"Sweatshop" Men's Surrey Cross Country League Race 3, Farthing Downs, Coulsdon

Hoary harriers

A week or more with the temperature barely, if at all, creeping above zero, had left Farthing Downs with every bush and every blade of grass stiff with frost. Crystal encrusted trees at the top of the Downs were wreathed in a freezing mist through which a wan sun emerged for a second or two to smile down wryly on the assembled Belgrave team, before deciding that it wasn't worth the effort and hiding once more behind the hoary haze.

It was cold - minus four - and officials already frozen from a tour of duty that had begun two and a half hours earlier, stamped their feet and prepared for the men's race.

The Bels, well out of the reckoning anyway, were struggling. Some were racing elsewhere, some unfit after injury and others wiped out by the 'flu'. We had a bare ten men - and that after lending Don Anderson a vest and pressing him into action; he'd only turned up to support! League leaders "Hare & Hounds" were also struggling to raise ten men while the slope near the start seemed to be swarming with Herne Hill men buzzing in their striped vests like a swarm of determined hornets disturbed from hibernation.

Major and McMullen pushed hard for Thames on the first circuit but Ben Whitby was only biding his time and he came away for a clear Herne Hill individual victory. Will Cockerell led home our team in 17th - only the second time he has been first Belgravian home in 41 league outings! Most of our squad had turned up "just in case they were needed" and were certainly not expecting to score, but we must single out Ben Hurley who ran very well to press an unfit Tom Ellacott.

The powerful Herne Hill squad claimed what will probably be a decisive top spot in the league while the Bels placed a lowly 7th which dropped them to 6th overall.

Unhappily we must report that supporter Maureen Pritchard fell and broke her wrist so send her commiserations and every wish for a speedy recovery.

1 B Whitby (Herne Hill) 27:56; 2 S Major (Thames H&H) 28:17; 3 J McMullen (Thames H&H) 28:25; ... 17 W Cockerell 29:20; 40 K Hegvold M45 30:53; 55 K Gadd 31:34; 58 T Ellacott 31:40; 59 B Hurley 31:42; 104 R Norville 34:41; 106 A Luce M40 34:43; 147 P Cross M50 40:23; 151 M Humphrey 43:09; 152 D Anderson M50 43:12.

Teams: 1 Herne Hill H 138; 2 Thames H&H 250; 3 Reigate Priory 385; 4 Hercules Wimbledon 391; 5 Ranelagh H 431; 6 South London H 508; 7 Belgrave H 646; 8 Dorking & Mole V 663; 9 The Stragglers 683.

Overall: 1 Herne Hill H 451; 2 Thames H&H 556; 3 Hercules Wimbledon 1286; 4 Ranelagh H 1400; 5 South London H 1458; 6 Belgrave H 1548; 7 Reigate Priory 1691; 8 The Stragglers 1868; 9 Dorking & Mole V 2027.

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