belgrave harriers
Road Running & Cross Country Index
Men's reports by Alan Mead, women's by Catherine Eastham
Road Running & Cross Country Team Events, July to October 2002
Full result Pictures Statistics
AAA Men’s 6 Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, 26 October 2002.
Awesome! AAA National Six Stage Title Retained
Race day dawned: an island of bright but blustery weather in an ocean of autumnal storms so severe that the following day’s Young Athletes relays were cancelled. The painful business of selecting a team from a squad whose depth is the true reason for our recent success was over and it was Will Cockerell who manfully played the part of travelling reserve when he’d have given his right arm to be among the six men bearing our colours around Sutton Park as defending champions and favourites. Favourites? Well, maybe, but none of our crew were counting chickens and although Birchfield and Tipton were now rumoured to be not quite so strong as we’d expected, Morpeth Harriers & AC were suddenly being touted as main challengers with both Hudspith brothers and some of their young lions in attendance.
A previously predicted finish time of some minute or so faster than our 2001 clocking, set in more benign conditions, was being revised as nigh on 70 men toed the line in the swirling wind. Last minute instructions - the gun - the race was on.
Stage 1
Amid the hurly burly of the charge down the slope, the slight figure of 20 year-old Richard Ward could be seen, holding his ground and staking his claim for a favourable position for the first climb. Richard had been given the responsibility of bringing us back in the top dozen and he did his job perfectly. Woodford’s new man Cathal Lombard, second-placer in the recent Reebok race at Liverpool, held a clear lead after the first lap but only 17 seconds later came Chester-le-Street’s Stewy Bell, heading a pack of fifteen men all within the space of little more than 30 seconds - and among them “Wardy” in 10th. Morpeth had started impressively but Birchfield were well off the pace in 37th.
1 Woodford Green &EL AC 17:08; 2 Chester-le-Street 17:25; 3 Morpeth H&AC 17:28; 4 Tipton H 17:32; 5 Highgate H 17:38; 6 Newham & Essex B 17:42; ... 10 Belgrave H 17:48.
Fastest: F.Lombard (Woodford Green &EL AC) 17:08; S.Bell (Chester-le-Street) 17:25; T.Ranger (Morpeth H&AC) 17:28; I.Mitchell (Tipton H) 17:32; B.Pochee (Highgate H) 17:38; D.Mitchinson (Newham & Essex B) 17:42; ... R.Ward (Belgrave H) 17:48.
Stage 2
Road relay men in form love stage two and the chance to use the men ahead to pull themselves to a fast time; this time it was Stephen Sharp’s turn. Steve hasn’t felt quite himself recently, suffering from regular headaches, but at least it doesn’t seem to be affecting his running. Swiftly making ground on men ahead, Steve caught Warmby of Newham and together they reeled in everyone and closed right down on Morpeth before the Essex Beagle dug deep to give his club a sniff of the scent at the front of the pack. Our man’s fine run meant that we were a mere 15 seconds off the front as Spen was sent on his way. Birchfield rose 19 places through their international O’Callaghan but were still languishing in 18th.
1 Newham & Essex B (+5) 35:04; 2 Morpeth H&AC (+1) 35:15; 3 Belgrave H (+7) 35:19; 4 Tipton H (0) 35:29; 5 Salford H (+3) 35:33; 6 Woodford Green &EL AC (-5) 35:35.
Fastest: C.Davies (Telford AC) 17:18; M.Warmby (Newham & Essex B) 17:22; S.Sharp (Belgrave H) 17:31; T.Humphries (Cannock &S AC) 17:32; M.Coleman (Medway &M AC) 17:35.
Stage 3
This man is dangerous! Having asked the TM what the predicted time was for his own run, Spen snorted and pointed out forcefully that he’d be back 15 seconds before expected. Cruising the contours of Sutton Park for all the world like a computer programmed cruise missile, he re-enacted his role in the Spring’s 12 Stage Relay and having caught the teams ahead took Belgrave into a lead which just kept on growing. A 15 second deficit became a 55 second advantage as Tipton moved into second and Birchfield came up another twelve to break into the top six.
1 Belgrave H (+2) 52:31; 2 Tipton H (+2) 53:26; 3 Morpeth H&AC (-1) 53:27; 4 Salford H&AC (+1) 53:33; 5 Newham & Essex B (-4) 53:49; 6 Birchfield H (+12) 53:59.
Fastest: S.Barden (Belgrave H) 17:12; J.Moorhouse (Birchfield H) 17:23; B.Tickner (Wells City H) 17:32; D.Bannister (Shaftesbury Barnet H) 17:36; N.Goodliffe (Holmfirth H) 17:37; A.Jones (Cardiff AAC) 17:40.
Stage 4
Allen Graffin relished the chance of a run alongside Aldershot’s young star Chris Thompson but we weren’t giving him that option, sending him out with clear road ahead and behind. It was solo running all the way for the Bels. now, not an easy task in that wind. Morpeth, Salford and Birchfield all moved up at the expense of Tipton with some of the day’s fastest runs and great credit is due to Thompson who ended up as the day’s fastest, the only man to go sub-17 and just a shade quicker than Haughian and Farah from 2001. Meanwhile, Allen G ploughed a lonely furrow up front, running to 6th fastest of the day and not seeing another runner until he encountered Mark Miles, waiting patiently for him at the takeover.
