South of Thames Cross Country Association Championship, Wimbledon Common

Dewar Shield Comes Back to Belgrave

It was quite like old times: three times round our cross country course in the depths of December, just as we used to for our 7½ miles Championship (with four laps to come in January!). Back in those winter days of the ’60s and ’70s it was usually Gerry North heading the procession but this time our old Captain was on hand as Belgrave President and Team Manager for City of Portsmouth.

One thing that hasn’t changed much in the intervening years: Gordon Biscoe is still deeply involved in setting up the course, assisted by flag man Don Anderson. As Gordon ran from his car, carrying stakes for the finish funnel and stumbling on a tussock that had him lying headlong, he had to remind himself that 50 winters have passed since he first laid out cross country courses on the Common with Arthur Whitehead.

Back to the present and on this occasion we were hosting the Championship race for the SoTCCA. It was the first time the fixture had been held before Christmas – an attempt to avoid a busy January and take up one of the dead December weekends. The result was an increased field of over 180 of whom 12 were Belgravians. On the team lists Herne Hill and Thames were surprisingly not showing full complements so it looked as if it would be SoT 5 mile winners Kent AC slugging it out with the Bels. Today’s Captain, Will Cockerell, was hopeful of a good home team result – and he got it.

Five men detached themselves from the pack on lap one. Mays (Kent), our own Tim Watson and Wicks (Windsor SE&H) seemed to be making the pace but Lockett (Herne Hill) and Kebede (Herc. Wimb) also looked full of running. Unfit World M40 10k Champion Mike Trees was driving the Belgrave train in the teens and twenties and a rough count showed that we were scoring 80 to Kent’s 103. At this stage Mike realised that he had over-reached himself and wisely eased back to avoid a complete collapse but the remaining five miles were to be painful. In the women’s race Tilly Heaton was in 4th and had her sights on 3rd but a pit stop was to put paid to any further advance.

Lap two saw veteran Knut Hegvold moving up the order with “Skip” in tow. Tom Ellacott was also making excellent progress as was Eliot Lyne but it wasn’t all good news. Setting out on that third lap Tim, with a hard week of training behind him, was drifting back from the leaders and Mike, now our sixth man, was looking pretty uncomfortable. Back-up cover was also reduced as Warren Lynch, came out of the race with a bruised foot. In the face of all this, Kent’s navy-blue singlets were all moving forward – a slip now and we’d lose it!

There was no slip. Kent’s young star Jermain Mays had too much in hand for Dereje Kebede of Hercules Wimbledon. For the Bels, Tim Watson was a tired 5th but soon had the consolation of knowing that he headed the winning team – with the talented Knut Hegvold first veteran across the line not far behind in 7th.

Men. 1 J.Mays (Kent AC) 40:13; 2 D.Kebede (Herc. Wimb) 40:231; 3 P.Wicks (Windsor SE&H) 40:45; 5 T.Watson 41:18; 7 K.Hegvold M40 42:31; 9 W.Cockerell 42:37; 15; T.Ellacott 43:11; 21 E.Lyne 44:00; 23 M.Trees M40 44:11; 67 M.Kazimierski 48:52; 81 T.O’Neill M50 51:09; 112 H.Corbett M40 54:55; 152 finished.

M40 – 1 K.Hegvold

Teams: 1 Belgrave (5, 7, 9, 15, 21, 23) 80; 2 Kent AC (1, 10, 14, 18, 26, 28) 97; 3 Brighton & Hove AC (11, 19, 25, 29, 39, 43) 166; 11 teams closed in. 12 to score: 1 Kent AC 400.

Women. 1 S.Seal (Ranelagh) 49:46; 2 M.Synott-Wells W35 (Ranelagh) 51:18; 3 B.Hogwood-McNicholas (Herne Hill) 51:21; 4 M.Heaton 52:13; 17 R.Takayasu 63:09; 27 finished.

Teams: 1 Ranelagh (1, 2, 7, 18, 19, 22) 69.

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