Road Running & Cross Country Index
Men's reports by Alan Mead, women's by Catherine Eastham
Road Running & Cross Country Team Events, January - May 2002
Thames Hare & Hounds Parkland 4 x 3 miles relay, Richmond Park, 8 May 2002.
With Alan Storey keen to see the make up of the Belgrave team one could be sure that he had a little something up his sleeve – and sure enough his St. Mary’s University team proved to be just strong enough to hold off the Bels. in an exciting finish. Roger Alsop found himself duffed up by occasional training partner Sonia O’Sullivan as she headed the field on stage one. The St. Mary’s boys also had an advantage of a few seconds. Thames’ women’s team, not surprisingly, soon drifted back into the pack while Junior cross country star Lee McCash found himself under attack from Stephen Kennefick, coming back to racing after a spell in the doldrums. But the Belgrave man had made his effort too early and the St. Mary’s lead stretched to nearly a minute. Returning from injury, veteran Knut Hegvold silkily eased up to our rivals on the third leg and went straight past to give Will Cockerell a handy lead of 23 seconds – would it be enough? A terrrific run from Will saw him set our fastest time of the day but it wasn’t fast enough to hold back St. Mary’s who had saved their best man until last. With half a mile to go our man was overtaken. He then clawed his way back and one just willed him to find a final burst. It wasn’t there but what a race.
1 St. Mary’s University 60:01; 2 Belgrave 60:04 (R.Alsop 15:09; S.Kennefick 15:21; K.Hegvold 14:51; W.Cockerell 14:43); 3 Thames H&H 61:03; Belgrave B dnf (S.Zealey 15:50; I.Isherwood 20:15; Don Anderson 18:24).
Fastest: 1 N.Altmann (Thames H&H) 14:15; 2 N.Phillips (St. Mary’s) 14:17; 3 L.McCash (St. Mary’s) 14:34; … =5 W.Cockerell (Belgrave) 14:43.
Womens 3 x 3 miles 1 St. Mary’s University (inc. T.Sturton 17:59, 4th fastest). Fastest S.O’Sullivan (Thames H&H) 14:49.
The National 12 Stage title returns to Belgrave after 51 years
Belgrave's margin of victory in Sutton Park was the greatest in the history of the race.
AAA “National” 12 Stage Road Relay, Sutton Coldfield, 27 April 2002.
It was an historic and enjoyable day for Belgrave Harriers – but an exciting race it was not! The Bels. predictably took the lead with three laps gone and then spent the next three hours turning the screws to open up the greatest winning margin in the history of the race (6 minutes 26 seconds); but as the team manager told AW reporter Jason Henderson after the race, “We had enough excitement last year to last a lifetime!”
It was Belgrave’s first win in the National 12 Stage since 1951 and apart from the pleasure in taking the magnificent “News of the World” trophy and twelve gold medals, Andy and Allen Graffin clocked the day’s fastest short and long stages, and David Anderson and Steve Sharp backed up with second and third best short times while Mark Miles and Spencer Barden placed in the top six over the long lap.
It was a day to remember for a long, long time. Everything went to plan – even down to the provision of champagne for the post race celebrations, courtesy of Bill Laws and Gordon Biscoe. It has taken seven years of hard work to achieve our goal – but maybe that was the easy bit – staying at the top could be a lot tougher.
Conditions were very breezy with pulses of rain; becoming drier but windier as the race progressed.
Short stages: 3 miles 8 yards; long stages 5 miles 706 yards.
Stage One
Enjoying the chance to steer as clear of stage 12 as possible, Lee Hurst was given the target of a place in the teens and although he was a little disappointed with his time, his 17th spot in 27:13 – place and time – was exactly what had been predicted by Vice-Captain Al Stewart. Tipton had made a strong start to place 5th while Morpeth were just ahead of us in 15th.
Fastest: 1 A.O’Connor (Liverpool) 26:07; 2 C.Cmith (London Irish) 26:12; 3 S.Bailey (Sale H Manchester) 26:18; 17 L.Hurst 27:13.
Stage Two
Richard Ward came into the team on Friday morning with the withdrawal of Kevin Nash due to a knee injury. Eager to prove that he should have been in the line-up from the outset, Richard grasped his chance and churned out a 14:43 to pick off eight of the opposition. What a substitute! Tipton had moved up to third but we were only 20 seconds behind.
Fastest: 1 M.Openshaw (Birchfield) 14:12; =2 C.Livesey (Preston) and B.Whitby (Windsor SE&H) 14:16; 8 R.Ward 14:42.
Teams: 1 Wells City H 41:06; 2 Sale H Manchester 41:26; 3 Tipton H 41:36; 9 Belgrave H 41:56.
Stage Three
Most Belgrave supporters predicted that we’d go ahead on stage four but Spencer Barden took full advantage of an earlier than normal leg to chase down the men up front. Ian Grimes of Newham & Essex was also having a good run but Spen was the man in charge and as he stormed the final rise even seasoned campaigners went misty-eyed at the sight of a claret and gold vest heading the field right on cue. Nearly half a minute came off Spencer’s best time for the course. The lead was 6 seconds. Our starters had done us proud – now what could the front runners do? Could they open the gap we wanted?
Fastest: 1 S.Barden (Belgrave H) 25:52; 2 I.Grime (Newham & Essex B) 26:05; 3 M.Vaux Harvey (Kidderminster) 26:23.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 1:07:48; 2 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:07:54; 3 Tipton H 1:08:45.
Stage Four
As the wind rose and another squall swept the start area Andrew Graffin set out on his mission to break away from the field. With a string of indoor sub-4 minute miles under his belt this winter, no doubt he’d have like to have cracked 14 minutes. Sadly, in spite of the urging from announcer Bud Baldero as our man approached the line, the digital clock flipped over to the “fourteens” before Mark Miles could be sent on his way. But the damage had been done and the lead was now 1 minute 44 seconds. For the first time our colours were out of sight of the chasing field and Andy’s 14:03 was the target at which short-stage hopefuls would take aim.