1 Belgrave H (0) 1:09:46; 2 Morpeth H&AC (+1) 1:10:30; 3 Salford H&AC (+1) 1:11:05; 4 Birchfield H (+2) 1:11:16; 5 Tipton H (-3) 1:11:18; 6 Aldershot F&D AC (+10) 1:11:43.
Fastest: C.Thompson (Aldershot F&D AC) 16:53; I.Hudspith (Morpeth H&AC) 17:03; Allen Graffin (Belgrave H) 17:15; R.Birchall (Birchfield H) 17:17; J.Brown (Salford H&AC) 17:32; J.Brooks (London Irish AC) 17:47.
Stage 5
Birchfield switched with Salford to move into the medals for the first time and our old friend Stuart Major took the Beagles up a place to 6th but way down the road Mark was Miles ahead. The Belgrave man had deliberately missed the previous week’s Reebok Cross due to a head cold but now, back in top line, his devastating front run upped our lead by a further minute and more. With no-one to chase, Mark’s was the equal third fastest of the day and his run earned him a GB international vest over 10k in the forthcoming Ekiden Relay in Chiba, Japan.
1 Belgrave H (0) 1:26:54; 2 Morpeth H&AC (0) 1:28:44; 3 Birchfield H (+1) 1:29:04; 4 Salford H&AC (-1) 1:29:36; 5 Tipton H (0) 1:29:40; 6 Newham & Essex B (+1) 1:29:54.
Fastest: M.Miles (Belgrave H) 17:08; N.Talbot (Notts AC) 17:25; R.Denmark (Basildon AC) 17:44; C.McLoughlin (Birchfield H) 17:48; S.Major (Newham & Essex B) 18:01; I.Hollingsworth (Morpeth H&AC) 18:14.
Stage 6
Strategically placed as last man in the team should a sprint finish be required, David Anderson admitted to finding it difficult to get fired up in a big way when the Belgrave lead was approaching two minutes. It did give him a chance to work on his finishing flourish though, and he crossed the line pointing skywards as the cameras flashed and the Belgrave supporters celebrated. Perhaps we can give him an earlier run next time out. The medal positions remained unchanged over that last circuit, although Salford’s Wilkinson earned the fastest run of the lap as he tried to have a crack at Birchfield in bronze - but you’ve got to feel pleased for Darius Burrows of the Birmingham based club who has fought back from life threatening illness to take his place in medal winning teams again.
The winning margin did stretch to two minutes exactly by the end and we were a minute faster than the previous year, now owning the two fastest team times over the recently extended course. It was a great achievement. To win in 2001 and earn our first major title in 50 years was something of a shock. To come back a year later as favourites, having picked up other titles in between, and successfully defend – now that shows that we have truly arrived as a road running club to be respected.
Many thanks to all who supported the team – especially Bill Laws whose cellar will need restocking if he keeps supplying the bubbly, Gordon Biscoe and Alan Black who helped erect the tent and then lent their expertise to Salford Harriers who were trying to get theirs up – and of course Pat who spent Thursday night baking cakes and Saturday brewing tea and coffee.
1 Belgrave H (0) 1:44:24; 2 Morpeth H&AC (0) 1:46:24; 3 Birchfield H (0) 1:46:52; 4 Salford H&AC (0) 1:47:01; 5 Newham & Essex B (+1) 1:48:01; 6 Tipton H (-1) 1:48:09.
Fastest: N.Wilkinson (Salford H&AC) 17:25; D.Anderson 17:30; J.Thie (Cardiff AAC) 17:36; M.Hudspith (Morpeth H&AC) 17:40; D.Burrows (Birchfield H) 17:48; K.Stone (Newham & Essex B) 18:07.
68 teams started; 64 teams finished (including 1 non-scoring team).
Course distance: 5,847 metres.
Fastest
legs of the day: 1 C.Thompson (Aldershot F&D AC) 16:53; 2 I.Hudspith
(Morpeth H&AC) 17:03; =3 M.Miles (Belgrave H) and F.Lombard
(Woodford Green &EL AC) 17:08; 5 S.Barden (Belgrave H) 17:12; 6
Allen Graffin (Belgrave H) 17:15; 7 R.Birchall (Birchfield H) 17:17; 8
C.Davies (Telford AC) 17:18; 9 M.Warmby (Newham & Essex B) 17:22; 10
J.Moorhouse (Birchfield H) 17:23.
Full result Pictures Statistics
AAA Women’s 4 Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, 26 October 2002.
Belles build on the Sutton Park tradition
With the men’s team hoping to retain the 6-stage title, the women’s team’s sights were set slightly lower. In only their second ever attempt at the National 4-stage the goal was to finish in the top 12. Having placed 7th in the previous year, we knew that the team this time round was missing a number of key athletes. Still, the fact that the team has managed to compete well at this level and have interest from Athletics Weekly, wanting to know our women’s team race order, shows how far things are already progressing.
