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Men's race reports by Alan Mead, Women's by Catherine Eastham
Road Running & Cross Country Team Events, November 2003 to February 2004
Full results National Cross Country Stats Snippets
Cross Country Plate Final positions: Men Women
ECCA National Cross Country Champs, Temple Newsam, Leeds, 21 February 2004
An historic day for Belgrave
Any doubts as to whether our men’s team were serious about the race were blown away on the stiff Yorkshire breeze when the team manager turned up at Temple Newsam Park on the Friday afternoon to check out the course and found that half his team were there, having had similar ideas.
And that course was bit of a shock. The steep rise from the start at the lowest point in the park was tougher than anything Parliament Hill could offer: undulations, tussocks of grass and boggy patches added to the torture of that relentless 800 metre climb which would also have to be tackled at the finish. Then there was the farmland and the general rough nature of the ground throughout the rest of the loop. Although, of course, one has to say, “It’s the same for everyone,” there’s no doubting that this time it was a real cross country runner’s course.
Later in the evening, pre-race speculation among the supporters over a drink or two in the Toby Carvery centred on the fact that Birhan Dagne was reportedly looking for a medal to raise her profile in her quest to obtain selection for the Olympic Marathon and that the men’s chances, although good, were by no means certain. Regular rivals Newham & Essex Beagles had been so dominant in the “Southern” while the holders, Leeds AC, were sure to be strong on their home ground. Everyone felt that we had five men who would normally be equal to any other team’s five – but Paul Freary was suffering from a little niggle while 1500m/5000m man Stephen Sharp was not enamoured with the course. And who would that sixth man be? We reckoned he’d need to be home in 60th-70th but would it be Will Cockerell (always solid and looking for that something special), Hassan Raidi (sometimes brilliant), or Simon Marwood (a very promising ‘chaser but an unknown quantity over the country). At least all were agreed that it was going to be exciting.
Race day dawned still and cold. The tent party had completed their task by 8am, and before heading back for breakfast they looked back down on the scene from the heights of Temple Newsam House. The claret, gold and blue Belgrave pavilion stood in splendid isolation on the brilliant green of the course below.
Four hours later and the park was a hive of activity. Shelters of every kind now surrounded our marquee. Most displayed the colours of hopeful teams and there, in the centre, below the Belgrave flag, our team began to assemble. Let the tournament begin!
Birhan Dagne wins our first senior individual gold
Reigning champion Hayley Yelling (WSE&H) had chosen to miss the race in favour of warm weather training in the USA but when the starting gun fired there were plenty of positive runners making a bid for a forward position, not least among them being our own Birhan Dagne. Louise Damen of Bournemouth, the winner of last year’s Junior race and the favourite for this, was soon at the head of the field and as they descended to the farmland it was Birhan taking up second spot although already 30 metres behind.
At the end of the first lap the Mick Woods coached Bournemouth girl had extended her lead to 50 metres but Belgravians were delighted that Birhan appeared to be on course for a silver medal. She was well clear of third and running freely down that bumpy slope to the farmlands. The majority of spectators now made their way to the last half-mile of the course, lining the route to greet the leader. The tide of applause preceded the runners up the final climb and, amazingly, it was the compact figure of Birhan that finally hove into view first. Louise Damen had not been able to match Birhan’s strength and experience over the second circuit and the Belgrave woman ran into the finishing straight a full 120 metres to the good. Belgrave’s first senior “National” winner! Tremendous!
Team title returns to Belgrave after 56 years
Down at the foot of the hill the tension was rising. The three minute warning had sounded and still Belgrave runners had no intention of getting down to their racing strip. Finally, thirteen men in claret and gold stood line abreast intending to get the best start possible. The weeks of anticipation, persuasion and organisation were over and the best Belgrave cross-country team seen in almost a lifetime was in action.
A huge roar from the 1500 runners followed the starter’s gun and as they burst up the slope there seemed barely time to scurry across to the next section of the course before the runners could be seen tearing at breakneck speed down to the bottom again. Coventry Godiva’s Glyn Tromans, a winner at Stowe in 2000, was already clear. He was up for it and no mistake! But the pack behind was full of Belgrave runners and after the first full lap we had the glorious site of six of our men in the top 36 – Barden at 4, Graffin 7, Nash 11, Freary 25, Sharp 26 and Raidi 36. What a start.
Tromans was flying as the second lap unfolded. Dominic Bannister of Shaftesbury was clearly second with Mansfield’s Billy Farquharson third. Of the Belgrave boys, Spencer Barden looked for a while as if he might be able to close up to third place; Allen Graffin was up a place to sixth, Kevin Nash had slipped back to 18th and was now being pressured by our man of the day – Paul Freary – right behind him. Hassan Raidi had also gone back a few places and Stephen Sharp didn’t look comfortable as he began to occupy a position that is unheard of for him in a cross-country race – 50th. Hold on “Sharpy!”
The colours of Newham & Essex were not as prominent as our own so that challenge seemed over and we later learned that Mark Warmby, racing with a sore throat to keep their chances alive, had had to pull out. No other club's colours seemed prominent en masse. Support was on hand behind our scoring six in the form of Will Cockerell, just over the 100; Simon Marwood was not far behind him but going back a bit after a strong start while Tom Hadfield and Roger Alsop were battling it out around 200.
As with the women’s race, forward positions changed on the last lap but nothing was going to deflect Tromans from his second “National” victory – not even losing a shoe with about 2km still to run. Farquharson surged to overtake Bannister while Rob Birchall, racing in the colours of his new club Notts AC (watch them in the next few seasons) but not yet eligible to score, got the better of our own Spen who was in turn now in the sights of Allen Graffin. That man Freary was having a dream run right to the end; he later admitted to not feeling as if he was working, just going through the motions. Kevin Nash, now strong enough to bear the load of 100 miles per week plus in training, wiped out all memories of his nightmare run in 2000. And another to produce more than expected was Hassan Raidi, holding on grimly for a place in the low 40s. Leeds runners had now been spotted in force between 20 and 50 and their last two men were now home before 60. Where was our sixth man? At last, looking more tired than we have ever seen him, Steve Sharp was running down the finishing funnel in 71st – middle distance track races could only seem easy after this.