Fastest: 1 Andy Graffin (Belgrave H) 14:03; 2 G.Blackman (Harrow) 14:31; 3 C.Davies (Telford) 14:34.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 1:21:51; 2 Newham & Essex B) 1:23:35; 3 Sale H Manchester 1:23:54.
Stage Five
Mark Miles received final instructions from coach Baldero then tore off down the slope, eager to extend our 500 metre advantage. Fastest long stage man in 2001, Mark had runners to chase that day but now he was the quarry. Morpeth were taken into the frame by Ian Hudspith who closed up a few seconds and Birchfield also improved but the lads from Essex fell away and the Belgrave advantage climbed to 2 minutes 21 seconds as Mark pipped Spencer’s time by one second.
Fastest: 1 I.Hudspith (Morpeth H) 25:46; 2 M.Miles (Belgrave H) 25:51; 3 D.Burrows (Birchfield) 26:05.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 1:47:42; 2 Morpeth H 1:50:03; 3 Birchfield H 1:50:20.
Stage Six
Knowing that he has to be prepared to do battle with the very best to make his mark in the sport, Stephen Sharp was not at all overawed by Andy’s earlier 14:03. Birchfield nipped past Morpeth while Tipton were 4th but Steve was on a stormer, his 14:08 being the second fastest up to that point as he opened the gap to nearly three and a half minutes at the halfway point.
Fastest: 1 S.Sharp (Belgrave H) 14:08; 2 G.Taylor (Trafford AC) 14:24; 3 K.Shepherd (Tipton H) 14:35.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 2:01:50; 2 Birchfield 2:05:13; 3 Morpeth H 2:05:31.
Stage Seven
Looking more in command with every run, our National Cross Country silver medallist faced tough opposition on this leg. The Kenyan Kirui had a terrific run for Birchfield but way up the road Allen was going two seconds faster and another challenge from the Midlanders was turned back.
Fastest: 1 Allen Graffin (Belgrave H) 25:45; 2 E.Kirui (Birchfield) 25:47; 3 M.Steinle (Blackheath) 25:48.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 2:27:35; 2 Birchfield H 2:31:00; 3 Tipton H 2:32:26.
Stage Eight
Determined to make a good showing Charles Herrington probably tackled the initial hill too fast. By the Jamboree stone at the turn for home he had extended our advantage by a further 15 seconds but by the time the climb to the finish was reached he was having to dig very deep and a sub-15 time slipped away although he had dragged the lead out to just under 4 minutes.
Fastest: 1 A.Toward (Morpeth H) 14:47; 2 D.Roache (Trafford AC) 14:51; 3 J.Hayden (Notts AC) 15:01; 5 C.Herrington 15:09.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 2:42:44 ; 2 Birchfield H 2:46:42; 3 Tipton H 2:47:37.
Stage Nine
Paul Evans, veteran of more battles on the road than he’d care to remember, received an ovation before he’d even run a step. “The Belgrave team are so weak,” it was announced, “that they are reduced to turning out Paul Evans for stage nine.” Inspirational words had come from Paul at the pre-race team talk and now he put his body on the line as only he knows how. On this occasion he was “only” our fourth fastest over the long circuit but he was so intent on giving everything to try to keep the team on course for a fast time that he ran straight through the finish and caught himself up on the ropes separating the incoming and outgoing runners. They don’t come any tougher than Paul.
Fastest: R.Birchall (Birchfield H) 25:59; 2 M.Hudspith (Morpeth H) 26:01; 3 P.Evans (Belgrave H) 26:13.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 3:08:57; 2 Birchfield H 3:12:41; 3 Morpeth H 3:14:00.
Stage Ten
Three stages to go. The Belgrave boot had been jammed on the accelerator for hours but there was no way it was going to be lifted until the race was complete. Middle-distance man David Anderson fears no-one and had every intention of making that fastest short stage of the day his very own. Not only was it windy, it was getting colder, and yet that 14 minute “barrier” was under threat again. His 14:06 took him to number two and as Birchfield and Morpeth ran men in the high 15s, the Belgrave lead shot up to five and a half minutes. The six minute margin that we had looked for became a real possibility. Tipton came back into the fight for medals, squeezing six seconds ahead of Morpeth.
Fastest: 1 David Anderson (Belgrave H) 14:06; 2 J.Rogers (Sale H Manchester) 14:31; 3 N.Wilkinson (Salford H) 14:39.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 3:23:03; 2 Birchfield H 3:28:38; 3 Tipton H 3:29:28.
Stage Eleven
Now Morpeth inched past Tipton again. Down the field Shaftesbury Barnet turned out the first of a powerful finishing duo but it was too late in the day to be of much use. For the Bels Al Stewart was surely on for a 26 minutes “and bits” run but had to be satisfied with grinding out a personal best of just over 27. Birchfield were 8 seconds slower and the gap was now 5 minutes 43 seconds.
Fastest: 1 D.Bannister (Shaftesbury Barnet H) 26:28; 2 R.Kay (Notts AC) 26:29; M.Warmby (Newham & Essex B) 26:29; 4 A.Stewart 27:04.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 3:50:07; 2 Birchfield H 3:55:50; 3 Morpeth H 3:57:03.
Stage Twelve
Paul Freary had been strangely quiet ever since he got wind of the fact that he was going to be last stager for us in 2002. The lead was huge but the load was just as heavy. Suppose a kid on a bike sent him sprawling. Suppose Tipton had turned the cattle loose on the far side of the park. No such troubles materialised. Paul took another half minute out of the chasers and he threw his arms aloft in joy as the finish tape was broken.