Stage 1
Last year Getenesh Tamirat was unable to score for Belgrave as she awaited clearance, but this time round she set off on the first leg settling easily into the fast pace needed as 82 teams headed off round the windy course. By the Jubilee Stone reports came back that she was running strongly in 4th, a position she maintained through to the end of the lap. It was the Belles fastest time of the day and 5 seconds quicker than 2001 - a great run from Getenesh.
1 Salford H&AC 14:22; 2 City of Glasgow 14:34; 3 Dartford H 14:39; 4 Belgrave H 14:51; 5 Tipton H 14:56; 6 Coventry Godiva H 15:05.
Fastest: L.Heyes (Salford H&AC) 14:22; S.Partridge (City of Glasgow) 14:34; A Green (Dartford H) 14:39; G.Tamirat (Belgrave H) 14:51; J.Groves (Tipton H) 14:56; M.Baker (Coventry Godiva H) 15:05.
Stage 2
With Dartford only having a first leg runner, Louise Cooper headed off down the course in 3rd place. We knew there would be places lost on this leg but warned Louise to run her own race and not to start off way too fast. As the field around chopped and changed, Louise’s focus on longer distances started to show and, heavy legged, she finished in 25th place some 30 seconds down on expectations.
1 Tipton H (+4) 30:07; 2 Salford H&AC (-1) 30:12; 3 City of Glasgow (-1) 30:15; 4 Windsor SE&H AC (+11) 30:18; 5 Chester-le-Street (+9) 30:21; 6 Coventry Godiva H (0) 30:28 ... 25 Belgrave H (-21) 32:25.
Fastest: J.Lodge (Windsor SE&H AC) 14:45; M.McDonnell (Chester-le-Street) 14:49; L.Wright (Leeds City) 14:53; K.Scales (Tipton H) 15:11; L.Wood (Bedford &C AC) 15:12; K.Thomas (Coventry Godiva H) 15:23 ... L.Cooper 17:34.
Stage 3
Next up was Vicky Edwards who had earlier indicated that her left leg felt a bit tight but had written it off as pre-race paranoia. Unfortunately though, the tightness came back to haunt Vicky in the race, and her performance was 20 seconds or so down on expectations. Still, Vicky had managed to pull back a place and hopefully the injury won’t affect next week’s half marathon. Meanwhile, WSE&H had moved into a medal position, with Hayley Yelling set to run the last leg…
1 Tipton H (0) 44:43; 2 Salford H&AC (0) 45:22; 3 Windsor SE&H AC (+1) 45:25; 4 City of Glasgow (-1) 45:50; 5 Shaftesbury Barnet H (+9) 45:59; 6 Wakefield &D (+4) 46:06; ... 24 Belgrave H (+1) 49:15.
Fastest: L.Elliott (Shaftesbury Barnet H) 14:36; D.Robinson (Tipton H) 14:36; A.Hoban (Wakefield &D) 14:59; L.Mawer (Bingley H&AC) 15:05; C.Dickie (Windsor SE&H AC) 15:07; B.Jenkins (Salford H&AC) 15:10; ... V.Edwards 16:50.
Stage 4
The final leg saw Maria Sharp absolutely flying for the Belles. Back to her previous good form Maria took the bit between her teeth and set about picking off the runners in front. Finishing three seconds faster than last year’s time Maria managed to bring the Belles back into 15th place; and although a couple of places down on expectations, 15th was an incredible achievement and another indication that the women’s team is going to go on and achieve great things on the road.
Hayley Yelling, meanwhile, clocked the fastest leg of the day to bring WSE&H back in gold medal positions, having set off 39 seconds down and finishing 26 seconds clear of Tipton. Bristol stayed in the medals again this year, with K Reed gaining 5 places with the third fastest leg of the day.
1 Windsor SE&H AC (+2) 59:40; 2 Tipton H (-1) 1:00:06; 3 Bristol AC (+5) 1:00:53; 4 City of Glasgow (0) 1:01:07; 5 Bedford &C AC (+2) 1:01:08; 6 Salford H&AC (-4) 1:01:12; ... 15 Belgrave H (+9) 1:04:41.
Fastest: H.Yelling (Windsor SE&H AC) 14:15; 2 K.Reed (Bristol AC) 14:31; D.Hennigan (Chester-le-Street) 14:32; S.Morris (Bedford &C AC) 14:53; K.Wilder (City of Glasgow) 15:17; E.Phillips (Tipton H) 15:23; ... M.Sharp 15:26
82 teams started; 71 teams finished.
Course distance: 4,134 metres.
Fastest
legs of the day: 1 H.Yelling (Windsor SE&H AC) 14:15; 2 L.Heyes (Salford
H&AC) 14:22; 3 K.Reed (Bristol AC) 14:31; 4 D.Hennigan
(Chester-le-Street) 14:32; 5 S.Partridge (City of Glasgow) 14:34; =6
L.Elliott (Shaftesbury Barnet H) and D.Robinson (Tipton H) 14:36; 8
A.Green (Dartford H) 14:39; 9 J.Lodge (Windsor SE&H AC) 14:45; 10
M.McDonnell 14:49; 11 G.Tamirat (Belgrave H) 14:51.
European Champion Clubs Cup Half Marathon, Lisbon, Portugal, 19 October 2002.
