Once more unto the mud dear Striders, once more! Lest we close the walls with our dirty washing!
Fifteen of us headed down to Yorkshire for the Northern X/C Championships on Saturday. The scene at Pontefract racecourse at 9.45am was one of green, pastoral tranquillity if a little damp underfoot – however it didn’t stay that way! The tent was quickly erected in the grassy area provided but soon the grass became enveloped in a grey mud which had the consistency of thick gruel. But that is something we’re all used to now and so our enthusiasm for what we were about to receive was in no way ‘dampened’!
An early arrival on the Gateshead / Durham Harriers bus meant we were able to watch the early races and do a thorough recce of the flattish course which was inside the area where the horse races take place. There were a number of damp patches which it was clear would make the course a tough one in spite of the absence of any hills of significance.
We witnessed some brave performances by the youngsters in their races, on what was a bright but cold and breezy day, and soon it was time for our own youngster, Ari, to set off in the Junior Men’s race. Now the fields in the Northerns tend to be of a high quality and some of those ‘junior’ men were pretty damn quick. Nonetheless Ari hung on in there coping well with the muddy conditions on the two 4k laps and showing real guts and determination to complete the course – well done Ari and good luck with those exams!
The senior women were next up and Striders were well represented by eight Striderettes one or two of who were making their debuts in a regional championship race. Our purple tide was surrounded by vests of many hues from far flung places such as Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds & Stockport but, as expected, they all battled hard and were led home once again by the ever youthful Fiona followed by a flying Mudwoman, the improving Steph P and a resilient Debs to make up the four counters. Jan had another fine run, after telling a younger rival on the start line to stop complaining, while Catherine and Denise seemed to be having a ball on their runs although Denise was overhauled by a fighting Diane! A great performance all round and it was wonderful that we were able to field enough women to make up two teams when so many clubs are unable to put out one – well done!
The senior men had the final use of the ‘heavy going’ and as we lined up in our ‘pens’ I found myself with my toe on the line along with Alistair Brownlee and many other fine runners. I didn’t stay with them long as the start was another mad dash and I was quickly enveloped and overtaken by hundreds of other runners including first Matt C and then Mike H. Roughly the first K or so was slightly downhill with a following wind – although progress was slowed by the first few sticky patches. Half way round the first lap we all turned into the wind, the going became slightly up hill and the sticky bits were more frequent. I managed to overhaul Mike early on and noticed a guy from Teesdale, wearing a cap, with whom I’d battled with on the North Easterns and so latched onto him. He was a tough opponent and invariably came back at me each time I passed him. There was a long out and back on each lap where you could see all the runners ahead of you and then all the runners behind you. I’d noticed on the second lap that both Mike and Scott were a comfortable distance behind and so concentrated on battling with my Teesdale friend. To my dismay he started to pull away from me at the start of the third lap (the race was 3 laps) but 150m or so up ahead I spotted a Striders vest that could only belong to Matt. And so it was game on.
Without increasing my pace too much the gap to Matt started to narrow but those sticky bits were starting to take their toll on my legs. As I got quite close, with half a lap to go, Matt became aware I was there and, as I would expect from any X/C running Strider, he started to fight back with short bursts which prevented me from ‘taking the lead’. With shouts from the marshals like “good packing” and from Jan of “oh, he’s catching you” things were becoming intense. About 200m out, just before a short steep bank, I decided to make my move and managed to ease past a still determined Matt. Running was now agonising but I was managing to hang on and was quite close again to my Teesdale pal. A final sprint for the line, which I was praying would be enough, allowed me to once again to enjoy the almost forgotten honour of being first Strider home – phew!
Matt finished just seconds behind me and was quick to offer his congratulations. Mike came in third Strider with a weary Scott in fourth. After a really tough race at the North Easterns, and another one here, Innes battled round to finish as fifth counter with Ian S completing the full team as 6th counter. What a team effort – everyone counting enabling Striders to be represented among the clubs able to field a team at such a prestigious and tough event. Well done to you all and thank you for representing this great club!
Results
Men
Pos | Name | Club | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Andrew Davies | Stockport Harriers & AC | 00:37:44 |
434 | Michael Thompson* | Teesdale AC | 00:52:55 |
437 | Geoff Davis | 00:53:03 | |
438 | Matthew Crow | 00:53:10 | |
501 | Mike Hughes | 00:55:33 | |
514 | Scott Watson | 00:56:03 | |
655 | Innes Hodgson | 01:05:36 | |
677 | Ian Spencer | 01:10:23 |
*Honourable mention for the Teesdale Pal
697 finishers.
Women
Pos | Name | Club | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Elle Vernon | Stockport Harriers & AC | 0:36:07 |
140 | Fiona Shenton | 0:37:50 | |
164 | Susan Davis | 0:38:59 | |
203 | Stephanie Piper | 0:41:11 | |
227 | Debra Goddard | 0:42:31 | |
264 | Jan Young | 0:44:37 | |
314 | Catherine Smith | 0:49:11 | |
323 | Diane Watson | 0:49:59 | |
325 | Denise Benvin | 0:50:17 |
342 finishers.
Junior Men
Pos | Name | Club | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Daniel Jarvis | Liverpool Harries & AC | 0:26:11 |
69 | Ari Hodgson | 0:42:20 |
69 finishers.