A terrific day for the Belles with an emphatic win in the team championship plus individual gold for Rachel Brown and bronze for me and first Vet.
The race was held in Beckenham Place Park, a venue now often used for cross country races since the local council abandoned the golf course a few years ago. In fact, it will be used again at the end of January for the South of England Championships. It is an undulating grassland course, soft in places, ideal for cross country though and where they will stage SEAA XC.
On my way chasing to get 3rd place
It was a nervous week for the Belles team manager, with Covid reducing the team entry from ten to the six required to score. Also taking nearly 2.5 hrs to get there which was pretty tragic so I could only pray it would be worth while.
On the second lap I moved up to third place with team mate Jess not far behind. As a team we scored an incredible 40 points, the lowest winning score since women were allowed into the race from 2004.
We have had a great record in this race over the last ten years.
A full on day and wind swept at Goodwood, Chichester and then out in the cold again for a dog walk. I went short with a half marathon which I am so grateful, turned our to be hard conditions and stronger winds than last years event.
I tried to block out the wind and wore headphones but couldn’t hear my music The pace was all over the place due to the strong winds from one side 5.40/5.45 min mile pace, then the back section 7 min miles. I was just pipped to the post by a Senior so for me it was 2nd place and 82 mins.
I definitely downgraded expectations and considering a heavy race year pleased. Well organised, non stressful races just need weather on my side. My friend Trevor won his age category and I won the Vet Category and 2nd overall lady.
We had Two Belgrave women’s teams made the trip to Reigate to compete in what is one of my favourite team events for Cross Country with a mix of hills, mud and fast sections.
A good testing 4km course against the backdrop of beautiful autumnal trees, excellent and friendly organisation by the home club Reigate Priory, and since returning to the venue in 2014, we tend to score well at this event.
Olivia Papaioannou and Natalie Beadle gave the two Belles teams the best possible start. It’s not easy to judge the pace on the first leg with the women and men starting together but both runners played it perfectly. Liv headed the women’s race by 15 seconds and Natalie was less than 40 seconds behind in 6th but in touch with the other teams.
It was a lead that the A-team never relinquished and Samantha Amend, just two weeks after my 24-hour race, showed resilience to maintain the lead and run the sixth fastest leg of the afternoon. In her first race for Belgrave, new member Patricia Walker illustrated our strength in depth by passing four teams and brought our B-team up to second place. We had another talented new member, Lea Adamson, on the final leg who despite being isolated, ran the third fastest of the day, to bring our team home a minute and a half clear in first place. We benefited to the B team also getting bronze place.
Teams
1. Belgrave ‘A’ 48:52, (L. Papaioannou 16:10, S. Amend 16:32, L. Adamson 16:10), 2. Guildford and Godalming 50:26, 3. Belgrave ‘B’ 50:41, (N. Beadle 16:49, P. Walker 16:04, J. Levertaviciute 17:53).
Sat 20th November 2021 – London Championships
Belgrave’s women won the London cross country championships at Parliament Hill, with winning individual me also gold for fastest masters athlete.
This was believed to be the first time that a Belgrave team had even medalled in these SEAA Championships, let alone ever won. What a result !!!
Collecting my winnings !
Celebrating our win, Rachel, Liv, Sarah & Sam
With little rain over the last week or so, Parliament Hill was fairly benign, muddy in parts, but many of the paths were quite hard and dry. Of course, it’s still not an easy circuit with its twists and turns and tough hills.
Belgrave were led home by Rachel Brown and Olivia Papaioannou in 6th and 7th place after a furious sprint for the line narrowly won by Rachel. Then in 21st place came Jess Saunders improving her speed with every race after her excellent marathon in October. In 24th, working through the field very strongly after the first lap, left the other vets behind to easily claim gold in that category.
Our team manager Charlie had totted up the scores as the runners finished and told the team he thought they may have got second or third. They were then led off on a very long warm down by ultra-runner Sam while the official results were being checked. When at last the results appeared, he realised he had mistaken the blue vest of the Cambridge Harrier winner for a TVH athlete, thinking TVH had won. So, when Sam eventually brought the team back after their warm down, Charlie said:
“Sorry, I made a mistake, you didn’t get 2nd or 3rd place,”
Crestfallen faces, a long pause and then,
“YOU WON!
