ATW Metropolitan CC League race 3: Seniors
The Active Training World Metropolitan Cross Country League made more history yesterday at Alexandra Palace when, in its 47th year, there were record fields in both the senior men's and women's races. We were in the front line of the titanic battle in the men's race, and edged a very strong Highgate Harriers squad by a mere 9 points, leaving them just 32 points ahead in the race for the title. Our women's team finished 5th on the day, while our men's B team were a terrific 6th in Division 1. Alex Cornwell led our magnificently spirited attack on Highgate's league lead, while our superb W45 Linda Jackson led the women's team.
Photos (courtesy of Alex Wardle)
Men's race
This race was an epic in every sense. With four consecutive league wins under our belt, but faced with the most powerful challenge we have faced over the last 5 years, we threw everything we had at the 40-point lead held by Highgate. Highgate, likewise, defended as if their lives depended on it. To this atmospheric backdrop, other clubs pitched in with huge turnouts, seeking promotion or relegation, and a huge number of quality athletes graced the mud and the intimidating hill. There were 392 finishers plus many DNFs as the hill, mud and pace took their toll.
Men's A team
This had been billed pre-race as a Stalingrad, an El Alamein, and it proved no let-down for fans of total cross country warfare. We had Alex Cornwell taking the race to Highgate's stars Ben Noad and Shaun Dixon, while the 7 positions 36-42 were filled by 3 Woodies and 4 Gate-ies and Matt Shone took on 3 Highgate men single-handed. We were without this season's big hitter Matt Gunby who was injured.
From the gun, Herts Phoenix's international Neilsen Hall forged a gap which was never closed to win by 25 seconds. Cornwell was in a chasing group with Noad, Dixon and Shaftesbury's Glen Watts, really quality men. It wasn't until half-way around the last of the 3 laps that he was dropped, and then three more men passed him for a nonetheless fine 8th placed finish, and several excellent scalps.
Ed Shepherd (14) and Tom Beedell (20) both ran excellently, Shepherd taking the honours and £50 prize for 1st U20, and getting in amongst athletes of reputation such as Mitchinson (Newham) and Shelley (Shaftesbury). Likewise Tom Phillips (17), who came from Cardiff for the day and delivered an invaluable contribution. Neither Bertie Powell (24) nor Martyn Cryer (25) went into the race with great expectations, Powell with a foot problem and Cryer off a sore throat, but both performed admirably.
Teacher Kevin Murphy, surviving off the training he had put in at half-term, had a great run for 36th, as did James Stockings (40) and Daniel Bruynooghe (41). Stockings should pick up the 3rd place U20 prize of £15 as Leach of Bedford (32) was running as a guest. Bruynooghe ran his usual even splits and worked through steadily to post a great run and out-kick Highgate's team manager Ben Pochee.
With 9 men through, the race was so competitive that we closed the team in a matter of 7 seconds, through Darren Southcott (49), Jordan Donnelly (50) and Harold Wyber (52). Donnelly, who works for Puma in Germany, was passing through on his way north for Christmas but loves the cut-and-thrust of the Met. And these were goods runs by all three men. Given the race's standard, 50 is the new 30, with big names like Newham's Olly Laws only posting a 45th.
With Highgate closing 12 in 56 it was too close to call until the official results came out. Then it was WGEL 1176, Highgate 1167, Serpentine 958. What was billed as possibly the defining battle of this season's war had ended in a virtual stalemate. The irresistible force had run into the immovable object.
"This was amateur sport at its very, very best," said team manager Terry McCarthy afterwards. "There was total commitment at every level, many tough men left almost on their knees. And all organised by volunteers. And it is heartening to see our club at the centre of the action."
Martyn Cryer is now up to a fine 4th in the individual table, and Bertie Powell currently fills the final prize money spot, in 7th. We also have Kevin Murphy (9), James Stockings (12), Tom Beedell (13) and Darren Southcott (15) in the top 15. With 4 races to count, there is still plenty of time for these positions to change.
