Georgina Wiley

This week saw more spectacular racing as Kent AC gathered once more at Beckenham place for this year’s most consistently staged cross country fixture.

As a result of a last minute oversubscribed B race, Mandy Nio and and Jo Mott set off in a race of their own. Agreeing beforehand that they would both just ‘jog around’, the racing spirit got the better of them. Closely duelling throughout, Mandy proved too strong in the later stages and pulled away to a triumphant victory in 22.23 with Jo following in 22.44

Shortly after that race started the remainder of the B race set off. Pete Lighting set the early pace as the field jostled for position. Pete proceeded to tear away down the first major downhill before catching up with the girls ahead would prove his undoing. The chasing pack caught up with the duelling duo on the most technical part of the course. As the boys chivalrously lined up behind, Ed Mathews saw his opportunity and struck, unleashing a burst of speed down the steep descent that propelled him from last to first with room to spare, catching the others unaware. Leading the chase, Jonathan Tipper eventually reeled in Ed at the bottom of the climb at the end of the first lap and set out to try and gap the remainder of the field.

However try as he might, he could not shake the close attendance of Jonathan Beatty who having patiently bided his time, sprang into action on the last climb to pull away for victory in 15:34 with Jonathan Tipper a full 4 seconds slower up the last hill in 15:38.

Pete Lighting, paying for his early exertions, was hunted down by Callum Fraser. He used everything at his disposal to evade capture including pulling back and releasing branches in order to knock the big man off his balance. It proved a successful strategy as Pete came home 3rd in 15:47 with Callum finishing in 15:57. Ed Mathews followed home in 16:25 after his early and impressive bid for victory that sent a clear statement that we are not to put him in the C race again.

Meanwhile another battle was taking place behind as James Bowler battled his way around the course. The much talked about showdown with Sarah Hanley had sadly failed to materialise. However, Sarah attended as a spectator and rumour has it she was watching James closely with a stopwatch and scribbling furiously into a notebook. It seems only a matter of time now before this much anticipated fixture will become a reality.

The A race saw a stellar field which included a number of wild cards with a strong cross country pedigree. However, there was only one joker in the pack as Dan Pettitt toed the line in a reindeer mask. His performance however was no joke as Kent AC’s resident chat show host led from gun to tape to extend his unbeaten streak and cement his status as the man to beat, coming home in an impressive 14:54.

Behind Dan, the rest of the pack shuffled position. After some fascinating exchanges and a closely fought race, Dame Dibaba, the man who would win the national XC every year if it were 500m long came home closely behind Dan, finishing in 15.01.

Having been running at the back of the field for much of the race, George Russell showed cool head as he moved gradually through the field for 3rd in 15:04 with Neil Phillips, having at stages led the chase to Dan, showing excellent resilience to finish 4th in 15:07. Rowan Crichton, the winner of this event 2 weeks ago was last man home in a still impressive 15:15 showcasing the depth on the field this week.

The question now is who, if anyone, is going to be able to take Dan Pettitt’s crown?

Two eventful races were held on the famous Beckenham course this week. The carefully laid out route included a crossing of the muddy pond and was probably about 90 metres shorter than previous weeks.

New member Tom McGrath easily won the first race with an impressive display of powerful front running . Behind him there was a tactical battle between Alan Curtis, Paul McCrone and Simon Allen. Paul did most of the hard work but Alan Curtis ran the smartest race, powering away at the end with 17:17, Paul and Simon close behind both on 17:22. John Barron was 5th. The more John ran round the course, the less familiar he seemed to become with it. With the help of some emergency marshalling he was finally encouraged to go approximately the right way, although he didn’t seem to get his feet as wet as other runners.

Adam Paterson looked very strong smashing the (short) course record with 14:16, Jonny Tipper never quite managing to get very close to him (14:39). Kieran Fitzpatrick paced his race well with 15:33 putting a big gap into Iago Martinez. It was a surprise to see Iago steaming up the hill to finish ahead of Kieran, but it is suspected that he panicked in the notoriously confusing ‘Rowan’s tree’ area and missed out the last loop.

Same time next week for anyone who wants to run (0830, Beckenham Place Park)

Race 1
Tom McGrath
16:33
Alan Curtis
17:17
Simon Allen
17:22a
Paul McCrone
17:22
John Barron
18:15

Race 2
Adam Paterson
14:16
Jonny Tipper
14:39
Kieran Fitzpatrick
15:53
Iago Martinez
16:40

Saturday 10th October saw the first running of secret cross country after a test running of the course the previous weekend which saw Ian Ellwood bully his way to victory in an uphill sprint finish with Rowan Chriton and Pete Lighting.

