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Road Running & Cross Country Team Events, March - April 2003
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AAA Men’s 12-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, 26 April 2003
They've done it again! National 12-Stage title retained
With five new faces in the team an outsider might have been forgiven for thinking that the Bels were vulnerable. But as we’ve said before, our strength is in our tremendous depth and when one analyses the times it can be seen that the result is not down to outstanding performances by a few men – it’s out and out solid running right the way through the squad with less than a minute covering the short stage men and not much more covering all the long ‘uns. Those five new guys took their chances and did us proud.
It was the first time in a decade that a club had returned to Sutton Park to successfully defend their title – and when you think how tight it was in 2001 (we lost by six seconds) we were oh! so close to pulling off a hat trick. Now when was the last time a club managed that … In fact Tipton had four in a row 1989-92 and they had a treble before that; and then back in the ‘50s and ‘60s South London H, Derby and Coventry Godiva had some huge sequences.
But seriously, let’s take it as it comes, enjoy the present and remember how lucky we are that all this has come together during “our time”.
Below: Al Stewart - only a lapped runner in sight and bearing Belgrave's colours towards the last takeover. Photo by Patricia Mead
Stage 1
Following our recent custom, the previous year’s last stage man was moved onto stage one and Paul Freary enjoyed the company around him to bring us home just 46 seconds off the lead, getting pipped on the line by Salford to give us 10th. Birchfield had opened up strongly with Mike Openshaw and no less than five of the top ten long stage times were set on this initial leg. Newham & Essex had a disaster as Ian Grime obviously had a big problem and could manage no more than 52nd place.
1 Birchfield 26:01; 2 Liverpool 26:03; 3 Chester-le-Street 26:06; 4 Holmfirth 26:07; 5 Notts 26:17; 6 Sale HM 26:22; 10 Belgrave 26:47.
Fastest: 1 M.Openshaw (Birchfield) 26:01; 2 A.O’Connor (Liverpool) 26:03; 3 M.Scaife (Chester-le-Street) 26:06; 4 N.Goodliffe (Holmfirth) 26:07; 5 N.Talbot (Notts) 26:17; 6 S.Bailey (Sale HM) 26:22; 10 P.Freary (Belgrave) 26:47.
Stage 2
Now for some fireworks! Maria Sharp had no sooner finished her opening stage for our women’s team than she was tearing back down the course to urge on her Stephen. Stephen Sharp has been in cracking form and we expected him to move us very close to the lead. He did all that was expected – a fine run – but funnily enough was 3 seconds slower than 2002 and we would have put money on him breaking 14 minutes. As the afternoon wore on Stephen’s time looked better and better, for only three men managed that elusive sub-14 standard, two of them down the field on this stage. We were now just 14 seconds adrift of Birchfield while Tipton and Morpeth were half a minute or so behind but inside the top ten.
1 Birchfield (0) 40:44; 2 Belgrave (+8) 40:58; 3 Sale HM (+3) 41:08; 4 Liverpool (-2) 41:23; 5 Tipton (+2) 41:33; 6 Chester-le-Street (-3) 41:34.
Fastest: 1 C.Davies (Telford) 13:50; 2 C.Livesey (Preston) 13:52; 3 S.Sharp 14:11; 4 M.Whitehouse (Birchfield) 14:43; 5 G.Cuddy (Sale HM) 14:46; =6 D.Duke (Cheltenham), D.Dalmedo (Hillingdon), I.Hollingsworth (Morpeth) 14:58.
Stage 3
Last year Kevin Nash had to pull out of the team with a knee problem. No such bad luck this time as Kevin confirmed his fine run in the Southern event and moved the Bels a couple of seconds closer to Birchfield. Behind it was all-change as Stewy Bell moved Chester-le-Street into the frame. Warmby brought Newham up 18 places but the biggest rise of the day came from fastest man on the stage, Farrow, who brought Derby up 23 places to 28th. It was Nasher’s best run on this course in our colours – but again, strangely, 30 seconds down on what we might have expected.
1 Birchfield (0) 1:07:46; 2 Belgrave (0) 1:07:58; 3 Chester-le-Street (+3) 1:08:51; 4 Sunderland (+8) 1:08:56; 5 Notts (+2) 1:08:59; 6 Coventry G (+4) 1:09:01.
Fastest: 1 K.Farrow (Derby) 26:13; 2 M.Warmby (Newham &EB) 26:22; 3 M.Skinner (Blackheath) 26:46; 4 D.Bannister (Shaftesbury B) 26:49; =5 J.Ward (Hallamshire) & M.Hood (Sunderland) 26:53; 7 K.Nash (Belgrave) 27:00.
Stage 4
The animal was let loose on stage four and by the time the hill had been reached he was snapping and snarling at the heels of the “Stag” ahead of him. David Anderson had told us he would be very disappointed with anything outside of 13:50 and he certainly went off at a pace that promised to deliver such a time. Soon he was opening up a Belgrave lead that was never to be lost but as he ran out through the finishing funnel he was kicking himself and muttering – “I went off too fast”. More importantly, he’d turned a 12 second deficit into an advantage of over a minute.
1 Belgrave (+1) 1:22:15; 2 Birchfield (-1) 1:23:20; 3 Notts (+2) 1:23:44; 4 Chester-le-Street (-1) 1:24:15; 5 Sunderland (-1) 1:24:18; 6 Tipton (+6) 1:24:24.
Fastest: 1 D.Anderson (Belgrave) 14:17; 2 J.Rogers (Sale HM) 14:41; 3 S.Burton (Notts) 14:45; 4 P.Nicholls (Tipton) 14:47; 5 T.Lancashire (Bolton) 14:48; 6 D.Webb (Leeds) 14:54.
Stage 5
There was only one point in the race that had us worrying a little and with stage five we’d reached that point. Allen Graffin’s knee problem is now behind him and recent sessions suggested that he was well on his way back. But fearful of letting the team down Allen did feel that it was prudent to have another man warming up for stage five and we’d make a decision as to who would step out onto the road ten minutes beforehand. Reserve Roger Alsop duly went through his pre-race ritual but when it came to it, Allen was fine. He certainly admitted to feeling his lack of fitness at the end of his stage and was a minute down on his 2002 fastest of the day – but was still our second fastest man. Newham were working their way back from the brink, now in 14th, but Mark Morgan had moved Tipton into a medal position and Birchfield were still going great guns in second.
1 Belgrave (0) 1:48:59; 2 Birchfield (0) 1:49:47; 3 Tipton (+3) 1:51:12; 4 Morpeth (+3) 1:52:07; 5 Notts (-2) 1:52:08; 6 Sale HM (+2) 1:52:26.
Fastest: 1 J.Moorhouse (Birchfield) 26:27; 2 Allen Graffin (Belgrave) 26:44; 3 M.Morgan (Tipton) 26:48; 4 O.Laws (Newham &EB) 27:20; 5 J.Downes (London I) 27:23; 6 D.Leggate (Harrow) 27:30.
