Muddy marvels excel on Parliament Hill
IT was somewhat fitting that the curtain came down on this season’s cross country fixtures in archetypal cross country conditions at Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath, a venue regarded as the home of English XC,
This year’s English National Cross Country Championships saw almost 4,700 runners compete, 21 of whom were from Stratford Athletic Club, comprising 14 juniors and seven seniors.
The venue has a reputation for brutal hills, deep mud, and breathtaking views over London. The testing, mud-sodden hills produced a classic test of strength, speed and tactical awareness from the start of the u17 women through to the final runner crossing the line some eight hours later.
The infamous uphill charge at the start set the tone for a day of tough cross country racing, with runners battling through countless steep climbs and ridiculously deep mud. If runners had the chance to glance up, there were some wonderful panoramic views across the city.
The standout performance for Stratford was their u17 men’s team who finished ninth overall - a superb achievement in such a fiercely competitive field.
Fresh from finishing as champions in the West Midland Young Athlete’s Cross Country League, the 6km course saw Tom Fisher finish 62nd (24:38) just edging out fellow Stratfordian Sam Lambert in 64th (24:38). Lambert fell a couple of times in the mud but Fisher handled it well and with a sprint finish over the last 5m took his fellow club member on the line to finish first for the club.
Making up the rest of the cohort were Zak Lambert 104th (25:32), Dougie Garnett 108th (25:33) on his debut for the club and Joe Lewis 263rd (29:13).
It was the u13 girls who had kicked things off, racing over a 3km course. First to finish for the club was Lucia Ogilvie-Putt 67th (14:47), followed by Amelie Marshall 88th (15:08), Emily Lambert 195th (16:41) and Jasmine Mothershaw 237th (17:47). It was then the turn of the u13 boys with Charlie Cassells 208th (14:59) and Toby Ledgard 261st (15:51).
Marijke Tear-Verweij, the sole u15 girl, finished 161st (21:33) and the u15 boys were represented by Joel Ledgard 170th (17:52) and Samuel Plumb 236th (18:36). Both the boys and girls ran 4km.
The senior women raced over 8km and comfortably first home for the club was Georgie Campbell 93rd (35:22). Emma Bexson was 330th (41:20), Emma Vickers 581st (48:52) and Suzi Graham 752nd (57:24).
Finally some 1,800 runners’ lined up for the start of the senior men’s race with the course now resembling a mixture of the worst ever Glastonbury and The Somme.
Stratford’s three finishers over the 12km course were Ned Campbell in 545th (58:34), James Lake 662nd (1:00:14) and Owen Lewis 1,610th (1:22:58).
