loss of just two places and, more importantly, getting a gap of 11 seconds on the next team down the road. This was a cauldron of fire for Syreeta Stracey. She was obviously not going to be able to hold on to the 9th place that Getty had gained but when she crossed the line we were still 4th “B” team on the road with another 52 teams behind her. We’d bet this one-time sprinter/long jumper never dreamed when joining us that she’d one day be running in the National Road Relay Championships! 1, Parkside 29:33; 2 Wakefield H 29:44; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet H 29:46; … 6 Belgrave H 30:14; 30 Belgrave H B 31:51. Fastest: J.Wilkinson (Bedford &C) 14:12; D.Henaghan (Morpeth H) 14:28; L.Wright (Leeds C) 14:30; J.Clark (16th) 15:40; S.Stracey (45th) 16:55. Stage 3 Maria Sharp was up next, urged on by husband Steve and coach Terry Noad. Swansea, Wakefield and Parkside all fell to her stride as she ran a cracking 9th fastest for the stage. Meanwhile, Bedford & County, Bristol and Liverpool H had risen up the list so overall we stayed in 6th place. Tania Sturton took five places to move the “B’s” into 25th – where we ran out of runners, still 4th “B” team at that point. 1 Charnwood AC 44:32; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet H 44:58; 3 Bedford & County 45:01; … 6 Belgrave H 45:43; 25 Belgrave H B 48:39. Fastest: M.McCambridge (Bristol AC) 14:17; S.Morris (Bedford &C) 14:18; J.Clague (Liverpool H) 14:42; M.Sharp (9th) 15:29; T.Sturton (33rd) 16:48. Stage 4 The gaps were wider now and there was every hope that in our first attempt at the race we’d be among the top ten. Far from settling for top ten, however, Anne Hegvold, in only her second race for the club, gave way only to a blazing fastest run of the stage and third best all-day from a Birchfield Harrier – and there we were, a brilliant 7th from 86 starters and exceeding all expectations. 1, Charnwood AC 58:44; 2 Bedford & County AC 59:26; 3 Bristol AC 1:00:14; 4 Liverpool H 1:00:17; 5 Shaftesbury Barnet H 1:00:25; 6 Birchfield H 1:00:30; 7 Belgrave H 1:01:32; 8 Wakefield H 1:01:36; 9 Tipton H 1:01:49; 10 Swansea H 1:02:06. Fastest: A.Allen (Birchfield) 14:04; J.Potter (Charnwood) 14:12; L.Yelling (Bedford &C) 14:25; A.Hegvold (14th) 15:49. Fastest of the day: 1 H.Pattinson (Preston H) 13:59; 2 T.Kryzwicki (Charnwood) 14:03; 3 A.Allen (Birchfield) 14:04; =4 J.Potter (Charnwood) & J.Wilkinson (Bedford &C) 14:12; 6 M.McCambridge (Bristol) 14:17; 7 S.Morris (Bedford &C) 14:18; 8 L.Yelling (Bedford &C) 14:25; =9 D.Henaghan (Morpeth H) & C.Hoyte (Arena 80) 14:28.
Getenesh leads the way to a massive win on the Common Women's Surrey Cross Country League Division 2 Race 1, Wimbledon Common, 13 October 2001. Well, the bad news from the first fixture of the season was that due to a marshalling error in the first race (U13/U15), Louise Collier missed out on taking first place. Having already completed the first of two laps, Louise and a Herne Hill athlete were clearly in the lead, only for one of the course marshalls to fail to direct them down along the correct path. The error was not noticed until the first runner came home confused as to why she'd suddenly won. Concerned that Louise was perhaps injured and had pulled out, Kim Collier practically ran the entire course trying to find her. The two runners were eventually found, very shocked and upset. Thankfully, although they have both lost out on potential victory and points which may impact on their bids to win the end of season individual title, they were both found safe and well. A formal complaint has been made and the marshall involved has apologised to both athletes. However, an investigation is required to ensure that such an incident, involving young athletes, does not happen again. Despite this incident, the youngsters managed a good start to the season, finishing 5th overall. Catherine Olawore's training paid off with a strong performance, and she was followed closely by Belinda Cobden-Ramsay. Our under 13 girls also had a good race, with Kirsty hot on Belinda's heels, and our 200m sprinter Emily finishing, naturally, with a sprint finish! The combination of the two age groups seemed to work well with the bigger field providing more competition for the girls than we've seen in recent years. What can we say about the senior race? Obviously our track & field success is rubbing off onto the cross-country and road team! We started the season with 11 Belgrave vests in the line-up, practically a record in its own right (although we're hoping for even more as the season progresses). Getenesh Tamirat is still waiting clearance for Belgrave but what an asset she is, finishing 1st overall in the combined race for both divisions, a minute ahead of the next fastest runner. Despite this result not counting for the team, we still had the 1st Division 2 athlete home in Maria Sharp who was fighting it out to the end with Anne Hegvold who was 2nd home in the division. Both then dashed off to watch their husbands compete at Brockwell Park - perhaps we could do a bit more recruitment along the husband/wife lines! Our three other scoring athletes managed to pack well, with Tania's running going from strength to strength in 4th place, Rachel Weston running despite injury coming in 5th, and Syreeta returning to cross-country in 9th place. Filling in the numbers were Kate, Catherine, Nina (captain), Sophia and Jo. And there are more yet to come, so keep watching this space. Hopes of promotion to Division 1 as Champions are high. Senior Women: n/s G.Tamirat (Belgrave) 21.46; 1 M.Sharp (Belgrave) 23:26; 2 A.Hegvold (Belgrave) 23:35; 4 T.Sturton 24:42; 5 R.Weston 24:54; 9 S.Stracey 25:05; 27 K.Dillane 27:57; 49 C.Eastham 30:01; 58 N.Mills 31:14; 67 S.Howard 32:34; 84 J.Poloni 38:22. Teams: 1 Belgrave H 21 (15 league points); 2 Stragglers 61 (14); 3 Wimbledon Windmilers 82 (13). U13/U15 Girls: 1 M.Knespl (Herc.W 14.19; 2 J.Goodwin (CH) 14.35; 3 A.Beverley Ranelagh 14.37; 13 C.Olawore 15.26 (6th U15); 21 B.Cobden-Ramsay 15.49 (11th U15); 22 K.Burns 15.51 (11th U13); 39 E.Collins 17.38 (22nd U13); dnf L.Collier. Teams: 1 Sutton & District 47 (13); 2 Hercules Wimbledon 57 (12); 3 Guildford & Godalming 64 (11); 4 Ranelagh 67 (10); 5 Belgrave 90 (9). Cross Country Plate Competition
Lee Hurst in great form at Brockwell Park - Bels. narrowly beat Thames H&H Sweatshop Men's Surrey CC League Division 1 Race 1, Brockwell Park, 13 October 2001.
In Spring like conditions with the Brockwell Park grass long and lush, a large Belgrave contingent turned out for the first of the Sweatshop Surrey League races for 2001-2002. Often we seem to begin the series with a lack lustre performance and then spend the rest of the winter deciding whether to try to get back on terms with the leaders. Some considerable effort had been put into rounding up a solid squad to give us a reasonable start. The Youth's race saw Jonathan Blackledge providing the hors d'oeuvre by going over the top of the first hill with a lead of twenty metres and returning less than 13 minutes later with getting on for a minute's advantage. The pressure was on for the seniors to get round their first lap in a similar time. Jon was backed up by Matt Jiggins and Paul Graham and just lost a close team race to South London Harriers. In the men's race, the initial charge up the slope saw plenty of claret and gold clad runners staking an early claim for forward places and soon a bunch of six or seven were away with Lee Hurst and Steve Sharp representing the Bels. Charles Herrington was behind this leading group and then after a short interval the Belgrave train could be seen working up a head of steam - Kennefick, Hegvold, Alsop, Cockerell, Wolf and Stewart - all went through in quick succession with backup close to hand in the form of Najibe Hliouat and new man James Browne. Heading out for the second circuit and shrugging off a challenge from Lee, Herne Hill's Dave Taylor decided that he'd had enough of his present company and began pushing on alone. Lee Hurst was having a great run, however, and fighting to stay as close as he could to the leader, began to draw away from his conqueror at the SEAA relays, SLH's Stuart Major. Reigate Priory's Alastair Moses came next, "Sharpy" was in 5th but Charles was dropping back now and Joachim Wolf was forced to come out of the race with a hamstring problem. There were plenty of white vested Thames men in the teens and twenties - this was going to be close. The leading positions remained unchanged to the end but it was cut and thrust in the engine room as Knut Hegvold and Al Stewart, the latter using the event as a training run, smoothly worked their way through in spite of the fierce