Stage 6
A few weeks ago we weighed up whether Jonathan Blackledge should be an ‘A’ runner at Milton Keynes. He grasped that opportunity and showed that he should be considered for the big one at Sutton Park. He got his wish and by golly didn’t he run well to take us to the halfway point. Can you really believe that just one year ago this young man was running in the mini marathon on London Marathon day – and here he was at the AAA Senior Men’s 12-Stage Road Relay, taking over in the lead from Allen Graffin, spending a mere 14:40 out on the road with only the lead motorbike to chase and increasing our advantage by a minute to hand on to Aussie international Martin Dent. Jonathan’s time stood up as 8th fastest of the day and surely showed UKA (if they noticed) that they should have selected him for the Junior World Cross.
1 Belgrave (0) 2:03:39; 2 Birchfield (0) 2:05:25; 3 Tipton (0) 2:06:32; 4 Morpeth (0) 2:06:59; 5 Notts (0) 2:07:03; 6 Sunderland (+1) 2:08:09.
Fastest: 1 C.Thompson (Aldershot F&D) 13:47; 2 J.Blackledge (Belgrave) 14:40; 3 A.Fulford (Swindon) 14:48; 4 A.Toward (Morpeth) 14:52; 5 B.Raeside (Notts) 14:55; 6 J.Jackson (Salford) 15:04.
Stage 7
Our lead stretched out to 2 mins 34 secs as Martin Dent ran in his first AAA Championship and took 48 seconds out of Birchfield’s Rob Birchall. It had been a busy week for Martin as he only arrived back in London from Paris at 5:30pm the previous evening. He was our fastest long stage of the day and now sets his sights on a forward placing at Balmoral in a couple of weeks time. McCarthy of London Irish set the fastest long stage time of the day – the only man to go under 26 minutes – and the first of the Hudspith brothers began Morpeth’s big push. But it was Tipton who made the most impact as Danny Robinson closed to within seven seconds of the silver medals.
1 Belgrave (0) 2:29:58; 2 Birchfield (0) 2:32:32; 3 Tipton (0) 2:32:39; 4 Morpeth (0) 2:33:27; 5 Salford (+2) 2:34:34; 6 Notts (-1) 2:34:41.
Fastest: 1 M.McCarthy (London I) 25:48; 2 D.Robinson (Tipton) 26:07; 3 W.Burns (Salford) 26:18; 4 M.Dent (Belgrave) 26:19; 5 I.Hudspith (Morpeth) 26:28; 6 R.Birchall (Birchfield) 27:07.
Stage 8
Usually enjoying an earlier leg, this time it was Richard Ward’s turn to move back down the order. He clocked fastest for the stage and our lead reached its maximum of 2 mins 45 secs but again, it was one of those stages where we would have all thought he’d be half a minute quicker. Maybe those three races in three days the previous weekend – including a fell race – had something to do with it! Birchfield were still hanging in there with an 18 second margin over the green and white clad Tipton men.
1 Belgrave (0) 2:44:46; 2 Birchfield (0) 2:47:31; 3 Tipton (0) 2:47:49; 4 Morpeth 2:48:47; 5 Salford (0) 2:49:49; 6 Notts (0) 2:50:30.
Fastest: 1 R.Ward (Belgrave) 14:48; 2 R.Russell (Thames V) 14:58; 3 R.Green (Birchfield) 14:59; 4 J.Mills (Blackheath) 15:01; 5 M.Hobbs (Swansea) 15:05; 6 J.Gilby (Derby) 15:09.
Stage 9
As always Paul Evans received a huge reception as stepped out onto the road. Our double Olympian and Chicago Marathon winner enjoys a great deal of respect from the road running fraternity. Paul had not been at his fittest in recent months, putting in time to study to become a personal trainer, but a time trial over 5 miles the previous weekend earned him his place in our dozen. Tipton were now coming on strong with Nick Jones taking them to within four seconds of Birchfield while Mark Hudspith ran fastest on the lap for Morpeth, still in fourth.
1 Belgrave (0) 3:12:25; 2 Birchfield (0) 3:14:31; 3 Tipton (0) 3:14:35; 4 Morpeth (0) 3:15:18; 5 Salford (0) 3:16:43; 6 Sale HM (+1) 3:19:04.
Fastest: 1 M.Hudspith (Morpeth) 26:31; 2 G.Raven (Sale HM) 26:40; 3 N.Jones (Tipton) 26:46; 4 N.Wilkinson (Salford) 26:54; 5 J.Brooks (London I) 26:56; 6 P.Hinch (Birchfield) 27:00; 9 P.Evans (Belgrave) 27:39.
Stage 10
Will Cockerell has been reserve for us at Sutton Park on several occasions and this time, in spite of having run London two weeks earlier, he made the cut and fully justified his selection by running second fastest on the lap. Flogging himself up that final stretch his legs were “gone” and there wasn’t an ounce of effort left in him as he lay panting on his back having sent Al Stewart on his way. The Tipton surge was on! They’d gone into second place through Cotton who ran fastest on the stage and they had two very good men to come – but they had 1 min 55 secs to make up.
1 Belgrave (0) 3:27:30; 2 Tipton (+1) 3:29:25; 3 Birchfield (-1) 3:30:13; 4 Morpeth (0) 3:30:46; 5 Salford (0) 3:32:16; 6 Sale HM (0) 3:34:30.
Fastest: 1 S.Cotton (Tipton) 14:50; 2 W.Cockerell (Belgrave) 15:05; 3 S.Dudley (Notts) 15:23; 4 R.Goodwin (Sale HM) 15:26; 5 R.Holladay (Morpeth) 15:28; 6 D.Milliken (Salford) 15:33.
Stage 11
Al Stewart tells us that he has run more times around the Sutton Park course than the rest of the team put together. He certainly loves the route which is kinder to the stronger runners as opposed to the speed merchants. Tipton must have been hopeful of narrowing the gap and maybe even doing a “2001” on us on the last stage as they now turned out Stuart Hall, a sub 50 ten miler, and still had Nigel Stirk to come. But Al chose his 21st run in the Park to clock a personal best and far from losing ground ran fastest on the lap to open the gap to two minutes and more.
1 Belgrave (0) 3:54:23; 2 Tipton (0) 3:56:29; 3 Birchfield (0) 3:57:38; 4 Morpeth (0) 3:58:43; 5 Salford 3:59:36; 6 Sale HM (0) 4:02:29.
Fastest: 1 A.Stewart 26:53; 2 S.Hall (Tipton) 27:04; 3 A.Morgan-Lee (Salford) 27:20; 4 C.Warren (Birchfield) 27:25; 5 M.Brown (Morpeth) 27:57; 6 S.North (Sale HM) 27:59.
Stage 12
… And we still had Adam Zawadski revved up and raring to go! Better known as an 800/1500 runner in the 1:50/3:42 region, Adam obviously has a lot of talent to show us at the longer distances as well. Another who had to run a time trial to work his way into the team when illness kept him out of the Milton Keynes line-up, Adam squeezed one more second away from the Tipton boys for another fastest stage and 6th fastest of the day. The last three stages had seen Belgrave and Tipton topping the fastest circuit lists.
And so the race was ours and the season closed on another high. Again, many thanks to all those who supported us here at Sutton Park and at the many events throughout the winter stretching right back to the Bradford 10k last Autumn. You – and we – all know who you are and we love you for it. As for the Team Manager – well, he tells us that there couldn’t possibly be a finer bunch of guys to work with.
