English National Cross Country Championships 2009

Parliament Hill, London

Saturday 21st February 2009

The National returned to Hampstead Heath and in spite of the sunshine and blue sky, long spikes were the order of the day. All the races started with a two hundred metre uphill stretch before turning right in to the first patch of mud, and then more mud…

Jamie Scoltock drew the short straw as his under 15 boys race had the earliest start at 11 o’clock. He was 350th over 4.5 km in 20:39 and then spent most of the afternoon cleaning his spikes.

Georgie Hartigan had a good run in the 3 km under 13 girls race finishing 113rd out of 354 finishers in 14:27.

Unlike the Birmingham and Gloucester leagues the junior men and senior men run in separate races so Simon Lanckham couldn’t renew his competition with his dad Kevin. Over a by now even muddier course, Simon ran 42:12 for 10 km to finish 134th in the junior men’s race.

In the under 13 boy’s race, Jacob Hood built on his recent good form (Worcester county champion and 4th in the Midlands) to claim our club’s best place of the day, 36th out of 356 finishers in 12:45. He beat Tamworth's Robert Stroud who has been running well in the West Midlands Young Athletes League by one second and one place. Simeon Clarence (271st in 14:55) finished the hilly 3 km course with a smile and reported that it was the sort of cross country race that he enjoys! Len could only shake his head in disbelief. Jacob’s dad said that he would have to take up running again as it would be less nerve-racking that waiting for Jacob to run. That’s it Len, get him signed up!

Melanie Hepke was our only representative in the senior women’s 8 km race and battled through the mud to finish in 44:33 and a very creditable 396th out of a large field of 546 finishers in her first National.

The final event of the day was the senior men’s 12 km race of two long laps. B&R’s Kevin Lanckham was right on the shoulder of the eventual winner Francis Tickner of Wells City Harriers…… but then the starting gun fired. Jamie Dancyger sprinted up the first hill but Kevin soon moved up to be B&R’s lead runner with Calvin Scoltock tracking him. The first half of each lap had been used by the other races and by now was even muddier with plenty of fallers and lost shoes in the six inch deep quagmire. Calvin caught Kevin at one stage but Kevin pulled away on the second half to finish 437th in 48:31 with 491st placed Calvin our second finisher in 49:45. Jamie had missed some recent cross country races due to his many other sporting commitments but was next in, finishing 815th in 54:24. Unlike the last time this race was at Parliament Hill when B&R had only two senior men competing, we had a complete team of six with our other finishers being Phil Anderson (1048th in 58:11), Jimmy Atkins (1333rd in 65:18) and Len Quartly (1400th in 70:01). So having handed in our timing chips it was back to the club tent to try and scrape the mud off and look forward to next year.

Click here for full results on the ECCA web-site

The next Cross Country action for the club will be the West Midlands Young Athletes League at Perry Park in Birmingham on Sunday 1 st March 2009 with the first race at 11 a.m. B&R have to provide funnel marshals for this fixture so offers of help from any parents would be appreciated.

The last Gloucester Cross Country League fixture has been rearranged for Saturday 28th March (NOT 28th February as was originally suggested). Click here for start times and directions to Newbold Comyn (just ignore the original date of 7th February).

(P. Anderson)