XC galore - Horsenden Hill Met League and Royston Sunday League

This weekend was pretty much completely dominated by cross country on both days with a massive turnout at the Met League at Horsenden Hill on Saturday with Sarah and Tom leading the Heathsiders to the finish, and a smaller gathering at the Sunday League at Royston with Phil first Heathsider home.  Also over the weekend there was a small selection of mud-free races (mud-free except perhaps the Ally Pally parkrun!).

The big event for many Heathsiders (a record turnout it seems of club runners for this event) this weekend was the Met league xc event at Horsenden Hill. Very, very muddy and hilly . Chris sums it up:

Something old, something New, something red gold and blue (Met League, Horsenden Hill)The Met League got straight back into action after the Christmas break with a full-blooded mud-fest at Horsenden Hill on Saturday. Heathside's competitors once again proved to be a hardy and committed bunch, putting in a performance that leaves several of our teams on the brink of honours with just one race to come. Time to get excited!

Throwing the usual race report format out of the window for once (want to hear how amazing Sarah Swinhoe's run was? Well, you can wait a bit longer this time!), it is time to sing the praises of some of the other hardy runners who also make the Met League such a fantastic competition. The emerging stars of this season in the Senior Men's race are Heathside's C-Team, who smashed the mud and hills of Perivale in proper gritty fashion, sweeping to a first place finish in Division Three on the day, and leapfrogging Enfield & Harringey to go top of Division Three after four races. This performance is not only thanks to the men who score for Heathside C, but all those who finish behind them and prevent other clubs from achieving better results. There is no better proof of the benefit of Heathside's strength in depth than this, so here's to the oft unsung heroes of Heathside.

So, what's Old?

Answer: Heathside's Vets. Except they're really not; they're just fast. Especially the Women's Vet team, who are matching the Men stride-for-stride this season. Once again, the Women's Vets were first in Division One, and they lead the Division after four races. Women - we are within touching distance of becoming Champions this season. Bridgit Napleton, Sarah Swinhoe, Karen Levene, Caroline Boyle, Caroline White, and rookies Sue Rust (Happy Birthday!) and Claire Morrissey (Happy Birthday!) - huge congratulations on your fantastic runs. The job's not done yet though: see you all at Wormwood Scrubs next month for the glory race!

Heathside Men's Vets once again showed the competition a muddy pair of heels, winning Division One to stand on the threshold of Championship honours again this season. Congratulations to the ever-green George Stewart, Steve Monaghan, Mike Stocks, John Flahive, Roger Braybrooks, and John Driscoll. One more time, ye knock-kneed old codgers!

So, what's New?

Answer: six Heathsiders who made their maiden appearance at the Met League this season. Good to see you Claire Sliwerski, Carl Heap, Asa Cusack, Costi Stavrianakis, Andrew Dunderdale and Howard Monk. Let's hope the mud hasn't put you off, and we'll see you again next month for the grand finale. Anyone else who hasn't enjoyed the Met League yet this season fancy a run out next month? You'll be very welcome.

So, what's Red, Gold, and Blue?

Answer: Anthony Hall's Heathside bobble hats, which were the envy of all the other clubs on Saturday. Anthony's mother, the patient knitter of said bobble hats, is raising money for charity. Order yours now!

And what else?

Answer: too much to mention. So, forgive me for anything I leave off the following list. Here goes... Congratulations to Sarah Swinhoe on finishing fifth in the Senior Women's Race, and Tom Aldred for finishing sixteenth in the Senior Men's race. Congratulations to the Senior Women's A-Team for finishing fourth in Division One. HUGE congratulations to the Senior Women's B-Team for finishing second in Division Two, and being on the verge of promotion - well done to Claire Morrissey, Louise Atkin, Yanna Raykov, Jane Higgins, Karen Levene, and those who edged-out the competition. You know what you need to do at Wormwood Scrubs! Congratulations to the Senior Men's A-Team who finished fourth on the day in Division One. A special mention to John Flahive, who is running like a man half his age this season, and has established himself in the top 100 finishers once more.

A mention for the Juniors too, who have been plugging away fantastically all season. Terrific runs from Meg Naylor who led Heathside's seven-girl team to finish 8th in the Under-13 Girls race, James Wooldridge, who finished 6th in the Under-17 Men's Race, and Lily Beckford, who finished 7th in the Under-17 Women's Race.

