Met League cross country kicks off in Claybury

Claybury - a metaphor for life. Exuberant downhill start; jostling, falling, out of control. Then flat open space and limitless sky; pace, pace, settle down, stay with the colours ahead. Familiar faces and the shadow of trees, and stony ground - something dark is afoot; heartbreak up and stomach-lurching down, twist and turn where the unwary are undone. Then open sky rises up, a return to familiar ground, cheering, shouting, support. Yes, this can be done! A homecoming, of sorts. Believe it, you’re going round again. Down that old familiar hill. Only this time, wiser.

No fewer than 124 Heathsiders turned out for the first Met League race of the season (19 Juniors, 105 Senior members) - unquestionably an all-time record for the club. To my knowledge, the 38 Senior Women and 67 Senior Men who started the Senior races are both club records, too.

On behalf of Our Dear Leader, Jerry Odlin (he’s the one with the walking stick), I would like to welcome back everyone who picked up where we left off in February, and offer an especially warm Heathside welcome to the many new members who tried out Cross-Country in a Heathside vest for the first time, joining the blue, gold and red parade that shot around Claybury Park on Saturday. Support out on the course was fantastic, too. (I particularly enjoyed shouting ‘CHAMPIONS!’ at the start of the Women’s race. I’ll bet H*ghgate loved that!). I hope that a great afternoon’s racing will have given everyone a taste for more as the season continues.

Beautiful autumn weather meant that the course was pretty dry again this year. Those who chose to leave the spikes at home and run in trail shoes or trainers were smiling at the end of the race, as the course was rutted and hard underfoot in places. The famous Claybury downhill start was a bit hairy, as usual, and the hill undid a few otherwise promising runs, but it’s a fair course on the whole, and produced some cracking racing, as always.

Starting with the Juniors, Arthur Reed finished 12th from 65 youngsters in the Under-11 race. Ruairi McGonagle, our Under-11 Champion last season, stepped into the Under-13 Boys race and finished a very impressive 5th from 59 starters. That’s a seriously good run. William Griffiths and Liam Garret finished 17th and 22nd from 98 finishers in the Under-17 Men’s race - Liam was 6th from 58 in the Under-15 category. Promising starts all round, and thanks to Russell Weston and Ruth Miller for looking after the Juniors so well before racing themselves.

I was delighted to see so many new members joining the 198-strong Senior Women’s race for the first time. Anna O’Hare ran herself straight into an A-team scoring position, with a 36th place finish. Ourida Sidoli headed the B-team, finishing 42nd.

With several of our fastest runners missing, getting the season off to a flying start looked like it might be a challenge for our A-team. Never underestimate the strength and determination of Heathside, however! The talismanic Rebecca Piggott (10th, and not yet fully fit again after injury - that’s impressive), Rachel Seckl (16th, and 2nd Under-20 - a truly great run!), Ella Waldman (21st), Rachel Newstead (22nd), Sarah Swinhoe (26th and 5th Vet), and Anna O’Hare (36th) did the club proud. Amongst the B-team scorers, Ourida Sidoli (42nd), Stephanie Robson (46th) and Elspeth Storrar (50th) meant that Heathside had nine among the first fifty home. Congratulations ladies!

Back down the field there were fantastic runs all over the place. I’ll pick out just a few. Angela Howe put in a solid performance, finishing 54th, with new member Ula Cartwright-Finch looking like she’s only going to get stronger as the season goes on, in 55th spot. Genevieve Weston stepped up into the Senior Ladies race and promptly finished 60th (6th Under-20). Nice one, Genevieve! Louisa Pointon (110th) seems to have put injury concerns behind her at last. Louise Le Ray ran a very creditable 28.31, for 114th spot (6th in her Vet category). A pleasure, as always, to see Fiona Holland battling it out with Gabi Johnson. And a special mention for Helene Kehoe (188th), who made the start by the skin of her teeth, took her place at the back of the Heathside contingent, and stayed there. Great effort, Helene: the never say never spirit of London Heathside!

Provisional team results suggest that the Women’s A-Team (current Champions, by the way - did I mention that?) finished 3rd in Division One on the day, behind H*ghgate and Serpentine, both of whom look like they are serious about taking our crown this season. A word: our most potent weapon in our defence of this title will be our strength in depth. When we turn out in force, we have enough strong runners to win, IF we continue to shut out our competition further down the field. Yesterday, despite being without several of our fastest runners, we performed well, thanks to fantastic performances from our B-team scorers, who finished first in Division Two, with our C-team second in Division Two. That’s really good racing! Our Veterans A-team was also first in Division One. Come on, Ladies - we can make this a truly standout season for Heathside!

