National cross country championships, half marathons and early spring marathons
It was another memorable and busy week for Heathsiders, featuring the climax of the cross-country season for many runners with the National Cross championships on Parliament Hill; a few also headed to indoor athletics tracks and to the roads for half marathons and marathons.
Heathsiders were out in strength this week-end on one England’s toughest cross-country courses, in the national cross-country championships on Parliament Hill. With long, relentless hills covered with so much mud that staying upright was challenging, completing the course was an outstanding achievement. The turn-out (77 brave Heathsiders) was impressive, cheered on by numerous Heathsiders, watching unenviously around the course. Everyone put in a star performance. Ruari McGonagle led the U13 boys, coming in 103rd, Sue Rust (56th) was the highest-ranking Heathside lady in the seniors’ race, coming in 56th and Tom Aldred (64th) became the highest-placed Heathside male in history in the national cross-country championships. As ever, Chris’s report (see below) does full justice to the achievements and the day itself.
Several Heathsiders also ran in various half marathons and marathons. Monika Newton led Heathsiders in the Brighton half marathon, finishing in 1:32:33, Tom Ashby (1:26:47) did the same in the Hampton Court half marathon, as did Edward Adams (1:25:48) in the Old Deer Park half marathon. Michael Gee performed well to complete the Heartbreaker marathon in the New Forest in 3:35:46. Belated results come from David Hellard, who prepared for the National cross-country championships by running in the muddy and aptly-named “Eliminator marathon”, and coming first. Laura Boothman and others ran in the Gade Valley untimed 17 mile Sunday run, and highly recommend this, especially given the cake provided at the end.
There are a few results from the indoor track: Liam Garrett ran 1500m in club record time in the U15 category (4:43.6), whilst David Spencer and Helene Kehoe achieved gold and silver medal positions respectively in their age categories in the Southern Counties Veterans track and field championships. Helene’s achievements came a day after she ran in the national cross-country championships.
The rest of this report comprises Chris’ report, followed by the results from the cross-country and other races.
English National Cross-Country Championships, Saturday 21st February, Parliament Hill - Race Report [by Chris Harley]
There really is no sight in English running quite like the start of the National Cross-Country Championships viewed from the top of Parliament Hill. Looking down towards the Lido and the City skyline beyond, the start of each race brings to mind a charging army of foot-soldiers, a plague of locusts, or a tsunami, thundering up and over the brow of the hill in unison. Check out the videos on YouTube if you haven’t seen them already - they are quite exhilarating. Our Dear Leader has described Parliament Hill as the Olympic Park of cross-country, and he’s not wrong. He might also have said that it’s the Wembley Stadium and O2 Arena of mud. Athletes from all over England love running on Parliament Hill, and entries for the National Champs were consequently near record levels this year. We’re extremely lucky to have this fabulous venue on our back doorstep, and we can be rightly proud to take our name from its hallowed turf.
On a day when the heath was as boggy as I have ever seen it, over 5,000 runners made the formation up Parliament Hill, providing one of the most awe-inspiring spectacles in athletics for all those spectating from above. 77 of that doughty horde were Heathsiders. Boys and girls, women and men, I salute you for your commitment and resilience, one and all.
Amongst the Juniors, several of this season’s outstanding runners got to pit themselves against the best in the country, including Ruairi McGonagle, who, having just turned eleven, took on the 395-strong field of Under-13 Boys and finished a fabulous 104th. In the Under-15 Boys race, Liam Garrett finished 143rd from 371. Jacob Phillips and Johnny Naylor slugged it out over 6km to finish 157th and 176th respectively, from a field of 280. Congratulations to Phoebe Crockford and Genevieve Weston for finishing committed cross-country seasons in style in the Under-15 Girls and Under-17 Women’s races.
