Road Running & Cross Country Team Events, November-December 2004
South of Thames Cross Country Association Championship, Wimbledon Common, 18 December 2004
Dewar Shield Comes Back to Belgrave
It was quite like old times: three times round our cross country course in the depths of December, just as we used to for our 7½ miles Championship (with four laps to come in January!). Back in those winter days of the ’60s and ’70s it was usually Gerry North heading the procession but this time our old Captain was on hand as Belgrave President and Team Manager for City of Portsmouth.
One thing that hasn’t changed much in the intervening years: Gordon Biscoe is still deeply involved in setting up the course, assisted by flag man Don Anderson. As Gordon ran from his car, carrying stakes for the finish funnel and stumbling on a tussock that had him lying headlong, he had to remind himself that 50 winters have passed since he first laid out cross country courses on the Common with Arthur Whitehead.
Back to the present and on this occasion we were hosting the Championship race for the SoTCCA. It was the first time the fixture had been held before Christmas – an attempt to avoid a busy January and take up one of the dead December weekends. The result was an increased field of over 180 of whom 12 were Belgravians. On the team lists Herne Hill and Thames were surprisingly not showing full complements so it looked as if it would be SoT 5 mile winners Kent AC slugging it out with the Bels. Today’s Captain, Will Cockerell, was hopeful of a good home team result – and he got it.
Five men detached themselves from the pack on lap one. Mays (Kent), our own Tim Watson and Wicks (Windsor SE&H) seemed to be making the pace but Lockett (Herne Hill) and Kebede (Herc. Wimb) also looked full of running. Unfit World M40 10k Champion Mike Trees was driving the Belgrave train in the teens and twenties and a rough count showed that we were scoring 80 to Kent’s 103. At this stage Mike realised that he had over-reached himself and wisely eased back to avoid a complete collapse but the remaining five miles were to be painful. In the women’s race Tilly Heaton was in 4th and had her sights on 3rd but a pit stop was to put paid to any further advance.
Lap two saw veteran Knut Hegvold moving up the order with “Skip” in tow. Tom Ellacott was also making excellent progress as was Eliot Lyne but it wasn’t all good news. Setting out on that third lap Tim, with a hard week of training behind him, was drifting back from the leaders and Mike, now our sixth man, was looking pretty uncomfortable. Back-up cover was also reduced as Warren Lynch, came out of the race with a bruised foot. In the face of all this, Kent’s navy-blue singlets were all moving forward – a slip now and we’d lose it!
There was no slip. Kent’s young star Jermain Mays had too much in hand for Dereje Kebede of Hercules Wimbledon. For the Bels, Tim Watson was a tired 5th but soon had the consolation of knowing that he headed the winning team – with the talented Knut Hegvold first veteran across the line not far behind in 7th.
Men. 1 J.Mays (Kent AC) 40:13; 2 D.Kebede (Herc. Wimb) 40:231; 3 P.Wicks (Windsor SE&H) 40:45; 5 T.Watson 41:18; 7 K.Hegvold M40 42:31; 9 W.Cockerell 42:37; 15; T.Ellacott 43:11; 21 E.Lyne 44:00; 23 M.Trees M40 44:11; 67 M.Kazimierski 48:52; 81 T.O’Neill M50 51:09; 112 H.Corbett M40 54:55; 152 finished.
M40 – 1 K.Hegvold
Teams: 1 Belgrave (5, 7, 9, 15, 21, 23) 80; 2 Kent AC (1, 10, 14, 18, 26, 28) 97; 3 Brighton & Hove AC (11, 19, 25, 29, 39, 43) 166; 11 teams closed in. 12 to score: 1 Kent AC 400.
Women. 1 S.Seal (Ranelagh) 49:46; 2 M.Synott-Wells W35 (Ranelagh) 51:18; 3 B.Hogwood-McNicholas (Herne Hill) 51:21; 4 M.Heaton 52:13; 17 R.Takayasu 63:09; 27 finished.
Teams: 1 Ranelagh (1, 2, 7, 18, 19, 22) 69.
