Surrey County CC Champs., Denbies Vineyard nr. Dorking

Oooh! So Close

Always entertaining, the County Champs saw the Bels expecting second team place but after two and a half laps there was great excitement around the course as we were still holding on to a slim lead in a gripping contest with Herne Hill Harriers. Plans to turn out an ‘unbeatable’ team took a knock when Richard Ward’s participation was in doubt due to his South of the Thames recurrence of a hamstring injury. Then we knew we’d miss Wicksy who’d been selected to run for GB&NI in Edinburgh … but in fact he had to turn that down when poor Emily Wicks suffered a relapse of her collapsed lung that flared up when she was competing in the European Cross Country Champs. (We’re pleased to say that an operation has proved to be successful.)

Of course Wardy ran, injured or not, but the odds were with Herne Hill although our lads were not going to roll over. In a quest for an Olympic Triathlon place our Richard Stannard is making great efforts with his running and headed the field for the first 1,000 metres before Serpentine’s Nick Torry made a break that he maintained to the finish. Dicing with Dorking’s Luke Caldwell, Thames’ James McMullen and AFD’s Steve Connor, James Kelly began a race long struggle for the silver medal while new man Dan Agustus was proving to be a huge boost to our team back in 6th. Richard Stannard was holding up well after his impetuous start and Paskar Owor, Will Cockerell and Wardy made up a six that were some way clear of the opposition after one lap.

4 kilometres later and we were still in control, although a train of runners in red & black livery was ominously thundering along the tracks between the vines, running down Will and Paskar, who was clearly out of sorts. This was going to be horribly close; if only we were in an old time movie and we could switch the points! Halfway round the third and final lap we still somehow clung to a small advantage but Busaileh, Paviour Taylor and Barnes for the Hill were at breakneck speed now, driving along shoulder to shoulder, and as the finish neared they swept past Richard Stannard.

The TM had totted up the scores and ruefully shook his head before heading the way of Herne Hill's worried looking Geoff Jerwood who'd not kept a tally and gratefully accepted an outstretched hand of congratulations. We’d been denied the ‘golds’ after the tightest of battles with the Hill for the second successive year. Herne Hill were (7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21) - 74 points. Great runs had come from came from James Kelly (3) who just lost out to Caldwell at the end, Dan Agustus (6), Richard Stannard (14) and Will Cockerell (19) while Captain Richard Ward was a hero in closing in the team (22) and taking his first steps in running kit since that injury three weeks earlier; but poor Paskar Owor, expected to be in the top five at least, was well down on expectations (18) after the Christmas break and a flight back from Uganda. So the Bels scored 82. Terrific race once again though!

Sadly we were one short of a full women’s team but as ever Tilly Heaton, Anne Hegvold and Vicki Goodwin did us proud.

Men’s 12k. 1 N Torry (Serpentine R) 38:32; 2 Luke Caldwell (Dorking &MV) 38:59; 3 J Kelly (Belgrave) 39:09; … 6 D Agustus 39:51; 14 R Stannard 41:10; 18 P Owor 41:39; 19 W Cockerell 41:40; 22 R Ward 42:05; 62 K Hegvold M50 46:14; 128 M Trees M45 51:13; 166 T Weeks 53:34; 215 finished.

Teams: 1 Herne Hill H (7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21) 74; 2 Belgrave H (3, 6, 14, 18, 19, 22) 82, 3 Hercules Wimbledon AC (8, 15, 16, 17, 37, 52) 145; 18 teams closed in.

Women’s 8k. 1 G Bruinvels (Aldershot F&DAC) 29:02; 2 H Munn (Clapham Chasers) 30:36; 3 R Clifton Thames H&H) 30:45; 26 T Heaton 34:22; 33 A Hegvold W45 35:26; 62 V Goodwin 38:03; 143 finished.

Teams: 1 Thames H&H 78; 2 Hercules Wimbledon AC 86; 3 South London H 99; 17 teams closed in.

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