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. H. Dixon (Cambridge H) 22:19, 2. G Holden (QPH) 22:41, 3. H. Cox (Fulham) 22:48,….6. R. Brown 23:08, 7. O. Papaioannou 23:09, 21. J. Saunders 23:46, 24. S. Amend 23:51, 34. E-M. Hards 24:37, 60. S. Dewhirst 25:27, 91. B. Brown 26:34. 289 finished.
TEAMS
Belgrave Harriers 58, 2. Thames Valley Harriers 63, 3. London Heathside 89.
This was a race I wasn’t expecting to squeeze in so soon and probably for most one race too many. Having attempted the British record in September and failing due to the heat, I wanted to at least go for a qualification. After a number of factors conspired against me during Battersea in September with exhaustion, period and nausea I wanted to finish the year of ” ultra’s” more positive.
I’m a prolific racer and you can get away with that when it’s short races. But it’s a different story for ultra distances and, having run 100+mile races three times already this year, I knew this would me my final attempt at the 24hr discipline for some time. In truth I never wanted to be running another 24hr this year – and certainly not around a track again. But this one was relatively close to home which meant it’d be easier for my crew and less stressful for me.
As much as I wanted to shoot for the British record, my main goal was 1) finishing, and 2) improving on my last result and a PB. The British record would be a bonus after such a disappointment at Battersea last month.
Nutrition
My nutrition plan looked better than last time. Having spent time talking with an expert, it was just a matter of sticking to the plan.
“Dont forget your nutrition Sam “
During the race I managed to regularly eat something small every hour (thanks to my amazing crew Jo and Trev for ensuring this went well) and then some warm food like pasta, but fewer gels this time. It’s so hard to get the formula right and its always worth trying different options until you get the right mix. I had more solids like bread and tried ginger to help with stomach sickness.
Strategy
I kept my pace consistent and much slower from the gun, sticking between 8:00 and 8:30 miling. The main challenge to my pace was the weather: strong wind and grey skies. At least there was no rain until the last hour when sunrise came. So a lot of time was spent running in the dark, around and around a track. For anyone who hasn’t run ultra distances on a track, the hour and hours of seemingly endless turns in the same direction really take their toll on the body.
” Only 12hrs to go!!“
The race
Although I preferred the cooler conditions to Battersea in September, I had to factor in that when tired and fatigued that you get very cold. I ended up taking a rest spell in the middle of the night due to feeling hypothermic and then a few hours later a massage for 30 minutes. Ultimately it cost me the win, but I’m convinced it saved my race in the long run!
So for the next 9hrs I was back on the track running and also trying to get my nutrition back on track too. My mental target was to get past 100 miles, and then the 200km threshold, and then it was to shoot for as much as I could to the 220km target for GB selection. In my last lap we were told 2 mins until the horn and I managed to get around in 1:39 and an average 2:35 per lap. If only I hadn’t napped! Having been selected the last 3 years and having missed 2019 due to a back fracture and then 2020 and 2021 to Covid, this race meant a lot to finish.
All my crew and support around the track really pushed me along to keep going through the toughest parts. I’m proud to say I made the cut for international selection with a PB of 223.200km (138.690 miles) but sadly ran out of time reach 139 miles and get a good marker down for shooting to the next target of the British record next year.
It’s been a busy but fun year of racing. I’ll finish it off with a few shorter club races, ready for whatever 2022 holds. Happily, apart from a few aches and stiffness I’ve come away unscathed and will be back jogging in a few days once the fatigue has passed.
RESULTS
Norbert Mihalik 157.082 miles / 252.800km
Gareth Pritchard 147.389 / 237.2000
Joanna Murphy 143.412 / 230.800
Samantha Amend 138.938 / 223.600
Mark Bissell 133.221 / 214.400
A total of 18 runners started the race. Full results via Race Director: https://results.racedirector.co.uk/gloucester-elite-track-24-2021/24-hour-elite-track-race-23-10-2021.html
We saw the return to the road relays event which I love. A long way to Birmingham to run under 5k but a great club atmosphere. I actually ran my second fastest time since 2016, whilst not my 15:15 best ran 15:58 post many ultra runs over the last few months.
