SEAA Vets CC
Proceedings got off to a bright start at the South of England Masters Championships at Trent Park on Sunday afternoon - Richard Holland turned up an hour early. This hopeful beginning bore fruit later as the M50 trio of Alan Rugg, Tony Pamphilon and early-bird Holland won the team silver medal with Alan Rugg not far off the individual medals in 5th place.
The course was the same as that used for the recent Chingford League although both top and bottom sections were run in the opposite direction. The course was also reasonably fast, having dried out considerably since the previous month.Alan Rugg was quickly towards the front, and after half a mile was sitting in 4th place. Whilst he had been pegged back to 5th by a City if Norwich man by the start of the 2nd lap, the front of the field was sufficiently strung out that he was never seriously challenged by the 6th placed runner. Having won bronze in the Essex Vets and finished 5th here, he may start to believe in his ability. Behind him, an interesting duel was developing between Richard Holland and Tony Pamphilon. With the former tucked into around 10th place at the start of the 2nd lap, it was noticeable how the canny Pamphilon was beginning to work his way up from the 30s, into the 20s and then to the teens. By the time the race dived down the hill for the final lap, Pamphilon had overtaken Holland and was pushing on towards the high teens. At the finish, Pamphilon was 14th and 31 seconds behind came Holland in 18th. The combined total of 37 was good enough for 2nd place behind a strong looking Garden City Runners team who scored 31 (7, 8 and 16) and ahead of Hillingdon who packed well with 12, 13 and 19 for a total of 44.
With W40 Linda Jackson just failing to reach the start in time following transport problems, our only other competitor was M40 Matt Malloy. Middlesex-qualified Matt was 15th overall and 4th in the Middx Championships. After reaching the first corner in 1st place, he settled down to a more realistic pace, looked strong throughout and was pleased overall with his performance given his tight hamstrings and struggling with his motivation before the start.
Manager for the day Alistair Holford was delighted for the M50 team afterwards, "The boys gave everything they had today. Ruggy was all-in on the line and the sun was really shining on Pamphilon. If Holland had arrived nearer the start time, we might have challenged for the gold." Holford later had the satisfaction of picking up the medals for the team but for him it’s now a trip the physio’s table as his suspect calf forced him to withdraw at the end of the first lap.