Met League race 2: Men 3rd, Women 5th
In the second Active Training World Metropolitan League race at Stevenage on Saturday our men's A team finished 3rd and our women's 5th. Each team consolidated their league position, men 3rd, women 5th. Our men's B team won the Division 2 race and continue in the promotion race. Tom Phillips was our first man home, while Emily Moss led the women.
Men's A team
First in for us was Tom Phillips, who usually starts the season slowly, building up to fine form after Christmas. It is a mark of Tom's ability that training has not yet quite clicked but he managed to pull out a magnificent 17th place for the team. It begs the question that if training did click, how far could Tom go? Second in was Tom Beedell in 22nd, fresh from taking his pupils to and from a school's race that morning. Tom has been in good form and it was great to see him go so well. With the Cambridge lads and a couple of guests in the race, his performance was a top 20 performance at any other Met. In third was the ultra runner Harold Wyber in 38th. Harold admitted before the race that speed was a problem, but he overcame this setting off at full pace when the gun sounded, and maintaining this over the next 5 miles. When you've done 100k races, 8k must feel like a sprint! But this was a very determined performance from Harold, as from lap one he gave not an inch. It does make this manager wonder what will happen if he gets his speed back! In fourth was Tomaz Plibersek in 41st place. The Slovenian international is still in heavy training mode, and the fact that he wasn't more pleased with his run shows his competitive nature. But in seasons past Tomaz has shown he knows when to peak and all the signs indicate that his peak could be very high this year.
In next was Gavin Lewis in 46th place. Gavin had been delayed at work but thanks to the good work of a team mate (See below) had managed to come, which is always a massive bonus for the team, for although Gavin's training has been beset by injury in the recent past, he is still capable of producing a run like this one off his limited time back. In sixth was Donatas Tumaitis in 52nd place. Donatas is seemingly getting better each race, as the run was worth higher then his 46th at Claybury in this tougher field, and it was good to have Donatas stay after the race and have a few drinks in our club house to mark another good run. In seventh was Stephan Wenk in 56th. Stephan has not run a step since his Beachy Head Marathon win two weekends ago, as a calf injured in that race, then illness, had prevented him training. But it is testament to Stephan that he answered this manager's call when it became apparent that we could be short, and came and managed what he did, even though, like Harold, five miles is not exactly what his training is based on at the moment! In eighth was Daniel Steel in 66th. Some new signings are like Mario Balotelli and some are like Diego Costa. Daniel falls definitely into the second camp, as he has taken to club life excellently, producing nothing but solid performances and improving every time he pulls on a club vest. He is aiming to do the London Marathon again, and on current form that 2 hours 30 barrier is in real danger of being broken.
In next mention must go to Canaan Soloman, the U17 who came in 67th (50th at Claybury). It is a frustration to all in the senior game that one’s finishing position can drop from one race to the next even though the performances are equal, just due to the improved level of others coming in. But Canaan stuck to the task and had another solid run. Our ninth man in was Angus Holford in 70th. As noted last time Angus is in a busy period wrapping up his PhD with all the stresses that entails, so it is great that Angus is able to come along and race for us, and although he is happy enough with his training, post Christmas could see Angus find some vintage form as all settles down and he starts his new job. Next in was another new signing from the summer, Simon Beedell in 79th. Simon, like Daniel, has come across and already made a massive difference to the team, producing high level and consistent performances, with this one due to the tougher field probably equal to, if not better than, his run at Claybury. Our eleventh man was Tony Russell, in 83rd. It is interesting to reflect that Tony's first outing for the club was here in 2012 in 91st place, but now even that race is unrecognisable from even this year's, as Cambridge and others have been drawn to the Met and Serpentine only had one inside the top 20, in 19th place! But Tony is a different athlete to then too, and although he may not have been best pleased with his position, it shows where he now is that he can make our top 12 in the toughest of Mets with a run where not everything clicks into place. Closing our top 12 and very fittingly, as it was his birthday, was Gareth Cavell in 89th place. Gareth's calf had completely gone at the Aldershot relays in early September, so it was great to see Gareth back in this kind of form pre-Christmas, which was a real bonus to the team.
So we closed 12 in 89 and although that got us third on the day, and it had been a real top performance by the team. It should be noted that we closed 12 in 116 last year and got second! The two Toms’ performances were superlative, and the effort put in from the team deserved an even higher finish. But Serpentine produced an excellent result to give Highgate their first Met league defeat for over a year, and highlighted that each fixture is its own race where any result is possible.
NB: Meanwhile, up in Leamington Spa, there was a historic victory in Birmingham Cross Country League Division 1 for our Ed Shepherd. This has traditionally been one of the UK's strongest and most famous leagues and, on the notoriously muddy Leamington Spa course, Ed won by 18 seconds from a field which included 3.35 1500m international Jake Wightman (3rd). Ed reports, "I felt I should be quite near the front as I've been going a lot better in training, but obviously it's really cool to win, we had a big uni team at the race and being in my last year at Birmingham is probably the best thing about winning it, as I didn't think I'd win one while a student here."