resistance shown by their team-mates. Again those at the funnel were treated to the Cockerell finishing burst - eyes fixed on the horizon and arms and legs going like pistons - every man overtaken was another point gained, which could be very valuable at the end of this season. So, we'd pulled it off. But let's not kid ourselves - 20 points is nothing in this competition and "Thames" were not at full strength. Race Two at Wimbledon Common is as much a home match for the Oldest Cross Country Club in the Land as it is for us and they'll be itching to get back at us. South London Harriers were surprisingly below par while Reigate Priory, newly promoted, shocked by getting up to fourth overall. For Phil Carstairs it was the first time in years that he has not scored in the opening race while Lee Hurst heads the field in the "Blackstaffe Shield" competition. Senior Men: 1 D.Taylor (HHH) 23:44; 2 L.Hurst (Belgrave) 24:00; 3 S.Major 24:10; 5 S.Sharp 24:19; 12 K.Hegvold (M40) 24:58; 13 A.Stewart 25:01; 16 C.Herrington 25:07; 20 S.Kennefick 25:32; 21 W.Cockerell 25:33; 23 R.Alsop 25:41; 31 N.Hliouat 26:15; 34 J.Browne 26:27; 45 K.Quinn 26:53; 60 L.Greatorex 27:48; 62 M.Kazimierski 27:55; 65 P.Carstairs (M40) 28:06; 67 W.Lynch 28:11; 76 M.Anderson 28:30; 79 S.Connor 28:41; 83 R.Harding 29:02; 105 J.Skilbeck-Nelson (U20) 30:49; 121 A.Jowett 32:33; 125 J.Murray 33:15; 129 H.Corbett (M40) 33:39; 133 R.Bale (M50) 34:27; 143 finished. Teams: 1 Belgrave 175; 2 Thames H&H 195; 3 Herne Hill H 346; 4 Reigate Priory 452; 5 Ranelagh 460; 6 West 4 546; 7 Aldershot F&D 609; 8 South London H 609; 9 Boxhill R 703. Under 17/Under 15: 1 J.Blackledge (Belgrave U17) 12:41; 6 M.Jiggins (U15) 14:10; 7 P.Graham (U17) 14:11; 13 P.Cowling (U15) 15:22; 15 W.Bayley (U17) 15:53; 16 E.Rimdap (U15) 15:58; 21 R.Collier (U15) 17:04. Teams: 1 South London H 36; 2 Belgrave H 40; 3 Herne Hill H 59. Under 13: 1 P.Humphrey (South London) 14:26; 2 L.Shettle 15:27; 5 C.Taylor 17:02; 6 P.Mabbutt 17:28. Teams: 1 Belgrave H 63; 2 South London H 82; 3 Herne Hill H 110. Belgrave H 3 miles Yacht Handicap
"Belles" start out on Road Relay trail South of England AA Women’s 4 stage Road Relay, Rushmoor Arena, nr. Aldershot, 30 September 2001. The “Belles” were only able to field three runners from the required four but the men were in this position just four years ago – and have now reached the medals. The odds are that our women’s team’s rise to that level could be even quicker! Getenesh Tamrat had a great start, taking the lead in a group of four immediately, but the fast pace took its toll in the 4th kilometre. Anne Hegvold was surprised to be up against Paula Radcliffe on the 2nd leg and despite this being her first race since recovering from injury, put in a sterling performance. Leg three ? Our correspondent thinks we should just ignore this one but she looks forward to the day when she can get a really strong team out and then just sit back with the stopwatch and a hot cup of tea! 1 Bedford & County; 2 Windsor SE&H; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet H. Belgrave
- G Tamrat (6) 13:28; A.Hegvold (7) 14:41; C.Eastham (13) 16:55.
Lee Hurst chases the Windsor runner on stage 1. Photo by Pat Mead Men's All-time Belgrave Rankings for SEAA 6 Stage Road Relay
First ever Belgrave medals in SEAA 6-Stage Relay South of England AA Men’s 6 x 6 kms Road Relay, Rushmoor Arena, nr. Aldershot, 29 September 2001. We’ve seen some pretty low times in the 13 years that the “Southern” six stage relay has been in held in Rushmoor Arena. There was the time in ‘97 that we forced ourselves to start knowing that we only had three men, just to try to break out of the mould of being a “track & field club only.” Roger Alsop was one of those three and he had been in our original complete team of ’91 – now, at last, we were in the medals. Disruption to train timetables and traffic jams in Wimbledon and on the M25 meant that our pre-race schedule was thrown into disarray. Add to that the fact that the “B” team was being hit by drop-outs over the final 24 hours while 50% of the “C” team had already fallen by the wayside earlier in the week, and some of the turmoil that existed in the lower orders can be understood. But that “A” team had stayed rock solid right to the end; it had to with individual places in the National 6 Stage team depending upon the outcome.