But it wasn’t over yet. Team Captain Roger Alsop had undertaken the awful task of being reserve all day should someone pull a muscle in warm-up. And having done his duty he turned out for Redhill Runners who were a man short and languishing somewhere near the tail-end of the field. Just as the medals were being presented, there was Roger, running in an unfamiliar vest and flying up the hill to head all the runners who had taken part in the mass start of tail-enders. A terrific cheer went up from the Belgrave crowd clutching medals and cup and there must have been many a bystander who wondered why on earth Belgrave should be so vociferous and show so much support for Redhill’s last man.
Fastest: 1 A.Renfree (Shaftesbury Barnet H) 14:39; 2 P.Freary (Belgrave H) 14:44; 3 T.Wall (Morpeth H) 15:09; 5 R.Alsop (Redhill R) 15:18.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 4:04:51; 2 Birchfield H 4:11:17; 3 Morpeth H 4:12:12; 64 teams finished.
Fastest of the day.
Short stage: 1 Andy Graffin (Belgrave H) 14:03; 2 David Anderson (Belgrave H) 14:06; 3 S.Sharp (Belgrave H) 14:08; 19 R.Ward 14:43; =20 P.Freary 14:44; =49 C.Herrington 15:09; 64 R.Alsop 15:18.
Long
stage: 1 Allen Graffin (Belgrave H) 24:45; 2 I Hudspith (Morpeth H)
25:46; 3 E.Kirui (Birchfield) 25:47; 5 M.Miles 25:51; 6 S.Barden 25:52;
13 P.Evans 26:13; 47 A.Stewart 27:04; =52 L.Hurst 27:13.
An amazing 5th at the first attempt for the Belles in AAA 6-Stage Relay
AAA “National” Women’s 6 stage road relay, Sutton Coldfield, 27 April 2002.
Catherine Eastham writes: Unlike the men, there was no pressure on the women’s team at the start of this race. It was their first attempt at the National 6-stage and a top 10 place was guaranteed, with hopes high that they could match their 4-stage performance and capture 7th or 8th spot. Over the 2.99 mile course though, things went better than planned…
Stage One
A fast start was needed to ensure that the Belles were up in the fighting action right from the start. Who better to cope with that battle than Birhan Dagne. Only recently back in racing action after injury Birhan was feeling fit and raring to go and immediately took over at the front of the pack. The main group stayed together well into stage 1, but coming up the finishing straight in first place, to set the Belles fastest time ever, and 5th fastest overall on the day, was our very own Birhan Dagne, closely followed by Dugdale of Swansea.
Fastest: B.Dagne (Belgrave) 16:19; 2 C.Dugdale (Swansea) 16:22; 3 L.Mawer (Bingley) 16:29.
Stage Two
Tania Sturton knew that Birhan would be one of the first back but her face, when she saw Birhan’s lead, was a picture. This was a high pressure leg for our youngest team member but she coped admirably. Shouts of ‘just run your own race’ followed Tania down the starting hill and she knew that some faster runners would come flying past. If Tania could keep the Belles in the top 10 then we knew that we could pull something back over the later legs. Tania ran the race according to plan, bringing the Belles home in 10th place. The fastest leg went to Gay of Bristol in 16.53, moving her club from 7th place into a strong lead.
Fastest: 1 M.Gay (Bristol AC) 16:53; 2 R.Lewis (Shaftesbury Barnet H B) 17:15; 3 M.Myers (Headington) 17:19; 17 T.Sturton 18:54.
Teams: 1 Bristol AC 33:34; 2 Bingley H 34:11; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet H 34:17; 10 Belgrave H 35:13.
Stage Three
Erica Fogg pulled the short straw weather wise as it was on the third leg that the heavens opened and the rain combined with the wind to make this one of the toughest legs for the runners. But Erica’s triathlon preparations meant she was a strong runner and tough conditions see her thrive. Erica’s task was to maintain the Belles’ position, but she later admitted to starting off faster than planned and it was tough. Plus, we didn’t reckon on Amanda Allen storming past from 14th position to bring Birchfield into 4th, with the third fastest leg of the day. Meanwhile, up in front Bristol’s lead opened up to about half a minute.
Fastest: 1 A.Allen (Birchfield H) 16:01; =2 K.Reed (Bristol AC) 16:51, B.Jenkins (Salford); 13 E.Fogg 18:24.
Teams: 1 Bristol AC 50:25; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet H 51:43; 3 Bingley H 51:54; 11 Belgrave H 53:37.
Stage Four
Next up for the Belles was Maria ‘let me chase them’ Sharp. And chase them she did. With the bit between her teeth Maria set off down the hill with the intention of picking them off one by one. With the Belles second fastest leg of the day and the equal second fastest on the stage, Maria pulled the team right up into 6th place. Things were starting to look good as we still had two fast legs to run. The lead, however, was increasing and Bristol were looking untouchable in first. Shaftesbury BH now had a strong second position but the places behind were still chopping and changing.
Fastest: 1 S.Gray (Bristol AC) 16:51; =2 A.Joiner-Handy (Shaftesbury Barnet H), M.Sharp (Belgrave H).
Teams: 1 Bristol AC 1:07:16; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet H 1:08:50; 3 Birchfield H 1:09:46; 6 Belgrave H 1:10:44.
Stage Five
Having run a 2.52 marathon just two weeks earlier, Juliette Clark proved she’s in amazing form at the moment as she battled through the considerably shorter distance to bring the Belles up to an remarkable 4th place
with just one leg to go, in the process moving ahead of Sale and Birchfield. Juliette’s racing experience and triathlon strength showed through as she clocked the 4th fastest run of the stage and the Belles’ 3rd fastest leg overall. Gold and silver didn’t look an option but was a bronze medal position possible, or would the last leg see some big guns out in action?
Fastest: 1 M.McCambridge (Bristol AC) 15:58; S.Vangraan (Shaftesbury Barnet H) 16:47; 3 S.Singleton (Liverpool H) 16:49; 4 J.Clark 17:17.
Teams: 1 Bristol AC 1:23:14; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet H 1:25:37; 3 Liverpool H 1:26:45.