1 Belgrave (0) 4:08:55; 2 Tipton (0) 4:11:02; 3 Birchfield (0) 4:12:49; 4 Morpeth 4:13:32; 5 Salford (0) 4:15:05; 6 Sale HM (0) 4:18:05; 64 teams started; 57 teams finished.
Fastest: 1 A.Zawadski (Belgrave) 14:32; 2 N.Stirk (Tipton) 14:33; 3 D.Swinburne (Morpeth) 14:59; 4 A.Renfree (Shaftesbury B) 15:03; 5 M.Boulstridge (Birchfield) 15:11; 6 D.Mason (Salford) 15:29.
Fastest legs of the day
Short stage (2.995 miles): 1 C.Thompson (Aldershot F&D) 13:47; 2 C.Davies (Telford) 13:50; 3 C.Livesey (Preston) 13:52; 4 S.Sharp (Belgrave) 14:11; 5 D.Anderson (Belgrave) 14:17; 6 A.Zawadski (Belgrave) 14:32; 8 J.Blackledge 14:40; =14 R.Ward 14:48; =34 W.Cockerell 15:05.
Long
stage (5.380 miles): 1 M.McCarthy (London I) 25:48; 2 M.Openshaw
(Birchfield) 26:01; 3 A.O’Connor (Liverpool) 26:03; 4 M.Scaife
(Chester-le-Street) 26:06; =5 N.Goodliffe (Holmfirth) & D.Robinson
(Tipton) 26:07; 10 M.Dent 26:19; 19 Allen Graffin 26:44; =22 P.Freary
26:47; =28 A.Stewart 26:53; 35 K.Nash 27:00; 68 P.Evans 27:39.
AAA 6-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, 26 April 2003
Belles exceed expectations in National 6-Stage
Catherine Eastham writes:- Having listened to the men’s pre-race pep talk that morning, the ladies were glad not to be facing that level of pressure just yet. Still, pressure of a different sort came when two of the team, Juliette and Helen S, still hadn’t arrived by the time the team needed to be declared and couldn’t be contacted on their mobiles. A swift team restructure was needed, which may have actually benefited the team in the end. Although overall, all runners times (except Maria Sharp’s) were slower than predictions, undoubtedly due to the strong wind, the team’s final position of 11th was 4 places better than predicted. So it was a good day for the Belles.
Stage 1
Having had a strong run in the Southerns on the anchor leg, Maria Sharp wanted to reverse the order and take the lead, figuring that starting up with the main pack would pull her around to a faster time. And that it did. Maria’s 9th place finish in 17.01 gave the Belles their fastest leg of the day, beating Maria’s own previous best time for the course and also ensuring that she won a bet with the men’s first leg man, Paul Freary, as to who would finish higher up the field! Maria’s run placed her as 18th fastest overall on the day.
1 Chester-le-Street 16:20; 2 Wirral 16:38; 3 Swansea 16:41; 4 Leeds 16:47; Sale HM 16:49; 6 Salford 16:51; 9 Belgrave 17:01.
Fastest: 1 D.Heneghan (Chester-le-Street) 16:20; 2 H.Lawrence (Wirral) 16:38; 3 C.Dugdale (Swansea) 16:41; 4 L.Wright (Leeds) 16:47; 5 S.Thomas (Sale HM) 16:49; 6 L.Heyes (Salford) 16:51; 9 M.Sharp (Belgrave) 17:01.
Stage 2
As the first of three of the Belles marathon team to go out on the course there was interest in whether Louise Cooper would find the extra training beneficial or whether the marathon would have tired her out. It seemed the wind was the biggest problem on the course though, as by two and a half miles Louise began to find the struggle beginning to tire her. Battling to the end though, Louise brought the team through in 17th place, roughly as expected.
1 Salford (+5) 33:45; 2 Swansea (+1) 33:53; 3 Sale HM (+2) 34:06; 4 Tipton (+3) 34:28; 5 Chester-le-Street (-4) 34:38; 6 Leeds (-2) 35:14; 17 Belgrave (-8) 36:50.
Fastest: 1 R.Jones (Salford) 16:54; 2 R.Goddard (Swansea) 17:12; =3 D.Riding (Sale HM) and C.Martin (Telford) 17:17; 5 H.Jennings (Tipton) 17:35; 6 J.Colleran (Liverpool) 17:47; 23 L.Cooper (Belgrave) 19:49.
Stage 3
Helen Alsop, team captain and running in her first National road relay was nervous pre race, but confident that she wouldn’t lose many places over the course. In fact, she maintained the team’s position with a 19.19 leg which made her the third fastest Belle of the day. Again though, the wind and the hilly course made it a tougher run than expected. Meanwhile, starting to pull away at the front of the field was Sale Harriers who had already gained a 1 minute lead over Salford.
1 Sale HM (+2) 50:43; 2 Salford (-1) 51:57; 3 Swansea (-1) 52:11; 4 Shaftesbury B (+6) 53:12; 5 Liverpool (+2) 53:20; 6 Chester-le-Street (-1) 53:21.
Fastest: 1 J.Heath (Sale HM) 16:37; 2 J.Craft (Headington) 16:46; 3 S.Murphy (Shaftesbury B) 17:07; 4 N.Ashe (Windsor SE&H) 17:37; 5 L.Egan (Liverpool) 17:46; 6 J.Cook (Salford) 18:12; 17 H.Alsop (Belgrave) 19:19.
Stage 4
Angela Walker was the second of the marathon team to head off down the considerably shorter 2.995 mile course. Her task was to pull up one or two places and bring the Belles nearer to their top 15 place. Angela went one better and pulled up 3 places, with the Belles moving into 14th. The top three places hadn’t changed, but Sale’s lead had extended to 1 min 15 secs.
1 Sale HM (0) 1:07:36; 2 Salford (0) 1:08:18; 3 Swansea (0) 1:09:45; 4 Chester-le-Street (+2) 1:10:19; 5 Shaftesbury B (-1) 1:11:17; 6 Windsor SE&H (+3) 1:11:22; 14 Belgrave (+3) 1:15:35.
Fastest: B.Jenkins (Salford) 16:21; 2 A.Waterlow (Sale HM) 16:53; 3 R.Brown (Chester-le-Street) 16:58; 4 C.Dickie (Windsor SE&H) 17:12; 5 E.Sherr’d Smith (Swansea) 17:34; 6 S.Cox (Shaftesbury B) 18:05; 10 A.Walker (Belgrave) 19:26.
Stage 5
In only her second outing for the Belles, Helen Smethurst awaited the start of her leg with nervous anticipation, having never competed in the relays before. With the other team members reporting back on how tough the course was, how tough would Helen S be and could she maintain the team’s position? Finishing as the Belle’s second fastest of the day, Helen looks set to be a regular feature in forthcoming fixtures and brought the team back in a very respectable 11th position. Whilst Sale’s lead was extended to nearly 4 minutes, WSE&H had pulled into 3rd with a strong leg from Paula Fudge.
1 Sale HM (0) 1:24:47; 2 Salford (0) 1:28:30; 3 Windsor SE&H (+3) 1:28:57; 4 Chester-le-Street (0) 1:29:01; 5 Shaftesbury B (0) 1:29:15; 6 Swansea (-3) 1:30:10; 11 Belgrave (+3) 1:34:44.