Women's Surrey CC League Division One Race 2, Richmond Park, 27 November 2004
Belles win in the Park
Senior 6k. 1 L.Hassell (TH&H) 24:12; 2 D.Lee (Thames H&H) 24:45; 3 E.Nelson (Epsom &E) 25:00; 4 C.Bryson 25:13; 7 T.Heaton 26:10; 9 J.Clark W40 26:40, 15 C.Foster n/s 27:31; 15 S.Stracey 27:33, 16 R.Powell 27:34; 19 C. Bertram 28:07; 34 V.Edwards 29:01; 44 A.England 29:53; 51 D.Hearn 30:37; 57 S.Gailey 31:00; 67 C.Eastham 31:40; 135 J.Poloni 37:23; V.Jones dnf; 159 finished.
1 Belgrave 51; 2 Ranelagh 84; 3 Thames H&H 107; 4 South London H 124; 5 Woking 167; 6 Stragglers 183.
After two matches: 1 Ranelagh 123; 2 Belgrave 145; 3 Thames H&H 206; 4 South London H 230; 5 Woking 379; 6 Dulwich R 385.
Under 17 5k. 1 K.Mertens 21:12; 2 Z.Shannon (Dorking MV) 21:28; 3 L.Webb (Sutton) 22:34; 8 L.Collier 24:10.
Under 15G 3.9k. 1 Y.Goater (G&G) 15:45; 2 B.Gardner (Dorking MV) 15:54; 3 B.Beale (Dorking MV) 16:05; 5 G Williams 16:41; 13 S.Dolfe 17:13.
Under 13G 3.9k 1 M.Evans 15:56.
"Sweatshop" Surrey CC League Division One Race 2, Roehampton, 27 November 2004
Thames take the initiative on the Common
With the injury list longer than we'd like and work commitments and alternate races also playing a part, a predicted score of around 300 for race two proved to be spot on. Combine this with the fact that Thames took full advantage of their home course by packing their scoring ten into the first twenty four places – and we saw our initial race advantage swept away.
Two new Belgravians got their first taste of The Butts, and the delightful 5 miles of squelch that Thames reserve for Surrey League races – a long “5” at that. Eliot Lyne came home in Skip’s wake and Andrew Porteous was also well into the “ten”. No doubt we’ll see a lot more of these two men in races to come.
Reigate’s Ali Moses seemed well in control at halfway and went on for a comfortable win but it was a delight for the Bels to see Royal Marine bandsman Tim Watson underline the fact that that he’s working his way back into great shape. He led our team home with second individual place and his next outing will be on the road in the Victory "5".
Mal Byansi is now training regularly with John Bicourt’s squad and is looking for some high positions in the big races to come. He completed the first lap well and from the Bels only Kevin Nash, missing training through regularly working 12 hour days, got the better of him on lap two.
An unfit Mike Trees had had his arm twisted until he turned out – and it’s a good job he did. Now enthused, and with the prospect of the South of Thames Championship ahead, Mike will be sure to make big advances in the intervening weeks.
So, after an interesting day on the Common we are 129 points adrift at the league’s halfway point; the final result is far from being predictable.
1 A.Moses (Rei) 28.45; 2 T.Watson (Bel) 29.00; 3 N.Altmann (TH&H) 29.10; 10 K.Nash 30.00; 16 M.Byansi 30.24; 26 M.Trees M40 30.53; 28 W.Cockerell 30.59; 29 E.Lyne 31.10; 32 J.Wolf 31.15; 51 W.Lynch 32.39; 57 A.Porteous 32.53; 63 T.Hadfield 33.08; 73 T.St Leger 33.45; 93 M.Kazimierski 34.29; 123 P.Carstairs M40 36.19; 124 A.Bicourt 36.36; 142 J.Webb 38.31; 147 H.Corbett M45 39.13.