Stage Six
Whatever happened on the last leg, the Belles had done themselves proud and could claim their fastest ever performance over the course. Would this also be their best performance in any relay to date? Anne Hegvold had carried the anchor leg for the Belles in the 4-stage relay back in the autumn. We knew she was running well and could cope with the pressure and fight the whole way.
Bristol came home first with Dorothea Lee an incredible 2 minutes ahead of Lucy Elliott from Shaftesbury. Another minute passed before Jenny Clague of Liverpool came up the hill in a triumphant 3rd. The top three positions hadn’t changed from Stage 5, could this mean that we were going to maintain our 4th spot too? Unfortunately not, as the next vest up the hill was Sale Harriers’ Heath who had run a storming leg. But another minute down and there she was: Anne Hegvold fighting her way up the finishing hill with all her might to bring the Belles home in a magnificent 5th place.
We might not have won the gold medal but the Belles certainly exceeded everyone’s expectations. It’s safe to say that we’re definitely a team to watch for the future.
Fastest: 1 L.Elliott (Shaftesbury Barnet H) 15:55; 2 D.Lee (Bristol AC) 16:08; 3 J.Heath (Sale H Manchester) 16:24; 8 A.Hegvold 17:38.
Teams: 1 Bristol AC 1:39:22; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet H 1:41:32; 3 Liverpool H 1:43:29; 4 Sale H Manchester 1:44:38; 5 Belgrave H 1:45:39; 6 Headington RR 1:46:16; 34 teams finished.
Fastest of the day: 1 L.Elliott (Shaftesbury Barnet H 15:55; 2 M.McCambridge (Bristol) 15:58; 3 A.Allen (Birchfield) 16:01; 5 B.Dagne 16:19; =28 M.Sharp 17:07; 35 J.Clark 17:17; 47 A.Hegvold 17:38; 83 E.Fogg 18:24; =111 T.Sturton 18:54; 204 took part
Meteoric rise for the Belles in SEAA 6-Stage Road Relay
SEAA Women’s 6-Stage Road Relay, Milton Keynes, 7 April 2002.
In only the third running of this event Team Manager Catherine Eastham can point to a meteoric rise in fortunes: no team at all in 2000, 20th from 21 finishers in 2001, 4th and oh! so close to the medals in 2002. We can only marvel at what might come next.
The race was held over six laps of the 5506 metres course also used for the men’s short stage.
Stage One
You couldn’t look for a more ardent supporter of the the club than Maria Sharp and she fired up the Belles with a super start. Maria’s 19:19 immediately reduced our best for the circuit, previously held by Juliette Clark, and much more importantly put us right up near the head of the field.
Fastest: 1 A.Fletcher (Dulwich R) 19:02; 2 M.Sharp (Belgrave) 19:19; 3 S.Andreou (Woodford Green/Essex) 19:33.
Stage Two
Juliette had no intention of giving up her club best without a fight and soon she moved past the Dulwich Runner to take the claret and gold into a women’s road relay lead for the first time in the club’s history. With some big triathlon/duatholon events ahead of her, Juliette is in great form and she improved her best for the circuit by 23 seconds. We led Dulwich by nearly one minute although Shaftesbury had moved up threateningly to third.
Fastest: 1 S.Van Graan (Shaftesbury Barnet) 19:26; 2 C.Pauzers (Herne Hill) 19:31; 3 J.Clark (Belgrave) 19:33.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 38:52; 2 Dulwich Runners 39:33; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet 39:37.
Stage Three
Shaftesbury Barnet’s A team slipped back a place but their black and white stripes were still menacing the leaders as their B team shot through the field to second. However, it was Dulwich who went back to the front with their runner turning in the fastest time for the stage. In the face of this onslaught Jayne Lawrence determinedly hung on to a medal position.
Fastest: 1 M.Pannett (Dulwich R) 19:18; 2 C.Weatherill (Shaftesbury Barnet B) 19:38; 3 J.Butler (Blackheath) 19:59; 14 J.Lawrence 21:41.
Teams: 1 Dulwich R 58:51; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet B 1:00:26; 3 Belgrave 1:00:33.
Stage Four
Tania Sturton kept our colours in third as Shaftesbury’s B team disappeared from the race and their A team went into what proved to be a winning lead. We had been looking for a top eight place with a dream of top five but here we were, still in medal contention.
Fastest: 1 S.Cripsey (Bedford & County) 19:36; 2 A.Ridley (Shaftesbury Barnet) 19:54; 3 K.Bailey (Havant) 19:59; 7 T.Sturton 21:12.
Teams: 1 Shaftesbury Barnet 1:20:42; 2 Dulwich R 1:21:10; 3 Belgrave 1:21:45.
Stage Five
What a task faced now by Syreeta Stracey; incredible to think that this young lady started with us as a 12 year-old sprinter and long jumper. Not surprisingly she was unable to withstand the attack of the experienced Zara Hyde-Peters who took Havant all the way into second. Dulwich fell away down the field but Bedford were out to match their men’s forward position and Highgate squeezed past Syreeta by just two seconds.
Fastest: 1 Z.Hyde Peters (Havant) 19:22; 2 L.Wood (Bedford & County) 20:04; 3 E.Murray (Shaftesbury Barnet) 20:11; 9 S.Stracey 21:51.
Teams: 1 Shaftesbury Barnet 40:53; 2 Havant 42:14; 3 Bedford & County 43:10; 5 Belgrave 43:36.
Stage Six
After a successful campaign on the indoor tracks this winter, this was Julie Mitchell’s first outing in a Belgrave team and she enjoyed it to the full. There were some very quick times on this last lap but the Belgrave athlete held her own with our third sub-20 run of the day, taking the Belles back past Havant into a superb 4th place. All that we had dreamed of had been achieved – and one could see that finishing just 35 seconds out of the medals has given the team a hunger for success that surely won’t be denied in races to come.
Fastest: 1 S.Morris (Bedford & County) 18:36; 2 K.Jenrick (Highgate) 19:23; 3 A.Joiner-Handy (Shaftesbury Barnet) 19:29; 5 J.Mitchell 19:46.