Enjoying Ourselves Post Race !
The sun was shining as were the teams with Belgrave turning out 2 women’s teams. The A team finished in the top 10 for only the third ever time, only a minute behind third palace. The B team finished 30th out of 63 teams who completed the four stages in the end and the first time I hadnt made the cut for the A team. I realised this would happen soon getting older and focus on much longer. Despite tired legs, post racing ran a strong leg moving the B team up several places within the race.
AFD ‘A’ 59:03, 2. AFD ‘B’ 60:14, 3. Lincoln
Wellington 60;29, …. 9. Belgrave ‘A’ 61:28, (S. Astin 14:12, S. Hewitt
15:38, G. Richardson 15:42, O. Papaioannou 15 :56), … 30. Belgrave ‘B‘,
(A. Reed 15:23, K-E. French 16:31, S. Amend 15:59, S. Dewhirst 17:23). 63 teams
completed the race.
The highly competitive Surrey League cross country competition returned after a 20-month absence with outstanding performances from both Belgrave senior teams at Richmond Park.
“Belles dominant in first league match”
l-r: Lizzie Goldie-Scot, Sarah Dewhirst, Alix Vermuelen, Sophie Cowper, Lydia Barnett, Laurel Bray, Lea Adamson, Bethan Goddard, Mimi Corden-Lloyd, Steph Hewitt, Grace Richardson, Liv Papaioannou, Jojo Rhodes, Beth Evans, Emily Bannister. Front row l-r: Jane Vongvorachoti, Sam Amend.
What a day! What a team! What a result!
No less than 18 members of this terrific squad turned out in drizzly conditions in this first league match of the season. Still more had to miss because of colds or injury. Every single member of this team ran better than expected with the Belles A team easily winning the match and the B team 4th, ahead of the A teams of Herne Hill, South London, Hercules Wimbledon and Clapham Chasers amongst other local teams.
The forecast was wrong, I was was hoping dry conditions and why i opted for trainers (bad mistake!) the team were greeted with heavy rain before the start of the race, but this did little to dampen our team spirit. Luckily the rain eased after the race started but it did leave slippery conditions on the downhill sections of the course. Something I struggled with.
Our team was led home by Grace Richardson in 3rd place. Grace had only moved to London from Ireland a few weeks previously. Then came the rest of the Belles runners in the teens. The secret for cross country team races is packing , something we dominated at this ace. The claret and gold vests just seemed to be coming non-stop with another new recruit, Lea Adamson next in 13th, our dependable second-claimer SophieCowper in 15th, Liv Papaioannou next in 17th back to her very best, just ahead of me in 18th, over twenty places further up than in the same race two years previously.
A week on and still reflecting on a race that had many tales that turned. It was hard for me having run the 24hr, not expecting the race to happen so the planning had changed a bit. Having felt off pace reverted back from the 50k back to the 100k.
Arriving in Dublin on the Friday early evening I managed to meet up with my work colleague John who lived close to the accommodation.
Roll on Saturday morning bright and early to Mondello race track, sadly the ACP competition didn’t include England unfortunately and a decision made by the England Athletics. Regardless we still came out and more importantly I went over to pay my respects on what my coach Norm had built with bringing back both Southern and Northern Ireland back into the competition. Myself, Mark, Andy and Ollie ran the race regardless to help for selection in 2022 for the ACP and was fortunate to have Mark’s coach Marcus to help us and Rob Turner’s (Team Scotland) mates so it was a bonus to have this extra support when we all travelled alone.
Mark, Sam, Andy & Ollie
It was hard for me as I had to conduct a speech first and struggled with the sadness behind him not being there. After collecting the memorial award on his behalf and Anne it was time to run the race.
The course wasn’t completely flat but easy to navigate, however the weather made it a challenge seeing every season in the 8+hrs from humid muggy weather to full on storm with Thunder/Lightening/Snow and sun it was crazy. Explains why the grass is so lush in Ireland!!