1 Thames H&H (3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24) 138 - 357 - 1st overall
2 Herne Hill H (5, 13, 15, 21, 30, 31, 33, 38, 44, 45) 275 - 578 - 3rd
3 Belgrave H (2, 10, 16, 26, 28, 29, 32, 49, 54, 59) 305 - 486 - 2nd
4 South London H (9, 11, 27, 35, 40, 46, 57, 58, 62, 65) 410 - 855 - 4th
5 Guildford & G (34, 37, 39, 42, 43, 47, 51, 53, 60, 63) 469 - 1014 - 6th
6 Reigate Priory AC (1, 8, 25, 48, 56, 67, 68, 72, 79, 86) 510 - 1070 - 5th
7 Ranelagh H (14, 18, 50, 64, 70, 71, 74, 76, 78, 81) 596 - 1123 - 7th
8 Aldershot F&D (19, 41, 52, 55, 69, 80, 87, 89, 89, 89) 670 - 1235 - 8th
9 Dulwich R (36, 61, 66, 73, 75, 77, 82, 83, 84, 85) 722 - 1472 - 9th
European Clubs Championship Trial/Reebok Cross Challenge/European Cross Trial, Parliament Hill, 20 Nov 2004
Confusion reigns at European Clubs Championship Trial Latest news
A disappointing afternoon at Parliament Hill saw Belgrave apparently ruled out of the European Clubs Cross Country Championship by just 1 point after two dnfs hit our team score badly. As English Champions we had to beat the top Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh clubs in this trial event, held in conjunction with the Reebok Cross Challenge and European Trial. Annandale Striders decided not to take part and Cardiff only had one runner so it came down to a match between Ron Hill Cambuslang (Scotland) and Belgrave (England).
The cold and wintry conditions did nothing to lift spirits and when Kassa Tadesse came out of the race after one lap spirits sank even further. Spenny was battling it out with a mob of about a dozen runners up at the front, Mark Miles was a little way back and not looking too comfortable while Tim Watson had made a brilliant start. The conditions were not best suited to Jonathan Blackledge who had a slight niggle but was racing to keep our European hopes alive after several drop outs during the week had reduced our seemingly invincible team.
Going into the last lap Tim was still going great guns but then we were hit by a bombshell as Mark Miles, feeling generally run down recently, came out of the race - it seemed all over. Tom Hadfield was still plugging away down in the "hundreds" - so at least we still had four runners to close in a team.
At the conclusion of the race only Spen and Tim were satisfied with their runs. The only weapon missing from Spencer's armoury was the additional turn of speed, which will come as his training progesses throughout the winter. As for Tim, congratulations on his unexpected upturn in form simply evoked the response: "It's getting there."
When cross country official Ian Byett told us "Sorry Alan, you've lost it by one point," the disappointment was complete - although the joy on the faces of the Scottish supporters and runners eased the despair a fraction; they had brought a nine-strong team all the way to London, in their words, "to get hammered by Belgrave," and were going back as UK Champions with the chance to compete in Italy.
However, perusal of the results next day showed that we had scored 17 points to Cambuslang's 21. The officials had made the Belgrave total 22 points by allowing the non-scoring Cambuslang runners to push back our last man from 9th to 14th. The rules quite clearly stated: "as many as you like to run but four to score."
Protests have now been made and we await the outcome - and to add urgency, the entry of a UK team for the European competition has to be completed tomorrow!
In the women's race Getenesh Tamirat had a fine run to place 7th and Catherine Bryson again showed tremendous potential by placing 35th, just 15 seconds behind Birhan Dagne. Belgrave were announced as third team in the London Championship, with Sarah Gailey closing in the team, but again there was a mix-up and the final result had the Belles out of the medals.
Men. 10k 1 M.Farah (Windsor SE&H) 30:03; 10 S.Barden 30:53; 38 T.Watson 32:15; 53 J.Blackledge 32:55; 154 T.Hadfield 37:21; 326 finished.
ECCC Trial: Official Result: 1 Ron Hill Cambuslang (3, 4, 6, 8) 21; 2 Belgrave (1, 2, 5, 14) 22; 3 Cardiff (only one runner, placing 7th). Unofficial result: 1 Belgrave (1, 2, 5, 9) 17; 2 Ron Hill Cambuslang (3, 4, 6, 8) 21.
