Mixed Fortunes - But We'll Take It

What a dramatic day, on and off the field of play. Our organization of this extremely busy race with a record turn-out for the youths and a huge men’s field was ‘just about ok’, with some hairy moments… but we pulled it off and know where we need to improve next time out, in two or three years. It’s a big job to host, but people do love our course and we get such nice comments about it – perhaps it’s the second most popular on the circuit after Petersham.The gun went and although the mad dash isn’t as frantic as our old start, it’s still pretty nuts. Things sorted themselves out, and how wonderful it was to have PO and Phil in the same team. Phil has had a lot of late night action with the playful Ryan, and hasn’t done a session for a month, so to see him duking it out amongst the leaders was pretty epic. PO was looking to create more league history with five wins a row, while Andy Maud was determined to stop him. Outstanding fresh SLH signing Ben Coldray showed the way.Lap two and Andrius was not so far back having a marvellous run, duly tracked by the skipper, who alas was in big trouble. At least Gus’s calf and Achilles were behaving but he’d gone in the groin and had to call it a day. Such a shame and worse was to come. New man Paul Lowe charged through the field after a terrible start (row Z), and was placing a bead on AJ by the end. But to our grief our command of the rule book didn’t stretch to an old-fashioned anachronistic law that a runner can’t compete for more than one league club in the same season. The league sec writes to tell us the rule isn’t actually designed for what Paul has done: giving Stragglers a kind and gracious farewell outing in Div 3 [with our blessing] before moving to us to further his athletics. The rule is in place to stop people running first-claim for one club and second-claim for another in the same season. Quite different.However, Pete Mulholland at Hercules called at once for Paul’s DQ on the league’s Facebook page, and that was that – an aspiring runner cut off at the knees. A warm welcome to Belgrave all the same Paul, we love what we see, and look forward to you entertaining us all in the six Championship races to come between now and April.A little way back another debutant Nick Buckle was ‘hitting it out of Fenway Park’, while Matt Taylor was successfully renewing his decade old rivalry with the ‘Pillar. With both the oaklike Royston and the Trondheim Stallion falling on the morning of the race we were sweating on men to close in respectably… more on them later. But back to the front where Andy finally got PO, who had a nasty fall on lap one and gave away a pricey 10 secs on the second tour to attend to his footwear.  Coldray took bronze, whilst much to Phil’s disgust Chris Greenwood sneaked past in the final 150. Still a superb run, but he’s a perfectionist that boy, so vengeance will be swift and severe.In came AJ in a great 11^th, the aforementioned were next, before we closed in with yet more heroics from Kieran, whose impairment gave him a dreadful time in the woods, where he lost around 20 places on each lap. Such a trooper, especially as for the other 90% of the time he cruised along very well. James Goymour has been earmarked for a successful career in the sport, and his turn here told us nothing we don’t know. Gregg is still recovering from Amsterdam and his calves locked up early, so well done for hanging in there; while Tom was up some pips from the first match and was yet another to convert a maiden Surrey league score. The back up was tried and trusted with Phil Carstairs the only man to return from this fixture 20 years ago. He did it the hard way via a nightmare on the trains, and gave the field a four-minute start.But it would have all gone down the swanny if not for the ‘Crew’. Thank you so much to our wonderful marshals, flagmen and funnel operators. No movie without them, so here they are:Director:                                            Charles DickinsonProducer:                                           Don AndersonProduction assistant:                      Bill LawsScore:                                                 Carl LawtonScript supervisor:                             Chantelle RobinsonProduction design:                          John MatherFilm Editing:                                     Knut HegvoldSet direction:                                    Chris TaplinCinematography:                             Rose O'BrienComputer graphics:                        Fi MaddocksBest boy grip:                                    Mal ByansiSpecial effects:                                 Nick SmallwoodDolly grip:                                          Dorchie CockerellSound effects:                                   Imogen CockerellGaffer:                                                 Seb CockerellProduction coordinator:                Malcolm YoungAssistant location manager:          Dani ClarkTechnical advisor:                            Gerry CollinsChoreographer:                                Frank GanderComposer:                                          Tony StoneGreen screen rigger:                         Mick LeslieHere's a typical note of thanks, this from Ken Pike:Hi Will

 1 A Maud (CC) 27:43; 2 P Owor 27:58; 5 P Wicks 28:15; 11 A Jaksevicius 29:18; 20 P Lowe N/S 29:52; 49 N Buckle 31:03; 53 M Taylor 31:12; 60 W Cockerell 31:29; 89 K Gilfedder 32:46; 105 J Goymour 33:29; 109 G Clark 33:34; 115 T O’Beirne 33:42; 155 P Willis 35:51; 158 O Lewes 35:56; 167 S Addicott 36:39; 178 T O’Neill 37:54; 217 P Carstairs 43:34… 230 finished.Teams: 1 HW 272; 2 SLH 299; 3 Ken 324… 5 Belg 493.Overall: 1 Ken 517; 2 SLH 645; 3 HW 669… 7 Belg 1046.