In the Senior Women’s race (8km), 865 athletes made the charge up the hill, with Sue Rust leading a squad of 17 Heathsiders round the increasingly swamp-like course, to finish in a fabulous 56th place, just ahead of Rebecca Piggott in 62nd. Rachel Newstead (102nd), and Captain Cathy Jeremiah (152nd) made up the four-to-score team, which finished 9th from 93 teams taking part. For Heathside’s women to finish amongst the top ten running clubs in the entire country is a measure of the quality and determination of our senior women: the club is rightly proud of our achievements this year.
Further down the field, Jane Higgins, Jackie Wastell, Jo Irwin, Noelle O Regan and Alison Harrow were all rewarded for their commitment to the cause this season with excellent runs. Helene Kehoe’s first exposure to cross-country was at Barbara’s training day back in October. For Helene to finish the season with a solid run at the National Champs is a testament to what every club member can aspire to in this wonderful sport of ours. If you weren’t involved this season, take a leaf out of Helene’s book and get on board when it all kicks off again in October!
In the Senior Men’s race (12km), 2,005 made the army/locust/tidal wave charge up the hill, with Heathside’s contingent of 43 led by Tom Aldred. ODL informs us that Tom’s outstanding finish of 64th is the best ever achieved by a Heathsider. Take a bow, Tom (not for the first time this season!). Stalwarts Ed Samuel (332nd), George Stewart (350th), Andrew Brooker (392), Matt Collins (403), and Dave Hellard (440) made up Heathside’s six-to-score team, which finished 33rd from 145 participating teams, putting us in the top quartile of English clubs for Senior Men this year. Men, I’m proud to be your captain!
Honourable mentions also go to Tom Fancett (474th), who, having finished 7th for Heathside, can be sure that he’ll be coming under pressure (from me) to turn up to more Met League races next season; also to Ryan McCrickerd (518th), Mark Anderson (542nd), and Jonathan Hopkin (592nd) for ending their cross-country seasons in excellent form. Hasan Nahal (1556th) deserves a mention for running the cross-country season this year in football boots rather than spikes. In classic Hasan style, he has been trying valiantly to convince anyone who’ll listen to ditch the spikes too! It was good, as always, to see so many valued club-mates out on the course who were not likely to be part of our scoring team but who are the most wonderful ambassadors for the sport nonetheless. Ken Townson, bringing up the rear of the Heathside contingent, as usual, is the finest example of commitment and fortitude any running club could hope for.
Many thanks to all those who came along to support Heathside out on the course: it was a ‘home’ fixture for us, and all the shouting and cowbell ringing around the Heath certainly made it feel like one. Sue Rust, even after her efforts in the Women’s race, was on particularly fine vocal form!
So (with the exception of one or two last events), the curtain falls on what has been a good cross-country season for London Heathside. Our achievement, both as individuals and as a club, have been excellent, and the numbers taking part have been nothing short of phenomenal. A season like the one we’ve had deserves a bit of a song and dance, so that’s what we’re planning to do! We’ll be celebrating the end of the season this year with some fun Heathside Cross-Country Awards at a special event on Sunday 8th March in the evening. Look out for the full details (by e-mail and on the club website and Facebook page) very soon. Come along and give your club-mates the recognition they so richly deserve!
