www.belgraveharriers.com
A jaw-dropper of a team from Newham - September 28, 2006
Hmmm, well that’s shut me up… nothing like a really savage caning to make good ol’ Skipper’s Corner go quiet for a few days. But, as in a column here of similar theme from last April, there’s much reason for cheer in the wake of Saturday’s parade from the Beagles. First up, the race was primarily a celebration of the quality that exists in South of England running. As a post on Lets Run.com said, ‘the Northern six-stage made the Southern look like a Golden League meet’. And wasn’t that a jaw-dropper of a team from Newham … surely the best for a generation, and a testament to the dedication and ‘pulling power’ of the indefatigable Bob Smith.
We battled very hard on Saturday and fighting spirit remains strong in our team. What I kept asking myself on the day was: “How did we ever win this race?” The quality was so high, the runners appeared so hungry. I think the sentimental value of the four golds we won between 2002-05 should sky-rocket after this… not such an easy race to win after all, lest anyone think that it was. A mark of all strong teams in any sporting field is how they react to adversity. After the Ashes last summer for instance, the stung Aussies were so angry they won 12 of their next 13 Tests, often at a canter. How will we react to adversity? It’ll be fascinating to see.
‘Relic Wardy’ is my man-of-the-match winner by a whisker of Jonesy and Paul’s great turn. Rich was very brave to go with the fierce pace over lap one, and even braver not to blow-up over lap two. He deservedly adds his name to the man-of-the-match honours board… the 24th entry of an elite gathering of stars!
Cross country season here again
Left to right: Brockwell Park, Farthing Downs Coulsdon, Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park
So the Cross-country season is here again and it’s operation grandslam to get a herd of hungry ‘Belgabeasts’ to Brockwell Park for the season opener on October 7. All signs are good that we should have a fine turn-out, which gives us every chance of repeating our Brockwell wins of 1999, 2001 and 2004. For those of you less familiar with the Surrey League, it is quite simply a unique and delightful sporting occasion; full of atmosphere, tradition, super runners, and great surroundings. The four courses for this winter’s extravaganza are all classic venues. Which course is the greatest? It’s an interesting question. Here, I rank the four courses, by giving them marks for 4 different criteria:
Aesthetics: how picturesque and attractive is the course.
Interest: how historic, quirky, varied is the course.
Undulation: cross-country courses should be nice and hilly…
Difficulty factor: judging the mud, the length, steepness of hills etc.
Brockwell Park:
Aesthetics: 7, Interest: 7, Undulation: 7.5, Difficulty factor: 6. Total 68.75%
Coulsdon:
Aesthetics: 8, Interest: 8, Undulation: 7.5, Difficulty factor: 7.5. Total 77.5%
Wimbledon:
Aesthetics: 7.5, Interest: 8.5, Undulation: 6, Difficulty factor: 6. Total 70%
Richmond Park:
Aesthetics: 9, Interest: 9, Undulation: 8, Difficulty factor: 8. Total 85%
As can be seen, the difficulty factor for Brockwell is lowish, so come and give it a whirl, before some even greater courses kick in – including, on February 10, what must be right up there with the most sublime and complete cross-country settings in the world, at Richmond. Us Surrey Leaguers are truly blessed to have such great sporting theatres in which to play.
Run Fat Boy Run
Finally, on
Sunday November 12 (day after Couldson), would you like to
feature in a movie directed by David Schwimmer (from Friends)?
He’s looking for runners to feature in the shoot – in central
London – of scenes from the start of a marathon, in a movie
entitled “Run Fat Boy Run.” They require 500-1000 runners in
total [I don’t think you have to be fat], Serpentine RC are well
on the uptake – and many other London clubs have been
contacted. I suggested that Belgrave should be able to supply
around 20-25 runners. I guess I’ll go along. To reserve your
place, and receive further instruction by email:
rfbrcasting@hotmail.co.uk Apparently there are lots of
incentives like prize competitions which include two tickets to
the premiere. They want to hear from people by Weds October 4th.