Teams: 1 Shaftesbury Barnet 1:00:22; 2 Bedford & County 1:01:46; 3 Highgate H 1:02:57; 4 Belgrave 1:03:22; 35 teams started; 27 teams finished.
Fastest
of the day: S.Morris (Bedford & County) 18:36; 2 A.Fletcher
(Dulwich R) 19:02; 3 K.Jenrick (Highgate) 19:17; 5 M.Sharp 19:19; 10
J.Clark 19:33; 16 J.Mitchell 19:46.
Victory in the Southern 12-Stage
Course record and six minute winning margin sets us up for the “National”.
SEAA 12-Stage Road Relay, Milton Keynes, 7 April 2002.
With the ink still drying on the new sponsorship deal, the team turned out at Milton Keynes wearing the famous three stripe adidas logo, each man on an individual mission to earn a place in the National team. The weather was beautifully sunny but with a vicious wind that made fast times difficult – particularly if one was on a long leg and having to loop round the open expanse of Caldecotte Lake.
Stage One
After a one minute silence in memory of the late Queen Mother, Kevin Nash launched the Belgrave attack and in a tightly packed bunch he nearly came a-cropper when getting tangled with a rival. The “Valley’s” Andrew Hennessy saved him by holding out a steadying arm and the phalanx of runners swept on. Our man overcame a bad patch to clinch a great start and as Kyereme took Shaftesbury Barnet up the slope in the lead Gnasher brought us home 5th with his best ever long run round this circuit. The Bs received a shot in the arm with Najibe Hliouat agreeing to a long stage and giving us 18th of the 56 starters, 23 places in front of the next B team.
Fastest: 1 K.Kyreme (Shaftesbury Barnet) 24:10; 2 M.Warmby (Newham & Essex Beagles) 24:14; 3 G.Amos (City of Norwich) 24:26; 5 K.Nash 24:42; 18 N.Hliouat 26:03; 55 R.Bale 33:12.
Stage Two
Looking to stamp our authority on the race early, Stephen Sharp was thrown into the fray much earlier than one might have expected. Still slightly uncomfortable with a nerve problem in his hamstring, Steve clocked equal third fastest time of the day to move up three places and narrow the gap to the leader to just 13 seconds.
Fastest: 1 S.Sharp (Belgrave) 16:33; 2 G.Bangs (Thurrock) 16:47; 3 S.Murphy (Shaftesbury Barnet) 16:52; 25 B.Barton 18:28.
Teams: 1 Shaftesbury Barnet 41:02; 2 Belgrave 41:15; 3 Newham & Essex Beagles 41:50; 24 Belgrave B 18:28.
Stage Three
The plan was to go ahead on stage three and start pulling away – it worked like a dream. Paul Freary is preparing himself for a short stage at Sutton Park but on our second long stage cruised up to the Shaftesbury man after a mile and right in front of the adoring Belgrave supporters took the claret and gold into a lead that was to grow ever wider. He admitted after the race that it felt easy and he has loads more to come when it’s needed. We had a 1:15 lead.
Fastest: 1 R.Finch (Southampton R) 23:55; 2 A.Mussett (Colchester) 23:56; 3 J.Fewtrell (Bedford & County) 24:38; 5 P.Freary 24:49; 25 R.Foley 26:49.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 1:06:04; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet 1:07:19; 3 Southampton RC 1:07:31; 25 Belgrave B 1:11:20.
Stage Four
As last man into the team – and the youngest – Kevin Quinn had a lot of pressure to handle; the worry of holding on to the lead and the need to show just what we all knew he could do if he got it right. This is where the shutters came down as far as the rest of the field were concerned. Kev might have turned in an 18 minute run but he rose to the occasion and now will have the confidence to do it again and again as he clocked the stage’s third fastest time. Not only did he hold that lead, he took a minute out of Shaftesbury and even though Bedford & County came into the reckoning, the Belgrave lead stretched out to 1:44.
Fastest: 1 M.Janes (Bedford & County) 17:03; 2 A.Draper (Blackheath) 17:28; 3 K.Quinn (Belgrave) 17:31; 20 L.Greatorex 18:29.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 1:23:35; 2 Bedford & County 1:25:19; 3 Southampton RC 1:25:37; 24 Belgrave B 1:29:49.
Stage Five
Every team has its disaster and ours came here. It had little effect on the lead but on a personal level, Charles Herrington was devastated. Eager to earn that Sutton Park slot he was looking for a long stage time of well under 25 minutes. What he got was time barely under 26 as he went off course on the far side of the circuit. The route was marked adequately but it must be said that Paul Freary had lost a few seconds at this point – and Al Stewart and Lee Hurst had done the same in previous years. Who knows how much he lost as he shouted for help and prayed that a marshal would appear and set him straight – maybe a minute? Behind him Bedford sagged and Shaftesbury came back into second – and, incredibly, our net lead had grown by another 10 seconds!
As if one disaster wasn’t enough, Mal Byansi had badly turned his ankle while warming up. He said nothing of it as he set out but required medical treatment when he finished, having run just over 2 minutes slower than the previous year – and all this with the London Marathon only 7 days away.
Fastest: 1 K.Bowditch (Newham & Essex Beagles) 23:54; 2 G.Blackman (Harrow) 24:32; 3 S.Tompsett (Hillingdon) 24:43; 11 C.Herrington 25:57; 38 M.Byansi 28:35.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 1:49:23; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet 1:51:17; 3 Southampton RC 1:51:20; 27 Belgrave B 1:58:24.
Stage Six
Having been told before the race that he should expect to take over in the lead, David Anderson confidently predicted that if we weren’t in front, we would be by the time he’d finished! In fact he didn’t need the stimulus of a chase as he ripped out the day’s second fastest short stage time of 16:19, missing the club record by four seconds. On an otherwise quiet leg, this had the effect of giving the Bels a lead of 3:11.
