Belles Stretched To The Limit

 Right! This could be fun. Although you won’t have heard us complaining, in the last two seasons we’ve been fairly sure of the league win after half-way, and certain of it after three. No such easy pickings this time round, and it all makes for an intriguing next three fixtures. Clapham and Thames were in full flow, but with the lead of exactly 100 points over us, we’re not out of this yet. The three-line whip will be out in force for November 7^th at Esher.It’s amazing how quickly things can change isn’t it. Remember that record-breaking Surrey League low score from 2014 of 33 points at Putney Vale? No athlete from the scoring five could help on this day, and of the 12 in action there, just one returned, our eighth best Zoe Vail Smith, who is now suddenly Queen of the Castle. It shows how fragile our sport is.We have also been shown how dangerous training camps can be as a recent one has wiped out both our skippers. It’s a great lesson for the future, to never add more than 10% to the training load, despite the temptation. I guess these places must be like someone with a sweet tooth going to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory; but the key is that they're not so much about the running, but about the added rest, extra sleep, camaraderie, regular cooked meals, swimming, and added time for calisthenics etc.Poor Mel started the race in pain, but it only got worse and thank goodness she dropped out when she did, at around half-way. X-rays on the shin don’t show any bone damage, so hopefully the lay-off for our biggest gun won’t be too long.Zoe felt a bit leaden, not helped by an absurdly long hold at the gun of 10 minutes for those who arrived at the early call. But she all but matched her best ever Surrey League finish in the Denbies monsoon of 2009. What a lifetime away that now feels. With athletes lined up ahead of her and a bit more confidence and fewer nerves, she can crack on from here.Great to see Flic again as she puts the triathlon behind her. This is another who should only get fitter as the season progresses; whilst Sally continues to impress, although she, more than anyone, knows there’s masses more to come, once she manages to absorb a really solid training block in the coming weeks and months.Then a couple of real troopers. Kerimac’s been out all year since the Southerns and still runs with hip pain, but when hearing of our woes said she could get round. To our unease we had to acquiesce, and she gave what she had on the day, which was priceless.Welcome to Belgrave Christina Pennock! What can we say, except that it’s not always like this, with a yes rate of 12% and the entire section relying on your every move. The look on CP’s face at the half-way when the TM advised, “well - you’re definitely scoring now…” was one that said, ‘hmmm, not quite the pressure-free Saturday stroll I had in mind.’ But she coped admirably and we hope that despite the high jinx this will see her coming back for more.1 Clapham C 87; 2 Thames H & H 95; 3 SLH 104… 7 Belgrave H 187.1 S McCall (SLH) 21:38; 8 Z Vail Smith 23:49; 28 F Cole 25:07; 32 S Underhill 25:19; 44 K Mackenzie 25:56; 75 C Pennock 27:14. 232 finished.