A quick tally showed that we had about 160 points. Surely nobody could beat that – and eventually confirmation came through from our spy in the results cabin – we’d done it! The English National Cross Country title had returned to Belgrave after 56 winters.
Senior Men's 11.8 km. 1 G.Tromans (Coventry Godiva) 41:24; 2 W.Farquharson (Mansfield) 41:45; 3 D.Bannister (Shaftesbury Barnet) 41:47; 4 R. Birchall M35 (Notts) 42:14, 5 S. Barden (Belgrave) 42:26, 6 Allen Graffin (Belgrave) 42:29, 7 K. Cullen (Highgate) 42:31, 8 D. Mitchinson (Newham & Essex) 42:41, 9 A. Jones (Salford) 42:42, 10 D.Taylor M40 (Blackheath & Bromley) 42:45, 11 N. Talbot (Notts) 42:50, 12 P. Green (Sale) 42:53, 13 J. Moorhouse (Birchfield) 42:54, 14 J.Downes (L.Irish) 42:58, 15 G.Raven (Sale) 43:04, 16 P.Freary (Belgrave) 43:06, 17 H. Lobb (Bedford & County) 43:09, 18 D.Robinson (Tipton) 43:12, 19 M.Shaw (Tipton) 43:13, 20 I.Hudspith (Morpeth) 43:16; 22 K.Nash 43:23; 48 H.Raidi 44:24; 73 S.Sharp 44:58; 99 W.Cockerell 45:41; 158 S.Marwood 47:17; 211 R.Alsop 48:16; 255 T.Hadfield 48:54; 257 J.Wolf 48:55; 291 W.Lynch 49:37; 957 D.Anderson 59:29; 1399 finished.
Team: 1 Belgrave H 160, 2 Leeds City 254, 3 Sale H Manchester 258, 4 Bedford & County 283, 5 Bingley H 423, 6 Newham & EB 451, 7 Morpeth H 483, 8 London Irish 495, 9 Salford H 580, 10 Tipton H 595; 116 teams closed in.
Team: (9 man) 1 Leeds City 614, 2 Belgrave H 620, 3 Bedford & County 744; 50 teams closed in.
Senior Women's 8.1 km. 1 B. Dagne (Belgrave) 32:28, 2 L. Damen (Bournemouth) 32:51, 3 J. Potter (Charnwood) 33:10, 4 S. Thomas (Sale) 33:16, 5 G. Keddie (Leeds) 33:19, 6 J. Clague (Liverpool) 33:21, 7 A. Stiles (Bristol) 33:31, 8 H. Lawrence (Wirral) 33:33, 9 M. McDonnell (Chester le Street) 33:37, 10 J. O'Mara (Wakefield) 33:48; 454 finished.
Team 1 Bristol 100, 2 Sale H Manchester 112, 3 Tipton H 155.
Under
20 Men's 9 km. 1 Phil McGlory (Liverpool) 31:17, 2 T.Humphries (Cannock
& Staff) 31:25, 3 T.Sharland (Ipswich) 31:42; 86 M.Humphrey 36:16; 147
finished.
Surrey CC League Division 1, Race 4, Lloyd Park, 07 February 2004
Belles are Surrey League Champions!
Going into Match 4, with 3 wins out of 3 under their belts, the Belles were by no means complacent. Not only did they want to win the league, but they wanted to be the unbeaten champions. With a few athletes out of action as a result of injury, every point from every runner would count. And so, with typical dogged determination and winning focus, the Belles set out to tackle the mud and puddles of Lloyd Park for the final time.
Early on in the race Allison O'Neill of Ranelagh took a strong first position with a Thames Hare & Hounds pair including Dorothea Lee battling each other for second and third. Just a few places further back the Belles began to position themselves, again using good packing and working off each other.
Tilly Heaton again took the honour of being first Belle home, maintaining the 7th position she worked herself into early on lap 1. The battle for 2nd and 3rd Belle was more interesting and featuring new member Vicky Clarke, in her first outing for the Belles and first cross country race in many a year. Training regularly with Tilly, Juliette & Co, Vicky knew where she should place but with a very fast start, found the 6k course tough going towards the end. Team captain Juliette Clark positioned herself just behind Vicky and steadily and gradually reeled her in, finishing just 1 second ahead. This result sees Juliette as clear winner of the Ladies Cross Country plate even without competing in the Nationals.
Vicki Edwards, finding she's actually enjoying the cross country more and more, had another solid performance just 2 places down on Vicky C, and the fifth scorer, Louise Cooper, brought the winning team home with her 18th place.
Overall, 6 of the girls came in the top 20, with Syreeta Stracey our 6th home. Rosie Powell showed an improvement on her last couple of races with 26th place and Nina Mills came home in 68th. We mustn't forget our 33rd placed runner, Helen Alsop, who was a member of the team when the Belles last won the Surrey League title, even though there was a ten year gap in between! Anne Hegvold, despite a good start on lap 1, pulled out suffering from a sinus infection and recent heavy cold.
So, the Belles are now the league champions as well as county champs and Reigate Priory Relay champs. Overall, a pretty successful season over the cross country, and the start of a promising and illustrious future for the women's team.
Unfortunately, due to problems with the results, the individual winners of the league were not available on the day. The juniors match and league results were also being calculated and will be reported as soon as available.