Jonathan Blackledge carried the Bs forward three places and set the third fastest for the stage with a super 17:27 – not bad for a seventeen year-old and surely giving an indication that the A team average age will be coming down a point or two in the future. Fifty teams were left in the race at the mid-point of the race and the Bs were in the top half of the field.
Fastest: 1 D.Anderson (Belgrave) 16:19; 2 D.Moulton (Blackheath) 16:39; 3 J.Blackledge (Belgrave B) 17:27.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 2:05:51; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet 2:09:02; 3 Bedford & County 2:09:16; 24 Belgrave B 2:15:51.
Stage Seven
Those “twenty-four forty” runs just kept on coming. Lee Hurst has had a couple of months in the doldrums but every week that passes shows another improvement. It was like musical chairs in team positions 2 to 8 as yet another combination came up, Bedford once again moving ahead of Shaftesbury, but up front Lee was rock-steady and advanced the Belgrave cause by another 17 seconds.
Fastest: 1 J.Downes (London Irish) 24:43; 2 L.Hurst 24:46; 3 N.Miller (Bedford & County) 24:49; 20 W.Lynch 27:02.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 2:30:37; 2 Bedford & County 2:34:09; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet 2:34:11; 24 Belgrave B 2:42:53.
Stage Eight
A strangely luck-lustre performance from Richard Ward came next. Your correspondent would have put money on a 16:30 to 16:50 run but after checking and rechecking it had to be acknowledged that the watch had given him a time some way over 17 minutes. Rich had had a heavy week of warm weather training, returning to the UK just a day before the race and in hindsight it looks as if it cost him a precious half-minute. Paradoxically, our lead went up yet again to 3:57 as both Bedford and Shaftesbury had to dig deep for short stage runners. Indoor European 1500m bronze medallist Michael East brought Newham & Essex Beagles back into the fray with the day’s fastest run.
Fastest: 1 M.East (Newham & Essex Beagles) 16:07; 2 R.Ward (Belgrave) 17:15; 3 A.Lynch (Thames H&H) 17:24; 22 S.Connor 19:23.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 2:47:52; 2 Bedford & County 2:51:49; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet 2:52:24; 24 Belgrave B 3:02:16.
Stage Nine
Talk about “putting the boot in.” Having established a lead that had the last few Belgrave runners not knowing whether to laugh with relief or cry with the worry of it all going wrong after this, we unleashed our cruise missile. The ever popular Paul Evans – 41 next week and the only man in the team who was also in our 1990 squad – set off on a tour of Milton Keynes that will be talked about in Belgrave circles for a long while to come. After the Bath Half Marathon Paul figured that maybe he was “a bit ring rusty” needing a few races to set him up for the World Half Marathon Cup. A mere 23 minutes or so later Paul stormed up the finishing slope to all round applause having run the day’s fastest long stage time and beating our best ever of 23:55, set by Justin Chaston – who was also in that 1990 team. Within minutes Paul was busy signing autographs and looking forward to his next outing in a Belgrave vest at Sutton Park. The lead was just two seconds short of five minutes, a course record looked to be “on”, the B team were 16 places clear of Thames Hare & Hounds B team and the words of a favourite comedian from the past came to mind: “It’s turned out nice again!”
Fastest: 1 P.Evans (Belgrave) 23:47; 2 K.Stone (Newham & Essex Beagles) 24:15; 3 T.Naylor (Phoenix) 25:08; 28 L.Catley 27:58.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 3:11:39; 2 Newham & Essex Beagles 3:16:41; 3 Bedford & County 3:17:47; 22 Belgrave B 3:30:14.
Stage Ten
Joachim Wolf was delighted to be in the team, having persuaded his employers to let him have time off from a conference in Amsterdam to fly home for the race. With the words of his boss ringing in his ears, “If I let you go then you’d better win …“ Joachim ran to his best time on the short course and the lead went up to 5:07. Yet again Bedford & County and Newham & Essex Beagles entertained by switching positions, with the former club’s Hugh Lobb running a late-race 16:33 and the Essex team plugging away with an 18:24.
Fastest: 1 H.Lobb (Bedford & County) 16:33; 2 J.Wolf (Belgrave) 17:34; 3 D.Symons (Thames Hare & Hounds) 17:48; 32 J.Galley 20:22.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 3:29:13; 2 Bedford & County 3:34:20; 3 Newham & Essex Beagles 3:35:05; 22 Belgrave B 3:50:36.
Stage Eleven
Just seven seconds covered the times set by long stagers Freary, Hurst and Nash and now Ally Stewart churned out our second best of the day – 24:41 to pip Kevin Nash by a second. Robinson of the “Beagles” came up with a good time to take their black and yellow colours into the silver medal position yet again but it was Belgrave on top by well over a mile with Stewart second fastest on the stage and the lead now nearing six minutes.
Fastest: 1 A.Robinson (Newham & Essex Beagles) 24:37; 2 A.Stewart (Belgrave) 24:41; 3 N.Sirs (Exeter) 25:19; 26 C.Dickinson 27:41.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 3:53:54; 2 Newham & Essex Beagles 3:59:42; 3 Bedford & County 4:00:01; 23 Belgrave B 4:18:17.
Stage Twelve
Surely all the Captain had to do was smile and pose for pictures – but he too was making a bid for the AAA team and far from posing in the finishing straight, had arms and legs pumping to get the best time possible. Roger Alsop’s 17:24 was his best ever at Milton Keynes and he maintained a remarkable achievement for the team: every Belgrave runner on every leg improved our position – not once did we lose ground to the teams behind and that final margin was 5 minutes and 54 seconds.
The Bs also finished with a flourish. Not at his fittest, Will Cockerell had missed out on the A team but came along to watch – and in the end couldn’t resist having a fling for the Bs. Their magnificent 21st place to win the first B team prizes was only one place away from a qualification slot for the National Road Relay – except that only one team from each club is allowed the chance to tackle Sutton Park.
