Belles retain South of the Thames title while Bels edged to second
Belgrave Harriers defended the women’s title in the South of the Thames 7.5 mile Championship, while the Bels finished second on a gruelling day out.
Words by Charlie Dickinson
Hats off to all nine women who made their way to Tonbridge just four days before Christmas on a damp windy day. The team won for the fourth consecutive year with all six scorers finishing in the first 11 places, and seven Belles before the first Dulwich runner.
The course, set in the grounds of Somerhill Schoo,l was extremely tough, with soft spongy grass turning to mud and several slippery hills on each of the three laps. Many were running for around an hour for the seven and a half mile race which just shows the severity of the course.
The Belles were led home by Rachel Brown in second place. Rachel, now living in Spain and training hard for Triathlons, was home for Christmas and a very welcome addition to the team. Emily Robbins was not far behind in third, and like Rachel enjoyed the tough long course while in the middle of her training for the Seville marathon in February. So, two individual medals to go with the team golds.
Next was Emily Bradley having such a fine season in fifth place. By this time the gaps were very large but Emily kept going well although perhaps the distance didn't suit her as well as the five mile race in November when she finished third.
Then, a bit later came the Belles train; Lara Mangan just outsprinting Laura Goodson up the final hill, finishing ninth and 10th respectively. Then came Sam Munday in 11th and Olivia Lucas in 12th. Sara Ridmy came 20th, well within the top half of the women finishers.
Orna McGinley deserves a special mention. For two laps Orna was running brilliantly, the teams fourth scorer and looking very comfortable and strong. But unfortunately she slipped on the steep hill at the end of the second lap rolling her ankle. Yet another unlucky outcome for a very talented athlete.
RESULTS.
G. Bruinvels (AFD) 50:33, 2. R. Brown 52:26, 3. E. Robbins 51:40, 5. E. Bradley 54:34, 9. L. Mangan 58:05, 10. L. Goodson 58:06, 11. S. Munday 59:15, 12. O. Lucas 61:05, 20. S. Ridmy 65:16.
TEAMS.
Belgrave Harriers 40, 2. Dulwich 126, 3. Tunbridge Wells Harriers 145.
Bels take team silver
Words by Alex Janiaud
An under-strength Bels team fared well in challenging conditions. Despite not getting the team win for the second year in a row, there were some encouraging performances ahead of an important few months of fixtures, including the Surrey League, southern and national championships.
Fin Dyer rounded off an excellent 2024 with third place, splitting a strong group of Tonbridge runners. He was followed home by a Belgrave trio of Sam Sommerville, Jonny Neville and Ben Ringrose-Voase, who finished 15th-17th respectively. James Preston secured a solid 20th place.
Full results can be found here.
