Essex Vets CC Championship
On Saturday the club hosted the Essex Veterans Cross Country Championships at Claybury. Our hard-working team, led by Michael Murphy, Graham Pribul and Don Blackett, and ably supported by many other club members, put on a well-organised event which drew widespread praise. Our M50 team performed best, winning silver medals, while our M40 team were 7th and our W35 team 10th. Gareth Cavell's 5th place in the M40 race vied with Steve Herington's 2nd in the M60 event for run of the day. We have a strong record in the M50 race, and our squad performed well again this year. Both Dave Cox and Tony Pamphilon have missed training recently and were not at their best, but they nonetheless finished 6th and 8th respectively in a field where the first 3 men home are regularly internationals in the M50 category. They were backed up by a good run from Alun Evans (14) and a typically reliable run from Alistair Holford (22). It was Evans' first-ever taste of Essex honour
Steve Herington earned his silver M60 in finishing 33rd, 1.45 down on M60 champion Binns of Southend. We also had Paul Stockings (43) and Tom Spanyol (48), and then club favourite Charlie Crump did the club proud yet again in finishing 87th in the field of 92 being aged in his late 70s.
In the M40 race, in which the winner only ran 17" faster than the winner of the M50 race (!), Gareth Cavell had a terrific run for 5th and was only 28" behind champion Alan Smalls of Colchester Harriers. Ray Dzikowski was almost a minute down on Cavell in 16th, and the team was closed by Martin Mack (70) and Steve Lambert (73) in the field of 95.
Women's race report (by Jenny Thomas)
1st: Benfleet, 39; 2nd: Colchester Harriers, 63; 3rd: Eton Manor AC, 84; 10th: WGEL, 184
That 40 minutes from the 11am start of the Women's and Men's V50+ race, only a handful of athletes had gathered at Claybury was some indication of the bitter cold that greeted our Vets on Saturday. Some may still have been reading Dave Hollingworth's mega analysis of last weekend's excellent mega quiz, or feeling simply unable to drag themselves away from warm cars until the very last minute, but by T -10 the familiar pre-cross country crowds had gathered, raceday Captain Alex Wardle's clipboard was in action and Bernie Pritchett's much longed for ground sheet was fully laid out and at full occupancy.
Apart from the Baltic conditions, the day was clear and still, and it felt good to have this fixture back at Claybury after a four year run at Hainault Forest. The Woodettes has a strong Vets team, and won the team title last year, but with two of 2011's golden four and others also absent through illness and injury, only 4 girls made it to the start line - but enough, happily, to close a team in the field of 92 (slightly larger than 2011's 84).
The addition of the V50+ men to the starting line made for a busy, if somewhat less fragrant kick-off, but added to the buzz as the <5 mile, 3 lap race began at 11 sharp. The dog-leg start probably made the initial rush a bit safer than the usual downhill burst, but certainly made for early wet feet as 184 pairs of spikes broke through the first frozen puddles of the season. Bernie Pritchett led for the girls, followed by Jenny Thomas, Alex Wardle and Simone Payani.
As the field stretched out and the women (and no doubt the men) enjoyed the novelty of competing against one another, the Woodford order stayed constant. Bernie Pritchett (26) led the Woodford girls again this year. Though she will be the first to note that her placing this year was some way off last year's 5th, she must be pleased that the direction is a good one as she closes a tough year. Jenny Thomas (36) 1"51 behind Bernie was second home - frozen handed, but mightily relieved to get around without difficulty after an ankle scare earlier in the week - though disappointed not to have reclaimed one of the 3 V45 places lost along the way. 2'06" behind Jenny, Alex Wardle (52) was third Woodette home, simply relieved to have finished at all following a mid-week foot nerve flare-up. Essex Vets XC stalwart Simone Panayi (70) closed for the Woodettes 3'10" behind Alex leaving the team complete but in tenth place over all.
Though frustrated not to have been able to put their best feet forward and retain their title on home turf, the Woodettes were nonetheless pleased to have closed a team at all at this race. Reporter Jenny Thomas declared it excellent preparation for the "over 40s only" Southern Masters at the same venue next week; but perhaps more importantly, a good down payment for ML3 in a fortnight's time. Usual thanks go to Race Day Captain Alex Wardle and Assistant-in-Chief Glove Warmer and Dresser Andrea Possee.