Kent Masters Cross Country Championships, Dartford (Sat. 30th Nov.)
The Central Park course isn't to everyone's taste; some steep banks provide interest and good photo opportunities but there is rather too much running round the edges of football pitches, reports Clem Dixon. It is good for spectators though; the short laps and many switchbacks mean that most of the course is visible from near the finish. And the M40 race, the last of the day, was an exciting watch. We started with high hopes, justified by the form of Danny Kendall (Bib 331), Ben Shearer (335), John O'Mahony (333) and James MacDonald (332) in the Kent League this season. But it isn't as simple as that, Blackheath & Bromley always seem to have some aces up their sleeve, masters who don't bother with the League but show up for this one, and then there is Kent AC who don't run in the Kent League but always take this event seriously.
After the first of four laps all looked well, we were in first place and eight points clear of Kent, but as the race developed, although Danny and Ben looked secure in 2nd and 3rd, there was still all to play for with John in a group of Kent and Blackheath runners and James, who by his own admission wasn't at his sharpest, having developed an alarming habit of letting people overtake him. After some frantic scribbling and mental arithmetic at the finish Martin Hawkins proclaimed that we had won by a single point, which was confirmed by the organisers a few minutes later. Phew!
The women's race is more confusing, for runners and spectators alike: all three age groups run in a single race but without identifiers so it is impossible to work out how the various teams are scoring. So much so that when Rose and her team were called over to the organisers tent after the race she was convinced that they must have done something wrong! But no, not only an individual silver medal for Katie Sanders (Bib 204) in the F35 race but team silver for the F55s too (Rose, Christine Bond and Marian Hine), equal on points with third placed Kent but getting silver on account of Marian finishing one place ahead of Kent's third runner. The F45s also had a team of 3: Maggie Illingworth, Jo Parkes and Emma Brown who were 5th.
We had less success in the earlier races. Five were entered for the M50 race but with two injured, one down with Covid and one getting lost and missing the start, Paul Ford was left as our sole participant. By contrast the six M60s entered were all present and correct and Martin Leat ran well for 9th place, but with Graham Maynard 20th and Clem Dixon 37th we could only manage 5th place, equal on points with Dulwich who were 4th but a long way behind the first three teams all of which had three in the top 20. The M60 race also included the M70 age category in which Mick Ellsmore was 8th and the F65 where Anna Rowland and Stephanie Dungate were 11th and 12th. (Full Results)
Cardington Cracker Fell Race, Shropshire/Welsh Borders (Sun. 1st Dec.)
Setting off initially across farmland, offering a fairly gentle, at least in terms of gradients, start to the race, the Cardington Cracker (9 miles / 2602 feet of climb) then has three incredibly steep climbs up The Lawley, Caer Caradoc and Willstone Hills each with broad level summits and lovely descents interspersed with more farmland, most of it very muddy and waterlogged along with numerous slippery timber stiles. The last mile is a fast downhill dash through private farmland to the start/finish field.
Cambridge Harriers first competed in this event in 1999 (11 club members in total). Ian Marshall (MV50) was our first finisher in 71st position in a time of 1:39:33. The following year, 2000, 10 club members took part. Since then the club has always been represented in this fell race by at least one runner whenever the race has been run, which was the case this year; Christian Poulton finishing in 42nd place (4th M55) with a time of 1:41:07.
British Masters 5km Road Championships, Battersea Park (Sun. 1st Dec.)
W60 silver for Rose Baker (20:53) and M35 bronze for Chris Loudon (15:22). Rose and Susan Dixon (20:50) dropped down age groups, and together with Sally Carr (22:07) secured team bronze in the W45-W54 age category.
Valencia Marathon, Spain (Sun. 1st Dec.)
Joe Sheldrake completed the Valencia Marathon in 4:22:00.
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