Long, hot and hilly in Lisbon
Entry to this race was earned through winning the AAA Half Marathon back in March and in extremely hot and sultry conditions Belgrave’s road runners placed 9th in their first foray onto mainland Europe in many a year. Lee Hurst and Charles Herrington made strong starts but it was the men who showed a little more respect for the conditions who came through as the race wore on. Knut Hegvold judged it to perfection while Will Cockerell, emphasising his great form by being first Belgravian home, wondered if he might have set out just a tad too gently. Roger Alsop was third man in for the Bels while Alaster Stewart, returning from injury, closed in the team.
The course was very hilly and reportedly over length, each member of the team being some 4 or 5 minutes slower than expected - even the great Antonio Pinto only ran 70:00!
1 J.Moyren (Vodaphone Guadalajara) 65:13; 32 W.Cockerell 73:01; 34 K.Hegvold 73:53; 36 R.Alsop 74:19; 42 A.Stewart 75:12; 48 C.Herrington 76:46; 56 L.Hurst 79:48. Teams: 1 GDR Corforlimpa 20; 2 Carabinieri Bologna 30; 3 Maratona CP 56; 9 Belgrave H 144.
Plate Competition Top Home Index
Women’s Surrey CC League Division One, Match 1, Epsom Downs 12 October 2002.
Great start on the Downs for newly promoted Belles
With heavy rain overnight and early into the morning, it didn’t look too promising for the first race of the cross country season. Still, by the time spikes were donned, the weather had cleared and a large field of senior and vet athletes were raring to go.
With new rules about race safety it was essential that there were enough race marshals on the course, particularly as no-one seemed familiar with the course. The course itself seemed considerably longer than the usual league distance, with estimates at 6.5 – 7 km, which over the undulating Downs made for tough going.
There were a few organisational hitches too, with a 10 minute delay to the start as marshals were put into place and then at the end, many of the athletes weren’t directed into the finishing funnel until they’d almost run past it. But compared to previous years with youngsters going off-course, at least this first match ended without tears.
That almost wasn’t the case for Getenesh Tamirat though. Towards the end of the first large lap she was in second position. There seemed to be some miscommunication as a race marshal told her she was on the last bit, which Getenesh interpreted as being the end of the race. Picking up pace, spectators watched her take the lead and practically sprint to the end of the first lap, stopping for breath as she crossed what she thought was the finish line. Urged to carry on for another lap Getenesh’s confusion was apparent and picking up again for the second shorter lap her weariness could be seen by all. She carried on though and although she didn’t maintain the lead, with Thames Hare & Hound’s Dorothea Lee taking that honour, Getenesh did finish a strong second. Disappointment for her, but a great placing for the team.
Maria Sharp, back to fitness after a summer recovering from illness, was also on top form (despite underestimating the length of the course by one and a half miles!). At the end of the first lap, she led a group of four athletes, and despite still suffering from congestion was clearly comfortable with the pace. Finishing in 6th place, Maria managed to lose a couple of the earlier group and was pleased with her strong running.
With Tania Sturton coming through in 10th position, closely followed by Angela Walker, the team’s placing was looking good. We knew we weren’t going to win, with Thames Hare & Hounds finishing in 1st, 3rd, 4th, 33rd and 39th, but depending on our fifth runners’ position, we could gain second place. Not bad for a newly promoted club which was missing a large number of its top athletes.
New member Jan Whittington was our fifth runner home, happy to be in the points in her first outing in Belgrave colours. This brought the team home in 3rd place, with South London just one point ahead.
Late news: It seems that the TH&H 3rd placed runner was a non-scorer and once she was taken out of the result, Thames dropped back to 7th with South London now taking the lead and Belgrave just a point down.
The youngsters didn’t quite have as much success, with only Kirsty Burns turning out for the U13’s and sprinter Holly Gates for the U15’s. Still, the girls dug in over the one lap course and came home in 11th and 25th respectively.
1 South London H 82; 2 Belgrave H 83; 3 Ranelagh H 114; 4 Dulwich Runners 120; ... 18 Belgrave H B 439.
1 D.Lee (Thames H&H) 26.03; 2 G.Tamirat (Belgrave) 26:20; 3 L.Hassells (Thames H&H) 27:24; 6 M.Sharp 28:04; 10 T.Sturton 29:10; 12 A.Walker 29:17; 53 J.Whittington 33:37; 66 D.Hearn 35:18; 82 J.Poloni 38:00; 83 N.Mills 38:13; 94 division one athletes finished.
Plate Competition Top Home Index
“Sweatshop” Men’s Surrey CC League Division One, Race 1, Brockwell Park, 12 October 2002
A creditable opener - but 110 points adrift
Acting Team Manager Gordon Biscoe took a trip down memory lane as he found himself back in the land of team declaration sheets and speaking politely to AW correspondent Martin Duff while our regular TM was unavoidably absent at a family function. Many thanks to Gordon for stepping into the breach.
We were also missing a great many of our regular scoring team as the Chicago Marathon and the following week’s activities in the European Clubs Half Marathon Championship and the Reebok Cross Series also caused this match to be given a miss. So, all in all, this can be counted a creditable opener in which some new names worked their way into the scoring ten and we found ourselves “only” 110 points adrift of Thames. Conditions were windy and there had been overnight drizzle but further promised rain did not materialise.