Finally, a few stats for you. After four Met League races this season Heathside has eleven women and twelve men who have completed all four races. Of those twelve women, seven are Vets. For the men, six are Vets. Given that more men than women generally compete, the verdict can only be that women are more reliable, and that Vet women in particular, thrive on the pain of cross-country. So, out of this lovely lot, who will make the full set next month at Wormwood Scrubs? Sarah Swinhoe, Claire Morrissey, Bridgit Napleton, Cathy Jeremiah, Jane Higgins, Caroline Boyle, Tammela Platt, Jo Irwin, Gabi Johnson, Edyta Szot, Margherita Maserati, George Stewart, Dan McKeown, Andrew Brooker, John Flahive, Chris Hartley, David Hellard, Joe McKeown, Kris Milosorov, Nick Desausmarez, Olly Pound, Russell Weston, Adrian Essex. Heathside salutes every one of you.

All-in-all, a good day in a mud bath. The club is on the verge of some impressive achievements this season. So, gather yourselves for one last big race next month. Watch this space for details of how to be a part of the great climax to the Met League at Wormwood Scrubs on Saturday 8th February. (Full list of results below)

Sunday XC League, RoystonOn Sunday there was the Sunday XC  League # 4 held at Royston -  not as many participated unsurprisingly with the Met League having drained resources considerably, but this was made up for with enthusiasm. In fact Jesper Lycke is to be commended on being  the only person brave enough to sample the delights of both races.  Laura Boothman was chief reporter, and had this to say: “Saturday's Met league must have taken its toll on the club's elite legs, as only Heathside's 'Super Six' arrived to tackle the fourth fixture of the Sunday league in Royston. It was worth the effort though as this is truly a peach of a course - even without the bright morning sun bouncing off the frosted grass and Kestrels flapping overhead. Therfield Heath is lovely and the views across Cambridgeshire magnificent. When you get up the hills. Nicknamed the 'Royston rollercoaster' it's true that the 5.4 miles hurts a bit, especially the relentless series of near vertical slopes up and down, whilst the dodgy leafy uphill bits in the wood and the frosty patches are just there to keep you on your toes. First home was Phil , first lady the awesome Agi, then Jesper, Bob being chased down by Laura and another strong performance for XC season debutante Louise”. Gavin Parish summarised the League state of affairs as it stands: "The women’s team came 14th and the men’s team were narrowly beaten into 16th. With 5 women and 8 men needed to field a full A team, this is no surprise, so well done everyone from keeping us from bottom place (18th)! What this does overall now is put both the men and women’s teams in 8th place after four races – this is very good compared to previous seasons, and it’s possible we could climb a few places higher at Watford on 16th February. So if anyone’s looking for more cross country after the Met League finishes, this one’s a week later"
Road and trail racesClaire Morrisey snuck a marathon (Milton Keynes) in to her gruelling schedule last weekend, on Sunday, as you do, between a cross country race the day before and yesterday's Met league race (“just a training run” she modestly described it as). Her extreme training is obviously paying off. She came in first lady and 8th overall in a time of 3.47.35.

Julia Kelk and Tom Upchurch were further afield enjoying some warm weather training in Lanzarote. They took part in the Salomon Sea to Summit mountain trail race there, which is 8km from the ocean up to the top of one of the mountains with over 600m of climbing (Famara to Ermita de las Nieves).  Apparently incredibly steep but the views were spectacular! Tom came 14th in 59:34 and Julia came 20th (5th woman) in 1:03:45.