1 A.O'Neill (Ranelagh) 22:05; 2 D.Lee (Thames H&H) 22:23; 3 L.Hasell (Thames H&H) 22:27; 4 C.Evans (South London) 22:59; 5 S.Seal (Rane) 23:12; 6 M.Pannett (Dulwich) 23:13; 7 M.Heaton (Belgrave) 23:16; 8 A.Fletcher (Dulwich) 23:18; 9 L.Crawford (S London) 23:28; 10 J.Clark W35 (Belgrave) 23:31; 11 V.Clarke 23:32; 13 V.Edwards 24:11; 18 L.Cooper 24:52; 20 S.Stracey 25:03; 26 R.Powell U20 25:35; 33 H.Alsop W35 26:31; 68 N.Mills W55 29:29; A.Hegvold dnf.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H 59; 2 South London H 73; 3 Dulwich Runners 91; 4 Ranelagh H 119; 5 Herne Hill H 138; 6 Thames Hare & Hounds 138; 7 Wimbledon Windmilers 190; 8 South London H B 214; 9 Belgrave H B 240; 10 Dorking & Mole Valley 246.
Final league result: 1 Belgrave H 230; 2 South London H 274; 3 Ranelagh H 370; 4 Herne Hill H 522; 5 Dulwich Runners 569; 6 Thames Hare & Hounds 713; 7 South London H B 746; 8 Epsom & Ewell H 857; 9 Dorking & Mole Valley 885; 10 Woking 97. Relegated to Division 2: Wimbledon Windmilers.
Individuals standings (Best three of four): 1 E.Nelson (Epsom &E) 8; 2 S.Seal (Ranelagh) 12; 3 M.Heaton (Belgrave) 17
Veterans: 1 A.O'Neill (Ranelagh) 3; 2 C.Evans (South London) 5; 3 J Clark
(Belgrave) 10
U20. 1 C.Best (Crawley gst) 16:12; 5 L.Collier (Belgrave U17) 18:45.
U13. 1 S.Cowper (Redhill &SB) 12:32; 8 M.Rose (Belgrave) 13:27.
Full result (courtesy Ranelagh H) Plate
Surrey CC League Division 1, Race 4, Farthing Downs, 07 February 2004
Spen our third individual winner - Bels third in the league
Since a period around Christmas when an injured back set Spencer Barden back a few weeks, he has made good progress, and choosing the final Surrey League race to try himself out found himself lined up in a start that included an increasingly confident Kevin Nash, a blast from the past in the form of international Adrian Passey, John Downes and Dave Taylor from Herne Hill, Sam Haughian in an unfamiliar (for him) Aldershot vest - and all the normal crowd. It was a classy line-up.
It was decidedly fresh on the top of Farthing Downs with huge and occasionally threatening cloud formations sent scudding across an otherwise blue sky by a fierce and cold wind. A mile out, at the top of the first climb with the wind battering the runners, the field was beginning to string out and already Spen was in control - his only problem being the avoidance of grazing cattle who became increasingly panicked by the mob of runners. Downes and Passey were close, with Kevin Nash just a little way back in about 6th.
Heading towards the end of the lap the Belgrave man was winding it up and only Downes was now offering resistance with Kevin Nash looking stronger as the race went on and gradually picking off the men ahead. In the team race, with Herne Hill and Thames only narrowly separated, it looked as if it would go down to the wire.
Up at the top and going past the tea-rooms the order had become established. Both the Belgrave men looked to be in fine fettle and it will be interesting to see how they go in the National in a fortnight's time.
Further down the field Will Cockerell was tanned from a spot of warm weather training but still looking for that streak of top form; Knut Hegvold was as solid as ever and new man James Beech showed us that he will have a lot to offer when the relays come around. Will now looks unbeatable in the Plate competition with Warren Lynch looking increasingly sure of the silver medal.
And as for the team competition: Thames just held off a huge Herne Hill challenge and once again have their hands on the league title.
1 S.Barden (Belgrave) 27:26; 2 J.Downes (Herne Hill) 27:44; 3 K.Nash (Belgrave) 28:06; 4 E.Robinson (Aldershot F&D) 28:16; 5 D.Taylor (Herne Hill) 28:19; 6 A.Moses (Reigate Priory) 28:22; 7 A.Passey (Belgrave gst) 28:24; 8 M.Norminton (Herne Hill) 28:37; 9 M.Shore (Thames H&H) 28:35; 10 B.Reynolds (Thames H&H) 28:58; 27 W.Cockerell 30:12; 31 K.Hegvold M40 30:25; 32 J.Beech 30:27; 33 R.Alsop 30:31; 45 W.Lynch 31:12; 53 T.Hadfield 31:56; 57 C.Axe 32:03; 63 M.Humphrey U20 32:20; 71 C.Dickinson M55 32:52; 77 R.Marcus 33:11; 104 C.Smith 35:20; 105 S.Connor 35:24; 123 S.Baxendale 37:45; 124 H.Corbett 37:48; 136 finished.
Teams and final league positions:
1 Thames H&H (8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 23, 29, 37, 39) 197 - 1st with 833 points overall
2 Herne Hill H (2, 5, 7, 18, 19, 22, 25, 28, 35, 38) 199 - 2nd 864
3 Belgrave H ( 1, 3, 26, 30, 31, 32, 41, 45, 48, 54) 311 - 3rd 1395
4 Aldershot F&D (4, 21, 34, 40, 43, 51, 58, 62, 66, 78) 457 - 4th 1577
5 South London H (13, 17, 24, 55, 57, 60, 61, 64, 65, 70) 486 - 5th 1910
6 Ranelagh H (16, 20, 33, 47, 50, 52, 59, 67, 71, 80) 495 - 6th 1945
7 Reigate Priory AC (6, 27, 42, 46, 49, 53, 56, 73, 74, 76) 502 - 7th 2136
8 Stragglers (36, 44, 63, 72, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 85) 703 - 8th 2690
9 Boxhill R (10, 68, 69, 75, 83, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90) 745 - 9th 3030
SEAA Cross Country Champs., Parliament Hill, 24 January 2004
Senior Men's 15 km: 1 H.Lobb (Bedford) 47:14; 2 D.Mitchinson (Newham &EB) 47:16; 3 M.Warmby (Newham &EB) 47:38; 65 W.Cockerell 51:40; 134 T.Hadfield 54:41; 186 P.Carstairs M40 56:04; 194 W.Lynch 56:15; 550 Don Anderson M45 66:45; 800 finished.
