The first xc race of the season took place on Saturday 15th October at Swanley Park under blue skies with double digit temperatures. We had a great turnout of 42 Harriers and welcomed 9 new faces to the team.
There was no mud to speak of but despite the park being fairly flat, the race organisers had managed to squeeze every possible bit of uphill into the courses as well as throwing in lots of twists and turns.
First up were the ‘Super Vets’ (over 65 women and over 70 men) running a two lap 5k course. Stella and Peter Richardson made their first appearance in this race with Margaret Deighton joining them in her first race for the club. Stella ran a fantastic race finishing second in her class and only 14 seconds behind the winner.
Nine Harrier women lined up for the senior women’s race which involved a three lap course of about 8km. Emily Nash made an impressive start to the season bringing it home for the Harriers on her debut appearance. Cathy Gill and Amelie Karlsson finished in consecutive places behind her to make up the 3-to-score. Emily Manners (also running her debut xc race), Jillian Holford and Suzannah Kinsella completed the 6-to-score.
The final race of the day was the senior men’s race, running the same course as the senior women. Bob commented afterwards that it was a fantastic sight to watch a sea of deckchairs as 30 Harrier men made their way to the start.
Liam White and Oliver Waymark, running their debut xc race for the club, finished 1st and 2nd Harrier respectively, with Liam finishing in 8th place overall. Alex Jeffries and Javier Montoya Montero (also making his debut appearance) made up the 4-to-score.
Completing the 12-to-score were: Ed Steele, James Sarre, Mike Staddon, Richard Carter, Mike King, Dave Hadaway, Kieran Fitzpatrick and Colin Timmins. We were also pleased to welcome Kannan Mahalingam, Geoff Hurrell and Paul Kromm to their first xc race for the club.
A big thank you to everyone who turned up to race as well those who came to support us. It was good to see Adam Dennis out on the course taking photos and Andy Howey who was marshalling. There was also a fantastic selection of baking afterwards which was very much appreciated by the runners and supporters alike 🙂
Please find attached a summary of the Harrier results. Full results can be found here: http://www.kcaa.org.uk/
We look forward to seeing you all at Somerhill on the 29th.
Simon & Jillian Holford
TWH XC Captains