Just like to say a big thank you to all those who ran, especially Pete who braved the 9 mile course just so we could finish a team of 12 runners and retain our title of first Kent club!

There were some superb runs and a few eventful moments too :-) John ran a great race up at the front and was second for a period mixing it up with the real quality guys such as Wicks, Tickner and Hall. He managed to finish 7th in the end but another 30 seconds would have seen him contesting bronze with Jon Pepper! I had a very surprising run and felt stronger as the race went on. My initial target was top 30, but the time I got to lap two I was mid twenties and a man on a mission! I finished strong in 18th. Jim Savage paced a superb run, starting steady and showing great intelligence and the correct way to run this race. He came strong through the field to finish in 36th place and is starting to get fitter by the week. Next man home (Chris Greenwood) had the EVENTFUL day, but probably one of the best runs of the day. God knows what would have happened if he made the start. Chris realised on the start line he had forgotten his race chip, so had to run 250m back to his bag, at which the gun went off. He then ran back to the start to join the race in last place and proceeded like a man possessed to charge through the field, finally finishing in 75th! The final two positions for the six to score event were to be contested between Steve McGrory, Rich Munn and Stuart Beaney - all 3 are training for London and were keen to make the 6 man team. We all knew there would not be much between them and in the end we were right. Stuart was the 5th man home in 93rd and showing he is getting better all the time, with his tactics of going off hard and his marathon training paying real dividends. Rich Munn closed the 6 man team in 104 securing our lowest ever team total of 333 points and equalling our highest ever finish of 5th. Steve McGrory just missing out on the six finished 117th, only 30 seconds adrift on Rich. New guys, Jack Wilson and Paul Bell continued their progress by finishing in 147th and 158th, respectively showing that they will be key players next year. Simon Loach was 10th man home in 271st with Bernie Hutchinson 11th scorer in 473rd. Pete completed the 12 man team in 632nd which secured us the trophy for the fist Kent team.

If you look at the team points above you will see that just a couple more faces could secure a medal. Next year we can definitely be up there challenging. If Highgate can win this event, surely we can too

Special mention to Ben Tickner who won the overall race and is first claim Kent AC on the track - well done Ben, great run!

James C