Stephen Sharp, one of our few regular A team man in the Park, was always comfortably in control of the trio which worked themselves clear of the field after the first lap, but yet again Will Cockerell was opening a few eyes with his forward running just 50 metres behind this group. Will had his best ever training session the previous Tuesday, all but holding our own Dave Anderson until the last rep., and is now on the verge of breaking into “National” team status. Great running too from Padraic Buckley, 10th in his first ever Surrey League race and promising to be one of the cornerstones of our future teams. It was also first time in the scoring squad for 18 year-old Jonathan Blackledge and triathlete Rob Tubbs.
Can we get back to the Thames Hare & Hounds Boys? Next match will tell – it’s on their home patch at Putney Vale on the far side of the Common in five weeks time.
Great running came from Dale Seddon to head the younger age groups race and lead Belgrave to a team win in the U17/U15 section.
1 Thames Hare & Hounds 186; 2 Herne Hill H 245; 3 Belgrave H 296; 4 South London H 419; 5 Reigate Priory AC 521; 6 Dulwich Runners 632; 7 Guildford & Godalming AC 638; 8 Aldershot F&D AC 658.
1 S.Sharp (Belgrave H) 23:07; 2 E.Prickett (Reigate Priory) 23:18; 3 S.Major (South London H) 23:21; 4 W.Cockerell (Belgrave H) 23:45; 5 N.Altmann (Thames H&H) 23:51; 6 M.Normington (Herne Hill H) 23:58; 10 P.Buckley 24:12; 12 K Nash 24:18; 16 J. Blackledge (U20) 24:28; 20 K.Hegvold (M40) 24:40; 50 B.Barton 25:12; 57 R.Tubbs 24:34; 68 C.Dickenson (M50) 26:55; 77 S.Zealey 27:18; 80 S.Kennefick 27:29; 84 R.Poulter 27:34; 101 R.Marcus 28:21; 102 P.Tarpey 28:22; 120 P.Carstairs 29:22; 147 J.Singh 33:06; 151 R.Bale 34:43; 157 M.Graham 37:09; dnf W.Lynch; 158 finished.
Under 17/Under 15
1 Belgrave 30; 2 Herne Hill H 69; 3 Guildford & Godalming 105; 4 South London H 122; 5 Ranelagh H 125.
1 D.Seddon (Belgrave) 13:06; 7 E.Rimdap 14:50; 8 R.Collier 14:52; 10 P.Cowling 15:15; 11 N.Ambrose 15:18; 12 S.Stephens 15:19.
Under 13
1 South London H 19; 2 Ranelagh H 90; 3 Belgrave H 102; 4 Guildford & Godalming 110; 5 Dulwich R 114.
1 P.Humphrey (South London H) 13:57; 5 A.Graham 15:10; 7 T.Ashby 15:27.
South of England AA Women’s 4 x 3851m Road Relay, Rushmoor Arena, nr. Aldershot, 29 September 2001.
Two Belgrave teams complete Women's SEAA Road Relay
In warm and sunny conditions, Belgrave managed to complete two teams for the first time ever. Originally it was thought that this was the first time we had completed a team at all but Helen Alsop reminded us, and records showed, that back in the winter of 1993, Helen Alsop (Maskrey), Morag Andrews and Gabby Collison completed a team in what was then a 3-stage relay. Their times were 13.59, 14.09 and 13.19 respectively which, if the course is comparable, puts the girls right at the top of our list of fastest stage runners.
Although this wasn’t our strongest team, expectations based on the previous year had us hoping for a top ten place. Unfortunately, the good weather saw many strong teams in action and the competition was far tougher than expected. There was no Paula Radcliffe this year, but Hayley Yelling pulled off the fastest leg of the day for WSEH with 12.28.
On the first leg Getenesh Tamirat took off with the lead group. Having gone off too fast last year she was determined to pace herself better this time and at the halfway stage was in a group of four chasing Sharon Morris of Bedford, who by now had a dominant lead. True to her word Getenesh picked up the pace and was just pipped to third place in the finishing straight. Knocking 10 seconds off her time from last year, she was our fastest runner of the day. In the B team, Helen Alsop showed that she is quickly regaining her form with a very strong 15.13 run, bringing the B team round in 40th place.
Leg 2 saw Tania Sturton go for the A team and Louise Cooper for the B’s. Tania’s had a difficult summer but after a great run in the Surrey relays, looked on target for a fast time. The course was tough, however, and battling stomach cramps throughout, Tania brought the team back in 14th place, with a 15.12 run. Louise’s run for the B’s saw her pull back 7 places, bringing the team into 33rd place. It had been thought that this might have been too short a race for Louise to excel, being more of a marathon runner (although most of the team also are!). However, having been a 400m runner in her youth, the 3888m course suited her well.
