6 January 2024
- KCAA Cross-Country Championships - Brands Hatch
Full results
here...
Photo from Simon Harris
2 December 2023
- KCAA Masters Cross-Country Championships - Dartford
Full results
here...
Photos from Dave Beadle
18 November 2023 - London Cross-Country Championships,
Parliament Hill
Despite the London Youth Games cancelling
their event at Parliament Hill for all age groups from U11s to U17s late on
the Friday night, the SEAA are obviously made of sterner stuff, or as some
remarked in comparison to the kids: ’It doesn’t matter if we die!’ and
‘We’re expendable!’.
In any event, the senior mens race started at 2pm and
was rain-free - instead we enjoyed balmy 15 degrees weather!
The day didn’t seem quite as much of an atmospheric
event without all the age group races preceding ours, but there was still a
deep field of 445 runners competing as individuals and teams.
Continuing a recent good run of XC form and leading
the team home in 20th place overall and 2nd M40 was Micah Evans in 40:32.
Our second man home, only just back from a recent trip to South East Asia
having admitted to enjoying plenty of the local cuisine was our Bostonian
Kevin Fini in 35th place in 41:11.
Alex ‘Gibbo’ Gibbins in his first XC club race of the
season was our third man, 52nd overall and 7th M40 in 42:07 and completing
our 4 to score was Will Senbanjo in 95th overall and 18th M40 in 44:12 - it
was only Will’s second race for us since joining 2nd claim from PWR so we’re
trying hard to convince him to come across 1st claim!
In order thereafter:
Luca Ercolani 101st in 44:39
Dave Adams 117th in 45:09
Greg Bull 119th in 45:12
Ryan Ali 180th in 47:35
Ted Marston 182nd in 47:40
Ian Scott 224th in 49:23
Josh Dowling 231st in 49:37
Greg Firth 252nd in 50:51
Phil Bunn 265th in 51:35
Jason Meers 286th in 52:30
Luigi Arcuri 380th in 58:27
Chris Martin 385th in 58:42
So all 16 of our runners finished safely within an
hour having tasted the best mud North London had to offer, then going to the
pub to wash it down with a drink or two before the train journey home to
Bromley and surrounding.
A good day out with the team, another improved turnout
from previous years and a 10th placed finish for our 4 to score out of 36
complete teams (plus other incomplete teams).
Also special mention to our ladies team who came 7th
overall with an excellent 3rd place medal for Morgan Squibb - Congrats!
Up the Heath!!!
Micah Evans
4 November
2023 - National Cross-Country Relays, Mansfield
3
of the 4 man team @ National XC Relays (missing Kenno!)
We originally had two teams entered for this event but
due to injuries, illness and withdrawals etc we were down to four athletes
and one team. This team assembled at Berry Hill Park Mansfield from various
parts of the country - Dan Kennedy from the Forest of Dean, Jake Leng and
Justin Strover from down the road at Sheffield Uni and me on the 5:15am
coach driven up by the Pauls Brash and Shaw with all the junior athletes,
some parents, coaches and team managers. (Thanks so much to those guys who
do so much for our junior athletes across the age groups and are so
sacrificial with their time).
The senior mens race was the last one of the day, with
legs a little short of the advertised 5k. An already very muddy and boggy
course (including a section in the woods where you had no choice but to run
through water), was even more cut up due to earlier races and the rain which
had been pretty incessant throughout the day, though mercifully for us, it
eased off somewhat by the time it came for us to race.
Dan Kennedy led us off (his first time on the first
leg at Mansfield) with 18:24, a respectable time given the busy start and
heavy traffic that invariably accompanies the start of a relay, after which
we were in 113th place.
Jake Leng took over from Dan and ran our second
fastest leg of the day in 17:59, bringing us up to 91st place.
Justin Strover was up next and ran 18:10, bringing us
up to 77th, and doing well to handover to me just before the mass start went
off for the final leg, which I was very thankful to him for!
I had the pleasure of running the anchor leg in 17:39
bringing the team home in 60th place overall, a decent team effort given
there were 177 teams competing, so a third of the way up the field.
Despite the very muddy conditions, the course was
brilliant fun to run on, the support was great and it was a good run from
our team, including Jake and Justin making their National XC Relays senior
debut at Mansfield.
Thanks to all athletes for making the journey to
Mansfield and look forward to entering at least two strong teams next year
for what is a really great National event!
Up the Heath!!!
Micah Evans
