Road Running & Cross Country Team Results August 2004

Auckland Castle 10k, inc. AAA Champs & CAU Inter-Counties Champs., 15 August 2004 Pictures

A second AAA title slips away!

For a brief period in April this year we were champions at every national endurance team event: AAA 10k, AAA half marathon, AAA 6-Stage road relay, AAA 12-stage road relay, ECCA National CC Relay and ECCA National CC Champions. (Ok the men weren’t the AAA Marathon Champions – but the women were!). Sadly we weren’t able to bask in that glory for very long as a bad day at Sutton Park for the 2004 12-stage had us placing “only” second to an Aldershot squad at full stretch and now, up in the North East, the AAA 10k team race slipped away from as as well. It just goes to show that it is even tougher staying at the top than getting there!

One would have thought that we had the team in Bishop Auckland to handle any eventuality. Announcer Bud Baldaro certainly thought we were out and out favourites, but with Kassa Tadessa sagging badly in the second half of the race and Mark Miles getting to the furthest point away from the finish and finding that "there was nothing in the tank," we lost two forward positions. Mark Thompson ran stride for stride with with Milesy on lap one but had a bad time between 5 and 7 km; he got through it though and picked up well in the closing stages to run home the leading Belgravian.

David Anderson is highly thought of in his native North East (as he is in London, of course) and he made further good progress on this tough course, coming back nicely from his injury although still feeling slight Achilles twinges that he admits to having to "manage". He was "gutted that we were only second".

It was unusual for Paul Freary not to be in the scoring team. He caught Kassa with 100 metres to go only to find our man in the Surrey singlet waking from his trance at the sight of a Belgrave vest alongside him and picking up the pace again. Even at the presentation Paul was announced as third scorer for a third-placed Belgrave team. Swift investigation by the Team Manager revealed that the recorders had not counted Mark Thompson as a Belgrave man. Protests had to wait until the end of the prize-giving when it was agreed that we should be placed ahead of Morpeth and only 2 points behind Salford - in spite of our problems! Unfortunately the Morpeth boys had gone home with their "silvers" by then.

South London's Natalie Harvey was in superb form, storming away from the female opposition to set the fastest 10k time in Britain in 2004. The Surrey men's and women's teams travelled and stayed with us over the weekend and included another SLH lady and with one other also present on the day, South London were amazed to find themselves AAA Champions. For good measure the Surrey women's team (not including Birhan Dagne and Natalie Harvey) ran so solidly that they took the Inter-County title. Our own Birhan Dagne was second in the AAA race after battling with the Kenyan opposition but suffered a groin strain which hampered her slightly.

So, all in all, a disappointing race for us. We have a chance to make amends next year when once again the AAA 10k will be held in Bishop Auckland.

Men.

Open Race. 1 E Kimeli (KEN U20) 28:56; 2 J Kimtai (KEN/Tipton) 29:29; 3 K Katui (KEN) 29:33; 4 T Eticha (SUI) 29:40; 5 G Tromans (Coventry) 29:50; 6 M Smith (Tipton) 30:07; .... 13 M Thompson (AUS/Belgrave) 30:53; 19 David Anderson 31:39; 21 K Tadessa 31:53; 23 P Freary 31:56; M Miles dnf.

AAA Team Race. 1 Salford 51 (10 T.Abyu, 11 A Jones, 30 L Dunn) 2 Belgrave 53 (13 Thompson, 19 Anderson, 21 Tadessa), 3 Morpeth 60 (16 M Hudspith, 17 N.Wilkinson, 27 D.Swinburne).

Inter-County. 1 Gtr Manchester; 2 North Eastern Counties; 3 Warwickshire; ... 6 Surrey (Tadessa, D.Symonds Thames H&H, R.Reeder Stragglers).

Women.

Open Race. 1 N Harvey (SLH) 33:02; 2 M Wangari (KEN) 33:44; 3 M Otwori (KEN) 33:56; 4 B Dagne (Belgrave) 34:24.

AAA Team Race. 1 South London H; 2 Derwentside, 3 Newton Aycliffe.

Inter-County. 1 Surrey; 2 Norfolk; 3 North Eastern Counties.

Restored from the club's earlier website, belgraveharriers.com, and published here as originally written.