Belgrave on brink of historic double title after wins at Mitcham Surrey League
Wins in both the men’s and women’s matches on Mitcham Common for round three leave Belgrave Harriers just one fixture away from being the first club to win both top flight titles in the same season since 2010.
The men, starved of a Surrey League Division 1 title since 2002, now sit some 258 points clear of Thames Hare & Hounds with just one fixture remaining.
Both teams winning their respective leagues would also see Belgrave leapfrog THH into first place for all-time Surrey League titles.
Belles extend league lead with victory
Words by Charlie Dickinson
Another very good turnout and performance from the Belles produced wins for both the A and B teams in the third league match of the season. The A team now lead by 64 points over Herne Hill going into the final match on Belgrave's home course, Wimbledon Common on February 7th. The B team lead the same club by a massive 237 points.
It was a very cold day on Mitcham Common, but luckily little wind and no rain. Several short sharp hills at the back of the circuit make for a challenging course. On the first lap, last week's Surrey County winner, Emily Bradley led a large group containing Alex Barbour, Isabel Hodder, Saron Haileselase and Charlotte Griffiths. They were the A team scorers all in the leading 15.
The group gradually spread out with Saron losing ground after suffering badly with the stitch on the sharp downhill sections. Emily dropped off the lead, her legs not fully recovered from her very hard race the week before. So it was Alex Barbour who pulled away with the winner of the first league race, Ruby Carter. This was a surprise because Alex hadn't trained over Christmas because of a sore foot.
Alex made her effort to win early, but couldn't get away from Carter and eventually lost by just five metres, nevertheless a very fine run. Emily hung on to place 4th, but behind a guest runner so scoring 3rd. Then all finishing close together, Isabel in 12th, Saron 13th and Charlotte 15th in her best ever league performance.
Lara Mangan, now thankfully injury free after a summer and Autumn with hip trouble, led the B team in a fine 20th place. Kristina Popadich ran supporting the team as always, having spent Christmas snowbound and unable to run at home in Canada finished in the mid twenties. Then came Eilidh Hide and Sarah Riceman both with excellent runs in the low thirties, and track athlete Gemma Newton in her first race for the club closing in for the B team in 38th.
The Belles had another 14 runners who all contributed to the team scores by pushing back runners from other teams. Eilidh Roberts finished in 39th, then Junior Ines Beernaert back in London from university in Paris for Christmas in 41st. Then all finishing in the sixties: Rosie Mutsaars, co-captain Penny Oliver being very cautious with her hamstring, Holly Pan and Emily Barrett.
Finally, there were good solid runs from Emilie Arnoux, Molly Hemmings and Chloe Mangan all well within the first half of a field on 219 finishers, illustrating once more the tremendous strength in depth of this team.
Alex Barbour
Credit: George Parker
Bels
Match report to follow