Lee Hurst is looking more like his old self and in a tactical battle on the first lap of stage one he was right in the leading bunch. He came home 9th and set Paul Freary off with the opposition nicely lined up ahead. Blasting the first circuit (as is his way) Paul took us into second and then gritted his teeth to hold onto that position behind a Newham & Essex outfit that had really set their stall out. Solid running from Skipper Roger Alsop maintained our position and with half the race gone the three eventual medallists were now established – but what would be the finishing order? All was to be revealed on stage four. Windsor’s Mohamed Farah is some talent. As our own Steve Sharp set out after the leader he was soon “blitzed” by Mo, still only 18 but setting out on one of the all-time great runs on this course – an amazing 17:28 that took him through to the front and pushed us down into third. As expected, Steve was our own fastest of the day, setting a club best of 18:21. Newly eligible to compete for the Bels., Stephen Kennefick took up the running. Competition had been so tight to get into the “A” squad that Stephen, who had missed the Surrey Road Relay through being on holiday, had been forced to run a time trial around the Wimbledon Park course so that he could be measured up against those who had turned out. As it happened, the selectors got it right – but only just as Stephen was a mere 4 seconds faster than Will Cockerell, running in the “B”s. With National CC silver-medallist Sam Haughian on last leg there was no way that Windsor were going to be caught now. The “Beagles” were also beyond our reach, 41 seconds ahead, but Thames Hare & Hounds were beginning to look a little threatening as they took off just 19 seconds down on our last man Al Stewart. The gap closed initially but the Thames man was being a little optimistic and turning in another fast relay run Al took us well clear of our local rivals and cut into the Newham & Essex advantage.
1 Windsor SE&H 1:49:52; 2 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:51:57; 3 Belgrave H 1:52:32; 4 Thames H&H 1:53:18; 5 Aldershot F&D 1:54:43; 6 Shaftesbury Barnet H 1:55:11; … 17 Belgrave ‘B’ 2:01:06. A – L.Hurst (9) 18:38; P.Freary (2) 18:25; R.Alsop (2) 19:16; S.Sharp (3) 18:21; S.Kennefick (3) 19:20; A.Stewart (3) 18:32. B – K.Quinn 20:56; M.Byansi 21:14; L.Catley 19:42; W.Cockerell 19:24; K.Hegvold 19:32; J.Browne 20:18. C – J.Blackledge 19:35; P.Carstairs 21:49; R.Foley 20:38; M.Webb 20:39; D.Anderson 24:04. Fastest: M.Farah (Windsor SE&H) 17:28; S.Haughian (Windsor SE&H) 17:47. Men's All-time Belgrave Rankings for Surrey Road Relay
A startling run from Al Stewart and our best ever team time - but silver again! Surrey County AA 6 x 3 miles Road Relay, Wimbledon Park, 8 September 2001. Men’s 6 x 3 miles. Added spice this year was the fact that Belgrave runners were aiming to impress to gain selection for the "A" team for the SEAA 6 Stage race three weeks later and Alaster Stewart did just that with a scorcher on stage three. A time just 2 seconds over 14 minutes gave him a club record for the course and placed him 3rd on the all-time Surrey list behind Dave Taylor (HHH) 13:33 and Stuart Major (SLH) 13:58. Had the conditions been a little less breezy, who knows, he may have clipped 14 minutes. New man James Browne was given the task of starting the team off and he held up well in his first serious team race although having to give way to non-Surrey “B” runner Joachim Wolf who reduced his best for the circuit by 20 seconds. Reigate led through Alastair Moses with South London Harriers, starting strongly with Stuart Major, in 2nd. Running first stage for an incomplete veterans’ team Charlie Dickinson had a terrific run to break the M50 course record with his 15:45 but whether he will be credited with it, as he ran for an incomplete team and out of his age group, remains to be seen. Dipping under the quarter-hour for stage 2, Norwegian Knut Hegvold, a veteran in the next few weeks, kept the "B"s ahead of the "A" team for whom Kevin Quinn came home disappointed, some 20 seconds slower than twelve months earlier. SLH had now gone ahead, courtesy of Gary Staines, with Reigate hanging on to second and Boxhill Racers getting up to 3rd. Our “B”s were 4th and