By now Bedford had a clear lead, and there would be no-one coming close to them. There was still a battle for second and third, with Arena and Belgrave from stage one being replaced by Medway and Bideford on stage two. Stage three would see Bideford pick up to 2nd, with Havant now in bronze medal contention. Meanwhile, the Belles had just released Syreeta Stracey for the A team and Jo Poloni for the B’s. Syreeta had battled with injuries throughout the summer but the Rushmoor course saw her flying. The short undulating course really suited Syreeta’s strong style of running and she looked relaxed and comfortable throughout. Despite picking up a place by the halfway stage, she finished the leg in 14th still, with our second fastest leg of the day in 14.52. For Jo, it was a much tougher ordeal but in only her second outing for the road running team she put her head down and dug in, determined to do her part for our first ever B team.
By stage four, a top ten place was out of reach for the Belles. Angela Walker, one of our strong triathletes, set off in what were by now very warm conditions. Unfortunately she also had to face a number of exceedingly fast last leg runners who overtook her by the top of the hill. Despite this, she hung on and didn’t let this knock her from her own race, coming home in 15.30 to give the Belles their first 4-stage team position of 16th.
Jacqui Smiter, who had only come along to help drive a number of the team and who had suffered from knee problems this past year, volunteered to finish off the B team in last leg. On the basis that if she finished we would have two full teams, and if she didn’t, then we’d lost nothing, this seemed like a good idea. Cheered on by the girls, Jacqui battled through the course to bring the B team home in 51st place. Well done Jacqui and co.
1 Bedford & County AC 52:58; 2 Bideford AAC 53:47; 3 Headington RR 55:12; 16 Belgrave H ‘A’ 58:52; 51 Belgrave H ‘B’ 69:40; 63 teams started and 54 finished
A – G.Tamirat (3) 13:18; T.Sturton (14) 15:12; S.Stracey (14) 14:52; A.Walker (16) 15:30.
B – H.Alsop (40) 15:13; L.Cooper (33) 15:09; J.Poloni (47) 18:52; J.Smiter (51) 20:26.
Fastest: 1 H.Yelling (Windsor SE&H) 12:28; 2 S.Morris (Bedford & County AC 12:42; 3 M.Pannett (Dulwich R) 12:55; 9 G.Tamirat (Belgrave H) 13:18.
South of England AA Men’s 6 x 6 kms Road Relay, Rushmoor Arena, nr. Aldershot, 28 September 2002.
SEAA 6 Stage falls to the Bels.
Although we were turning out a more powerful team than in any previous year and hoped for a first ever win in this event, we still considered Windsor to be favourites with the “Beagles” also predicted to push us hard. Selection was difficult: Will Cockerell and Roger Alsop had both run into good recent form while the fitness of Lee Hurst, a powerful starter for us on previous occasions, was unknown. As it turned out, the selectors got it dead right. The team ran a good half minute faster than expected while our rivals, missing international Sam Haughian, proved to be not so strong as we thought. A thrilling race finally saw the Bels take the title by a whopping one and a half minute margin.
All four major road relay trophies are now in Belgrave hands. Has a club ever achieved this before? Perhaps Blackheath Harriers might have accomplished it.
Spencer
Barden, Stephen Sharp,
Paul Freary and Roger Alsop (standing),
with Will Cockerell and David Anderson.
SEAA 6 Stage Winners 2002.
Photo by Patricia Mead
Sparks were predicted on stage one with Lee Hurst, opening for the Bs, intent on showing that he had the beating of Will, kicking off for the As. Will had run a forceful opener in the Surrey race and might have been expected to go to 18:50 here at Rushmoor Arena but, confidence growing with every outing, Billy the Kid shot for a more difficult target – and hit it. Lee was convinced that Will would “blow up” but those Alan Storey sessions at Kingsmeadow have paid dividends and close to a minute was cut from Will’s previous best for the circuit.
Spencer Barden now revelled in the situation put before him. Ipswich led us by about 25 seconds but the Belgrave man set his steely gaze on each rival in turn and relentlessly reeled them in until he went ahead at the end of his first lap and then spent the next tour of the course putting a buffer of a further 25 seconds between the Bels. and the team moving into second spot, Medway & Maidstone. Windsor had moved up to 4th while the “Beagles” were in 6th. Spen had destroyed our club best for the 5,994 metre course by 27 seconds. Young Jonathan Blackledge kept the B team moving forward and at the end of the second stage they were way up in 10th spot, right among the A squads from some illustrious clubs.
In earnest training for the Chicago Marathon, stage three man Paul Freary had the bad luck to twang an Achilles tendon on one of the short sharp rises and one hopes that no serious damage has been done. Nevertheless, Paul kept up the pressure and as he approached the takeover zone to hand on to Roger Alsop perhaps the most important statistic was that our lead over Windsor, in 4th, was about 1 minute – almost precisely the expected difference between Roger’s anticipated time and that of Windsor’s next man up, Mohamed Farah!
Talk about pressure. As our Captain sped away, the heavy mob moved out to the line: Mo’ Farah, Aldershot’s Chris Thompson, Newham’s Stuart Major … The stylish Farah ate up the ground but further back Thompson was going even faster and slowly they began to close in on Roger. With half a mile to go the announcer seemed sure that Windsor would be the leading club at the end of the stage but a fighting effort up the final rise kept the blue and yellow vest at bay and as Stephen Sharp set out we still led – albeit by a mere two seconds – but with two strong men to finish our team we felt we’d got it.
