Belgrave dominate men's and women's Surrey League XC at Mitcham Common
A momentous day on Mitcham Common saw Belgrave win their first men’s Surrey League match for 15 years, while the women’s team dominated the A and B race to wrap up the league title with one fixture still to run.
Bels
Men’s report by TM Steve Gardner
Back row l-r: Cockerell, Edgar, Milner, Roberts, Horn, Walsh, Visick, Ireland, Fox, Stewart, Wilson, Ruddy, Mallinson, Bicourt, S Sommerville, Kelly, Edwards, Evans, Ward, Luce, Gebreselassie, Dickinson. Front row l-r: McNally, Rigori, Lole, Hurley, Tuffy, Smith, Van den Brande, Buckle, Scott, E Somerville, Neville, Lamb, Pratt.
It’s hard to do justice to the significance of the Belgrave performance at Mitcham Common, but a good place to start is a direct comparison with the same race at the same venue in 2019.
In 2019 we fielded 14 men to 2022’s 33, and came 5th A-team, last place B-team. This time around we recorded our first league win since 2007 and won the B-race too.
Those stats speak nothing of the brilliant team spirit, determination and raw racing quality this team now enjoys - but that was clear to all on Mitcham Common who heard the 40-man roar come up from the Bels’ pre-race huddle, and it was clear to every spectator who saw three claret and gold singlets emerge in the lead pack up the first hill. The aim for the day: solidify our second place in the league, lose no ground to Kent, just four points behind us.
Reece Edwards leads the race up the first hill.
Our first four men home are quickly becoming a familiar, formidable quartet. Dylan Evans (4th) was our first man and he’ll take the league’s individual title as long as he finishes no more than six spots behind Guildford’s John Sanderson at Effingham next month. Reece Edwards (9th) is learning with each cross country race (this was only his third) and was quite the sight leading the race up the first hill - “I just wanted to get outta the way of that pack,” he explained. That’s one way to do it. Sam Gebreselassie (12th) had his best race yet on the mud and will surely continue to improve, and Callum Stewart (17th) is just an astoundingly good cross country racer.
Josh Trigwell on his Belgrave debut.
Fifth scorer was the biggest signing of the January transfer window, Josh Trigwell (22nd), whose move from Newham was brokered by his new coach and old Belgravian John Bicourt, and made easier by the fact that he now lives and trains in Teddington, not Essex. Josh, a 3:45 man over 1500m, is on his way back to full fitness after a break from the sport and could prove to be a real asset to the club on track, road and mud over the coming years.
With five men home we were lying in third place behind a resurgent Guildford and the ever-present Hercules Wimbledon, so it’s more than fair to say it was our second five that won this fixture for us. Enter Sam Sommerville (26th), a 1:54/3:56 middle distance specialist, making this course look easy. It was his first time in claret and gold and a brilliant surprise. Next in was Nick Buckle (28th), back to his best after finishing 17th Bel in the previous fixture, the first of a roulette wheel of 6-7 engine-roomers who rotate positions week to week. It’s another testament to our depth that 2:20 marathoner Craig Ruddy (29th) was only our 8th scorer on the day; he resumed his marathon training with a long cooldown back to Bookham afterwards. James Fox found this course tough going but 36th in the Surrey League is no disgrace at all, and Conall McNally (41st) rounded out our scoring 10 with his best ever league position. Sam, Nick, Craig, James and Conall - you won us this match.
Neil Wilson squeezes in ahead of a SLH athlete, just behind Conall McNally. Marshalls would decide he hadn’t made his squeeze in time for the finish. You decide!
On another day and with another spin of the wheel, Neil Wilson, Jonny Scott, Angus Lamb and Jonny Neville would have finished in our first ten, but the way it fell this time meant they provided the classiest of openings for a B-string that would annihilate their competition. Having a 15:01 5k guy come in 12th scorer is a truly immodest display of depth. Jens Van den Brande, Matthew Edgar, Ewan Somerville, Tom Lole, Nathan Visick and Ben Hurley all produced some of their finest cross country performances to complete our second 10.
Next in was debutant Rob Kelly, followed by fellow Irishman David Walsh who was deep in marathon mileage and hamstring preservation mode. George Mallinson looked like he loved/hated it, which seems about right, and James Roberts went one step further by vomiting at halfway but finishing with a smile and about a kilo lighter. Ben Ireland is a great positive personality in our team and made a welcome return to the mud here, and Valentin Rigori’s splendid moustache is always a pleasing sight for photographers on these courses. Sean Tuffy improved 11 places on Wimbledon Common, while Luke Smith and Miles Horn both made gritty debuts for the club. James Milner and Luke Pratt were both comfortably inside the top 200 before veterans Alex Luce and Frank Ward made it 33 home in total.
What a day, what a team, what a win. The result keeps us in second overall and builds our buffer from 4 points to a healthy - but not unassailable - 114 points to Guildford, who move above Kent into third. All that’s for nothing if we don’t do it again at Effingham in February on the final day of the league season.
