Birmingham Cross Country League Div.2, 4th fixture

Rookery Farm, Coundon, Coventry

Saturday 17th February 2007

Excellent performances and a great turnout

Above: B&R recover & enjoy the luxury of the only tent at the race.

Mild and calm conditions greeted around 150 runners on this new course for the season’s final event. Given that the course had only recently been a cow pasture and subjected to heavy rain, it was not surprising that the going was very wet and very muddy (and they were the better conditions!). Four times through the brook (or was it a river?) which even the lead runners walked through and three log jumps added to competitors’ difficulties around the twisting and undulating 6½ miles.

Bromsgrove & Redditch fielded 16 runners (not 15 as indicated in my email) and ended the season as one of only 4 Clubs (from 13) to have 2 teams complete in each of the 4 fixtures.  Well done team.

There was a pre-race set back (part of the tent frame was missing). All present offered solutions (welding was one but no one had thought to bring the welding torch), before Dave ‘boy scout’ Whipp produced a shoe lace to lash together the metal poles.

Above: James Adie recovering from injury led the way for B&R

Undeterred, the ‘A’ team finished a creditable 10th on the day, despite injuries and illness (yet again) stripping the squad of 2 of its quicker runners, and ended 11th in the final league table. The team pulled back 100 points on Tamworth (10th in the final table) and missed out from climbing above their rivals by the narrow margin of only 17 points. Good try lads. The team did manage to keep its nose ahead of local rivals Worcester AC by just 7 points in the final table.

Left: Jamie Dancyger 3rd scorer for ‘A’ team. Right: Stephen Elsmere climbed the field to be our 1st ‘B’ team runner.

First home for the ‘A’ team with an excellent run and making light of the conditions was James Adie whilst Kevin Lanckham again put in a sterling run to be second back. Jamie Dancyger and Ian Keyte continued their private and season long battle with Jamie coming out on top this time. Gavin Moorhead and Paul Atkins both ran well but had to settle for being fifth and sixth scorers respectively.

Left: Captain Len experiencing the rejuvenating properties of mud. Right: Alan Elsmere enjoying the brook on his XC comeback.

The ‘B’ team was 3rd on the day and finished 4th in the final ‘B’ standings. The ‘B’ team’s runners all finished within 13 places of each other. Stephen Elsmere, Andy Freeman and Calvin Scoltock finished in consecutive positions with David Stokes (4th back) in close attendance. In an exciting and close finish, Phil Anderson was given the nod over Phil Richardson who were both given the same time.

The remaining Club finishers were Dave Whipp, Gordon Marshall, me, and Alan Elsmere.

Back in the tent, the atmosphere was warm and cosy or was it the odour of sweaty bodies, water from the dirty brook and cowpats?  

Left: Gentleman Dave Whipp offers a Sphinx runner a helping hand. Right: Penalty ref?

Thanks and well done to all who ran and to all Club supporters for their encouragement not just on the day but also for your commitment at the previous fixtures. Thanks to Jamie Scoltock and Mike Leci for recording our suffering in the photos.

Len Quartly

Click here to go to photo gallery

Click here for full results (pdf)

Individual results

Jean Ndayesenga

(Birchfield)

Team results & final league positions