Bels Cut To The Chase

 We arrived at this splendid new venue, which all the athletes seemed to love, with a team so top-heavy with cream it left little room for, well, the hot chocolate.  It seems churlish the complain; and to have seven of the top 8 runners in the club out in action was a great coup.  But after the magnificent seven, the TM’s saw only chaos.Of our list of 27 contenders for the A-team, not only did we have to chuck number 27 into the frying pan, but had a good peek at several other options outside the list such was our desperation to close in.  Even our anchor legs from 1966 and 1983, out to support, were looking a bit shifty as the gun neared…Amid such turbulence, we can be satisfied to have gotten round respectably in tact, with some scrumptious moments to savour.  A brilliant early highlight was Zek Abery battling it out in the lead group for two of the 3 laps before only slipping back a little to give us a more than hoped for 6^th after leg 1.It was supposed to be the strong and experienced Matt Taylor next, but he couldn’t shake a cold and advised that we go with young Tom Chandy.  We’ve seen Tom’s potential in training, and he never stopped fighting, but the ask was just too great.  Don’t be disheartened Tom – you’re a warrior for stepping in and the good performances will come if you stick with it.“Well, I didn’t leave anything out there,” said Ed Auden after his tour, and he’s quite right.  A terrific run, just 42 ticks down on Paskar, who probably overcooked his effort early doors.  They were spliced by my mulish affair, and after the Lion we enjoyed the sight of Nick Buckle scoring a sub 14, a mark only reserved for the top 50-odd runners on the day.  Such potential there.Kris Gauson warned his training has been sporadic at best, but we had no choice but to put him long, especially after a 69 for the Half.  His run was fine, but we’ll let him off the leash for a short at the National where we know he can dazzle.  The skipper Gus Upton creamed a 2:55 first downhill k, and had to give a bit back to the course thereafter as he’s been on very few sessions, but this gives him the launch pad to crack on after a horrible winter.The thrill of seeing Phil Wicks on the road never gets dull, as he ran leg 9 just as he did a decade ago [one of two survivors from that winning team].  Phil was 32 seconds off the day’s fastest in 2006, and 19 off here.  So progress is being made!  [I jest of course – in that period he has been comfortably the fastest – by 35 seconds in 2007, and then he blitzed his astonishing MK course record in 2009.  23:08 for a blustery 5 miles.]  I guess some like it hot.With most leaking 10-15 seconds on part two of the short stage, the ice-man Roy Maddams gave a scholarly lesson in pace-judgment to go through in 7:03 and come back in 7:01.  Masterful stuff, and many thanks for changing your plans after our late howl.Originally due for a short, Nick Goolab put his hand up for the whole shebang.  Aren’t we glad he did, as he bettered a splendid run from training partner Richard Goodman, and was only bested by Highgate’s Maud and Horton of SBH.  The gaps had been large all day though, and despite giving Nick Smallwood a faint sighter of National six-stage champions Tonbridge in 5^th, they still had a big kicker in store.Nick had a brave run with Woodford, South London and Bedford flinging up “Wanted! Dead or Alive” posters all over the course, but he held his nerve and kept them all at bay.Up ahead, what about that finish, with Robbie Lightowler carding an iffy 14:25, while AFD’s Gus Cockle (left too late in the order) ran 12:37.  Shaftesbury had a 122 second buffer on the Hampshire men going in to 12, and ended up needing 108 of them.Huge thanks as ever to Charlie and Don for the myriad of onerous tasks they carried out to chauffeur, shelter, cajole and time us, and to Bill Laws and Alan Black for their dedicated support.1 Shaftesbury BH 3:19:30; 2 Aldershot F&D 3:19:44; 3 Highgate H 3:21:05; 4 Kent AC 3:21:32; 5 Tonbridge 3:22:41; 6 Belgrave H 3:24:45… 43 teams started, 34 finished.Z Abery (6) 19:55; T Chandy (21) 15:40; E Auden (17) 20:35; W Cockerell (18) 14:16; P Owor (15) 19:53; N Buckle (13) 13:57; K Gauson (13) 20:31; G Upton (11) 13:36; P Wicks (9) 19:05; R Maddams (9) 14:04; N Goolab (6) 18:55; N Smallwood (6) 14:18.Fastest Long:  A Maud (Highate) 18:46… 3 N Goolab 18:55; 5 P Wicks 19:05.  Short:  A Yee (Ken) 12:32.FULL RESULTS