The race was very sociable but on an undulating race circuit and ran the best I could in the conditions and with the last few months of emotional and physical stress. Everyone was really supportive pre, during and post race. I lacked a bit of top end speed but pleased to manage to hold on to 3rd place, despite dropping the pace in the middle section. I finished comfortably in 8:03.46 and so grateful to the support from Ireland, John O Regan and team for the memories they have created for Norman.
SAL Match3 – August 2021 – Planned originally just for 3000m but with light numbers thought I may get roped into a few more events. Training was planned with 40 mins post event. However post warm up and running the 3k which was slightly slower than last month I went in also as the ” B” string for the 1500m. Strangely this race seemed the same pace as the previous and struggled to pick it up going though 800m slower than expected so I picked up the last lap. I finished in second place in 5:12.46
3000m – found the engine didn’t want to fire up today, felt slow but having run a 24hr only 2 weeks earlier expect this was part of the reason. It was still respectable and came in as second Belle in 10.42.31
4 x 400m Relay – This was a last minute team put together and it paid off as we then ended up winning the event. Sadly there wasn’t the opportunity to use these valuable points to move up in the league due to the set up of the Southern Athletic League during Covid.
This was the last event due to Match 4 cancelled with the Surrey relays pending.
Crawley AIM 6hr- 3rd July – This was a race that started of well but tough conditions with heavy cloud and humidity. Having surpassed just a week since my coach Normans funeral it was all too much. The race format with the 24hr (in hindsight think I would have run better longer) were also in the same lane so there was a lot of weaving and in and out of lanes. As the hours ticked on beyond the marathon I was up on target but just ran out of energy and my body tightened up. It wasn’t my day despite an awesome crew with Jo and Trevor ran to 52:80km. Looking at my watch my body battery was showing in negative and had been before I started so its no wonder I struggled to maintain. In order to run the British record I would have needed to be on it from the outset.
Pre Start of Crawley 6hr
5,000m – SAL 11th July – Another outing on the track for the club and legs were rested as they never had to run for the full 6hrs the week before. Pleasantly surprised to run 18:20 for second place and first Belle home in the race. Conditions as they had been for a few weeks very humid and tough with the track surrounded by the high rise buildings. Pleased though of how i ran on some very busy few months racing.
Battersea Park Track
Herts 10k -18th July – Super hot conditions on a car racing track, thank heaven only a short race today. The temperature had been rising during my journey over to Herts to 28 degrees and with a start time of 10am I knew it was going to be super tough. I managed to maintain my position in first in a respectable time of 38:09. Sadly my friend was unable to finish his race due to the heat and feeling dizzy. Tough race conditions but again good tempo training.
Coming off a good few months of long races decided to do a few short ones in the lead up to the Crawley 6hr. Especially as I wanted a way to cope with the loss of Norman and his funeral that was coming up on Monday 21st June.
Dorney 10k – First up on the 12th June and very humid and hot having also cut the grass I knew this would be tough. I need to do it in particular as I was struggling with solo training and needed some focus so I went with my friend Trevor. I felt off the ball and it became a battle to just race and close the gap to someone a little further up at the start point in the wave. Managed to catch up on the second lap, we were both struggling and pushed to the finish. I finished overall a few seconds faster and not my fastest in 37:57 which is still very respectable.
Southern Athletics League (SAL) – 21st June – First time in a while I have managed to see the Belgrave team thanks to Covid and very few races. This was a short one for me but the longest of any of the events and post vaccine the day before I ended up running one of my faster ones. The race had Lauren, Jane and myself running in and I felt a little pressure being on the “A” string. Fortunately being experienced on the “track” front managed to pick up pace in the last few laps to get into 2nd place and be the first scorer for the club finishing in 10:36.
Chase the Sun Battersea 10k – 24th June – A hot humid evening post funeral it felt like we nearly didn’t make due to traffic. We got there with 30 mins to spare and time to get sorted before the race waves… I saw Naomi Mitchell who was in great shape despite missing out on the Olympics from the trials back in April. It honestly helped not to feel the pressure and it was great to feel the buzz around the park. Although it was incredibly busy and hard to weave around in the park with some tight bends. The evening was humid and clammy so I was happy to cross the line in 2nd place in 37:31.