Immediately opening up the gap again, Stephen was pursued around the course, not by a rival racer but by Maria Sharp whose vocal encouragement left Steve in no doubt about what he was expected to do. He did it alright. A winning lead became so comfortable that one would have forgiven anchor man Dave Anderson for taking an easy run to victory but our last man was looking for confirmation that his training had been going well and was in no mood for a jog. With no-one to chase and the nearest man way back down the road Dave turned on our second fastest run of the day.
1 Belgrave H 1:49:56; 2 Medway & Maidstone AC 1:51:28; 3 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:51:37; 22 Belgrave H ‘B’ 1:58:03; 91 teams started and 74 finished.
A – W.Cockerell (6) 18:33; S.Barden (1) 17:54; P.Freary (1) 18:29; R.Alsop (1) 18:48; S.Sharp (1) 18:10; David Anderson (1) 18:02.
B – L.Hurst (13) 18:51; J.Blackledge (10) 19:07; P.Buckley (16) 19:47; K.Hegvold (14) 19:11; L.Greatorex (18) 20:30; B.Barton (22) 20:37.
C – H.Corbett (91) 24:32; P.Tarpey (85) 22:03; Don Anderson (83) 24:25.
Fastest: 1 C.Thompson (Aldershot F&D AC) 17:29; =2 M.Farah (Windsor SE&H) and A.Whiteman (Shaftesbury Barnet H) 17:49; 3 S.Barden (Belgrave H) 17:54; 8 David Anderson (Belgrave H) 18:02; 13 S.Sharp (Belgrave H) 18:10.
Surrey County AA Road Relays, Wimbledon Park, 14 September 2002.
Silver Bels and Cockerell excels
Women's team in the medals again
With a team not as strong as in recent years it was thought that our men’s squad might struggle to get into the medals but the irrepressible Will Cockerell treated us to a display of pure Will Power on stage 1 as he ran to a time of 14:17 – the second fastest ever run on this circuit in a claret and gold vest. Third into the take-over area behind Herne Hill’s non-scoring John Downes and SLH’s Stuart Major, Will has run himself into consideration for an A team slot in the forthcoming Southern 6-Stage. New man Peter Fallenius, running for the Bs, headed the field after half a mile but then hit calf muscle problems that had him hobbling the rest of the way home while Vicky Edwards gave the women’s team a solid start of 4th place in her first ever team run in Belgrave colours.
Stage two saw marathon lady Angela Walker take the women up a place and at the head of the field Lee Greatorex, dragged into the team on the Friday night, delighted our supporters by running into an unexpected lead ahead of Herne Hill’s scoring team and holders South London Harriers. For the Cs, Padraic Buckley ran a cool 14:50 with no warm-up, his arrival at the venue coinciding with that of the leading first stage runners!
Another Belgravian with marathon aspirations, James Browne was unhappy with himself for letting first place slip away on stage three but he need not have worried as it was a non-scoring Thames outfit that temporarily went ahead by five seconds, with our man reducing his previous best for the course by over half a minute. As if our men’s team don’t have enough opposition, Catherine Eastham’s girls, determined to go one better than the men, took the Belles into the lead in the women’s race thanks to a super run from Syreeta Stracey. A double victory seemed just about possible.
Helen Alsop owns our fastest ever women’s time on the Wimbledon course but had to give way to the fastest woman of the day as South London and Ranelagh squeezed past on the final lap but our girls were delighted to collect bronze medals for the second time in this event.
While Mrs. Alsop was completing the women’s four stage team, husband Roger took the men ahead again and drew ever further away in an attempt to give the last two men in the six lap race enough leeway to hold on for a victory. Roger’s time was just one second down on his best and the leading margin was around 50 seconds as he handed over to an unfit Stephen Kennefick who had not anticipated being thrown into this bubbling cauldron. Stephen worked hard but could not stop the “Hill” from closing to within 30 metres by the end of the stage, leaving new veteran Junior Galley with the unenviable task of holding off a rival known to be considerably faster. Out of the park and up the hill by the All-England tennis courts, Junior was swiftly run down by the man in red and black but then, incredibly, he held on … and on … Inevitably a gap did eventually open but as they entered the finish area our man was a mere 15 seconds down and held that to the end. A redoubtable relay runner, Junior had run a full half minute faster than expected and having seen his finishing powers before one could well believe his first words when he had managed to pick himself up from all fours: “If I could just have held on a little longer and been within five metres of him when we got onto the track, I’d have out-kicked him.
Our men’s silver streak in this race now extends to four successive races.
Men.
1 Herne Hill H 1:29:10; 2 Belgrave H 1:29:24; 3 South London H.
A – W.Cockerell 14:17 (3); L.Greatorex 15:13 (1); J.Browne 14:40 (2); R.Alsop 14:24 (1); S.Kennefick 15:34 (1); J.Galley 15:15 (2).
B – P.Fallenius 15:55 (15); P.Tarpey 16:36 (16); R.Tubbs 15:57 (11); W.Lynch 16:18 (10); M.Webb 16:01; R.Marcus 16:37 (8).
C – A.Cowmeadow 17:47 (17); P.Buckley 14:50 (13).
Veteran M40.