Under 17 Men's 6 km: 1 K.Hardy (Ipswich) 22:07; 139 J.MacRae 28:09; 158 R.Collier 29:42; 161 P.Cowling 31:35.
Women's 8 km: 1 L.Damen (Bournemouth) 31:03; 2 J.Bleasdale (Hillingdon) 32:44; 3 A.Gascoigne (Wells City) 32:52; 38 J.Clark W35 35:59; 80 V.Edwards 37:49; 297 finished.
Under 17 Women's 5km: 1 M.Foley (Havering) 20:31; 67 L.Collier 25:05.
Plate competition Full results
Surrey CC League Division 1, Race 3, Richmond Park, 10 January 2004
Marty's farewell run
Having come on a bit since his injuries of last Autumn, Martin Dent came to the end of his year with Belgrave with a third place on Ranelagh's course in Richmond Park. On the first of the 2.8 mile circuits it seemed that Marty was on the verge of breaking away and as the leaders completed the lap he certainly looked the most comfortable of a trio that included Vint of Aldershot and Herne Hill's Dave Taylor, celebrating his first day as a veteran. But it was 40 year-old Taylor breaking away on the second lap and as the Belgrave man found himself going through an uncomfortable patch he was also picked up by Vint. Next Friday our man heads back to Australia.
Showing signs of getting back to his best form, Will Cockerell was up a notch to 15th - maybe having timed it right this season with the major events looming - and he was chased by the Belgrave veteran duo of Mike Trees and Knut Hegvold. Relatively unfit, Mike had returned to the UK just in time for the previous week's Berkshire county championships and seven days and some hard sessions later, found the Richmond Park inclines pretty tough.
We witnessed another fine run from Warren Lynch who is now firmly settled into a higher plane of fitness these days. Warren had his eyes firmly fixed on 1500m man Chris Axe, back from a calf muscle injury, and had the beating of an unfit Adam Leane. Once again veteran Phil Carstairs maintained his record of always getting into the scoring ten at some stage of the winter.
If there was ever any doubt that a top-two team position was not going to be Belgrave's in 2003-4, it was completely blown away by a devastating team run from Herne Hill who moved up to within 29 points of Thames who will have to go into the final match with all guns blazing to hold on to the title.
1 D.Taylor M40 (Herne Hill) 28:09; 2 R.Vint (Aldershot F&D) 28:29; 3 M.Dent (Belgrave) 28:40; 4 J.McFarlane (Thames H&H) 28:59; 6 J.Downes (Herne Hill) 29:11; 7 S.Major (South London) 29:21; 8 A.Moses (Reigate Priory) 29:26; 9 A.Weir (Thames H&H) 29:29; 10 E.Prickett (Reigate Priory) 29:39; 15 W.Cockerell 30:02; 23 M.Trees M40 30:58; 25 K.Hegvold M40 31:03; 50 C.Axe 32:27; 51 W.Lynch 32:30; 52 A.Leane 32:36; 59 M.Humphrey 33:00; 62 P.Carstairs M40 33:12; 64 S.Zealey 33:25; 71 R.Marcus 33:50; 76 R.Poulter 33:59; 95 T.O'Neill M50 35:17; 98 A.Bicourt 35:47; 112 M.Nouch M45 36:43; 120 A.Cowmeadow 37:49; 122 H.Corbett M45 38:00; 124 S.Baxendale 38:06; 144 J.Sturge U20 47:16.
1 Herne Hill (1, 5, 6, 11, 12, 21, 26, 28, 31, 32) 173 - 2nd after 3 races with 665
2 Thames H&H (4, 9, 17, 18, 20, 24, 27, 29, 33, 35) 216 - 1st 636
3 Belgrave (3, 15, 23, 25, 45, 46, 47, 52, 55, 57) 368 - 3rd 1084
4 South London (7, 13, 14, 39, 49, 50, 56, 60, 61, 62) 411 - 5th 1424
5 Ranelagh (16, 19, 30, 37, 40, 43, 48, 54, 66, 70) 423 - 6th 1450
6 Aldershot F&D (2, 22, 36, 42, 51, 59, 63, 67, 82, 83) 507 - 4th 1120
7 Reigate Priory (8, 10, 41, 44, 58, 64, 71, 75, 79, 81) 531 - 7th 1634
8 Stragglers (34, 38, 68, 69, 72, 73, 74, 77, 78, 80) 663 - 8th 1987
9 Boxhill R (53, 65, 76, 87, 87, 87, 87, 87, 87, 87) 803 - 9th 2285
Under 17/Under 15: 1 M.Lloyd (South London) 16:06; 7 J.Macrae 17:53; 13 P.Cowling 19:56.
Teams: 1 South London 22; 2 Ranelagh 74; 3 Belgrave 105; 4 Herne Hill 109. Overall: 1 South London 170; 2 Herne Hill 211; 3 Ranelagh 334; 4 Belgrave 365;
Plate competition Full results
Surrey Women's CC League Division 1, Race 3, Richmond Park, 10 January 2004
Another close thing - but now it's three wins out of three
Yet another successful cross country race for the Belles, with the senior team winning their third successive league match and poised to take the league title with just one match to go. The Belles have managed to go unbeaten for the past five cross country races, with the Priory relays, the Surrey Champs and the three league matches now under their belt.