Results
English National Cross-Country Championships, Saturday 21st February,
Under-13 Boys (3.0 km, 395 finishers)
Ruairi McGonagle 13.39
Rocco Lofinmakin-Dutta 15.48
Marco Flower-Reeve 16.27
Oliver Selby 17.29
Under-13 Girls (3.0 km, 433 finishers)
Ella Conlon 17.37
Under-15 Boys (4.5 km, 371 finishers)
Liam Garrett 18.25
Isaac Costley 19.44
Gray Luke 20.39
Antanas Weston 20.52
Under-15 Girls (4.0 km, 379 finishers)
Louise Gilbert 22.29
Naomi Conlon 23.59
??? (running as Phoebe Crockford) 24.53
Under-17 Men (6.0 km, 280 finishers)
Jacob Phillips 24.25
Johnny Naylor 24.51
Under-17 Women (5.0 km, 235 finishers)
Genevieve Weston 24.56
Junior Women (6.0 km, 130 finishers)
Rachel Seckl 27.00
Yanna Raykov 30.06
Senior Women (8.0 km, 865 finishers)
Sue Rust 34.02
Rebecca Piggott 34.20
Rachel Newstead 35.38
Cathy Jeremiah 37.03
Celine Murray 37.06
Jane Higgins 37.48
Jackie Wastell 39.04
Angela Howe 40.09
Caroline Boyle 41.11
Jo Irwin 42.46
Claire Jellema 43.24
Caroline White 44.08
Noelle O’Regan 44.46
Ann Woulfe 48.05
Gabi Johnson 48:58
Alison Harrow 50.45
Helene Kehoe 51.54
Senior Men (12.0 km, 2,005 finishers)
Tom Aldred 42.29
Ed Samuel 47.21
George Stewart 47.34
Andrew Brooker 48.04
Matt Collins 48.14
Dave Hellard 48.37
Tom Fancett 48.55
Ryan McCrickerd 49.32
Mark Anderson 49.49
Tom Livermore? (running as Leo Pemberton) 49.59
Jonathan Hopkin 50.22
Chris Hartley 50.45
Steve Armstrong 50.53
Richard Macaulay 51.00
Howard Gold 51.32
Dan McKeown 52.08
Sam Thompson 52.30
Sion Lewis 52.53
Stuart Meilklejohn 52.56
Jonathan Litchfield 53.07
Dom Jackson 53.37
Adam Ibrahim (?) 53.32
Norman Mitchell 53.59
Joe McKeown 54.08
Costi Stavrianakis 54.12
Tony Killilea 54.43
Gavin Evans 54.53
Jacob Howe 55.12
Alan Latham 55.14
Kris Milovsorov 55.40
Rob Shulman 55.55
Phil Hogg 56.01
Lee Connor 56.11
Will Whitaker 58.09
Brian Boyle 58.51
Carl Heap 1.00.41
Hasan Nahal 1.01.50
Emerson Paul 1.02.38
Jim Connell 1.02.42
Chip Hamer 1.03.27
Alun Nash 1.04.34
Simon Bailey 1.09.04
Ken Townson 1.11.53
Brighton half marathon
22nd February, 2015
519 Monika Newton 01:32:33
1317 Louise Le Ray 01:42:27
4653 Gabriel Newman 02:05:42
Hampton Court half marathon
22/02/2015
53 Tom Ashby 01:26:47
445 John Roberts 01:41
632 Alice Lighton 01:46:01
660 Tom Hoskins 01:46:39
Old Deer Park Half Marathon
22nd February, 2015
69 Edward Adams 01:25:48
165 Elinor East 01:34:39
188 Louise Dobbyn 01:35:25
317 Kathryn Hurrell 01:43:03
Eliminator marathon
“A brutal marathon distance trail/mud run in the wilds of Pippingford Park”
8th February 2015
1 David Hellard 4 hours 32 minutes
Heartbreaker marathon
New Forest
22nd February 2015
39 Michael Gee 3:35:46
Lee Valley Middle Distance Open
Lee Valley
18th Feb, 2015
800 SX 14
4 02:08.4 Richard Macaulay
1500 SX 4
4 04:43.6 Liam Garrett
1500 SX 5
7 04:35.2 Edward Garrett
Southern Counties Veterans Athletics Club2015
Lee Valley Indoor Athletics Centre
Indoor Track and Field Championships
Sunday 22nd February
400m
1 David Spencer 70.55 G (M65)
200m
2 David Spencer 30.22 G (M65)
60m
2 Helene Kehoe 9.94 S (W50)
200m
3 Helene Kehoe 33.8 B (W50)
400m
3 Helene Kehoe 87.98
Parkrun results:
21/2/2015
http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2017&eventdate=2015-02-21