Women. 1 H.Yelling (Windsor SE&H) 16:47; 7 G.Tamirat 17:27; 28 Birhan Dagne 18:14; 35 C.Bryson 18:29; 137 S.Gailey 22:46; 178 finished.
South of Thames 5 miles Team Race, Petersham, Richmond Park
Tilly leads Belles to Bronze
Over the years, the size of the field in this race has dwindled and the barring clauses, which once upon a time prevented a winning individual or member of a victorious team from ever taking part again, have been tinkered with until this year they were finally removed altogether. The result was a welcome upturn in numbers at Petersham, the 200 plus finishers (men and women) beginning to echo the 300 and more that competed in the men only races of the ’50s and ’60s.
Tilly Heaton ran well to take the individual silver medal and led our women’s team to third place. Those bronze medals were won against the odds. Louise Cooper had to abandon her car way out near the M3 with a puncture and yet still made it to Richmond Park for the race; Sarah Gailey, much preferring shorter distances, came to a halt after the first lap of 2.5 miles – but then got going again. With four to score and only four Belgrave women present both these actions turned out to be medal winning efforts.
In the men’s race new member Tom Ellacott led the Bels home with another promising run. We might have got close to team medals here too but for an unfortunate incident which befell Knut Hegvold. Suddenly feeling faint, Knut dropped to the ground for an instant before wisely calling it a day.
Knut’s absence gave Bruce Barton the chance to close in the team and it was good to welcome Mike Kazimierski back into the fold.
Men. 1 D.Kebede (Herc Wimb) 28:39; 2 J.Mays (Kent) 28:42; 3 E.Robinson (Aldershot F&D) 28:47; 15 T.Ellacott 30:18; 17 R.Alsop 30:36; 22 J.Wolf 31:02; 30 B.Barton M40 31:54; 33 L.Greatorex 32:09; 53 M.Kazimierski 33:35; 61 S.Zealey 33:52; 66 W.Lynch 34:22; 72 A.Bicourt 34:44; 124 D.Anderson M45 37:51; 131 H.Corbett 38:18; 147 L.Rehn M40 39:36; M45; K.Hegvold M40 dnf.
Teams: 1 Kent AC 31; 2 Thames H&H 33; 3 Aldershot F&D 59; 4 Belgrave H 'A' 80; 14 Belgrave H 'B'; 33 teams closed in. Eight to score: 1 Kent AC 229; 2 Thames H&H 301; 3 Ranelagh H 305; 4 Belgrave H 333; 9 teams closed in.
Women: 1 A.Outram (Thames) 33:14; gst D.Lee (Bristol & West) 33:50; 2 T.Heaton (Belgrave) 35:09; 13 L.Cooper 38:26; 26 S.Gailey 41:46; 29 V.Jones 42:03.
Teams: 1 Thames H&H 33; 2 Ranelagh H 42; 3 Belgrave 70; 8 teams closed in.
ECCA "National" Cross Country Relays, Mansfield, 6 November 2004
What a race - Morpeth win after a titanic struggle
Having been regular winners of various major endurance events over the last few seasons we are now often labelled as "boring". But we are beatable - as Aldershot and now Morpeth have shown. A team does have to raise their game to do it but that can only be good for the sport and it certainly makes sure that running fans get a hugely entertaining race.
Injury had sidelined David Anderson and Paul Freary, and with Spencer Barden competing in Belgium, only "Sharpy" was available from last year's winning team - but we still felt we could win.
Below: " ... the field tore down the first slope ..."
Leg 1
With a black ribbon pinned to his vest, in memory of "JJ", Kevin Nash trotted to the start line ready to “give it some”. The start was ferocious. Nasher was driving his legs as fast as he could but as the field tore down the first slope and then up and around the lake on the first of the two laps that made up each stage, he was placed in the high 20s. A group of five had broken away as the second circuit began, with Newham, Tipton, Harrow, Sale and Notts AC vests prominent. Kevin was now around 20th but moving strongly and overtaking runners as the distance began to tell. Through the woods and then up onto the high ground at the back of the course our man was still picking men off until the very end. His 11th place had given us a great start.