Results
Belles
Women’s report by TM Charlie Dickinson
A win for Sarah Astin on Mitcham Common as the Belles dominate the team competition.
When your Junior and Women's team managers arrived to put the tent up early on Saturday morning, the common was shrouded in frozen mist, the ground hard, grass wet, and the temperature only just above zero. Luckily, conditions improved as the morning wore on with the sun even beginning to peep through before the race started at 11.00am.
Despite Covid, injury and other illnesses, it was another magnificent turnout from the Belles and the course, despite the manmade humps providing plenty of undulation, had only surface-mud, plenty of grass and was a great deal kinder on the ankles than the previous one on Wimbledon Common.
Sarah Astin powers to an assured victory after a very tough week.
This was Sarah Astin's first cross-country race of the season and her first race in Belgrave colours since the National road relay in October. Sarah had had a very hard week, isolating and obviously worried before her partner went into hospital for a major operation on Thursday. She wisely decided to sit in the leading pack for the first two laps before running away to win over the final stage of the race. This was the first individual league win for a Belle since Saron Haileselase in November 2018.
Rachel Brown had caught a chill the previous weekend and only decided she was well enough to race the day before. She started cautiously but clearly felt good so moved through the field and finished in 7th, her best ever position. This was just ahead of Grace Richardson back to her best and enjoying this course far more than the brutal Wimbledon one. So, three runners in the top ten.
Olivia Papaioannou was flying before Christmas, but then caught Covid over the festive period so she too started the race quite cautiously. Although still not quite back to her best she nevertheless finished very well in 21st place.
Next to finish and closing the 'A' team scoring five was a remarkable run by Ella-May Hards. Ella has improved from 65th in the first race, 34th in the second to 26th on Saturday. Long may that trajectory continue!
After that it all seemed to be Belgrave with nine in the next 30 places, all within just over a minute and within sight of each other. Those not scoring for the 'B' team were pushing athletes from the other clubs further down so helping the cause. Alix Vermeulen was next in 30th, her highest position, followed closely by Lizzie Goldie-Scot now running at her very best after over two years of injury problems. Then Flora Whyte in her first race for the Belles in 36th, just ahead of Lydia Gallyer-Barnett still within the top 40 and her highest finish despite being injured before Christmas.
Mhairi Hall’s return to racing was a brilliant sight for all at the club - throughout her long injury absence Mhairi has helped out with coaching, marshalling, officiating…and generally making our sport a better place.
Closing the five 'B' team scorers was perhaps the race of the day from club captain Mhairi Hall in 45th. Mhairi had a serious hip operation last March and has spent nine months painstakingly doing the rehab and gradually building back her running fitness. To finish so high up was not only a wonderful surprise but an example to others who go through serious injury.
The train kept coming with another best performance by Sarah Dewhirst - such a positive addition to the club - then a strong run by Laurel Bray just ahead of Natalie Beadle who felt she had not really recovered from the County champs just six days before. Steph Hewitt had been running so well in the league races this winter but unfortunately felt unwell during the race and even stopped to be sick. All credit to her to finish the race. Beth Brown was using the race to improve her fitness, but she is a strong runner and still did well. So too did Cat Hall, now fit again after illness earlier in the season finishing just outside the top hundred. Finally, Carmen Cabrera Arnau with an improvement of no less than 30 places from last time.
There are 15 teams in the first division each with an A and B team. The Belles are completely dominating the competition this season with the A-team leading by 222 points over Guildford in second and the B-team leading by an even greater 684 points. They now just need to turn up at Effingham in February to wrap up both prizes. The A team have not won since 2015, the B team have never won but this group is the strongest depth Belgrave has ever enjoyed.
RESULTS
S. Astin (Belgrave) 31:53, 2. H. Cox (Fulham) 32:00, 3. S. Monk (G & G) 32:01,..... 7. R. Brown 32:59, 8. G. Richardson 33:01, 21. O. Papaoiannou 34:39, 26. E-M. Hards 35:01, 30. A. Vermeulen 35:06, 32. L. Goldie-Scot 35:12, 36. F. Whyte 35:28, 39. L. Gallyer-Barnett 35:38, 45. M. Hall 35:59, 48. S. Dewhirst 36:04, 53. L. Bray 36:14, 56. N. Beadle 36:22, 63. S. Hewitt 36:55, 66. B. Brown 37:07, 106. C. Hall 39:34, 145. C. Cabrera Arnau 41:58.
Teams
Belgrave Harriers 'A' 63, 2. Stragglers 154, 3.Guildford and Godalming 156, 4. Thames Hare and Hounds 158, 5. Hercules Wimbledon 170, 6. Belgrave Harriers 'B' 183, 7. Clapham Chasers 185, 8. Herne Hill Harriers 187.
OVERALL AFTER 3 MATCHES
Belgrave 'A' 213, 2. G & G 435, 3. THH 460, 4. CC 500, 6. Belgrave 'B' 518. (The next 'B' team is THH on 1202).