On the first small lap round the woods the Belles were placed back in 3rd position with Ranelagh in the lead and SLH again featuring in the mix. Our athletes tend towards the longer endurance distances, so this wasn't a surprise and we were confident that places would be gained over the second longer lap down towards the pond and back.
Juliette Clark was the first Belle home in 9th gaining 7 places on lap 2, including that of team mate Tilly Heaton who was just pipped into 10th on the final climb. A pleasant surprise returning to the team was Anne Hegvold, back from injury and the arrival of baby Selma. Anne took the first lap easy as she rediscovered her previous racing form then pushed hard on the 2nd lap, again pulling a few places forward. Welcome back Anne!
Vicki Edwards also surprised both herself and the supporters. A solid road runner and triathlete, it has been many years since Vicki raced over the country and to say she was looking forward to it was an understatement. Based in the Midlands now, Vicki travelled down to help out the team and proved that she has nothing to fear in future cross country races. Our 5th scorer also excelled on the Richmond Park course, with Helen Smethurst pushing herself hard to come back in 24th place.
The B team also produced some good performances with Louise Cooper and Syreeta Stracey just missing out on the A team in 26th and 28th place. Rosie Powell had a struggle coping with the mud of Richmond Park preferring the solidity of the road and track.
Louise Collier in the U17's race showed a pleasing return to form, being only the second U17 home and third overall. Given she still has another year in this age group, this is a highly promising development.
Likewise, in the junior races, the Colliers managed to turn out 3 athletes, our best team so far this season. Well done to Victoria Clark in the U13 race placing 21st and to Gemma Williams and Chloe Sanders, neither of whom are normally endurance athletes, placing 14th and 18th respectively in the U15 race. Keep up the good work girls.
1 M.Pannett (Dulwich R) 20:47; 2 A.O'Neill (Ranelagh) 20:58; 3 E.Nelson (Epsom & Ewell) 21:33; 4 D.Lee (Thames H&H) 21:48; 5 S.Seal (Ranelagh) 21:49; 6 E.Latto (Herne Hill) 21:54; 7 C.Evans (South London) 21:55; 8 L.Crawford (South London) 22:06; 9 J.Clark (Belgrave) 22:14; 10 M.Heaton (Belgrave) 22:20; 15 A. Hegvold W35 22:38; 21 V.Edwards 22:57; 24 H.Smethurst W35 23:19; 26 L.Cooper 23:25; 28 S.Stracey 23:39; 38 H.Alsop 24:23; 46 R.Powell U20 24:59; 87 N.Mills W55 29:35.
1 Belgrave (9, 10, 15, 21, 24) 79 - 1st after three races with 171
2 Ranelagh (2, 5, 13, 18, 43) 81 - 3rd 251
3 South London (7, 8, 20, 22, 25) 82 - 2nd 201
4 Herne Hill (6, 12, 14, 17, 49) 98 - 4th 384
5 Dulwich R (1, 11, 35, 42, 61) 150 - 5th 478
6 Thames H&H (4, 16, 29, 48, 60) 157 - 7th 575
11 Belgrave B (26, 28, 38, 46, 87) 225 - 11th 793
24 teams closed in.
Under 20/Under 17. 1 A.Beverly (Ranelagh) 18:20; 3 L.Collier U17 19:23.
Under 15. 1 K.Mertens (Woking) 14:11; 14 G.Williams 16:21; 18 C.Sanders 20:34.
Under 13. 1 S.Cowper (Redhill &SB) 14:42; 21 V.Clark 17:06.
Surrey County Cross Country Champs., Lloyd Park, Croydon, 03 January 2004
A very, very Happy New Year
On a freezing cold early new year day the Belles senior team fought hard for every well earned position and lifted the Senior Women’s Surrey Cross Country championship trophy for the first time since 1993. It couldn’t have been a closer competition, with the Belles' first four runners scoring equal points with Ranelagh, but clinching the title on the merit of getting their four home first.
The field settled into their positions early on in the first lap with Jo Kelsey (Woking) and Eleanor Baker (South London) taking a strong lead. The Belles were never far behind with Tilly Heaton leading our girls, closely followed by Angela Walker, Juliette Clark, Erica Fogg and Syreeta Stracey - all in top 20 positions. By the end of lap one Jo’s lead was well established, with Sarah Seal of Ranelagh also having a fabulous race and moving into third place. The vests of Ranelagh, Belgrave and SLH dominated, as in the Surrey league, and at half way Ranelagh just had the edge on Belgrave, who similarly edged SLH.
It was on lap two that the Belles strength and endurance paid off. Tilly maintained her place as team leader, a personal triumph for her, and she managed to gain a place, moving into 6th. Juliette, as team captain, also gained a couple of places, although one was our very own Angela Walker. Watching Juliette fight to the line to overtake a Walton athlete made our supporters realise just how much this trophy was wanted. Angela’s Christmas break might have meant that she did not have the honour of being the first Belle home for the first time in a long while, but her 10th place overall was a brilliant result; and to see Erica Fogg just 3 seconds behind but more importantly ahead of Ranelagh’s next two scoring athletes, meant that the Belles were jubilant in their success.
However, there were more than just the four Belles out there racing their hardest. Syreeta Stracey, although not happy with her race, ran incredibly well finishing just outside the top 20 and Nina Mills completed the course as the Belle who’s possibly completed the most Surrey Champs over the years,
Rosie Powell, usually prominent in our Senior League team, ran as an individual in the U20’s age group and featured at the front end of the race, finishing 5th U20. Louise Collier, competing in the same race as Rosie, but as an U17 showed that she’s back from her injury worries of earlier in the season, and placed 6th. With another year as an U17 to go, Louise looks set to have a few more years of junior success ahead of her.
