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Home Skipper's Corner

Back to the roads then for the Bels, after larking about in the mud for the past five months.  We put out a skeleton of a team today for the AAA half-marathon championships but it came within a whisker of being crowned the best in the country.  Congratulations to Medway and Maidstone for putting out a fine squad and nicking the gold.  That’s 1st, 2nd, 1st and 2nd for us in the last four years of this event.  The course at Hastings really is an off-beat beast.  The climb from three to five miles had me shaking my head in disbelief by the end – what a beauty for the masochists.  Of course some serious downhill running was to follow later on.  When will Hassan and myself learn how to run down hills?  We’d both be nearly a minute quicker if only we were able to let ourselves go and not use our legs as juddering brakes.  One day maybe we’ll get the knack, but today we were all at sea, as people would fly past us.

Surrey did well to nick Kent by one point to claim the Inter-Counties.  As Paul Doyle, Weiro and I formed a tasty pyramid for the first few miles I found myself comparing us to Mckean, Cram and Coe coming round the final bend at the Euro champs of ’86.  They were likened to a trio of Spitfires that day.  How then to describe us?  A trio of blimps?  A bit harsh.  How about a trio of Sopwith Camels?  More like it.  For as one website describes this wickedly temperamental WW1 biplane:  “agile, highly manoeuvrable…like a real camel it could turn round and bite you…it really had people frightened.”  Ah yes, that was us all right.

Welcome to the club Erwin McRae!  The man and the runner appear to me very similar: no-nonsense, reliable and strong.  I likened his physique to Rob de Castella which had Erwin wincing a tad, but what I was alluding to was his powerful thighs which propelled him into the top ten.  Erwin has become a real contender to handle a long stage at the National and I can see him thriving at the challenge of Sutton Park’s little bunny hills.  A long way to go yet though, as the team for that day has dozens of contenders of worth - but I’m delighted Erwin is one of them.

It’s shaping up to be Belgrave happy-hour at the Serpentine 5K on Good Friday in Hyde Park.  Do let Alan know if you’d like to be included in this pre-Milton Keynes sharpener and form-guide.  Can we win the Southern 12-stage for the fourth time on the spin?  It’s going to be very tough and we’re only even money, but I’m sure we’ll travel there with an eager, able and passionate team.  And you can’t ask for more than that.