Women's A team
An average performance overall from the Women in a record field of 156, closing 6 in 98. Despite being 5th on the day, the Women (just) retain their 3rd place in the League. Shaftesbury showed the way: despite finishing only 11 girls, their 4 in 5 (6 in 26) was enough to demolish Serpentine's huge lead to put them in first place with a 14 point clearance. Serpentine's 6 in 23 from a mega team of 28 was enough to stay comfortably in second, a massive 129 points ahead of Woodford.
Back in January 2011, the last time the Met League was at this venue, the course for the women's race conspicuously avoided The Hill. This season, with no sexism-suggesting hill removal going on, the women's course was in every respect but length the same as the men's. Ten Woodettes lined up for the start, with matching knee socks in a fetching shade of Kevin Murphy Pink, kindly supplied by Kit Czar Alex Wardle, herself on the sidelines yesterday recovering from a chest infection.
So, two large laps with The Hill it was for the women on a route that best be described as a bit muddy. After waiting for what seemed like ages in the narrow 'holding pen', while the last of the previous racers came home, the race started with a now typical mass girly 'whoop' becoming, within seconds at the Reporter's end of the field, a mass expletive as spikes sunk into the morass and the state of play for the next 6k became clear.
V45 Linda Jackson (12) racing regularly and galloping up the finishing order with each outing this season once again showed her true grit and was first girl home. Hopeful of a top ten placing before the season is done, Jackson, who currently tops the League's V45 individual rankings, declared herself pleased with her progress. Next home, 44" behind Jackson was, surprisingly, not top twenty regular Kat Gundersen (DNF) but fellow Scandy Rachel Lund (25) who, like her knitwear-loving crime-fighting namesake, applied straight line single-mindedness to the task and was second scorer for the Woodettes.
Leaded legged Gundo, meanwhile, despite fitness and motivation simply didn't have it on the day and threw in the towel after a lap. Resigned to the fact that it was probably 'just one of them things' Gundo apologised to the girls, just too gutted to offer more by way of an explanation. Third home. 34" behind Rachel was Dani Nimmock (36), a fine Met League debut for the Norfolk girl whose gruelling 6am runs round the undulating roads of new home Buckhurst Hill are clearly paying off. More to come from her we think; which is just as well as we learned the news that newbie Sarah Nicholas (54) delivering another fine performance 1'10" behind, and in her second ML outing, relocates to The Hague in the New Year.
56" behind Sarah, V45 Bernie Pritchett (70) was 5th scorer. Disappointed with her position, as she struggles to find any form this season, the Vet's Vet found consolation in making it to the finish line, having sat out of the Southern Masters last week to preserve her strength. The for once inaptly named Kate Stockings, being the only Woodette not to be sporting pink hose yesterday, closed for the A Team 1'50" behind Bernie. Lured home from Uni by dad Paul (sporting no stockings at all) on a flimsy tissue of 'no hill' lies, Kate was nonetheless the better for it and delighted to be in the scoring six.
Interpreting for voiceless Race Day Captain Alex Wardle, reporter Jenny Thomas said "The Serpies looked unassailable but Shaftesbury took no notice and just put out their bestest and toughest girls. We need to do that for our next two fixtures if we are not to be kicked into touch by these teams. We know what we can do. So we have just got to do it".
Women's B Team
An incomplete B team toughed it out at the non-business end of the field. V45 Jenny Thomas (109) unable to catch Stockings, who she just pipped at Stevenage, was left wondering if regular racing was any kind of a recipe for success. She battled it out with Kavita Solder (110) eventually to triumph by a meagre 7" over the senior. Closing the Bs was "I cannot do hills" Karen Horswood (117) who, only 32" behind Kav, is improving more than she thinks on these challenging routes.
The Women's Vets team was 4th on the day but with 240 points, remains third in the League behind Serpentine (277) and Heathside (267).
The girls are grateful to pre Race Day Captain Rachel Lund, and Race Day Clipboard Captains Jim Roche and Alex Wardle, also Photographer-in-Chief, for excellent support up to and on the day.
