Morning Harriers
On Saturday afternoon 16 Harriers took part in the South of the Thames XC Champs at Lloyd Park in Croydon.
At 7.5 miles in length, this is the longer of the two SoTT races and the longest race distance on offer for the women during the season. Unlike other XC races, everyone runs together but men and women are scored separately.
The weather was very mild for the time of year and although it was dry on race day, there was plenty of mud and water on the course after the recent heavy rain.
The SoTT Champs never disappoints and once again we were treated to the excellent Lloyd Park course. This is one of the best courses this season in terms of variety and profile. The course consisted of 3 x 2.5 mile undulating laps including grassy park and heathland, narrow single tracks through woodland and one muddy uphill climb that didn’t improve as the race progressed. There were also numerous mud and water filled ditches and boggy sections that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Pennines.
Alex Holmes led the Harrier field from the start and was first Harrier home, finishing in 103rd place overall (97th man). He was followed by James Sarre, Simon Howden, Geoff Turner, Robin Barwick and George Harris to make up our Men’s 6 to score team.
The Men’s 12 to score team was completed by Simon Holford, Dan Foster, Kannan Mahalingam, Colin Ricketts, Geoff Hurrell and Terry Everest.
Although three Harrier women took on the challenge, unfortunately we didn’t have enough to make up a women’s team.
Special mention should go to Brenda Purse who, despite a late night party the night before, completed this hard course and was still smiling at the finish. This was more than could be said for the poor woman from Dorking whose queasiness got the better of her after she crossed the line.
A number of us retired to The Woodman in Farnborough Village on the way home for post race refreshments.
Consolidated TWH results attached. A selection of photos have also been uploaded to the usual club gallery.
Regards
Simon & Jillian
TWH XC Captains