In the Senior Men’s race, no less than 67 of us joined the field of almost 430 for the 8km run. There were eye-catching runs all over the place. Firstly, it was fantastic to welcome Olivier Lepolain back to cross-country. Olivier wasted no time in running straight to the front of the Heathside contingent, with a 25th place finish. Behind him, James Wooldridge is improving with every passing week. James placed 38th on the day (3rd Under-20. Superb.) Chris Norris (42nd) won bragging rights over Andrew Brooker (45th). A big welcome and congratulations to newcomer Charles Hardy, who swept through the field to finish 56th and bag himself a solid A-team finishing spot. Good to have Ryan McCrickerd (64th), Tom Livermore (72nd), and Rob O’Grady (99th) back at cross-country. Huge congratulations to Jacob Philips, who finished 71st and 9th Under-20 with a breakthrough run. Respect to Richard Macaulay (73rd), who has moved up into top-100 form this season, and left his battles with me well behind in the process! Great also to see Dan McKeown back in the top-100 finishers, where he belongs (and ahead of Martin Potter, too!). Newcomer Lee Davies pulled on a Heathside vest for the first time on Saturday and promptly ran to a 113th place finish, and a solid B-team berth. Nice!

Back down the field, a few will have been slightly disappointed to have let Captain Chris (120th) sneak in ahead of them. Andy Welshman (128th), Howard Gold (129th), and Sergio Di Noto (127th) have a bit of fitness training to do! No such slouching from John Flahive (116th), whose injury problems look to be firmly behind him. Great to see so many familiar faces out there, and so many new ones, too. Welcome to the 2015-2016 season Paul Lemmon (190th), Norman Mitchell (221st), Pete Crockford (227th), Matt Fassnidge (303rd), Leo Pemberton (353rd) and too many others to mention. A special word for Ray Watts, back to cross-country, and looking in fine health. Ray proudly made up the rear of the Heathside field, finishing 414th, proving that there is always a way back to cross-country, no matter how tough the journey. Welcome back, Ray.

Lastly, commiserations to Steve Monaghan and Chris Shipley, both of whom had to pull out during the race. We’ll look forward to seeing you both out on the course again soon!

Provisional results look a bit odd at the moment, with several queries outstanding. At this stage, it looks like our Men’s A-team finished fourth or fifth on the day in Division One (Olivier Lepolain, James Wooldridge, Chris Norris, Andrew Brooker, Charles Hardy, Ryan McCrickerd, Jacob Philips, Tom Livermore, Richard Macaulay, Dan McKeown, Martin Potter, Rob O’Grady). Serpentine and H*ghgate look to be the two clubs that will slug it out for top spot this season. Our B-team may have finished second in Division Two, with the C-team eighth in Division Two.

Alarmingly, the Veteran men did not finish first in the Vets Division One! Serpentine have laid down a marker. We need Jonathan Hopkin, Steve Monaghan and Co. back at the coal face if we’re going to hang on to our trophy! The Vets B-team finished a superb 6th in Division One, and our C-team were 8th.

The challenges of the Met League look to have got even tougher this season, but there is every sign that we are up to everything the other clubs can throw at us (apart from their smelly old spikes, perhaps). Our sheer numbers are our main advantage. Graced with some superb talent at every stage in every race, we can look forward to a great season. To anyone who missed the race at Claybury and would like to run cross-country I say this: the next Met League fixture is on Saturday 8th November - BE THERE!

Thank you to everyone who ran at Claybury, and to those who supported and helped out, especially Our Dear Leader, Jerry Odlin, and Pete Holland. I hope you all made your way home afterwards feeling as proud of yourselves and your wonderful running club as I did!

COME ON YOU HEATHSIDE!

Met League Race One: Saturday 10th October, Claybury

Results

Under-11 Boys and Girls (1,500m, 65 finishers)
12. Arthur Reed 6.00
21. Max Deasy 6.27
57. Honor Graham 7.35
58. Alice Reed 7.45
62. Fabian Weston 7.57

Under-13 Boys (3,000m, 59 finishers)
5. Ruairi McGonagle 11.31

Under-13 Girls (3,000m, 37 finishers)
14. Rose Garrett 13.30

Under-15 Boys and Under-17 Men (4,000m, 95 finishers, 58 Under-15)
17. William Griffiths 15.03
22. Liam Garrett 15.12 (6th Under-15)
38. ?? 15.48
41. Luke Gray 15.51
52. Adam Bessadi 16.09 (25th Under-15)
55. Antanas Weston 16.20
64. Amar Aiyar-Majeed 16.35
75. Gabriel Bazzarelli 17.15 (44th Under-15)
88. Calum Mills 18.21 (52nd Under-15)

