Junior Surrey and Middlesex County Cross Country Championships, Lloyd Park and Hillingdon, 7th January

With the Club's Junior middle distance athletes split fairly well down the middle in terms of residence on either side of the river, our attendance at the corresponding county cross country championships was equally split between Surrey and Middlesex. In previous years our collective attendance at both could be counted on one hand but this year we were fortunate in having teams at both events. At Hillingdon, hosting the Middlesex Championships on what the athletes believed was a flat course (okay, I lied to them, no point in upsetting them by telling them about the hill that was out of view from the start line), both Henry and Hector ran well in the Boys U13, with Henry coming home in 30th place, followed by Hector in 46th.Henry's glower afterwards displayed his displeasure at the hidden hill but I'm sure he enjoyed every minute of it. And his seriously cool shoes may have done just enough to inspire his brother to take up the sport.In the Girls U13, Isla had an excellent run to finish in 6th position, having run barely a step since the Surrey League match in early December and having spent the previous week ill. Together with Lara in 16th and Juliet in 38th the Bels placed 5th team. Outstanding, given that the previous year, and I suspect for all preceding years, Belgrave didn't have a single age category team finishing.And in the U11 Girls Andie finished in a solid 25th, with her by now trademark grin, even slowing down on the run-in to pose. She won't be able to do that in future years when she's challenging for first place![NEWS FLASH: It would appear that Andie lost a shoe halfway around the course - which is why her left foot is white and her right foot is orange. Like the trouper that she is, she kept going. Maybe she would have won if she'd had two shoes. They don't teach you this on the coaching courses]Elsewhere at Lloyd Park, our South Thames contingent were also in fine form for the Surrey Cross Country Championships, run with light fog covering much of the course, and conditions a little slippery in places.  Nine athletes competed for Belgrave Harriers with some excellent times recorded for the first race following the Christmas break.  Blaine Robinson continued to impress, appearing out of the fog like Banquo's ghost  in 16^th place in theU13 boys race in the respectable time of 10.24, less than a minute behind the winner.  Chaila Norville-Williams also had an excellent race in the Girls U13, finishing 71^st but continuing her excellent results.  Zayd Addicott, in his first Surrey race following a period of injury, hopped off his bike and finished 25^th in the U15 boys race in 14.51.  Another who is continuing to improve in cross country this year was Joseph O’Clery in the U17 men who finished 30^th in 22.06, with Samson only 13 places behind in 43rd.In the Girls U15,  Dauphine worked hard as always, coming home in 53rd with Allison just behind her in 58th.Full results were:U13 boys: 16, Blaine Robinson: 10.24, 58, Sam Pound: 11.23U13 girls: 71, Chaila Norville-Williams: 71, 14.11U15 boys: 25, Zayd Addicott: 14.51, Jakub Karas: DNFU15 girls: 53, Dauphine Rolin: 20.22, 58, Allison Dalgleish: 21.59U17 boys: 30, Joseph O’Clery: 22.08, 43, Samson Benjamin: 28.07Well done to all of our squad, heavily depleted because of injury, illness, entrance exams, GCSE mocks and the collection of a new puppy (now that has got to be the best absence excuse of the season. They decided to call it Brexit, but no mention of whether it's hard or soft), plus the additional handicap of being one of the very few Clubs having to split its team between two Championships, thanks to the arcane rules only the individuals running the County Athletics Associations seem to understand and be happy with.