Women's Surrey CC League Division 1 Race 1, Kingston Gate, Richmond Park
An excellent start to the season
With the challenge for the winter season being to achieve Gold in the Surrey League, the Belles got off to an excellent start. Fielding a strong team of 10 (two full scoring teams of 5), the Belles took a clear lead and showed the competition we mean business.
Angela Walker, having an outstanding year, was the first Belle home finishing strongly despite the killer hill just before the finish. Young Rosie Powell, in her first cross-country for the club, also showed incredible talent over the tough but dry and sandy course finishing just a couple of places down. Racing flats were the order of the day rather than spikes, which possibly helped convince Birhane Dagne to take part (Birhane does not enjoy muddy cross-countries!). In her first race back for the club, post baby Emmanuel, Birhane's 10th place showed how far she had come in her training in the 7 months since the birth, but there's still a lot more to come.
Another regular team runner, Louise Cooper, showed considerable improvement over the country from last season and placed 13th yet thought she could have pushed harder to place better. Likewise with Syreeta Stracey, our fifth runner home to complete the A team. Having suffered from a shoulder injury through most of last year's cross-country Syreeta was pleased to be back and running well, yet again, she thought she had more to offer over the season.
The battle is now on amongst the girls to be up amongst the scorers for the A team, and it looks like competition for the cross-country plate is going to be tough this year. Team captain, Juliette Clark, working hard to regain her previous form was happy with her endurance work to date but still feels she needs to work on her speed to get back up in the mix.
The only junior athlete representing the club today was Kirsty Burns, finishing 11th in the U15's race in 14:51. Having taken the first lap at a rather leisurely pace Kirsty picked the pace up to finish well in the second lap. If this talented young athlete showed more confidence in the early stages of the race she would surely place much higher up the field.
1 L.Hassell (Thames H&H) 21:09; 2 A.O'Neill (Ranelagh) 22:16; 3 A.Walker (Belgrave) 22:40; 7 R.Powell 23:09; 10 B.Dagne 23:28; 13 L.Cooper 23:38; 23 S.Stracey 24:42; 27 J.Clark 24:49; 31 H.Alsop 25:16; 37 H.Smethurst 25:42; 116 J.Patterson 32:23; 117 N.Mills 32:27.
Teams: 1 Belgrave H A 56; 2 South London H 79; 3 Thames H&H 95; 4 Ranelagh H 102; 5 Dulwich R 119; 6 Epsom & Ewell H 169; Belgrave H B 328.
Restored from the club's earlier website, belgraveharriers.com, and published here as originally written.