And much further north, and undoubtedly in much colder conditions, Louise Cooper placed 16th in the Lancashire cross country champs.
It’s been a great start to the year and long may it continue. With two Surrey league wins under our belt and two races still to go, it’s essential that we continue to up the ante and get our strongest teams out in order to lift the league title. Having not won the league since 1994, that’s another trophy that’s due our name on it…
It's another silver for Nasher
Two years ago on this very course Kevin Nash had a ding dong battle with Herne Hill's Dave Taylor. Neither took part last year at Banstead but back on the Lloyd Park loops the pair were at it again. This time Kevin made a slightly steadier start as Taylor and South London's Stuart Major broke away in the first 2km but by the time the opening lap had been completed Nasher was setting his sights on Taylor's back as Major's bold bid faded.
The second lap saw the Belgrave man close to within twenty metres - but that's as close as it got as the vastly experienced Taylor maintained his lead over the third and final circuit. It was Kevin's first race since August and after a brilliant 2003 summer season it looks as if he's got things just right as the major races of the winter season come into sight.
Once again we were unable to muster a Senior men's team but did have the pleasure of seeing Mark Humphrey win his first ever athletics medal of any sort as he came home a clear third in the Junior Men's event.
An unfit Mike Trees excelled to only narrowly miss out on silver in Berkshire while down in Dorset, Tom Barry had a brilliant run to keep within 15 seconds of the Inter-Counties and Schools champion.
Surrey CC Champs.
Senior Men 12 kms: 1 D.Taylor (Herne Hill) 40:22; 2 K.Nash (Belgrave) 40:35; 3 P.Haywood (Boxhill R) 41:06; 22 W.Cockerell 44:16; 35 W.Lynch 46:47; 97 Don Anderson M45 52:58; 169 finished.
U20 Men 8km: 1 P.Wicks (Windsor SE&H) 27:31; 3 M.Humphrey (Belgrave) 30:32.
Senior
Women 8 kms: 1 J.Kelsey (Woking) 31:27; 2 E.Baker (SLH) 31:35; 3 S.Seal
(Ranelagh) 32:58; 6 M.Heaton 33:31; 8 J.Clark W35 34:12; 10 A.Walker
34:19; 11 E.Fogg 34:22; 22 S.Stracey 36:17 69 N.Mills W55 44:44; 83
finished.
Teams: 1 Belgrave (6, 8, 9, 10) 33; 2 Ranelagh (3, 7, 11, 12) 33; 3 South
London (2, 5, 14, 16) 37.
U20 Women 4.8km: 1 G.Carter (Guildford & Godalming) 19:11; 5 R.Powell 21:05.
U17 Women 4.8km: 1 D.Christmas (Crawley) 20:02; 6 L.Collier 23:12.
Berkshire CC Champs. Prospect Park, Reading. Senior Men. 1 R.Lee (Windsor SE&H) 37:06; 3 M.Trees M40 37:23.
Dorset CC Champs, Cranford Magna. U15 Boys: 1 M.Clarke (Poole) 11:01; 2 T.Barry 11:15.
Lancashire CC Champs, Witton Park, Blackburn. Senior Women. 1 S.Willimott (Blackburn) 22:48; 16 L.Cooper 26:10.
Surrey Women's CC League Division 1, Race 2, Lightwater, 13 December 2003
Belles top the league at the midway point
Belgrave took a firm grip on the Women’s Surrey League for 2003-4 as some great running over the Lightwater heathland made it two wins out of two at the halfway point in the series.
Tilly Heaton was most prominent for the Belles after the opening rush but yet again it was Angela Walker with our highest position at the end of the day. Angela now takes a clear lead in the Plate Competition but behind her things could hardly be tighter. Five runners are squeezed into the top three places and it is beginning to look unlikely that anyone can medal in this competition without covering all six events.
Rachel Weston celebrated her return to the Belgrave fold by making the scoring five for the ‘A’ team while behind her Syreeta Stracey led home a ‘B’ team that impressed by placing 5th. A total of fifteen women have turned out for the two races and with depth like this is going to be difficult to dislodge the Belles from the top of the pile.
Things are looking good in the under 20 age group as well as Imogen Ainsworth took 2nd spot with Louise Collier in 5th.
1 E.Baker (South London) 23:43; 2 E.Nelson (Epsom &E) 24:03; 3 A.Walker (Belgrave) 24:19; 4 S.Seal (Ranelagh) 24:25; 5 M.Heaton (Belgrave) 24:46; 6 C.Evans (South London) 24:53; 7 J.Clark W35 25:05; 9 E.Fogg 25:11; 12 R.Weston 25:28; 18 S.Stracey 26:04; 21 L.Cooper 26:24; 31 H.Smethurst 27:12; 36 R.Powell 27:31; 63, D.Hearn 29:56; 65 C.Eastham 30:10; 95 finished.
1 Belgrave H (3, 5, 7, 9, 12) 36 - 1st after two races with 92
2 South London H (1, 6, 8, 10, 20) 45 - 2nd 119
3 Ranelagh H (4, 11, 14, 19, 23) 71 - 3rd 170
4 Herne Hill H (13, 15, 16, 22, 38) 104 - 4th 128
5 Belgrave H B (18, 21, 31, 36, 63) 169 - 9th 493
6 South London B (24, 29, 30, 37, 56) 176 - 6th 363
19 Belgrave H C 485
U20W 1 A.Beverley U17 (Ranelagh) 17:15; 2 I.Ainsworth U17 (Belgrave)
17:42; 3 M.Knepsl U17 (Herc. Wimb) 17:59; 5 L.Collier U17 18:20.