The first race of the day set off across the dew filled grass with Ed Mathews setting the early pace, pursued by Sarah Hanley. Despite Sarah’s best efforts, Ed, dressed like a 1980s goalkeeper strode imperiously to victory in 16:21. As Ed basked in the morning light dreaming of the glorious battles that victory and promotion would bring him, Sarah battled home in a strong 16:54. Unbeknownst to them, behind Sarah and Ed an epic tactical battle was taking place between Paul Mccrone and the wiley Alan Curtis. Alan tactically sat off Paul, applying pressure until Paul finally cracked and, confused and disorientated by the relentless pressure, went the wrong way and relinquished 3rd place to Alan who strode home in 18:06. Paul, wounded but wiser came home in 18:20.

There was no respite from the drama as the B race participants set out into the course. What transpired was truly one of the great races as Nick Ostrowski and Adam Paterson fought tooth and nail to be first to every blade of grass. The intensity only interrupted by the occasional polite reminder from Nick to Adam to go in the right direction. This chivalry however was not reciprocated, as Adam, with wife and child watching in nervous anticipation, turned the screw on Nick, breaking his spirit on the final climbs and surging to a well earnt victory in an estimated 14:58. Nick battled home in a strong time of 15:08 satisfied but thinking what might have been if only he was inclined to use Ian Ellwood style misdirection. Behind these heroics, Lara Bromilow ran steady to hold off the stampeding Richard Giles who threw everything at her in persuit of 3rd place. Lara showed impeccable judgement, maintaining a consistent gap to come home in 15:46 with Richard following behind in 16:04. Behind Richard, another battle was taking place. James Bowler had narrowly missed a much anticipated clash with Sarah Hanley through race seeding. The question now was, could James run the course quicker than Sarah? As the clock ticked by and the Coventry City football shirt darted in and out of the trees, it became apparent that there would be no last minute escape from relegation on this occasion, with James coming home in 17:04.5.

So the scene was set for the final race of the day, which included undefeated champion Ian Ellwood, and Rowan Chriton who was hungry for revenge after a bitter defeat in controversial circumstances the previous week. From the off, it was clear that Rowan was in no mood for half measures and tore away in the early stages in a manner that demanded respect from his opponents. The race was strung into single file immediately. The chasing group could only watch in wonder as Rowan bounded through every obstacle Beckenham place park had to offer to finish in a phenomenal course record of 14:32. The only opponent who could ever consider themselves to be in the same race was Ben Hope who steadily stretched out of reach of the others as the race unfolded to come home in an impressive 14:48.

Behind Ben, Ian Ellwood, who had sat at the back in the early stages, presumably under the misapprehension that he was still close enough to Rowan to shout incorrect directions, found himself in a battle for 3rd position with Jonathan Tipper. It was a stretch too far for Jonathan, who perhaps overawed by the status of his opponent could not close the gap, finishing in 15:08 as Ian strode home in 15:04, winning that particular battle, but knowing that his air of invincibility had been shattered.

The final man home was Jake Hererra. Jake had bravely taken the fight to Rowan early on, running in 2nd place for the first kilometre, but having been drawn to his flame he found himself burnt by his efforts. Jake, running ‘to feel’ without a watch, finished strongly however, with an estimated time of 15:15.

A suitably heroic conclusion by quarter past 9 to all that short course XC racing has to offer.

Final Results:

C race
Ed Mathews 16:21
Sarah Hanley 16:54
Alan Curtis 18:06
Paul Mccrone 18:20
B race
Adam Paterson 14:58 (estimated)
Nick Ostrowski 15:08
Lara Bromilow 15:46
Richard Giles 16:04
James Bowler 17:05
A race
Rowan Chriton 14:32
Ben Hope 14:48
Ian Ellwood 15:04
Jonathan Tipper 15:08
Jake Hererra 15:20 (estimated)

Firstly, thanks so much to the team captains for making this a great weekend. Secondly, thanks to Peter Lighting – has anyone ever been so gripped by a spreadsheet?

On Thursday Race HQ was worried, the early reports were that the competition was too hard, people weren’t going to make it. The rumour was that the plot had been well and truly lost. When, we looked at Strava on Friday morning and couldn’t quite believe what was unfolding; Adam Paterson had been spotted in Sydenham wearing a Camelbak, we were told he meant business and he did! 50 reps on ‘Hell Hill’ – wtf number 1. And he wasn’t alone out there, Mandy Nio was smashing out the Hell Hill reps to get team 3 going.