Fastest: 1 L..Mathews (Thames H&H) 17:21; 2 R.Alsop (Belgrave) 17:24; 3 M.Kearns (Newham & Essex Beagles) 17:30; 11 W.Cockerell 18:29.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 4:11:18; 2 Newham & Essex Beagles 4:17:12; 3 Bedford & County 4:18:27; 4 Thames Hare & Hounds 4:20:03; 5 Shaftesbury Barnet 4:20:25; 6 Aldershot, Farnham & Dist. 4:24:59; 21 Belgrave B 4:36:46; 48 teams finished.
Fastest long stages: 1 P.Evans (Belgrave) 23:47; 2 K.Bowditch (Newham & Essex Beagles) 23:54; 3 R.Finch (Southampton RC) 23:55; 13 A.Stewart 24:41; 14 K.Nash 24:42; 19 L.Hurst 24:46; =22 P.Freary 24:49.
Fastest short stages: 1 M.East (Newham & Essex Beagles) 16:07; 2 D.Anderson (Belgrave) 16:19; =3 S.Sharp (Belgrave H) and H.Lobb (Bedford & County) 16:33; 8 R.Ward 17:15; 13 R.Alsop 17:24; 17 J.Blackledge 17:27; 21 K.Quinn 17:31; 22 J.Wolf 17:24.
A great many thanks are due to the Belgrave supporters who turned out in good numbers to urge their men on. And a special word for the Bs. who plugged away so diligently.
The congratulations were soon flying about by e-mail as is customary these days and it was good to hear from Houston based Justin Chaston: “Congratulations on another great team performance. Quite a different scenario from the last time we won. I remember taking over in 1990 on the last leg with a man breathing down my neck! “
Sutton Coldfield – here we come!
The "Valley's" road relay falls to Belgrave after 51 years
PUMA Thames Valley H 3 x 3.5 miles Road Relay, Stockley Park, 23 March 2002.
Well, it’s been a long time coming, but at last we’ve managed to break the spell and pull off a win in Thames Valley Harriers’ long standing road relay. We have to go way back for previous victories: 1945, 1947 and 1951! And not only did we come away with first team prize, but the booty included first B team prizes, fastest and third fastest laps – and perhaps more importantly the muddy waters of team selection for the SEAA 12-Stage relay two weeks later became a little clearer.
Kevin Nash seems a born relay runner. Running tired after another week of heavy mileage, he took on the mantle of “lead-off” man and pulled further and further away from the main bunch but with Shaftesbury’s Kojo Kyereme sitting on his shoulder as the final stretch was reached, Kev knew the kick was coming sooner or later – and it did. But the Belgrave man held together well to clock the day’s third fastest time. A forward placing was also claimed for the Bs with Joachim Wolf reducing his previous best for the circuit by 17 seconds.
Coming back from a nasty ankle injury sustained while slipping on ice around Christmas-time, Paul Freary set off after our North London rivals and after a mile had moved into solid lead that stretched to 58 seconds by the end of the lap. The man is back and has staked a persuasive claim be included in the squad for both “big ones” ahead of us.
The pressure was on now for Kevin Quinn and Roger Alsop to hold on to that gap. They coped admirably as Shaftesbury came back oh! so slightly to 45 seconds and then 40 seconds before Iron Man Sharp cut loose on the final stage. Steve clocked the day’s fastest time and stretched the lead out to a final 1 minute 53 second margin as Shaftesbury collapsed to third and Windsor, SE&H finished with a flourish that took them to second. The Belgrave team time was a course record. Can three wins in three weeks be classed as a win streak?
Hassan Raidi, back from training in Morocco, ran a storming 4th leg for the Bs to ensure that further prizes came Belgrave’s way. Now the owner of a British passport he is searching for a berth in England’s Commonwealth Games team.
1, Belgrave H 1:27:38; 2 Windsor SE&H AC 1:29:31; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet H 1:30:05; 7 Belgrave H ‘B’ 1:32:41; 31 teams started.
A – K.Nash (2) 17:08; P.Freary (1) 17:10; K.Quinn (1) 18:19; R.Alsop (1) 18:04; S.Sharp (1) 16:57.
B – J.Wolf (6) 18:05; J.Browne 18:39; N.Hliouat 18:42; H.Raidi (6) 17:27; S.Connor (7) 19:49.
C – R.Bale 24:10.
Gold and Silver in Bath Bonanza
Above:
Paul Evans, Charles Herrington, Kassa Tadesse and Al Stewart - AAA Half
Marathon Champions.
Photo by Patricia Mead
Bath Half Marathon inc. UKA & AAA Championships, 17 March 2002.
The team travelled to the West Country, racing strategy focused by the following quote on the Bath Half Marathon website:
"Current 6-stage champions Belgrave look favourites to win the men's team event following Paul Evans' recent entry, but face strong competition from Tipton, Swansea & Morpeth. Whilst the women's team event is shaping up for a classic head to head between defending AAA's 10k champions Arena 80, Bedford & County, Belgrave & Shaftesbury. Can Belgrave sweep the board this year ? Its not too late to join in and spoil their party !"
Well, we didn’t quite sweep the board, but the party was far from spoiled as the Club celebrated its best ever day as far as combined men’s and women’s running performances were concerned.
Conditions deteriorated from being sunny and still at 8am to those of occasional light rain at race time, with a breeze which proved to be more of a nuisance than an out and out hindrance; you know the sort of thing – against on the long drag out to the turn and then no help at all on the trip back. The course was described as flat but there were certainly one or two rises that had the support team blowing.
Some 4,000 runners gathered between the warm coloured Georgian buildings that line each side of broad Great Pulteney Street and on the stroke of 11am they were sent on their way. With £1000 on offer for a win plus an identical figure for a course record it soon became very serious at the sharp end of the contest. After a mile and a half the field had settled down but a large cluster of runners had already detached itself at the front with Paul Evans and Kassa Tadesse near its head and Mike Trees bringing up its rear. Then came a short break before Al Stewart led the main field across the Avon and up into town before heading out along the Avon valley. Already Anne Hegvold was our leading female, looking so at home on the roads after a winter of cross country.