U15G 1 K.Mertens (Woking) 13:03; 16 K.Burns 14:54
Full result Cross Country Plate
Surrey CC League Division 1, Race 2, Reigate Priory Park, 13 December 2003
Andy Graffin back to winning ways
In the drizzle and gloom of Reigate Priory Park the Bels were again able to supply the individual winner. Andy Graffin was racing his first cross country in a long while but looking every bit as if he'll make some impact when the big races after Christmas come along. As a team, far from pulling back points on the leaders, we slipped further down the pile. Aldershot's men took full advantage of the fact that the Surrey league, for a change, did not clash with the Hampshire league and packed in their ten men before we had five home. They leapfrogged over us in the league table as a result.
Andy was soon making the running and as the steep descent towards the end of the first lap was negotiated he held a 30-40m lead over Reigate's Alister Moses and Herne Hill's Dave Taylor. Going out again his lead had increased further but Taylor ran a storming second lap to move into second and close down on Andy who had by now turned off the power.
A troublesome knee had been hampering Martin Dent for some weeks but he sportingly agreed to run round in the teens. As it turned out, an improvement in the days before the race meant that he was able to do better than that and come home 9th in what was again a high standard race. Young Mark Humphrey scored again - moving up to sixth man home - and behind him the team was filled out by some engine-room boys who were pleased to be in the "ten". Closing in was none other than Frank Ward; it's years since he last ran Surrey League for us but he was able to keep up his record of always having scored.
1 Andy Graffin (Belgrave) 26:16; 2 D.Taylor (Herne Hill) 26:21; 3 A.Moses (Reigate Priory) 26:46; 4 P.Rogers (Reigate Priory) 26:50; 5 E.Robinson (Aldershot) 26:53; 6 P.Sly (Thames H&H) 27:09; 9 M.Dent 27:28; 26 W.Cockerell 29:02; 31 R.Alsop 29:08; 40 K.Hegvold M40 29:38; 58 W.Lynch 30:50; 59 M.Humphrey 30:52; 64 B.Barton 30:59; 77 R.Marcus 31:45; 80 F.Ward M45 31:53; 94 A.Bicourt 32:56; 96 N.Rumsey 32:58; 110 C.Smith 33:53; 125 A.Cowmeadow 35:07; 126 H.Corbett M45 35:07; 129 J.Charles 35:43; 149 finished.
1
Thames H&H (6, 7, 11, 14, 16, 19, 28, 34, 38, 39) 212 - 1st after two
races with 420
2 Herne Hill H ( 2, 10, 12, 17, 23, 29, 33, 35, 37, 41) 239 - 2nd 492
3 Aldershot F&D (5, 18, 22, 24, 25, 30, 32, 43, 45, 48) 292 - 3rd 613
4 Belgrave H (1, 9, 26, 31, 40, 51, 52, 56, 66, 69) 401 - 4th 716
5 Reigate Priory (3, 4, 20, 42, 57, 58, 72, 81, 82, 83) 502 - 7th 1103
6 South London H (13, 15, 47, 54, 59, 61, 63, 64, 65, 74) 515 - 5th 1013
7 Ranelagh H (21, 27, 50, 55, 68, 70, 73, 80, 84, 85) 613 - 6th 1027
8 Stragglers (44, 46, 49, 53, 60, 62, 71, 75, 77, 78) 615 - 8th 1324
9 Boxhill R (8, 36, 67, 76, 79, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90) 706 - 9th 1482
Under 17/Under 15 2.5 miles
1 M.Lloyd (South London) 14:52; 14 R.Collier 17:27; 15 P.Cowling 17:51
1 South London 19; 2 Ranelagh 81; 3 Herne Hill 88; 4 Belgrave 109.5
Full result Photo Gallery Top Home Index
ECCA National Cross Country Relay, Berry Hill Park, Mansfield, 8 November 2003.
Autumn Gold
Course record smashed as Bels win National Cross Country Relay
Jonathan Blackledge, fastest of our 'B' team runners, gained five places on the third leg. The B team clocked a time which would have won several of the recent editions of the championship, and beat the A teams from Sale, Birchfield, Hallamshire and Shaftesbury. They were the first B team home.
The autumnal hues of 2003 have been, perhaps, the best in living memory; but for Belgrave fans the golden foliage has been more than matched by the medals won by our outstanding distance runners over the last two months. From Surrey and Southern Road Relays, and the AAA 10km through to AAA 6-Stage and finally the National Cross Country Relay at Berry Hill Park, it has been a truly golden autumn.
We've never ever medalled in the sixteen year history of this event. In fact, to our shame, we have only ever attempted the race once - in 1996 - when our team of Graham Adams, Matt Yates, Darren Mead and Gary Staines set an outstanding time of 1:00:49 but could only reach 5th place. That year the individual record of 14:32 for the two lap 5km course was set by Coventry's Glyn Tromans and both Morpeth and Coventry clocked a team time of 59:56 which has stood since as the team record, although an international Australian quartet once ran as guests in the 59:20 region.
Stage 1
The day started off with fine rain in the air and although the damp subsided, it remained cold throughout. In these conditions Stephen Sharp lined up with well over 100 others, a little nervous that there had been several fallers at the start of earlier races. But he was away well, unlike Will Cockerell whose attention was distracted by an announcement over the public address system at the very time the starter chose to discharge his pistol! Soon Steve Vernon of Stockport, a man in great recent form, and our own Stephen, were drifting away from the bunch. One couldn't help remarking on the stylish running of Stephen. He seemed to float over the ground and as the pair cornered and accelerated together through the twisting woodland paths, feet and breathing hardly making a sound, their duel became almost trancelike.
Vernon just held the upper hand as the first takeover was approached but with a sub-15 performance and Stockport expected to drop away, we had been given a tremendous start.
