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Cockers on "Brockers" - October 9, 2006

I have Brockwell Park a little bit in my heart.  It was the scene of my first ever race in a Belgrave team on 17 October 1998, and 153 Belgrave races later I hope that I’m just getting warmed up…  but I am more wary than ever as to the fragility of our great sport.  How many of our scoring ten from ’98 were out for us at the weekend?  The likes of Hurst, Estall, Foley, Gilby, Quinn, Carstairs, Armanini, Webb and Galley for the most part belong to a Belgrave story of another era… although Master Quinn still runs to an excellent level elsewhere, Webbo was spotted in our colours in the fairly recent past, and Junior was out on the course cheerleading on Saturday, is a valued committee member, and reports he is coming through his latest injury. 

If we continue down the list of runners from 1998 (Mather, Minett, Harding, Bale, and Mann) one name leaps out like an ecstatic salmon from the water, having avoided a fisherman’s hook.  And it is of course Rob Harding.  Rob was a stalwart figure of our team in the 1990s (placing second in the cross-country plate 1998-9) and is a prominent figure in the Brockwell Park club photo from 1996, and then again 2006.  The question is how far has he tumbled down the leaderboard ten years on, now that he is deep into M40 territory.  Pah – not a bit of it!  1996: 120th; 2006: 89th, scoring at 77th.  Inspiration to us all, and a clear winner of the man-of-the-match. 

Two names from Hounslow stand out like beacons from the Oct ’98 race.  The late, great Sam Haughian won it; and a youngster called M. Farah won the under 17s, who still does some occasional running, last time I checked.  DA’s problems neatly show what a great leveller running is.  In 2004 he turned up at ‘Brockers’, and in golfing parlance, tore the course to shreds and shot a 63.  Indeed his time of 22:22 that day really was a bit special.  Upon reflection, although his cold on Saturday cost us over 70 points, it could well go down as one of the ‘best-timed colds’ in Belgrave history with another race in 12 days starting to loom large, of which more later.  

I was a little sad to see Brockers’ traditional “short 5” being altered and stretched to a full 5 miles (and perhaps a bit more).  The course’s charm came in that it was a fairly gentle introduction to the cross-country season:  1500-metre track runners were attracted to it, and those lacking background could just about “get away with it.”  On Saturday though, a fast, firm, 4.5 miles, was turned into a soggy, lush “grind”, and times can’t now be compared to previous years.  Maybe I protest too much though: I knew that my background was woeful, and that I’d be in trouble from the gun – which I was.  

Sutton Park ... a day of celebration

Whatever happens on 21st October at Sutton Park, it should be a day of celebration.  What we have achieved there with five wins in a row at the National 6-stage is magnificent, and perhaps we can now finally savour our wonderful wins all the more, now that we go into the race as underdogs.  Our team for this year is looking very poor - full of overweight, aging, past-it, winos and flunkies.  They haven’t got a prayer and will do well to finish in the top-40…  but frankly I fear even that is beyond them. 

However, on the happier subject of yesteryear, I shall kick off the celebrations by paying homage to the 18 men who got us those 5 magical wins.  Here are the appearances for the club since 1999.  Would the following please take a bow:

And here are Belgrave’s losing – and winning – margins for the past seven years, and the man-of-the-match winners:

I shall tune into the BBC World Service from Hanoi, Vietnam (visiting the wife) for coverage of the race, and to check up on my top-40 prediction.  In the meantime, good luck to the creaking blobs!  (Perhaps consider easing up on the kebabs, big macs and lager.)