Women's A team
Any lingering hopes that our glorious Indian summer might just stretch to Stevenage for this second fixture were firmly quashed by 1:30pm precisely as driving rain began to fall just as the Woodford groundsheet touched the earth. But this day was to be no damp squib. Eight Woodettes took their places at the start line of this mostly flat, fast course. Alongside the green & whites waited a whopping 180 more athletes, including 16 of the the now customary Cambridge University guest team, in what was, even discounting our friends in duck egg blue, yet another record field of 172 in this ever-expanding competition.
Emily Moss (17) was first home for Woodford in 23:09. With 5 guests ahead of her, so twelfth in scoring terms, and a similar placing and time (a place and a 4” margin) to last year, Moss was broadly content with her performance. Just over a minute behind Moss and first in a group of three closing Woodettes was Met League debutante Suzanne Turvey (35), more used to road running than cross country, but with an appetite whetted not least by Terry McCarthy’s Higham’s Park Saturday sessions, Turvey will no doubt take confidence from this position, putting her well inside the scoring top thirty. More to come from her as the season progresses and she racks up the 'bin and backs’. Third to score and unable to catch Turvey was Rachel Lund (39). 33rd in scoring currency, and outside the low twenties placings we have become used to from the rower, Lund the Strong admitted (before dashing off to host a party) that she had been a bit heavy legged after a busy schedule at work and a serious interval session on the water that morning (could somebody please confiscate her oars?).
On Lund’s heels U20 Anna Clark (42) closed 3” behind to make it four in 42 (34 in scoring terms) in a more evenly paced run this time and on a course that enabled her to draw well from her 800m skill set. Fifth to score in what must have felt to Woodford watchers like an interminable gap was V45 Jenny Thomas (89) 2:36 behind Clark, Thomas was pleased with her improved performance, frustratingly one place “lower” than last year but worth 74th for the score. 1’19” behind was V45 Alex Wardle (115) at a scoring 99th, disappointed not yet to have found her stride for the season, closing for the A team.
In a shuffle at the top, the A team miraculously holds on to 5th, with 6 in 99 possibly being one of our lowest scoring fixtures yet.
Race day captain Jenny Thomas summed up the day: “The girls did brilliantly - 4 in 34 was great - but our weakness in depth really showed up in this race. The League gets bigger, faster, and stronger with every fixture. If we want to hold our own in this competition then we have to get a bigger and even better squad over the line each and every time. Woodford’s got talent. Let’s channel it."
Women's Division One (league): 1. Highgate; 2. Shaftesbury Barnet; 3. Heathside; 4. Serpentine; 5= WGEL; 6, Thames Valley
League Position: 1. Highgate; 2. Shaftesbury; 3. Heathside; 4. Serpentine; 5. WGEL
Men's B team
First in for the B team was Robbie Cox, in 92nd place. Robbie was kept out of the Stevenage Marathon last week by a virus but had felt better this week and so came to help out the team. When back in full fitness Robbie will be a hard man to see moved out of the A team, judging by this performance. In next was Joe Everitt in 98th place. The better Joe runs the better our A team has been to keep him just on the fringes. This was another really good run by Joe, very focused from the start and to break the top 100 in this quality of field shows that Joe is only going the right way. In 103rd was Bertie Powell. Bertie is injured, but has managed to somehow do some training over the last month, and this was a step towards the old Bertie, which was a welcome sight. In fourth was CJ Shepherd in 109th. CJ is running very well this season, on last year's team form he would have been in our top 12 in this race, and don't put it past the Barnsley man to crack that feat again this season.
Up next was Daniel Mann in 131st. Daniel was pulled out of Claybury by work but it was good to see his return to the Met in this race. Doing a marathon and a half marathon in the summer, Daniel is not the runner he was last season but much more experienced and even though he will be a bit bemused by coming in so far from his goal of top 100, he will see it was only by 34s which will be nothing when this race helps kick up his training by a notch. In sixth was Louis Clark in 150th. Recovered from his antics on the fells, Louis picked a tough Met to step back into after a year out, but he seems to like a challenge, and no doubt he will be eyeing up a top 90 place by the end of the season. In next was Dave Cox in 163rd, our very own super vet. He was unsure of how his run would go as the build up had not been ideal but this was a solid performance and it hardly needs to be mentioned he was the first V60 in, over a minute and a half ahead of the next V60!
