National Cross Country Champs., Parliament Hill
Jonathan Blackledge targets a World Cross place
Will Cockerell takes the "Parker Bowl"
In his first year in the under 20 age-group Jonathan Blackledge had a tremendous run to place 5th and keep alive his hopes of a place on the GB team in the World Cross Country Championships. Three selections had already been made but three further places were left open to see what happened in the National and English Schools Champs. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for Jonathan and hope that he can join Mark Miles and Spencer Barden who have already been named for the senior men’s team.
Conditions under foot were pretty good (although there are always some muddy spots on Hampstead Heath) and keeping to the right hand side of the broad starting stretch, Jonathan was already well up as the runners went over the top and onto the course proper. The leaders were strung out after one circuit with Mohamed Farah of Windsor well clear. Our man was 5th and one felt confident that he would be able to maintain that place – and he did. The period of poor health that hit Jonathan aroung the beginning of the year now seems to be behind him and quite apart from any World Cross pretensions, we look forward to seeing him carve a place for himself now in the road relay teams.
It was a low key day for our two senior teams – although our women’s team were eager to see if they could gain a more forward placing than the men. Angela Walker headed our squad and in the process leapfrogged over Tilly Heaton in our Plate competition. There were no such changes in the men’s Plate competition where Will Cockerell at last gained the 20-pointer he’s been looking for to hold on to that Plate for a second year – and get his name engraved on the prestigious “Parker Bowl” as our first National man home. It was by no means cut and dried, for Roger Alsop, working for a while in Bratislava, managed a weekend home and showed that his marathon training is going well with his best ever run in the National. Roger might have been closer still had it not been for a fall. Knut Hegvold also ran particularly well but our aims to consistently place among the top ten in the senior men’s race took a huge knock when after four good years we found ourselves only just scraping into the top 30! The stats. make interesting reading: Will has shot up the list of those with consecutive National runs; Don Anderson, who closed in our six, goes to the top of the list of those with the most “Nationals” under their belt; Steve Zealey came home 200 places better than in his last National outing in 1988!
Senior Men’s 12 km. 1 M.Smith (Tipton) 41:54; 2 A.Caine (Tynedale) 42:00; 3 H.Lobb (Bedford) 42:08; 92 W.Cockerell 46:08; 106 R.Alsop 46:29; 167 K.Hegvold (M40) 48:12; 319 S.Zealey 51:08; 334 P.Carstairs 51:23; 886 Don Anderson (M45) 1:01:06; 1257 finished.
Teams: 1 Leeds City AC 181; 2 Morpeth H &AC 206; 3 Tipton H 275; 28 Belgrave H 1904.
Junior Men’s 10 km. 1 M.Farah (Windsor SE&H) 33:20; 2 M.Lole (Coventry Godiva) 33:49; 3 T.Humphries (Cannock & Staffs) 34:42; 5 J.Blackledge 35:22; 131 finished.
Senior Women’s 8 km. 1 H.Yelling (Windsor SE&H) 32:18; 2 J.Kezisey (Woking) 33:57; 3 J.Porter (Charnwood) 34:05; 86 A.Walker 39:01; 153 J.Whittington42:36; 256 A.Pike 46:45; 311 C.Eastham 49:33; 399 finished.
Teams: 1 Chester-le-Street 48; 2 Sale H Manchester 54; 3 Bristol 81; 31 Belgrave H 802.