A – C.Dickinson (M50) 15:44 (6); D.Anderson 18:16 (7); H.Corbett 18:39 (7); M.Nouch 17:17 (7).
B – S.Collins 17:21 (11); J.Stone 22:37 (12).
Women.
1 South London H; 2 Ranelagh H; 3 Belgrave H.
A – V.Edwards 17:55 (4); A.Walker 18:51 (3); S.Stracey 18:46 (1); H.Alsop 18:52 (3).
B
– T.Sturton 18:18 (6); Jo Poloni 22:58 (9).
Bradford 10km inc. AAA Championship, Bradford, 8 September 2002
Season starts with AAA Silver
Pre-race publicity stated that the course was predominantly flat – but just tell that to the 147 finishers! Only three men managed to crack 30 minutes and most were reckoned to be operating some 30 to 45 seconds slower than normal – all except Will Cockerell that is, who took getting on for two minutes off his previous best to earn his first ever AAA medal.
An initial 2km loop saw a group of ten runners grab a 10 metre lead over a chasing pack that was headed by Paul Freary. Three Tipton men were in that leading bunch surrounding our own Allen Graffin; with four weeks of very good training under his belt he was now looking to see how it would translate into racing capability. The battle to back up our leading men and provide two more scorers was wide open; Charles Herrington and Knut Hegvold had made strong starts while skipper Roger Alsop found himself 7th Belgravian on the road.
Above. Left - Allen Graffin battles with Julius Kibet (Tipton) and Adrian Mussett (Colchester, 34). Just ahead but out of shot is Matt Smith (Tipton). Behind are Mustapha Muhammed (Sheffield), Julius Kibet (Tipton) and Stewy Bell (Chester-le-Street). Right - Silver medallists Brad Poore, Allen Graffin, Will Cockerell and Paul Freary. Photos by Patricia and Alan Mead.
The first of two trips around longer loop of the course saw little change up front but Will was now solidly entrenched as our third scorer with Brad Poore next, Roger moving through and, in fact, all five of the men in contention to complete our team within sight of each other. Into the final third of the race the two Kenyans and Allen Graffin had opened up a substantial gap over the rest but with a kilometre to go it was the Belgrave man just dropping off the back with Kimtai forcing the pace. Over the brow of the final hill and dropping down to the finish the Tipton boys maintained their advantage but Allen was only ten seconds down in third and as the race ended he kicked himself for not having been able to hold on during that final stage, feeling that his finish would have been good enough to see off anyone. Another week or two and it could very well have been a different story.
Paul Freary’s marathon training stood him in good stead as he maintained his place in the top twelve on this tough course and, exuding confidence, Will Cockerell was never going to be dislodged from his place as third scorer as he battled towards the finish line. Roger Alsop gave all he could in his fight to break into the scoring team but just ahead Brad was similarly intent on holding onto his place – and succeeded.
An injured and frustrated Anne Hegvold looked on as Erica Fogg and Louise Cooper fought their way around the course but needed another runner to close in the team. Erica broke into the prizes by placing in the top 15 and although unhappy with her time, Louise underlined that she’s going to be a key member of our teams – but with one more runner it would have been a second set of silver medals for Belgrave.
Men
1 J.Kimtai (Tipton/Kenya) 29:32; 2 J.Kibet (Tipton/Kenya) 29:34; 3 Allen Graffin (Belgrave) 29:45; 11 P.Freary 31:12; 28 W.Cockerell 32:04; 30 B.Poore 32:14; 33 R.Alsop 32:25; 35 C.Herrington 32:29; 44 K.Hegvold 32:50); 104 finished.
Teams: 1 Tipton H (1, 2, 4, 12) 19; 2 Belgrave H (3, 11, 28, 30) 72; 3 Salford H (10, 20, 24, 29) 83.
Women
1 M.Wangari (Tipton/Kenya) 33:48; 13 E.Fogg 38:51; 32 L.Cooper 41:53; 43 finished.
Nonsuch Park 4 x 2.2 miles Relay, 4 July 2002.
With only twentyfive minutes to go before the start Roger Alsop was lost in another part of the Park, Paul Freary was still on the M25, Warren Lynch was on a bike somewhere between Kingston and Cheam and James Browne had yet to arrive. Supporters John Jeffery and Alan Black were looking decidedly nervous as the Team Manager eyed them up with a view to their doing two legs each – but it all came together and in the end we recorded our sixth consecutive win in the event.
Roger lost a few seconds deciding which way to go on the unmarked course while James had taken the precaution of taking a map with him. Stage three saw Paul Freary going to number three on the all-time list and he celebrated by running stage four as well – to complete the Millenium Group Team that included Thames H&H Team Manager Robin Dickson and South London’s Stuart Major.
1 Belgrave H 43:33 (R.Alsop 10:45; J.Browne 10:51; P.Freary 10:11; W.Lynch 11:46); 2 Epsom & Ewell H 46:32; 3 Sutton Runners 47:43; 49 teams finished. Running for other teams: P.Freary 11:42; Don Anderson 12:37.
Fastest: 1 P.Freary 10:11; 2 S.Major (Millennium/SLH) 10:38; 3 R.Alsop 10:45; 4 J.Browne 10:51