Just behind was Rob Wilbraham in 164th. Rob has had recent trouble with his thyroid and in so doing has had to learn so much medical stuff he could well pass as a doctor in that field. Fortunately he is on the road to recovery and he is just enjoying running at the moment. It was a very good return in this field to finish looking so strong and enjoying the race. In ninth was Ray Dzikowski in 171st, and it was again good to see our globe trotting athlete out and running, although there is no doubt he will have an eye on the Essex Vets race in a fortnight’s time, where he always goes so well. Closing the B team was Nick Andrews in 192nd. Nick may have been cursing his luck as he sent a harmless looking email on the morning of the race to this manager requesting the postcode for the course. Ten minutes later he was being phoned while at work, by this manager, asking if he could go 30 minutes out of his way and pick up Gavin Lewis who had got stuck at work and had no way to get to the race. But, from the first Aldershot relay he stepped in to do, Nick has shown that he has great team spirit and managed to do it despite all the time pressures and location difficulties.
This closed our B team in 192 which, fantastically, meant we topped Division 2 on the day, and so we remained second in the league, clear of London Heathside B in third place. It also highlighted how tough Division 1 had been that we could close 22 before some clubs had closed their first 10!
Women's B Team
With usual B scorers enjoying a day with the As, it was left to Kate Stockings (127) to lead home the Bs, 42” behind Wardle and paying heavily for being lulled into a fast first mile by her Cambridge colleagues. Prescribing herself a course of track practice with Mistress Metronome Alex Wardle, Stockings was simply pleased it was over. Closing for the Bs, and pleased to be back on this course after two years away, V50 Karen Horswood was 27” behind.
Women’s Division Two (League): 1. Vicky Park and TH; 2. Barnet & District; 3. Hllingdon;…7. WGEL
Veteran Women's Division One (League): 1. Barner; 2. Serpentine; 3. Heathside; 4. Ealing, Southall, Middx; 5. WGEL
Brenda Bray Trophy scores after two events are as follows: 1. Emily Moss (40); 2. Rachel Lund (37); 3. Anna Clark (34); Jenny Thomas (31); Alex Wardle (29)
Men's C team
Opening for the C team was Pete Caton in 195th. Pete again broke the top 200 and, in this tougher race, it means that this manager feels that, post-Christmas, Pete will be down in the 150's, and eyeing up valuable high position B team places. In next was Julian Russell in 233rd. Just back from Botswana and then Australia, the weather would have been a slight shock to the travelling Julian, but not the strength of the field as he did all the Mets last season, and to come only 36 seconds from his aim of top 200 on limited training shows that Julian just needs a bit of training then will be even better then at the end of last year. Just behind was Alan Rugg in 235th. Alan felt he needed a run out and just wanted to enjoy his run with no pressure of expectations. After the race, he said he had done this and was pleased with his run. In fourth was Richard Holland in 297th. Although some way off his best, as he admitted before the start, our star vet track man, turned up hoping that a run out would be good training, and if anything can make 8 x 300m look better a muddy 8km race can!
In fifth was Jonathon Webster in 304th. This manager understands that Jonathon was offered some words of advice from coaching legend Barry Ewell, the exact wording may not be completely repeatable, but in essence Barry pointed out to Jonathon that he felt Jonathon should be higher in the field and how best to achieve this. These words seemed to have an effect, as this was a far improved run by the fireman from the first outing. In next was Richard Hogg in 307th who had paced his run well as he let everyone go off before trying to get them back on the final lap, using his racing tactics to edge out new recruit James Perry in 308th. But James would be delighted to get his debut and 1-0 over his training partner Mark Cambridge. Mark's disappointment however at being beaten by James would be tempered by closing the C team and making it into our top 30 for the first time, one of his aims of the day, as he came in 313th.
It was great to see three new signings help close our C team, and meant our C team came third for the day behind an inspired effort by London Frontrunners. It means we are fourth in the table, which is far higher then at any time last year, and has been greatly helped by closing complete teams for the first two fixtures.
But we still had more. Alun Evans came just behind Mark in 314th and, although not fully fit yet, Alun is showing good team spirit by turning out for the club to race himself fit. In next was Tom Spanyol in 373rd, no doubt delighted to get one over Paul Stockings who came in 390th. Paul is keeping a long Met league streak going, but his exclamations every time he gets his disk shows that the “Lure of the 400” is one he is determined to keep clear of. Having a good run and just failing to break the 400 was Trevor 'C Team Captain' Powell, whose race number had reminded him of the year he'd taken his O levels, i'm sure a very happy year for Dr Powell. Trevor had managed to see off his arch-rival Stuart Phillips in the race as Stuart closed the team 431st. Stuart's happy demeanour at the end I'm sure hid his determination to put in some 100 mile weeks over the next month so that next time he'd be breaking the tape before Trevor.
Despite the weather and lack of cover the team spirit was excellent as it has been over the last year, to get 35 runners for an away fixture was really a great effort and showed the commitment made by the team. Many thanks to Don Blackett who helped collect the disks at the end, and Graham Pribul and Terry McCarthy who helped Herts with the running of the event. Next up is Uxbridge on 20th December full details to follow.