With conditions slightly more conducive to running than last season’s National XC ‘mudbath’, ten HAC men took to the legendary Parliament Hill for the SEAA London Cross Country Championships. The only bath required this time was an ice bath – the ground was so rutted that cankles took a pounding.
Rob Thompson continued his comeback, finishing in 17th place. Asked for his post-race analysis (after a few Guinness, albeit) he had this to say “Kallum and Jim are getting smoked next week”. “Dom the destroyer” Speight (126th) proved that more is more as the marathon miles proved invaluable in his sprint finish as he breezed past Dan Thompson (130th) in the closing few hundred metres, who could have taken a leaf out of Paul “Skittlebomb” Williams’ book, having one of his best performances to date finishing 236th and ahead of fierce rival Jeff Shotton (245th). Rumours of Jeff planning a major taper (i.e. not racing in the morning for once) are rife ahead of this weekend’s Met League.
Dave Smith (292nd) had another strong outing following a week of high-altitude training in the Lakes (or, as some suspect, just highly enjoyable pub sessions). He was followed by Ed Harrison (326th), who bravely popped his Parliament Hill cherry – a rite of passage every HAC runner must endure.
Strong runs from Chris Marchland (392nd), Neal Clark (403rd) and Trevor Steeples (421st) saw the team out.
Off the course, it was great to see club stalwarts John Bignell and “Stone-Cold” Steve Thompson making an appearance for the post-race debrief, alongside the apprentice ConneLl Metcalf.
A strong showing at Parliament Hill from the Hillingdon AC women’s team at this year’s SEAA XC, finishing 16th out of 28 full teams in a tough and competitive field.
The course was slightly kinder than previous years with a little less mud, but still technical and rutted enough to keep everyone alert to the finish.
Catriona Paterson led the HAC charge home (66th). Jessica Gaffney followed (122nd), with Melanie Spencer (139th) rounding up the top 3 HAC women. Mother and daughter duo Caroline Ford (142nd) and Hollie Ford (183rd) with Ruth Costello (236th) rounding up the HAC effort. A brilliant team effort, great support all round and a solid mid-table finish to keep the XC season momentum going!
Charna-Jo Booth (136th) represented in the U15 female category. In the U15 male category, Freddie Wright (129th) was the first HAC scorer home, followed by Alastair Burton (139th) and Oscar Richard (152nd).
Aaron Gordon (61st) and Johnny Campbell (136th) ran in the U11 male category.
A great turnout for HAC in the U13 female category. Catriona Barclay (4th) with a fantastic result, though narrowly missed out on a top 3 finish. Chloe Willson (6th) added to a top 10 finish. Hattie Stewart-Quantrell (29th) was the 3rd HAC finisher, followed by Anna Knight (70th), Isabelle Robinson (130th), Ranya Rajarapu (188th) and Keira Soni (192nd). In the U13 male category, Marcus Sery produced a 12th place finish.
Rounding off the action, in the U17 female category, saw Emma Magerdichian (34th) and Edey Kestell (61st). With 5 finishers in the U17 male category, Dylan Lewis (10th), Barnabe Lesenne-Ward (41st), James Henderson (47th), Luke Sery (65th) and Joseph Holmes (110th).
Fantastic results all round, as we now look onto the upcoming Metropolitan Cross Country Race at Horsenden Hill. Good luck everyone!
