Belgrave Harriers arrived at Effingham Common as champions of the women’s top tier in the Surrey Cross Country League, also defending their status as winners of the men’s ‘B’ standings.

This was a solid start from both teams, in the absence of key athletes lost to illness, injury and London Marathon recovery. Both sides will be hungry for more from their next outings, however, as they bid to build on last season’s heroics.

Stunning debut for Crowe-Wright; Hart returns

The Belgrave men took third in the team standings for their opening fixture. Moving in pods over firm, lumpy terrain and in sultry conditions, Belgrave delivered a decent team performance laced with individual brilliance.

Ian Crowe-Wright stormed to a phenomenal second place in his first cross country outing for Belgrave. The club’s latest star recruit has had a prolific summer on the track, winning BMC events over 1,500m, 3,000m and 5,000m, as well as breaking the four-minute mile in 3:57.96.

“It was great to represent Belgrave for the first time at the Surrey league yesterday,” Crowe-Wright said. “I'll definitely be back for more!”

Crowe-Wright finished just nine seconds off the race leader. Less than a minute behind him, Henry Hart returned from injury to deliver a strong fifth place. Having played his part in the prior week’s 35th place at the national road delays, Jonny Neville finished a fine 23rd at Effingham Common.

Further down the field, Belgrave’s men stuck together as they navigated this tight and twisting route, having fought their way out a frantic start. Conall McNally - sporting a fresh number one on his vest - finished two seconds ahead of Sam Gebreselassie and James Fox, Gebreselassie having sliced through the field after a delayed start for the Belgrave star.

George Loxton and Angus Lamb will be content with their performances, having snuck into the top 50. Arne Dumez continued his comeback from injury, placing 55th, while William Driscoll - also on debut - finished just a second ahead of Matthew Edgar.

In addition to their third place in the overall standings, Belgrave also finished second in the ‘B’ rankings. In both scenarios, the club is within touching distance of Hercules Wimbledon, with hosts Guildford and Godalming having secured an impressive winning margin in the main competition.

Ben Hurley - who finished the day in ninth in the 40-49 age category - pulled away from a clutch of ‘B’ scorers and finished just three seconds behind Belgrave’s national 1,500m champion Josh Trigwell, David Bowers splitting the pair.

Alex Janiaud, Valentin Rigori and Ben Ireland all worked together for the cause, regularly swapping positions and pushing each other to the finish line. Daniel Agustus, Richard Gayton and Miles Horn brought the team home.

Dumez, who made the journey from Middlesbrough for the race, said that the performance reflected the team’s growing strength in depth.

“Even with much of our firepower missing, we managed to secure a 3rd place and put many of our long-standing rivals behind us,” he said.

“That being said, we've seen a lot of strength in other clubs that we will need to respond to going forward,” he continued.

“We are most definitely in this race but we will need to bring our full arsenal out to catch Guildford and Hercules over the next three fixtures.

“It's not only possible, it’s within reach. We have the means and the motive to inflict some real damage. The league is ours, we've just got to let the other teams know.”

The Belgrave men can therefore be satisfied with their result at Effingham Common, hopeful that more runners at the sharper end of the pack can return at Wimbledon Common on November 12.

A solid start for the Belles in the league

Words by Charlie Dickinson

The Belles finished in 4th place in the first Surrey league match at Effingham.

There were some very strong runs from several members of the team while others were not quite at their best for various reasons: recovering from injury, building up again after an Autumn break, recovering from the marathon etc. The team's strength in depth was illustrated by a clear win in the 'B' team competition.

It was rather an uninspiring course - just laps around the upper and lower pats of the common, on flat bumpy ground with some tight corners. The course was well under 6km too with the winner, Katie Snowdon finishing in under 17 minutes. But the predicted heavy showers held off until after the race, and the meeting place at the local cricket ground which included a bar and BBQ was very welcome.

In contrast to the first match a year ago, the Belles only had one finisher in the top twenty: Léa Adamson, fresh from her 76-minute 20km race a week ago in Paris. Léa came through the field well after losing a shoe early on, which probably cost her a top ten place.

Naomi Lenane was the next finisher. She usually finishes higher up the field but had taken a well-deserved break after her excellent summer track season and is gradually building her fitness. She was followed closely by Jess Saunders, putting in a remarkable run so soon after her 2hr 50 in the London marathon only two weeks previously. Then Orna McGinley delivered her strongest ever cross-country race, finishing also in the top thirty. Completing the scoring five, Beth Brown returning to her best form after missing the whole of last winter through injury.

Then came the Belgrave train. In the thirties, Liv Papaioannou was another Belgrave runner slowly building her fitness, while Sarah Riceman - who would prefer a longer and tougher course - still ran very well. In the forties, Bethan Goddard, also finished strongly in her push to return to full fitness, ahead of London finish Imogen Mackie, followed closely by Ella-May Hards who did well to finish after falling in the race. These five were the excellent 'B' team scorers.

But there were another six Belles who all ran well and are just as important to the team pushing scorers from the other teams further back. All finished in the top half of the field.

Mimi Corden-LLoyd, who muchprefers a far longer race, finished just outside the top 50, then in the sixties, Lydia Gallyer-Barnett was another athlete returning from injury along with the smiling Laurel Bray and new recruit Clemmie Cooper showed very good potential. Further back, Laura Goodson and Sarah Dewhirst brought us home, the latter putting in an encouraging first race after injuring her ankle.

The Belles have some ground to make up if they are to retain their league title, but the season is long, they have others to come into the team and the many of those who did run on Saturday will be stronger next time.