Fastest: 1 L.McCreesh (Sale HM) 17:11; 2 P.Fudge (Windsor SE&H) 17:35; 3 I.Robertson (Headington) 17:40; 4 R.Connolly (Wirral) 17:54; 5 K.Armstrong (Shaftesbury B) 17:58; 6 H.Robinson (Chester-le-Street) 18:42; 8 H.Smethurst (Belgrave) 19:09.
Stage 6
The final leg saw Juliette Clark taking over for the Belles. Although Juliette’s not in the form she was in this time last year she is still a consistent and strong athlete and we knew that she wouldn’t succumb to the pressure of being anchor leg. By holding on with a solid 19.28 run Juliette enabled the Belles to hold on to that 11th place, surpassing expectations by 4 places. Hayley Yelling, meanwhile, clocked the fastest leg of the day but it was only enough to bring WSE&H back in silver, with Sale finishing a good 3 mins 56 clear. ChesterLeStreet claimed bronze.
Given that the Belles didn’t have the talents of Birhan Dagne, Getenesh Tamirat, Catherine Berry and Anne Hegvold on the team, one can only wait in anticipation for future results…
1 Sale HM (0) 1:41:00; 2 Windsor SE&H (+1) 1:44:56; 3 Chester-le-Street (+1) 1:45:32; 4 Shaftesbury Barnet (+1) 1:47:31; 5 Headington (+2) 1:48:27; 6 Salford (-4) 1:48:34; 11 Belgrave (0) 1:54:12; 43 teams started; 28 teams finished.
Fastest: 1 H.Yelling (Windsor SE&H) 15:59; 2 K.Gillibrand (Sale HM) 16:13; 3 M.McDonnell (Chester-le-Street) 16:31; 4 T.Galbraith (Headington) 17:28; 5 C.Entwhistle (Wigan) 17:31; 6 S.Bigham (Hillingdon) 18:16; 13 J.Clark (Belgrave) 19:28.
Fastest legs of the day
1 H.Yelling (Windsor SE&H) 15:59; 2 K.Gillibrand (Sale HM) 16:13; 3 D.Heneghan (Chester-le-Street) 16:20; 4 B.Jenkins (Salford) 16:21; 5 M.McDonnell (Chester-le-Street) 16:31; 6 J.Heath (Sale HM) 16:37; 18 M.Sharp (Belgrave) 17:01.
SEAA Women’s 6-Stage Road Relay, 06 April 2003.
Belles seventh in third attempt at Southern 6-Stage Road Relay
Catherine Eastham writes:- With cool conditions and the first men back revealing how the wind seemed to be attacking them the whole way round, our women’s team prepared nervously for their third attempt at the Southern 6-Stage.
Stage 1
Having previously recorded the second fastest time for Belgrave women over the course, Juliette took the bull by the horns and set off with the very strong contingent on stage 1. Despite losing her chewing gum before the start (apparently Juliette always chews when she runs!) she managed to bring the Belles home in a respectable 14th place.
1 Bedford & County 19:09; 2 Highgate 19:22; 3 Windsor SE&H 19:35; 4 Blackheath & Bromley 19:45; 5 Headington 19:49; 6 Ealing, S&M 20:00; 14 Belgrave 21:01.
Fastest: 1 L.Wood (Bedford & County) 19:09; 2 A.Wingler (Highgate) 19.22; 3 R.Taylor (Windsor SE&H) 19:35; 4 S.Budd (Blackheath & Bromley) 19:45; 5 A.Hirst (Headington) 19:49; 6 F.Kennedy (Ealing S&M) 20:00; 14 J.Clark (Belgrave) 21:01.
Stage 2
New team member Rosie Powell proved herself to be a more than capable talent and definitely one to watch for the future. In her first ever fixture for the Belles she set off at a steady pace looking remarkably relaxed and comfortable and managed to pull the team up a further three places with our second fastest run of the day. Up front though, Natalie Harvey, an Australian international for SLH, managed to storm ahead 12 places to put her team into a clear lead.
1 South London (+12) 38:36; 2 Highgate (0) 39:07; 3 Windsor SE&H (0) 39:27; 4 Bedford & County (-3) 40:19; 5 Shaftesbury Barnet (+3) 40:40; 6 Blackheath & Bromley (-2) 40:58; 11 Belgrave (+3) 41:39.
Fastest: 1 N.Harvey (South London) 17:38; 2 J.Bleasdale (Hillingdon) 19:26; 3 E.Evans (Highgate) 19:45; 5 J.Clark (Windsor SE&H) 19:52; 6 L.Gallagher (Shaftesbury Barnet) 20:29; 7 R.Powell (Belgrave) 20:38.
Stage 3
Tania was next up and thankfully she broke her recent running history by completing her stage of the race. Despite having recently suffered from flu, Tania managed to pull the team up into tenth place with a solid 21.46 run. Meanwhile, the lead at the front had swapped to Highgate Harriers, although more about them later….
1 Highgate (+1) 59:21; 2 South London (-1) 59:33; 3 Bedford & County (+1) 1:00:01; 4 Shaftesbury Barnet (+1) 1:00:35; 5 Windsor SE&H (-2) 1:00:49; 6 Hillingdon (+2) 1:00:58.
Fastest: C.Hoyte (Arena 80) 18:25; 2 S.Miles (Hillingdon) 19:33; 3 K.Waterson (Bedford & County) 19:42; 4 C.Wilkinson (Shaftesbury Barnet) 19:55; 5 S.Hannah (Highgate) 20:14; 6 A.Bathie (Windsor SE&H ‘B’) 20:41; 13 T.Sturton (Belgrave) 21:46.
Left: Louise Cooper moved the Belles up another two places.
Photo by Patricia Mead
Stage 4
With the marathon only a week away, it was a surprise for us to have Louise Cooper on the team. Such a short course must have felt rather strange for Louise given her recent training schedule. Yet, despite all the distance training Louise managed to pull the team forward yet another couple of places with a 21.32 performance. Up front, South London had taken the lead yet again, making the race a little more unpredictable than the men's race which was spanning out around us….
1 South London (+1) 1:19:12; 2 Highgate 1:20:27 (-1); 3 Windsor SE&H (+2) 1:20:40; 4 Shaftesbury Barnet (0); 5 Hillingdon (+1) 1:22:19; 6 Bedford & County (-3) 1:22:27.
Fastest: 1 E.Baker (South London) 19:39; 2 P.Fudge (Windsor SE&H) 19:51; 3 M.Holland (City of Norwich) 20:28; 4 N.Cendrowicz (Highgate) 21:06; 5 K.Anderson (Headington) 21:10; 6 E.Grant (Hillingdon) 21:21; 7 L.Cooper (Belgrave) 21:32.
Stage 5
As the first of our husband/ wife pairings, Helen was pleased to see the claret and gold of our men's team at the same time as she was on the course. It’s good for the women to have someone to aim for! Helen achieved her goal time of sub-22 for her stage and was relieved to bring the team back in ninth place.
1 South London (0) 1:40:22; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet (+2) 1:41:07; 3 Highgate (-1) 1:41:17; 4 Bedford & County (+2) 1:41:56; 5 Windsor SE&H (-2) 1:41:58; 6 Hillingdon (-1) 1:44:18; 9 Belgrave (-1) 1:46:47.