Men's B team
Let nobody doubt Highgate's strength in depth - they closed another 5 men inside 73, as our first B team finisher was Matt Shone (69), who was badly under the weather and only came because the team needed him. Shone has long been a stalwart A teamer, but one man on the edge of A/B status is Louis Clark, who is fully aware that he is the "leader of the pack" with a bunch of rabid B teamers snarling at his heels trying to emulate and pass him. In recent times Clark has raced some longer events of the "tough guy" type, and won a couple, so the hill was only going to tire, not faze, him. And he again took his place as leader of the pack in 77th, 50 seconds down on our final A team scorer Wyber.
After that we have a strong bunch of lads of similar standards all training hard - several of them together - to get one over on each other. Tim Ballard topped the bunch in 94, just pipping Ben Whitworth (95), who hadn't raced for us since the 2009 National CC. Jim Roche ran well for 99, as did Rob Wilbraham in 100, giving a far better account of himself than he did at Stevenage when he was 146. Gareth Cavell (108), Tony Russell (110) and Rob Cox (114) did not deliver bad runs, they were just not quite as good as some others. But this sort of terrain suits some better than others, and this will always be the case. Even the superb Essex M50 champion and masters international Iain Campbell, of Met Police/Ilford AC, was only 86th in this outstanding race.
In 135, on his 21st birthday, Karim Ali ran well, overtaking M50 Matt Flannelly (142) in the closing stages. And Tony Pamphilon was closing on Flannelly, but the latter had forged a big enough gap early on to hang on. Pamphilon and Flannelly were part of our silver medal-winning team at the Southern Masters last week. And it was Pamphilon who closed our B team in 18, a tremendous result and good enough for 6th in Division 1.
Team manager Terry McCarthy said, "The B team have created a decent little gap above the relegation zone, where it is distressing to see the once all-conquering Serpentine B languish along with Ealing & Southall. But the relegation zone is an unstable place - one shoddy performance and we could be dragged back down into the mire."
Relegation battle: League positions: 8, WGEL 1310; 9, Ealing & Southall 1094; 10, Serpentine B 997.
Men's C team
Defining a clear gap between the B and C teams, there was a gap of 4 minutes between Pamphilon (last B) and Chris Maybin (1st C). 4 minutes and 115 positions. In fact Maybin looked fit and ran well, as did Mark Hughes (261), who narrowed the Stevenage gap on Maybin from 11" to 2". In 277, it was normal business resumed as Martin Mack got his revenge for a rare defeat inflicted by Steve Lambert (308) in the Southern Masters last weekend. Mack will be savouring each of the 64 seconds he put between himself and Lambert. Andy Smith (296) separated Mack and Lambert but lost ground on the Maybin/Hughes combo. Lambert took the hill each time with some ease and elegance - not.
Talking of ease and elegance, George Lloyd (315) bravely tackled this very slippery course in training shoes because he is unable to find any size 15 spikes. If and when he does, things will surely seem very easy to him! Lloyd just got the better of Roy Williams (318) who was still feeling the after-effects of winning his Eastern Counties M60 title last week. But he did enough to stay 18" ahead of M50 Tom Spanyol (325), who had the honour of bringing up the rear of the C team.
The C team were 5th in Division 3 on the day and currently also lie 5th in the division.
Which left our well-trusted C team reserves Stuart Phillips (358) and Trevor Powell (382) as invaluable assets which we shall keep secure in the league safe until needed. We also had 3 DNFs: Liam Blaikie (achilles), Sam Benge (ill) and Paul Stockings (falling to bits).
Manager McCarthy summed up, "What a day's racing! Here in North London we're pushing the boundaries of league cross country racing. I defy any other CC league in the UK to match this depth and quality. We can be proud that we're in the thick of the action. Highgate know that they can't take their foot off the pedal. We enter the Christmas break with our men planning to smash in a couple of very big mileage weeks and keep their fingers out of the Roses tin."
Angus Holford, Essex University CC Captain, chose, admirably, to do his duty by his men by attending the Essex League race. Though he finished a fine 3rd, none of his team showed.