As reported elsewhere, Mike Trees had been suffering from the after effects of a crash on his bike sustained while triathlon training and, unhappily, although he had come through some fierce competition soon after the smash, his knee was now giving him a few problems. By six miles the leading group had thinned and Mike was suffering more than most. There was absolutely no problem with his breathing, it was just that cursed knee. Al Stewart was pulling him back now and Charles Herrington, minus his claret bandana was also working his way through. Up to about 13th in the women’s race, Juliette Clark was looking stronger as the distance unwound and Anne continued to go “great guns” ahead. Around about the 20s Mathilde Heaton looked very comfortable but unfortunately for us is not yet eligible to score in claret & gold. Erica Fogg was closing in our women’s team but didn’t seem to be running with her normal fluency.
Through town again with the pulsating band of drummers hammering the runners out onto their second lap. Mike Trees wisely called it a day before doing himself any more damage and Charlie was swiftly made aware that he was now closing in the team as fourth man – and didn’t he just relish that responsibility. It was obvious that there wasn’t going to be another male team to touch us on this day – and we still had Lee Hurst, Knut Hegvold and Mike Kazimierski in the wings. The women’s race was much closer to call but as our supporters made their way back to Great Pulteney Street for the finish we were at least sure that they were also in the medals.
It was not a day for fast times. Kassa’s training partner William Musyoki enjoyed a hard fought and close victory over Morpeth’s Mark Hudspith but although early intermediate times suggested a sub-63 clocking, the second lap took its toll and all runners seemed to be one and a half to two minutes down on expected times; the course record stayed intact. First veteran and fourth UK runner, our own Paul Evans missed out on automatic selection for the World Cup as he came home 5th. Paul may well get the nod through having a faster qualifying time to his name already. Kassa dawdled across the line half a minute later and when Al (a personal best and thrilled with his medal, if not his time) and Charlie (exhilarated) went under the finish banner we were home and metaphorically dry – AAA Champions.
With Anne and Juliette well up the field and through the finish long before any other club had two home, we held our breath and waited for Erica. But it was none other than Tania Sturton that hove into view next and rapid calculations showed that we seemed to be quite clear of Arena 80. However, it was not to be. A Dulwich runner had come through without being spotted and with a runner right up in third place they had done just enough to deny our women their first ever National team title.
Men: 1 W.Musyoki (Kenya) 64:14; 2 M.Hudspith (Morpeth) 64:17; 3 C.Thackery (Hallamshire) 64:28; 5 P.Evans 64:47; 6 K.Tadesse 65:19; 17 A.Stewart 68:40; 26 C.Herrington 69:41; 32 L.Hurst 70:56; 46, K.Hegvold 72:29; 71 M.Kazimierski 75:14; M.Trees dnf.
Team: 1 Belgrave H; 2 Leeds City AC; 3 Westbury H.
Women: 1 J.Lodge (Windsor SE&H) 74:01; 2 S.Dixon (Parkside) 75:14; 3 A.Fletcher (Dulwich R) 76:07; 8 A.Hegvold 79:28; 10 J.Clark 81:17; 19 M.Heaton (n/s) 85:35; T.Sturton 90:39; E.Fogg; J.Lawrence. Official times and positions not yet available.
Team: 1 Dulwich R; 2 Belgrave H; 3 Arena 80.
Juliette Clark, Tania Sturton and Anne Hegvold - AAA Silver Medallists. Photo by Patricia Mead
Fast 5k times in spite of the wind - Bels. win but Mark Miles just misses record bonus
Solent 5kms, Ocean Village, Southampton, 10 March 2002.
With the wind strength chalked up on the nearby Harbourmaster’s Board as 6 or 7 (moderate gale) and to the accompanying metallic cacophony of the masts in the nearby marina being lashed by their rigging, a classy field lined up for Team Solent’s 5k promotion. Steve Sharp has a winning record around this course but was not going to find it easy with Rod Finch (Southampton Runners), Angus Maclean (Team Solent) and our own Mark Miles among the throng.
With the sounding of the klaxon Belgrave vests were immediately prominent and within the first kilometre Sharp and Miles went clear with, perhaps, Steve looking the more comfortable as they made the most of the wind at their backs. The three kilometre point was reached in a speedy 8:20 but as the field returned they had to bear more and more of the gale against them. The next kilometre took around three minutes and then, into the very worst of the wind, it was Mark Miles, pushing on away from his club mate in an attempt to crack the course record and pick up the £100 bonus. He had 14:23 to beat and as he entered the finish area he tore across the final stretch with one eye on the clock and the other on the line – 14:20, 14:21, 14:22 – missed it! Or rather equalled it – but as far as the bonus was concerned, it was gone.
It was a great run from Steve too who ran his fastest ever time around the course and set a 5k road personal best. Al Stewart also had a cracking run with no easing down for the event, setting himself up nicely for the Bath Half Marathon the following week, and it was great to see Kevin Nash back in action. Both these men put some fine runners behind them and it was a shame that the wind cost them all 15-20 seconds
Maria Sharp’s preparation for the race was not all that it might have been as she had suffered a bout of food poisoning during the preceding week. Shaftesbury’s Lucy Elliott was a clear winner with Maria finishing 17 seconds down on Wells City Harrier Jane Livings.
Men: 1 M.Miles (Belgrave) 14:23; 2 S.Sharp 14:30; 3 R.Finch (Southampton R) 14:58; 5 A.Stewart 15:12; 6 K.Nash 15:18.
Team: 1 Belgrave H 14; 2 Southampton R 35; 3 Southampton University 71.
Women: 1 L.Elliott (Shaftesbury Barnet H) 16:24; 3 M.Sharp 17:42.