Fastest: 1 A.Green (Shaftesbury Barnet) 18:59; 2 T.Galbraith (Headington) 19:10; 3 M.Lee (Milton Keynes) 19:11; 4 S.Morris (Bedford & County) 19:29; 5 S.Nicholls (Highgate) 20:50; 6 D.Kennedy (Thames Valley) 20:58; 10 H.Alsop (Belgrave) 21:50.
Stage 6
Saving the fastest for last, Maria Sharp set off quickly in her usual “chase them down” style. Having picked off 3 runners on the course Maria thought she’d done enough to pull the team into fifth spot, but sadly some of the runners she passed were from the previous stage. Despite this, Maria pulled the Belles into eighth place and achieved our fastest run of the day in 19.45. She still had the energy afterward to cheer on husband Steve as he brought the men’s team in for their record win.
Back to Highgate though. In spite of being the first team home, they ended up being disqualified for running a non-entered runner, so the Belles finishing place of seventh was unfortunately at Highgate’s expense. In a few years time the medals will surely be beckoning..
n/s Highgate 2:00:38; 1 South London (0) 2:01:13; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet (0) 2:01:26; 3 Bedford & County (+1) 2:01:45; 4 Windsor SE&H (+1) 2:01:54; 5 Headington (+2) 2:03:35; 6 Hillingdon (0) 2:06:20; 7 Belgrave (+2) 2:06:32.
Fastest: 1 J.Craft (Headington) 19:12; 2 S.Young (Highgate) 19:21; 3 M.Sharp (Belgrave) 19:45; 4 A.Berrill (Bedford & County) 19:49; 5 N.Ashe (Windsor SE&H) 19:56; 6 K.Armstrong (Shaftesbury Barnet) 20:19.
33 teams started; 22 teams finished.
Fastest legs of the day: 1 N.Harvey (South London) 17:38; 2 C.Hoyte (Arena 80) 18:25; 3 A.Green (Shaftesbury Barnet) 18:59; 4 L.Wood (Bedford & County) 19:09; 5 T.Galbraith (Headington) 19:10; 6 M.Lee (Milton Keynes) 19:11; 16 M.Sharp (Belgrave) 19:45; 34 R.Powell (Belgrave) 20:38; 164 runners.
Statistics: Fastest Teams Short Stages Long Stages
SEAA 12-Stage Road Relay, Milton Keynes, 06 April 2003
Southern 12-Stage title retained - record smashed!
There’s nothing like 12-Stage Road Relay racing. The weeks beforehand had been taken up with calculations, possible team composition, running order. Somehow it didn’t feel that we were quite as strong as we might be – but every time the calculations were done the result seemed to point to a course record – by miles – although Newham & Essex Beagles were expected to push us hard and maybe it would all come down to the last couple of stages. In the end the Beagles were close to the old record but our arithmetic had been correct and our own time smashed the previous best by 3 minutes and 55 seconds.
Pre-race nerves were set jangling early when a certain B team member was found to be answering the Team Manager’s phoned enquiry as to his whereabouts from his bed when he should have been meeting the bus at Battersea Park. A detour to pick him up then resulted in an unusual route to the M1 being taken and the bus being stopped by the Police near Admiralty Arch and escorted away from the Mall and Buckingham Palace. All this and we hadn’t even left London.
Conditions at Milton Keynes were not pleasant. At 11am it was cold and windy – and it just got colder and windier as the day progressed. But in spite of this the times clocked by our lads were out of this world. All day long expectations were exceeded – but let’s take it stage by stage.
Left:
The Captain set the ball rolling with a personal record on stage 1.
Photo by Patricia Mead
Stage 1
Known to be in good form prior to the following week’s London Marathon, the oldest man in the team, Roger Alsop, was entrusted with getting the Bels off to a good start. Our Captain did more than that, for he pb’d by one second to bring the team in with just half a dozen men ahead, all lined up nicely for the next man to have a pop at …
1 Newham & Essex 24:15; 2 Milton Keynes 24:22; 3 Highgate H 24:26; 4 Luton United 24:35; 5 Bedford & County 24:39; 6 Shaftesbury Barnet 24:49; 7 Belgrave 24:50; 40 Belgrave ‘B’ 27:16; 52 Belgrave ‘C’ 30:08.
Fastest: 1 D.Mitchinson (Newham & Essex) 24:15; 2 R.Nifah (Milton Keynes) 24:22; 3 B.Pochee (Highgate H) 24:26; 4 P.Farmer (Luton United) 24:35; 5 M.Janes (Bedford & County) 24:39; 6 J.Trapmore (Shaftesbury Barnet) 24:49; 7 R.Alsop (Belgrave) 24:50; 40 M.Byansi (Belgrave ‘B’) 27:16; 52 F.Ward (Belgrave ‘C’) 30:08 (started late – actual time 29:33).
Stage 2
… and doesn’t Richard Ward enjoy “having a pop”. Phone calls back to base from the far side of the short course gave warning that Rich had taken the lead! Stung by the Team Manager’s suggestion that he’d run a 16:50, our young Belgravian had turned up the wick and burned to a 16:25 that surely would be difficult to beat in the prevailing conditions. No fewer than six Belgravians and ex-Belgravians were in action on this stage for as well as our ‘B’ and ‘C’ men, Steve Clarke was running a stormer for Medway & Maidstone, Dean Clark was pulling Thames Valley up through the field and Kevin Quinn brought Aldershot up two places with 17:43.
1 Belgrave (+6) 41:15; 2 Newham & Essex (-1) 41:18; 3 Bedford & County (+2) 41:35; 4 Milton Keynes (-2) 41:52; 5 Medway & Maidstone (+9) 42:05; 6 Highgate (-3) 42:30; 37 Belgrave ‘B’ (+3) 45:52; 55 Belgrave ‘C’ (-3) 52:37.
Fastest: 1 R.Ward (Belgrave) 16:25; 2 S.Clarke (Medway & Maidstone) 16:43; 3 L.Cadman (Bedford) 16:56; 4 P.Grime (Newham & Essex) 17:03; 5 D.Clark (Thames Valley) 17:09; 6 D.Castle (Milton Keynes) 17:30; 26 B.Barton (Belgrave ‘B’) 18:36; 55 H.Corbett (Belgrave ‘C’) 22:29.
Stage 3
We weren’t supposed to be leading at this point and as Paul Freary ran away down the starting slope in number one spot he had the unenviable task of holding back Newham & Essex Beagles who were just three seconds down. Paul’s subsequent 24:34 was close to his best ever run on this course but Warmby of the Beagles was in rampant form and took 42 seconds out of the Belgrave man. Nevertheless, Paul was second fastest on the stage and drew us further away from the rest of the field. Excellent running came from Lee Greatorex to bring the ‘B’s up five places.
1 Newham & Essex (+1) 1:05:10; 2 Belgrave (-1) 1:05:49; 3 Medway & Maidstone (+2) 1:07:21; 4 Shaftesbury Barnet (+3) 1:07:28; 5 Bedford & County (-2) 1:07:30; 6 Thames Valley (+5) 1:07:58; 32 Belgrave ‘B’ (+5) 1:12:33; 54 Belgrave ‘C’ (+1) 1:23:45.