Under 15 Girls and Under-17 Women (4,000m, 61 finishers, 44 Under-15)
24. Meg Naylor 18.20 (16th Under-15)
34. Phoebe Crockford 18.55 (24th Under-15)
43. Lily McKay 19.44 (33rd Under-15)

Senior Women (6,000m, 198 finishers)
10. Rebecca Piggott 22.43
16. Rachel Seckl 23.03 (2nd Under-20)
21. Ella Waldman 23.35
22. Rachel Newstead 23.37
26. Sarah Swinhoe 23.34 (5th Vet)
36. Anna O’Hare 24.49
42. Ourida Sidoli 25.12 (8th Vet)
46. Stephanie Robson 25.26
50. Elspeth Storrar 25.38
51. Colette Monahan 25:42
52. Alice Lighton 25.46
54. Angela Howe 25.46
55. Ula Cartwright-Finch 25.48
60. Genevieve Weston 26.05
68. Estibaliz Guijarro 26.30
69. Lea Michaels 26.32
76. Jackie Wastell 26.53
82. Joanna Brown 27.02
83. Tammela Platt 27.03
88. Satu Hietanan 27.31
93. Elizabeth Beard 27.44
94. Jodie Gray 27.45
96. Jennifer Wing 27.46
102. Jo Irwin 28.03
108. Emilia Vynnycky 28.19
110. Louisa Pointon 28.21
114. Louise Le Ray 28.31
117. Madeleine Minson 28.38
127. Edyta Szot 29.08
128. Chloe Alder 29.09
129. Ruth Miller 29.15
130. Rachel Reid 29.17
145. Gabi Johnson 30.30
146. Fiona Holland 30.35
158. Sara Dark 31.29
162. Christina Segovia 31.51
167. Alison Harrow 32.36
188. Helene Kehoe 35.06

Senior Men (8,000m, 427 finishers)
25. Olivier Lepolain 26.56
28. James Wooldridge 27.45 (3rd Under-20)
42. Chris Norris 28.03
45. Andrew Brooker 28.12
56. Charles Hardy 28.36
64. Ryan McCrickerd 28.56
71. Jacob Philips 29.13
72. Tom Livermore 29.13
73. Richard Macaulay 29.14
77. Dan McKeown 29:22
81. Martin Potter 29.30 (5th V45)

99. Rob O’Grady 30.02
105. Alan Whatmough 30.11
113. Lee Davies 30.20
116. John Flahive 30.25 (3rd V50)
120. Chris Hartley 30.27 (4th V50)
124. Dave Brown 30.38 (5th V50)
125. Ben Wolfe 30.39
127. Sergio Di Noto 30.43
128. Andy Welshman 30.46
129. Howard Gold 30.47
140. Paul Jarman 31.03
152. Adam Ibrahim 31.21
154. Jonathan Litchfield 31.22
156. Sam Thompson 31.24
161. Daniel Jackson 31.29
163. Jacob Howe 31.31
170. Victor Rius Gil 31.45
176. Gavin Evans 31.53
187. Phil Hogg 32.12
190. Paul Lemmon 32.25
191. Paul Mercer 32.27
192. Dom Jackson 32.27
200. Kris Milovsorov 32.33
202. Gareth Marshall 32.35
221. Norman Mitchell 33.04
227. Pete Crockford 33.16
231. Lee Connor 33.24
233. Alan Smith 33.27
241. Rick Hewitt 33.47
243. Will Whitaker 33.52
244. Marco Luna 33.53
249. Andrew Johnston 34.05
259. Conor Forbes 34.32
274. Ollie Hopkins 35.00
283. James Dark 35.21
290. Tom Billington 35.33
303. Matt Fassnidge 36.01
322. Elliot Reed 36.37
328. Matt Colvin 36.52
331. Ian Whisson 36.55
347. Jesper Lycke 37.50
353. Leo Pemberton 37.53
361. Russell Weston 38.26
364. Alun Nash 38.40
371. Gavin Parish 38.58
375. Andy Barthorpe 39.14
392. Charles Redfern 40.52
394. Ben Montilla 41.11
396. Dave Walton 41.23
397. Darrell Osborne 41.24
401. Ollie Pound 41.40
408. Ken Townson 42.35
410. Adrian Essex 42.54
411. Neil Robson 43.20
414. Ray Watts 43.12
DNF Steve Monaghan
DNF Chris Shipley