Leg 2
A tough race in the Birmingham Reebok Challenge the previous weekend hadn’t done Jonathan Blackledge any favours and he had to work very hard to keep the team’s forward momentum going. Blackheath’s Mike Skinner came tearing past on his way to the day’s third fastest, taking the Heathens into the lead in the process. Sale Harriers were making a good showing in second while Derby were also in contention along with Harrow for whom our second-claimer Richard Ashe was running 15:48.
Although the air was still and the rain had kept off, conditions were very sticky underfoot and it appeared that times were somewhat slower than the norm. Jonathan ran 15:22 in 2003 and one would have put money on him going faster this time round. Working oh! so hard he pulled back two places but had to settle for a return of 15:35. We were 9th – but 45 seconds off the lead.
Leg 3
It was beginning to look as if we would find it very difficult to get to the front but Stephen Sharp is going through a superb spell at the moment and is brim full of confidence. Immediately disposing of Tipton and Altrincham, he floated up to Windsor and they too fell away.
"Who's that!" gasped Morpeth's team manager Jim Alder. "Stephen Sharp," came the swift reply from a Belgrave supporter. "Whor! Of course. Thanks Lass" Still described as a "great club man" in the athletics press, Stephen's fame is beginning to spread.
In front, Ian Hudspith for Morpeth was also going well and as leaders Blackheath, Sale and Derby sagged, the whole field became prey to Stephen who was a man on a mission. Morpeth and Belgrave colours were side by side during much of this battle but eventually it was our man coming out on top and as the final hand-over was reached only Harrow were a stride or two ahead – and incredibly did not have a fourth man.
Leg 4
Hero of so many races, Mark Miles set out at the head of the pack with Sale seven seconds in arrears and Morpeth, in the form of Nick McCormick who ran so brilliantly in Sutton Park a fortnight earlier, just two seconds further back. What pressure for Mark, not feeling too confident after a disappointing 8th in Birmingham seven days earlier.
McCormick ripped into Sale’s advantage and within half a mile was a few strides behind “Milesy”. They were locked together as the first lap was completed, and setting out again the advantage now swung towards the Belgrave man. McCormick had definitely overcooked his initial charge and with spectators racing from one side of the course to the other to witness this titanic struggle, Mark went ahead. Two metres became ten … ten became twenty …
The Tipton lads were screaming their training partner Milesy on as the pair raced through the woods. The Newham boys back at the finish felt that Mark would have the edge; but with this race proving to be a thriller to the end there was more drama to come. Already, poor Mark was running close to the edge. McCormick overcame his bad patch and the gap came down … and down … until 50 metres out on the short sharp rise towards the finish, Morpeth’s blue and white colours went ahead. Mark’s legs had gone. It was pure memory and will power that kept him moving over the last few metres until, with legs buckling, he sank to his knees as the line was crossed.
Minutes passed before he could get up. Mark had given everything, and the respect he had earned (yet again) from the rest of the team was immense. It was a terrific run when he hadn’t felt at his best – and yet he was our fastest man. Such is the talent and courage in young Mark’s frame that one of these days he is going to do something unbelievable.
What a race!
Teams: 1 Morpeth H&AC 1:01:06; 2 Belgrave H 1:01:12; 3 Altrincham &DAC 1:01:44; 4 Aldershot F&DAC 1:01:57; 5 Blackheath & Bromley 1:02:24; 6 Sale H Manchester 1:02:50; 150 teams started; 120 finished.
A - K.Nash (11) 15:31; J.Blackledge (8)
15:35; S.Sharp (2) 15:07; M.Miles (2) 14:59.
B - R.Alsop (57) 16:50.
Fastest: 1 C.Thompson (Aldershot F&DAC 14:30; 2 M.Skinner (Blackheath & Bromley) 14:42; 3 N.McCormick (Morpeth H&AC) 14:43; 5 M.Miles (Belgrave) 14:59; 6 A.Bowden (Harrow) 15:04; ... 8 S.Sharp 15:07.