Fastest: 1 M.Warmby (Newham & Essex) 23:52; 2 P.Freary (Belgrave) 24:34; 3 D.Leggate (Harrow) 24:49; 4 T.Crossland (Shaftesbury Barnet) 24:53; 5 C.Smith (Thames Valley) 25:01; 6 A.Moses (Reigate Priory) 25:16; 23 L.Greatorex (Belgrave ‘B’) 26:41; 53 Don Anderson (Belgrave ‘C’) 31:08.
Stage 4
Enjoying an earlier stage than normal, David Anderson still had only one man to chase but he ripped lumps out of the tarmac to pull back the deficit and then grab a lead of getting on for a minute. It was probably the best ever short stage run seen on the circuit because the conditions were far from ideal. Only Keith Cullen (Chelmsford) has ever gone faster – by a mere two seconds – and Dave’s staggering 15:51 had jaws dropping as those clocking the unofficial times could not believe their watches or their maths. The final finishing order had been established. The leading two clubs were to maintain their positions to the end while Bedford still had a fight on their hands to keep the bronze medals in their sights
1 Belgrave (+1) 1:21:40; 2 Newham & Essex (-1) 1:22:46; 3 Bedford & County (+2) 1:25:02; 4 Milton Keynes (+4) 1:25:32; 5 Medway & Maidstone (-2) 1:25:38; 6 Shaftesbury Barnet (-2) 1:25:52; 30 Belgrave ‘B’ (+2) 1:31:44.
Fastest: 1 David Anderson (Belgrave) 15:51; 2 J.Seamark (Thurrock) 16:47; 3 A.Bowden (Milton Keynes) 17:15; 4 A.Tanner (Bedford & County) 17:32; 5 N.Adams (Newham & Essex) 17:36; 6 A.Smith (Aldershot, F&D) 17:44; 27 S.Nelson (Belgrave ‘B’) 19:11.
Stage 5
Kevin Nash had a big cushion over Newham’s Ian Grimes but it was a luxury he did not take for granted. Further phone messages from out by the lake reported that he’d extended the lead to a “minute and a quarter”. When Gnasher finally flew up the finishing ramp that lead had doubled to a whopping two and a half minutes and our man had clocked our third fastest long run of all time. Surely now we’d crucify that course record – every man had been way up on predicted times. Blackheath climbed six places as a result of an unbelievable 23:42 from Spencer Newport.
1 Belgrave (0) 1:45:58; 2 Newham & Essex (0) 1:48:30; 3 Shaftesbury Barnet (+3) 1:50:52; 4 Medway & Maidstone (+1) 1:50:59; 5 Blackheath & Bromley (+6) 1:51:03; 6 Aldershot, F&D (+1) 1:51:06; 32 Belgrave ‘B’ (-2) 2:00:00.
Fastest: 1 S.Newport (Blackheath & Bromley) 23:42; 2 K.Nash (Belgrave) 24:18; 3 A.Hennessy (Wells City) 24:35; 4 A van Zyl (Shaftesbury Barnet) 25:00; 5 B.Stopher (Aldershot, F&D) 25:02; 6 S.Tompsett (Hillingdon) 25:02; 44 G.Reid (Belgrave ‘B’) 28:16.
Stage 6
Now it was the turn of the youngest man in the team. Eighteen year-old Jonathan Blackledge had run a handy 17:27 12 months earlier but has come on “a bundle” since then and was felt to be well worthy of an ‘A’ team place. As it happened, the selectors’ confidence proved to be somewhat understated as Jonathan, far from overawed by being handed a huge lead, extended the advantage to over three minutes. His 16:46 must surely put him among the elite band from whom the AAA team will be chosen in a few weeks time. A terrific run from Junior Galley ensured that our ‘B’ team continued closing in on Aldershot’s ‘B’, although Bedford’s ‘B’s were still more than three minutes ahead.
1 Belgrave (0) 2:02:44; 2 Newham & Essex (0) 2:05:54; 3 Aldershot F&D (+3) 2:08:14; 4 Blackheath & Bromley (+1) 2:08:26; 5 Bedford & County (+2) 2:08:57; 6 Medway & Maidstone (-2) 2:09:23; 31 Belgrave ‘B’ (+1) 2:18:29.
Fastest: =1 J.Blackledge (Belgrave) and A.Fulford (Swindon) 16:46; 3 H.Hardy (South London) 16:52; 4 S.Ablitt (Aldershot, F&D) 17:08; 5 T.Hawkey (Blackheath & Bromley) 17:23; 6 A.Mitchell (Newham & Essex) 17:24; 22 J.Galley (Belgrave ‘B’) 18:29.
Stage 7
In the form of his life, Will Cockerell began the week preceding this race by falling foul of a bug that wiped him out for a day or so. It was touch and go whether he’d rule himself out of a long stage or out of the race altogether. By Saturday Will was confident enough to go ahead but on race day took things relatively steady in his tour of Milton Keynes to ensure that the team was not put at risk. Oh! and he reduced his best for the long stage by over a minute while he was at it! So close to being in the ‘A’ team, Knut Hegvold brought the B squad up six places while running 9th fastest for the stage. We were now within half a minute of taking control in the ‘B’ competition as well.
1 Belgrave (0) 2:27:47; 2 Newham & Essex (0) 2:30:44; 3 Aldershot, F&D (0) 2:33:44; 4 Bedford & County (+1) 2:34:07; 5 Blackheath & Bromley (-1) 2:34:48; 6 Medway & Maidstone (0) 2:35:37; 25 Belgrave ‘B’ (+6) 2:44:40.
Fastest: 1 M.Normington (Herne Hill) 24:49; 2 K.Stone (Newham & Essex) 24:50; 3 W.Cockerell (Belgrave) 25:03; =4 N.Miller (Bedford & County) and N.Altmann (Thames H&H) 25:10; 6 N.Anderson (Aldershot, F&D) 25:30; 9 K.Hegvold (Belgrave ‘B’) 26:11.
Stage 8
Charles Herrington ran right up to expectations as he kept our advantage over Newham & Essex Beagles hovering at just over three minutes. Bedford & County came back into third again thanks to a fine 16:15 from Hugh Lobb – tipped now as being likely first Brit in the following week’s London Marathon.
1 Belgrave (0) 2:45:07; 2 Newham & Essex (0) 2:48:06; 3 Bedford & County (+1) 2:50:22; 4 Aldershot, F&D (-1) 2:51:24; 5 Medway & Maidstone (+1) 2:53:43; 6 Herne Hill (+1) 2:53:53; 26 Belgrave ‘B’ (-1) 3:04:11.
Fastest: 1 H.Lobb (Bedford & County) 16:15; 2 A.Mussett (Colchester) 16:29; 3 S.Snow (Highgate) 17:16; 4 C.Herrington (Belgrave) 17:20; 5 S.Major (Newham & Essex) 17:22; 6 K.Johnson (Thames Valley) 17:33; 30 S.Connor (Belgrave ‘B’) 19:31.
Stage 9
The Essex club had turned in some fast long stage times – and here came another one from Ollie Laws. But could they get near us? Oh! dear no, for Martin Dent made his debut for Belgrave as a scoring competitor and celebrated by putting Paul Evan’s club record of 23:47 under severe pressure as he front ran to 23:49. Surely now the race and the record had been put to bed. And it was a double celebration, as Lloyd Catley took our second team to the head of the ‘B’ team race.