Full Result round up
Met League, Horsenden Hill - 11/01/14

Senior Men

16   31:25  Tom Aldred

51   33:49  George Stewart

52   34:06  Steve Monaghan

59   34:28  Andrew Brooker

71   34:57  Mike Stocks

73   35:01  Daniel McKeown

79   35:12  David Hellard

84   35:21  John Flahive

89   35:34  Roger Braybrooks

93   35:48  Tom Livermore

97   35:57  Mark Anderson

101  36:05  Phil Wright

114  36:35  John Driscoll

119  36:43  Chris Hartley

130  37:10  Samuel Thompson

132  37:16  Richard Macaulay

135  37:28  Paul Mercer

139  37:35  Gavin Evans

148  37:47  Tony Killilea 
150  37.50  Stuart Meiklejohn

166  38:23  Alex Sweet

167  38:24  Daniel Szajna

181  39:07  Chris Shipley

192  39:44  Paul Lemmon

195  39:48  Simon Nash

202  39:57  Asa K Cusack

203  39:59  Joseph McKeown

209  40:15  Dominic Jackson

228  41:06  Costi Stavrianakis

233  41:16  James Martin Felstead

243  41:42  Andrew Johnson

249  41:56  William Whitaker

252  42:01  Mark George 

255  42:06  Kris Milovsorov 

258  42:16  Stephen Meredith

260  42:21  Carl Heap  

263  42:31  Nick De Sausmarez 

281  43:59  Marco Maserati 

283  44:07  Leo Cador Pemberton  

284  44:09  Charles Redfern   
292  44.37 Jacob Howe

298  45:39  Oliver Pound  

311  47:33  Russell Weston   

315  47:44  Neil Davies 

322  48:17  Andy Owen   

326  48:39  Jesper Lycke   

337  49:43  Gavin Parish   

340  50:07  Adrian Essex   

345  51:15  Howard Monk    

360  53:17  James Parker 

U17 Men

4  13:01 James Wooldridge U17 M 

16  14:04 Johnny Naylor U17 M 16  

30  14:44 Alex Chown-Ahern U17 M        

33  14:50 Tom Griffiths U17 M 17     

34  14:50 Jacob Phillips U17 M         

39  15:19 Jake Reynolds U15 M        

44  15:28 Luke Gray U15 M 13 

50  16:05 Charlie Swash U15 M         

53  16:15 Blue Weiss U17 M         

57  16:25 Antanas Weston U15 M 14   

U13 Men  

29   13:00 Jem O'Flaherty U13 M        

Senior women

5    23:58 Sarah Swinhoe

13   25:00 Leigh James 

21   25:33 Sue Rust   

25   25:48 Bridgit Napleton 

37   26:44 Gina Heiss   

39   26:48 Catherine Jeremiah 

51   27:29 Claire Morrissey  

58   28:02 Louise Atkin   

60   28:09 Yanna Raykov  

64   28:14 Jane Higgins  

71   28:43 Karen Levene  

74   28:51 Caroline Boyle 

75   28:53 Tammela Platt  

83   29:14 Katherine Vinnicombe 

85   29:23 Caroline White  

90   29:42 Joanne Irwin 

94   29:56 Ruth Miller  

98   30:30 Victoria Pound 

110  31:22 Edyta Szot 

111  31:23 Fiona Holland 

129  33:55 Margherita Maserati 

133  34:30 Gabrielle Johnson

142  36:40 Claire Sliwerski 

143  37:14 Alison Harrow 

U17W 

7    15:56 Lily Beckford U17 W        

15   16:15 Lauren Gee U15 W        

22   16:59 Genevieve Weston U17 W        

43   20:50 Naomi Conlon U15 W 13 

U13W 

8    13:06 Meg Naylor U13 W       

16   13:51 Lily McKay U13 W        

19   13:55 Phoebe Crockford U13 W      

33   15:02 Rachel Finke U13 W 13  

35   15:34 Ella Conlon U13 W        

39   16:11 Willow Newman U13 W       

43   16:52 Missy McDonald U13 W      

Sunday XC League #4, Royston, 8k -  12/01/14

66 Philip Hogg              M40 40:29  
166 Jesper Lycke              M40 47:49  
184 Agi Palanki              W35 49:08  
232 Bob Gould              M70 53:21  
235 Laura Boothman             W35 53:31  
245 Louise Cripps              W35 54:22

Winter Enigmas Marathon Double, day 2, Milton Keynes 05/01/148th Claire Morrisey 3.47.35 (1st lady)

Salomon Sea to Summit mountain trail race, 8k Lanzarote 12/01/1414th Tom Upchurch 59.34
20th Julia Kelk 1.03.45

ParkrunsAlly Pally parkrun5 Ed BURR 00:20:30
9 Richard BUDD 00:22:02
12 Rob KONOWALCHUK 00:22:46
62 Louise CRIPPS 00:28:24

Finsbury parkrun35 Brian BOYLE 00:21:19
119 Rebecca SWEET 00:25:28
121 Sarah ILLINGWORTH 00:25:30
189 Helene-Mary KEHOE 00:30:31
195 George MILNE 00:31:43

Hackney Marshes parkrun2 Alex WEATHERILL 00:17:38
20 Michael ABRAHAMS 00:20:33

Highbury Fields parkrun9 Leo BURNINGHAM 00:19:18
12 Tim MARSHALL 00:19:29

Hilly Fields parkrun9 George MARGESSON 00:22:31

Preston Park parkrun12 Rebecca BUNTING 00:19:14 (first lady)
17 Mark DERRY 00:19:43