Race Report W/E 10th November
Winter is coming. Well it certainly was at Epsom Racecourse on Saturday. Time to dig out those woolly hats again!
This weekend was round 2 for Cross Country, and outside of that we didn’t have too much else going on aside from a bumpy half marathon in Spain.
But first – the end of season review is here, and you can view it (yes view) by following this link: https://youtu.be/X26W6dIRrgU
Behobia-San Sebastian Half Marathon
Not to be confused with the half marathon that takes place within the town itself a little later this month, this is a race that starts elsewhere and finishes in San Sebastian. Borja Portos was out racing, and absolutely smashed it, finishing in 1hr 15min! A great recovery from injury earlier in the year.
Cross Country – Race 2
For those that are new to the club, we race Cross Country over the winter. If you do one thing (actually 2 races remain – so do two things!) then support your club by running with your club! It’s a points based division system. A combination of a big team that also includes our fastest runners tends to score highly in a race. It’s also fun (muddy fun), social, and a chance to sample Ful-on Tri’s baking talent. There’s even a curry at the end of the season!
In New Siberia – aka Epsom Downs – the men were racing in nearly continuous icy rain. Following the monster turn-out in Richmond Park, it was a little quieter. Still, we successively got 22 runners out in the inclement weather.
James Nellany crossed the line 1st for the club and 12th overall. Alexie Calvert-Ansari, Xavier Faux and Joseph Morrell followed shortly after, with the rest of our A Team point scorers including: Will Manns; Keiran Allen; Mark Benton; Jonathan Furuya; Alex Naudi; and, Chris Browne. Sliding in to complete the finishing pack were: Richard Harper; Dominic Masters; Andrew Jack; Jose Lopez; Andrew Felix-Curry; Stewart Juroszek; Thomas Masters; Peter Moore; Stephen Flexer; Eddie Dole; and, yours truly.
Our performance in the cold and wet saw us placed 5th. A chance for redemption at race 3 in Oxshott, but great spirited racing by all!
Somehow the women had nicer weather at their race in Mitcham Common. What should have been a monster turn-out of 19 still proved a challenge, with many of our top runners injured or otherwise engaged. Remember, the women are in Division 1, so strength and depth matters even more.
The A Team comprised: Victoria Carter; Jayne Edwards; Heather Mayer; Cheryl Boshi; and, Francine Evans – with our B Team scorers following hot on their heels, including: Katie Good; Ceri Ruzzi; Sybille Schorm; and, Leanne Kelsall. The full line up was wrapped up by: Stephanie Wise; Katie Holmes; Catherine Spurin; Eszter Szadeczky-Kardoss; Elisa de Pestel; Sarah la Hausse de la Louviere; Megan Whewell; Gina Siebler; and Alexandra Richards!
With some fantastic racing and finish times, the women did better than their previous race. We finished 18th of 22 – which in such a tough Division is not bad – but still with a mountain to climb in the last two races, and some way behind our fellow local team: Fulham Runners.
We can do it, but we need more of our fast runners to return fresh and ready for action in the New Year!
And that’s your lot for this issue.
As usual, message me with anything I’ve missed, upcoming races, news you’d like to turn into a website blog, or things to add to the Race Calendar (I know, I know, I haven’t got round to populating much of it yet). Contact is, as always, fixtures@fulontri.com
I’m currently writing this from an airport in South Africa, so you won’t get another race report until late next week or more likely the following Monday. Enjoy novelty November, and get our Christmas Party tickets if you’re still on the fence!!