1 Belgrave (0) 3:08:56; 2 Newham & Essex (0) 3:12:34; 3 Bedford & County (0) 3:15:36; 4 Aldershot, F&D (0) 3:17:28; 5 Blackheath & Bromley (+2) 3:18:36; 6 Herne Hill (0) 3:19:56; 25 Belgrave ‘B’ (+1) 3:31:32.
Fastest: 1 M.Dent (Belgrave) 23:49; 2 O.Laws (Newham & Essex) 24:28; 3 M.Skinner (Blackheath & Bromley) 24:38; 4 A.Weir (Thames H&H) 25:05; 5 S.Holley (Bedford & County) 25:14; =6 T.Jackson (Shaftesbury Barnet) and M. da Silva (Thames Valley) 25:51; 25 L.Catley (Belgrave ‘B’) 27:21.
Stage 10
Last man into the team, Stephen Kennefick enjoyed leading the parade around the penultimate short stage, running four seconds quicker than his previous best. Back down the field Charlie Dickinson, entering the M55 age group later this month, took a break from encouraging his training group who had admirably filled out the ‘B’ team by showing them just how it should be done.
1 Belgrave (0) 3:26:38; 2 Newham & Essex (0) 3:30:04; 3 Bedford & County (0) 3:33:10; 4 Aldershot, F&D (0) 3:35:20; 5 Blackheath & Bromley (0) 3:38:10; 6 Highgate (+3) 3:38:43; 23 Belgrave ‘B’ (+2) 3:50:20.
Fastest: 1 K.Bouchamia (Thames Valley) 17:23; 2 M.Kearns (Newham & Essex) 17:30; 3 T.Cook (Bedford & County) 17:34; 4 D.Burbridge (Highgate) 17:38; 5 S.Kennefick (Belgrave) 17:42; 6 D.McCarthy (Aldershot, F&D) 17:52; 15 C.Dickinson (Belgrave ‘B’) 18:48.
Stage 11
Fresh back from training in Portugal, the last two men Al Stewart and Stephen Sharp had been awaiting their turn for hours while the conditions had slowly deteriorated. A solid run from Al didn’t really do justice to his current form and he admitted to finding the swirling wind out by the lake a little troublesome although was not unhappy with his time. Our remarkable ‘B’ team were now three minutes clear of their rivals thanks to another strong performance from Warren Lynch.
1 Belgrave (0) 3:51:23; 2 Newham & Essex 3:54:25; 3 Bedford & County (0) 3:58:45; 4 Aldershot, F&D (0) 4:01:32; 5 Herne Hill (+2) 4:04:36; 6 Medway & Maidstone (+2) 4:04:42; 22 Belgrave ‘B’ (+1) 4:17:27.
Fastest: 1 A Robinson (Newham & Essex) 24:21; 2 A.Stewart (Belgrave) 24:45; 3 G.Williams (Medway & Maidstone) 25:26; 4 G.Thomas (Luton) 25:30; 5 T.Burke (Bedford & County) 25:35; 6 S.Wurr (Thames H&H) 25:36; 18 W.Lynch (Belgrave ‘B’) 27:07.
Stage 12
So the excitement was over – or was it? “How fast do I have to run for us to beat the record,” said Stephen Sharp. As if the Team Manager was going to tell him that all he had to run for that last 5.5k lap was a mere 19:55! Ignorant of the requirement and ignoring the blustery conditions Steve set out on a victory lap as if he had to do it all on his own. And in 16 minutes precisely he was back again having clocked the third fastest short stage run of all time. What a run – and what a team! A special word too for an unfit James Browne - waiting until the end of the day to take the 'B's out and complete their team while everyone else was enjoying the euphoria of a course record.
1 Belgrave H (0) 4:07:23; 2 Newham & Essex Beagles (0) 4:11:51; 3 Bedford & County AC (0) 4:16:54; 4 Aldershot F&D AC (0) 4:19:37; 5 Maidstone & Maidstone AC (+1) 4:22:18; 6 Herne Hill H (-1) 4:22:38; 21 (1st B Team) Belgrave ‘B’ (+1) 4:36:36.
Fastest: 1 S.Sharp (Belgrave) 16:00; =2 P.Larkins (Newham & Essex) and A.Lynch (Thames H&H) 17:26; 4 J.Renault (Medway & Maidstone) 17:36; 5 J.Bradley (Blackheath & Bromley) 18:00; 6 S.Coombes (Herne Hill) 18:02; 18 J.Browne (Belgrave ‘B’) 19:09.
56 teams started; 48 teams finished
Fastest legs of the day.
Short stage (5506m): 1 David Anderson (Belgrave) 15:51; 2 S.Sharp (Belgrave) 16:00; 3 H.Lobb (Bedford & County) 16:15; 4 R.Ward (Belgrave) 16:25; 5 A.Mussett (Colchester) 16:29; 6 S.Clarke (Medway & Maidstone) 16:43; =7 J.Blackledge 16:46; 17 C.Herrington 17:20; 40 S.Kennefick 17:40; 308 short stage runners.
Long stage (7978m): 1 S.Newport (Blackheath & Bromley) 23:42; 2 M.Dent (Belgrave) 23:49; 3 M.Warmby (Newham & Essex) 23:52; 4 D.Mitchinson (Newham & Essex) 24:15; 5 K.Nash (Belgrave) 24:18; 6 A.Robinson (Newham & Essex) 24:21; 10 P.Freary 24:34; 15 A.Stewart 24:45; 19 R.Alsop 24:50; 29 W.Cockerell 25:03; 315 long stage runners.
Pictures Full Result Top Home Index
AAA & UKA Half Marathon Champs., Wilmslow, 23 March 2003.
“ And here comes yet another Belgrave Harrier ...”
AAA silver and B Team 7th!
Who says it always rains in Manchester! Beautiful springtime conditions saw a huge field of over 3000 leave Wilmslow Rugby Football Club and set out on the roads of Cheshire to contest the National Half Marathon Championship. As title holders we had hoped to win again but both Paul Evans and Kassa Tadesse, key men in the 2002 team, were not in the best of shape and were unable to turn out. But with Al Stewart and Will Cockerell known to be in good form we still hoped to sneak a set of medals – and did the boys do us proud!
Right: Getting ready for the off - Warren Lynch, Al Stewart, Paul Freary, Knut Hegvold and Will Cockerell.
Unfortunately it was not a spectator’s course so we were totally unaware of our team’s progress throughout the event, the only information relayed being the fact that Kenya’s Julius Kibet was “on” for a course record. However, we later learned that it was Paul Freary, among our men, who took the initiative, with Will Cockerell and Al Stewart chasing him hard. Five miles came up in 25:19 for Will – a personal record by over a minute – and although a little startled, he reminded himself that he was, after all, shooting for a sub-67 run. Al Stewart was very close behind, aiming for a time under 68, while Richard Ward was cruising and feeling at ease in his first “real” distance race. Not so comfortable was Roger Alsop who had completed yet another very heavy week of training for his main aim this spring – the London Marathon.