Stage 2
Away went "Spenny" and within a few hundred metres he was past Stockport's runner and determinedly opening up the gap for us as he has done before so many times. Behind him, course record holder Glyn Tromans was in hot pursuit. Having taken over in 6th the Coventry man was possibly closing down on Spencer as he moved his team into second. Out for the second circuit, however, and it could be seen that our man had judged his race perfectly. The gap opened again and when times were later perused we noted that both had run an identical 14:46. Birchfield had now moved into 3rd and Aldershot, seen as our most likely rivals with Chris Thompson due to go on the last stage, were nearly a minute adrift.
For the Bs, Richard Ward revelled in the situation of having runners neatly lined up ahead of him and he disposed of eleven men while moving his team into the top twenty, overtaking Bingley's and Aldershot's B teams to place us first B team in the race.
Stage 3
Just as Martin Dent had sustained an injury the week before the six stage, so did Paul Freary on the Thursday before this race. While out training he had caught his feet in a loop of wire camouflaged by a drift of leaves and fallen heavily to the ground, badly grazing elbows and hands and sustaining a severe cut to the chin that required stitches at the local hospital. So it was an unshaven and tetanus jabbed Freary that stood in the takeover pen awaiting his team-mate.
Our lead of 11 seconds immediately began to increase as Coventry dropped away and Paul maintained our momentum. Morpeth were now making their presence felt as they moved into third but it was Trafford gaining the most ground as Riley set a new course record of 14:25 to take his team to second - 21 seconds behind the Bels.
It was up another five places for the Bs as the youngest man in our team, Jonathan Blackledge, disposed of some well known names on the distance running scene to move us up to 14th.
Stage 4
Surely now the race was ours. There was no way that AFD's Thompson could gain a minute on David Anderson but one target remaining for the Bels was the course record. We were timed at 44:54 with three laps gone and needed a final effort of 15:01 from the man dubbed by AW as "Geordie" Anderson.
No trouble! In spite of being out on his own David clocked a fearsome 14:42 to beat Gary Staines' club best and the record and title were ours. Morpeth's Mark Hudspith overtook Trafford and then faced a terrific onslaught from Thompson, just holding the Aldershot man off in spite of an outstanding 14:18 for yet another improvement on the individual record. The record had stood for six years before Riley's improvement but his own reign as record holder was less than a quarter of an hour.
Yet again the B team advanced. Royal Marine bandsman Tim Watson enjoyed his first outing in a Belgrave squad and as he moved his team into 13th with a time just 1 second down on Jonathan's we noted that their combined time was faster than three winning times in the last six years.
1 Belgrave 59:36 (record); 2 Morpeth H &AC 1:00:14; 3 Aldershot F&D AC 1:00:15; 4 Salford H 1:01:05; 5 Trafford AC 1:01:09; 6 Bedford & County 1:01:30; 13 Belgrave H 'B' 1:02:10; 127 teams started, 101 teams finished.
Belgrave teams:
A
- S.Sharp (2) 14:56; S.Barden (1) 14:46; 3 P.Freary (1) 15:12; David
Anderson (1) 14:42.
B - W.Cockerell (30) 15:54; R.Ward (19) 15:31; J.Blackledge U20 (14)
15:22; T.Watson (13) 15:23.
Fastest: C.Thompson (record) 14:18; P.Riley (Trafford) 14:25; M.Skinner (Blackheath) 14:39; David Anderson 14:42; G.Reid (Trafford) 14:44; =6 S.Barden (Belgrave) & G.Tromans (Coventry Godiva) 14:46.
Reigate Priory Relays, 1st November 2003.
Hurrah! We did it!
Yes, at last a team gold medal for the Belles, and what a well deserved medal it was. On a lovely, clear, windless day, the Belles took over in the absence of our men's team and brought home the top prize in the Reigate relays. And not only did we have an outstanding A team, and a B team which finished in 22nd place, but we also managed to field the 2 fastest athletes of the day. The dilemma now is: is it lucky President Don Anderson who's helped the girls win, or perhaps the presence of the lucky tea urn? Either way, both will be expected to attend all races from now on….
Leg 1
Louise Cooper took the start for the A team in her first Reigate outing and pulled the Belles into a good solid
position, bringing the team home in 5th place, meaning that a win was definitely possible. Only a couple of minutes behind, team manager Catherine Eastham nervously took part in her first race in club colours for some time. The lead runners were from Ranelagh and South London (details not known yet).
L.Cooper (5) 17:09; C.Eastham (24) 19:08
Leg 2
Tilly Heaton had been moved
onto second leg as Angela Walker had phoned to announce that she might be late due to traffic. Taking off in 5th place Tilly's speed work for the National relays the week before started to show as she picked off three strong runners ahead to bring the Belles back in 2nd place, less than 10 seconds behind Ranelagh. Jo Patterson (nee Poloni), enjoying this cross country season and particularly the Reigate course, set off well and maintained the B team's mid 20's position.
M.Heaton (2) 16:22 33:31; J.Patterson (28) 23:03 42:11.
Leg 3
With Angela Walker, our in form athlete, having less than 10 seconds to gain to pass Ranelagh's lead, we knew it would need nothing less than a major disaster for the race not to be won. Angela dug in, and managed to gain over a minute over Ranelagh, although South London also managed to pull ahead a place. Angela's mate, Nikki Hull, a new Belgrave recruit, proved she will make a valuable contribution to the team in subsequent races, gaining 6 places to bring the B team home in 22nd.
A.Walker (1) 16:07 49:38; N.Hull (22) 18:56 61:07.
1 Belgrave A 49:38; 2 South London H 50:22; 3 Ranelagh 50:43; 22 Belgrave B 61:07.
Fastest: 1 A.Walker (Belgrave) 16:07; =2 M.Heaton (Belgrave) and S.Seal (Ranelagh) 16:22.