the “A”s 5th – 56 seconds down on the leaders. The status quo was restored by Alaster Stewart’s run as he handed over in equal 2nd place with Boxhill Runners. SLH were 42 seconds clear with the next team behind us the Belgrave “B” squad thanks to Guy Lavender. Medals now looked a certainty but whether we could get back to take gold from the “Irrepressibles” was a little more difficult to predict. Lloyd Catley was on the come-back trail after injury. A 15:41 5000m on the track a week earlier gave us hope and he didn’t disappoint as he ran some 10 seconds faster than expected. The gap was down to 35 seconds. Now, could Will Cockerell get close to the leaders and give our Skipper a chance on the last leg. They don’t come any tougher than Will; he was flying after the South London man as the track was approached. Into the arena and all down the back straight the gap closed until, at the takeover, Billy the Kid was a mere 4 seconds off the lead and had cut his personal record by over a minute! Unfortunately for us, our rivals had one more ace up their sleeve for the final stage with Jason Simpson, a young man who had recently run a 14:40-and-bits on the track while our own Roger Alsop’s recent best was somewhat slower. It was too much to ask and although our Captain ran to our second fastest time of the day, the SLH man stretched away – and it was silver again for the Bels. albeit in our fastest ever time for the race. Guy Lavender grittily turned out a second time for the "B”s to bring them home in 5th. Women’s 4 x 3 miles. All credit to our women’s team who managed to turn out a foursome in spite of their main target for the weekend being the National 10 kms Championship the following day in Cheltenham. Tania Sturton, running first leg, put up 7th fastest time of the day and Kate Dillane moved the team to their highest position, 3rd, with her second stage run. Men 1 South London H 1:28:13; 2 Belgrave 1:28:48; 3 Boxhill Runners 1:31:00; 4 Reigate Priory AC 1:31:13; 5 Belgrave B 1:33:20; 20 teams started and 16 finished. A – J.Browne (6) 15:13; K.Quinn (5) 15:04; A.Stewart (3) 14:02; L.Catley (2) 14:49; W.Cockerell (2) 14:57; R.Alsop (2) 14:43. B – J.Wolf (4) 14:48; K.Hegvold (4) 14:59; G.Lavender (4) 15:09; W.Lynch (5) 16:25; M.Byansi (5) 15:43; G.Lavender (5) 16:15. Fastest: L.Matthews (TH&H n/s) 13:44; A.Stewart (Belgrave 14:02; G.Staines (SLH) 14:08; P.Haywood (Boxhill) 14:10; A.Moses (Reigate) 14:11; J.Simpson (SLH) 14:12. Veterans M40 – C.Dickinson M50 (3) 15:45; H.Corbett (5) 18:29; D.Anderson (5) 18:55; no 4th runner. Women 1 South London H 1:12:23; 2 Ranelagh 1:15:10; 3 Dorking & MV 1:15:52; 6 Belgrave H 1:21:45; 13 teams started and 10 finished. T.Sturton (4) 18:09; K.Dillane (3) 19:56; J.Smiter (7) 23:16; C.Eastham (6) 20:24. Fastest J Ray (Dorking & MV) 17:26; S.Young (Dorking & MV) 17:30; P.Major (SLH) 17:40.
Nonsuch Park 4 x 2.2 miles Relays, 5 July 2001. Always an enjoyable diversion and a harbinger of the Autumn relays ahead, Dave Denton’s low key mid-summer race in the grounds of Nonsuch Park, across the site of Henry VIII’s palace, gave the Bels. their 5th consecutive win in the event. Back from injury Will Cockerell brought the team home in 3rd spot with Epsom & Ewell H enjoying their time at the head of the pack and Warren Lynch not so far back in 4th. Making short work of the opposition Junior Galley took us out to a 50 second lead on lap two and with Stephen Kennefick notching up the evening’s fastest time in his first scoring run for the club, we were “gone away” by two minutes and more after three stages. It was left to Al. Stewart to coast round at about one minute below optimum pace to close in and for the team to take home first prizes. A spectating Alan Black was pulled in to replace Marcello Bizio who injured a calf muscle while warming up for the Bs. When will Alan learn to keep away from such events! 1 Belgrave H 44:17; 2 Epsom & Ewell H 45:50; 3 Sutton Runners 48:06; ... 11 Belgrave H ‘B’ 52:23; 41 teams finished. A – W.Cockerell (3) 11:09, J.Galley (1) 10:56, S.Kennefick (1) 10:34, A.Stewart (1) 11:38. B – W.Lynch (4) 11:45, A.Binda (M40) (4) 11:58; A.Black (M60) (10) 16:14; W.Cockerell (10) 12:26. Fastest: 1 S.Kennefick; 2 J.Galley.
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