Left: 41 seconds are gone and there's a solid phalanx of claret and gold behind the lead car.
Photo by Keith Parkinson
At ten miles Paul Freary was beginning to crumble – a period of illness in February had set back his training a little – and now it was Will leading the claret and gold charge, three and a half minutes inside his previous best for ten miles.
And so to the finish – and what excitement for our supporters as they saw three Belgrave men heading for the line. Al Stewart kept Will under pressure until the very end, only six seconds separating them as they went under the gantry and both of them way inside their prior bests. Richard Ward, whose previous race was an indoor 800m two weeks earlier and whose longest outing before today had been at 10 km, had fully intended to step up the pace as the end neared but learned a lot about distance racing when he found that it didn’t necessarily work like that! Roger was needlessly disappointed with his own run while Knut, with a dodgy calf muscle, was pleased to come through unscathed – and pick up third veterans prize. Warren Lynch removed 30 seconds from his best time while Lloyd Catley was heartened to be greeted by the announcer’s “ … and here comes yet another Belgrave Harrier …”
The finish area was like a Belgrave reunion as Lee Hurst (now unattached) was obviously back to peak fitness to place 18th in 1:06:31, Rick Hayman (now Sale) was 31st in 1:09:34 … and 1984th was Chris Fairfield (now East Cheshire Harriers) 1:55:51 and 12th M65.
In fact it was long-time Belgravian Chris Fairfield that cost us the “golds”. A couple of seasons ago he came across one Andy Jones who had run 3 hours 15 for the marathon on no training whatsoever and encouraged him to train, take up the sport – and subsequently join Salford (he ran 1:04:41 for 6th).
1 J.Kibet (Kenya) 1:02:23; 2 I.Hudspith (Morpeth) 63:32; 3 I.Arusei (Kenya) 1:03:53; 22 W.Cockerell 1:06:48; 23 A.Stewart 1:06:54; 26 P.Freary 1:07:32; 41 R.Ward 1:10:38; 45 R.Alsop 1:11:01; 50 K.Hegvold (M40) 1:12:06; 89 W.Lynch 1:15:06; 100 L.Catley 1:16:06; 3123 finished.
Teams: AAA & UKA Champs. 3 to score 1 Salford 3:20:20; 2 Belgrave 3:31:14; 3 Tipton 3:22:25; 7 Belgrave ‘B’ 3:33:45; 20 teams closed in.
Inter-Counties Champs. 4 to score 1 Greater Manchester 22; 2 Leicestershire 71 ; 3 Surrey (Belgrave) 86; 9 teams closed in.
Thames Valley 5x3.5 miles Road Relay, Stockley Park, 22 March 2003.
Enter … Martin Dent ... to smash the lap record at Stockley Park
Right: Kevin Nash brought us home first on leg one.
Photo by Patricia Mead
With a strong team in action in the following day’s activities “up North”, our squad for the TVH Road Relay was depleted – but interesting. With three international runners interspersed with those “gold ol’ boys” Bruce Barton and Steve Zealey we expected the team to yo-yo up and down the field as the race progressed but Bruce and Steve exceeded expectations and we wound up second across the line and oh! so close to a first.
In fact it was an unofficial second as our last man, Martin Dent, although the holder of a British passport, has raced for Australia internationally and as a result has to undergo a short period of waiting before being eligible to compete for us.
Kevin Nash did the business on stage one to clock the third fastest time of the day and hand over to Bruce in the lead but with Shaftesbury’s international 1500m runner Tony Whiteman not far behind. Unsurprisingly Bruce ignored Whiteman and just kept his feet on the ground as a black and white striped whirlwind hit him a few hundred metres up the road. Bruce concentrated on running at his own pace and the end of his stint saw him hand over to David Anderson in fifth. David soon ate up the two men ahead but the leading pair were out of sight and although he ran the second fastest time of the day and gained considerable ground, it was more or less a solo effort.
We’ve previously reported that Steve Zealey filled out our National Cross team admirably and here he gamely took over in third – and held it! His tremendous effort meant that Martin Dent, 1 minute and 12 seconds down on the leader, had just a remote chance of pulling us back to the front. Aldershot were now leading from Shaftesbury.
And didn’t Martin go for it! He reeled in the Shaftesbury man and then set about the remaining team ahead. With half a mile to go the gap was down to about 20 seconds and shrinking all the time – but the finish came up just in time to save the Aldershot man from being pipped on the line. What we had witnessed was the most amazing run seen on this circuit for Martin’s time was six seconds inside the previous lap record set by Aldershot’s young star Chris Thompson. Sadly, this fact was totally ignored at the presentation simply because our man has another eight days to go before he is cleared to compete for us. Nevertheless, we have ascertained that the time WILL go down as the lap record and in the meantime we eagerly anticipate seeing what Martin can do at Milton Keynes.
Maria Sharp was our only runner in the women's race but she had a terrific run to chase home the leader on the first stage for a 20:26 clocking.
1 Aldershot F&D 1:29:24; n/s Belgrave 1:29:42; 2 Shaftesbury Barnet H 1:30:29; 3 Windsor SE&H 1:31:31.
K.Nash (1) 17:11; B.Barton (5) 19:35; David Anderson (3) 17:04; S.Zealey (3) 19:13; M.Dent (2) 16:41.
Fastest: M.Dent (Belgrave) 16:41 (lap record); David Anderson (Belgrave) 17:02; K.Nash (Belgrave) 17:11.
Team Solent 5 km, Ocean Village, Southampton, 9 March 2003
Second consecutive team win at Ocean Village
Knowing that he was in great form and looking for the £100 bonus on offer for beating the course record of 14:23, Steve Sharp ripped away from the field no sooner than the starting klaxon had been sounded. After a minute and a half of running he was already 30 metres clear and going away. Reaching the first kilometre in 2:36 (13 minute pace !) even Steve thought perhaps he might be overdoing it and he settled down until at 3 km he was through in 8:25 - heading for a more reasonable 14 minutes.
But that dreaded south coast wind made itself felt again. It was not so strong as last year but still took its toll and as Steve raced around the final turn and into the finish area he could see that he was just outside his target. Nevertheless, he was well pleased with his run, having won by 24 seconds from Harrow's Richard Ashe (second-claim Belgrave). Both these guys are coached by Terry Noad and with occasional training partner Al Stewart up in fourth spot and only narrowly missing third, and Maria Sharp third home in the women's race, Terry was well pleased with the performance of his "stable".
Probably finishing faster than anyone over the final kilometre, Al Stewart was only two seconds behind his best ever, set in more benign conditions. Stephen Kennefick progressed again in his aim to reach SEAA 12-Stage A team status and with Rob Tubbs close behind, the team race was wrapped up.
1 S.Sharp (Belgrave) 14:28; 2 R.Ashe (Harrow/Belgrave) 14:52; 3 A.Morgan- Lee (Salford) 14:54; 4 A.Stewart 14:55; 12 S.Kennefick 15:56; 16 R.Tubbs 16:15.
Teams: 1 Belgrave 33; 2 Southampton Runners 45; 3 Team Solent 50.
Women: 1 K.Butler (Windsor SE&H) 16:29; 2 A.Procter (Basingstoke &MH) 17:02; 3 M.Sharp (Belgrave) 17:21.