Reigate Priory Relays, Priory Park, Reigate, 6 November 2004
Belles run a stormer to retain Reigate title
Left: standing are Amy
England, Debbie Hearn, Catherine Eastham, Juliette Clark, Sarah
Murphy, Catherine Bryson and Christine Bertram; kneeling are Tilly
Heaton, Helen Smethurst, Louise Cooper, Sarah Gailey.
Below: the winning team - Juliette Clark, Sarah Murphy and Catherine Bryson.
Photos courtesy of Christine Bertram.
Although much hoped for, such results can never be guaranteed. Nevertheless the Belles pulled a storming performance out of the bag to win the Reigate Priory Relays title in the club’s best ever time. This win was our second Priory win and enabled us to retain our Reigate title despite tough opposition. It was also the first time that the Belles had managed to field four teams, and it should be noted that all four of these teams finished ahead position-wise and time-wise compared to our B team from last year.
Leg 1
The first leg set off into the drizzle with the front runners including Sarah Murphy and Tilly Heaton. These two had been closely matched in the last cross country race, but it was Sarah who had the edge and brought the Belles A team home in a solid 3rd position. Tilly followed in 6th, less than 20 seconds down, despite carrying a strapped ankle from a recent injury. Christine Bertram in the C team also proved resilient with a strong 14th position, whilst team manager Catherine Eastham struggled home in 31st. Eleanor Baker had given SLH a good lead of about a minute at the handover.
Leg 2
Although a few last minute changes had been made to the teams due to athletes not being available, the A team’s selection was never in question. Catherine Bryson, our new member who is just 19, made a great impression on her team mates and the supporters as she went from about a minute down on SLH to bringing the Belles home in the lead with a huge surge round the last bend (although she was judged to be 2nd at the actual handover line). It was a superb performance and she’s a fabulous addition to the team. Helen Smethurst just missed out on a sub-17.00min time bringing the B’s back in 7th. Sarah Gailey for the C’s had a steady run and brought the team in in 15th whilst another new member, Amy England moved our D team up 5 places into 26th.
Leg 3
As Catherine sprinted in to the handover, so Juliette Clark took off. The difference in speed between the Belles and SLH was phenomenal. Juliette knew she had the edge over SLH’s last leg runner, Ruth Hutton but Arena’s Caroline Hoyte was also on the final leg. Team captain, Juliette Clark, was not going to put up with anything less than a win and managed to extend the lead to just over a minute. Not content with just a win, Jules managed to clock the Belles 3rd fastest course time ever, behind Catherine Bryson and Gabby Collison’s 15.16 from back in 1993. Louise Cooper came home just outside her best time for the course, to bring the Belles B team back in 6th place and seemingly the first B team home. Sarah Murphy’s second run of the day, for the C team, in the place of Vicky Clarke who unfortunately didn’t show due to a mix-up, was incredibly just 3 seconds slower than her earlier run; she brought the Cs up to 11th, completely unaware that up front her A team had won. Last of the Belles, but definitely not least, Debbie Hearn proved she was returning to form as she pulled the D team up another 5 places.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H ‘A’ 47.21; 2 South London H 48.29; 3 Medway & Maidstone AC; 6 Belgrave ‘B’ 50.44; 11 Belgrave ‘C’ 53.31; 21 Belgrave ‘D’ 57.52.
A – S.Murphy (3) 16:03; C.Bryson (2) 15:22; J.Clark (1) 15:56.
B – M.Heaton (6) 16:22; H.Smethurst (7) 17:04; L.Cooper (6) 17:18.
C – C.Bertram (14) 17:31; S.Gailey (15) 19:04; S.Murphy (11) 16:06.
D – C.Eastham (31) 20:00; A.England (26) 19:14; D.Hearne (21) 18:38.
Fastest: 1 E.Baker (South London H) 14.59; =2 C.Bryson Belgrave 15.22 and A.Simkova (Medway &M) 15.22.