And the hills kept coming…Sunday Cross-country league in Watford

Twenty three Heathsiders travelled to Watford on Sunday to run in the penultimate fixture of the Sunday cross-country league.  The numbers were considerably down, compared to the previous day’s mass turn-out, but the runners made up for it with their enthusiasm – something that was much-needed, given the conditions. 

The course itself was extremely challenging and a bit longer than that in Trent Park (5.7 vs 5 miles for the men). Also, the two courses had equally long and the same number of hills, although the ones in Watford were somewhat steeper than those in Trent Park, which was a bonus on the downhills.  The heavy rain also didn’t make things easy.  That said, the course was very scenic, going through woods, over mud and through parkland, with lots of tree stumps to look out for.

Rachel Newstead made a very welcome return to the Sunday league to lead the Heathside women home in a fantastic run, finishing 4th in 41:49, followed by an excellent run from Katerina Kozlova (19th, 46:47). Emilia Vynnycky (24th, 47:17), Noelle O’Regan (26th, 47:35) and Jessica Vinluan (31st, 48:33) followed not long after that, with Kim Butler, Edyta Szot and Rebecca finishing a few minutes later to make up the A team.  Laura Boothman, Rachel Scott-Halls and Lauren Hendry finished shortly after that.

First in for the men was Richard Macaulay, who had a great run to finish 5th in 34:48, followed by Lee Connor (38:33, 41st), Jonathan Litchfield (39:10, 49th), Mark George (42:40, 108th) and Jakub Kozel (118th 43:17).   Nick de Sausmarez (162nd, 47:32) , Bas Vlaming (166th, 47:41) and Paul Silverman (169th, 47:56) completed the A team, followed soon by the four remaining Heathsiders (Ken Townson, Adrian Essex, Dan Nicholls and Adrian Sparks).

Thanks to everyone’s efforts, team Heathside is in 7th position overall, out of 19 teams.  The women’s A and B teams are in second position in their groups, with the vets in 4th position, having come 2nd, 3rd and 7th respectively on the day  The men’s A and B teams had come 9th and 7th in the A and B groups respectively, with the vets in 8th position and they each finished 8th, 7th and 7th respectively overall.  The results are all the more impressive, given that almost half of the Heathsiders had run in the Met league the previous day and several were either coming back from injury (Jessica) or illness (Ken, Edyta and Rachel).

As ever, Captain Laura’s never-ending energy and enthusiasm deserves a special mention, and huge thanks are also extended to newcomers Aaron, Dan and Lauren, whose runs were much-needed. 

Despite the weather and challenging course, a great morning was had by all, made extra special by Captain Laura’s XC cakes and the unique atmosphere, as we stayed dry under the “gazebo”, speedily-designed and set up by our very own Heathsiders.  Consisting of a plastic sheet tied to some tree branches (see photo), this, surely, deserves a prize for initiative and innovation under adverse conditions. 

The next and final race in the Sunday league is in Royston on the 12th February.  As it is on the day after the Met league again, it provides a fantastic opportunity to have the last dirty double week-end of the season.  We hope to see many of you there!

Parkruns

A few Heathsiders ran in parkruns this week-end.  Alun Nash deserves a mention for doing a parkrun and a cross-country race, whereas Jonathan Litchfield gets an ultra-special mention for doing the triple -  a parkrun and both cross-country races.

Results

Sunday league cross-country, Watford, 15th January 2017

Women

Posn    Name                          Time

4          Rachel Newstead        41:49

19        Katerina Kozlova         46:47

24        Emilia Vynnycky          47:17

26        Noelle O'Regan           47:35

31        Jessica Vinluan           48;33

50        Kim Butler        51:06

64        Edyta Szot       52:55

75        Rebecca Taylor           54:20

98        Laura Boothman          56:37

117      Rachel Scott-Halls       61:20

130      Lauren Hendry 63:15

Men

Posn    Name              Time

5          Richard Macaulay        34:48

41        Lee Connor     38:33

49        Jonathan  Litchfield     39:10

108      Mark  George  42:40

118      Jakub Kozel     43:17

162      Nick de Sausmarez     47:32

166      Bas Vlaming    47:41

169      Paul Silverman 47:56

206      Ken Townson  52:18

209      Adrian Essex   53:05

227      Dan Nicholls    57:11

235      Aaron Sparks  63:16

Parkruns

http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2017&eventdate=2017-01-14