On a normal day, Calum’s 22 mile run around Hilly Fields would’ve been a talking point but Jake Herrera ran 50km around Hilly Fields at the same time. Then Will Pitt managed over 5,000ft of elevation on one hill in Greenwich Park

But surely, this couldn’t happen for a second day? Not to be outdone by Friday’s runners, Adrian Dracup registered the second 50k of the weekend. Len Reilly managed to bag 10 points for the steepest run of over 5 miles of the weekend on Saturday afternoon. (Honourable mention has to go to Mike Stewart who had the overall steepest run of the weekend)

At 8am on Saturday, I arrived at Canonbie Road to meet Rob and Nathan. When we got there, George had been there for a while and he was there for quite a while after we left. It’s fair to say that every member of team 1 ran well, but as a captain’s performance, George’s run ranks alongside Alan Shearer twice putting Newcastle ahead of Inter Milan at the San Siro in 2003 (I’m sure he remembers this well). 23 miles and over 9000 ft of elevation in one run.

There was also the bonus competition to take some Strava crowns which all of the men shied away from, not Amelia and Sarah H who both gained an extra 3 points for their teams.

This could go on forever and there are a lot of people who I’m sure will feel that they’ve been hard done by because they didn’t get a mention, but that is how competitive this was. We have been contacted by a couple of people to make this particular challenge an annual Kent AC event, regardless of social circumstances – we’re keen.

All the best,

Barny and Ben

I have had some very memorable moments with Kent AC. Some stand outs: BAL promotion match, first ever national 6 and 12 stages and winning the county XC for the first time. All had the common features of ensemble travel, competition against other people in the flesh, much shouting of support, Ken and beer after. This weekend has none of those, but will linger in the memory just as vividly.

I have been asked to write about the Vets relays. But first a tribute to Ben and Barny (Barny & Ben – which way is it?), with Pete Lighting’s IT support, whose challenges are some of the most engaging, fun and tough things I’ve ever done in athletics. In their imagination they make the offers from EA, BMC, and the BMAF look flat footed and mundane. Quite right that Athletics Weakly [sic] gave their last one page space. And they bring together the whole of this magnificent club.

I’m to write about one of the events I’ve just dissed: the BMAF age group road relays. These are usually held in mid May at Sutton Pk, Birmingham. (If you’ve never run there you must, superb tough course). We usually don’t support them, though have won youngest men ages when we did, as so many people are in post-marathon torpor. So Covid-19 was an opportunity.

All competitors had to do 5k: loop(s), no major net downhill, between 14 and 20 June. Teams were 10 year bands of 35+, 45+, 55+. And we had teams in all of those men and women, it is a very well supported event.

Outstanding victories for the M35 and M45. For the M35 – a 3 min win with the team made up of John Gilbert, Chris Bussalieh, Dave Morgan, Ben Cook, (he’s had a busy weekend), Sam Evans (in action on Thamesmead), and Pete Lighting. All under 16 min! The M35 B team was 13th.

The M45 team won by 2 mins, with the team made up of Chris Greenwood, Phil Sanders (both under 16 min), Will Pitt and Craig Phillips (so very close to a sub 17!). The B team was 31st.

The V55 team were 11th: including the author, Roger Beardsworth, and David Child.

We had 6 in the top 50 individuals with coming John Gilbert 5th on 14.51 and Chris the top V45 in 15.25.

In the women: the V45 team were a strong 7th place with the team made up of Dee O’Brien, Ali Farell and Victoria Buck. Andrea Barber also ran a PB in that category although didn’t count for the team score. The V55 womens team made up of Kate Williams, Nicky Hayes and Ronnie Haydon were 12th and the V35 team of Georgina Wiley, Teresa Murphy, Mandy Nio and Zuzana Nemakova came 14th.

Some notable mentions in the age categories:

1st (16.19) Tommy Hughes V60 running for Leicester

1st (18.01) Clare Elms, V45 + V55 categories running for Dulwich (also a Kent second claim)

1st (and 18th overall) (15.25) Christopher Greenwood V45 Kent

3rd (and 5th overall) (14.41) John Gilbert, V35 Kent

Full results here: https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2020/GBR/bmaf-virtual-rr/scores/

Add to this a hefty proportion of those doing the relays were also in action in the UTMB and you see what a talented and motivated club we are. After 35 years of membership I never cease to be impressed with you all and honoured to be part of it.

Len Reilly