Orion 15 CC: course record for Wyber

Describing this race as "Fifteen miles of pure, old-school cross country...through beautiful Epping Forest, which gets tougher as the miles tick by..." Runner's World wasn't wrong. It's on the bucket list for most local athletes of a mud-loving persuasion, and with a few exceptions, once completed, is rarely repeated.

In the latest edition on Saturday, those exceptions included four of the six Woodford runners who competed this year, in milder conditions than recent times (2014 was the wettest winter since the Regency; 2013 was snowing) but hardly less challenging ones as any of the 277 finishers (bar Harold Wyber, pictured below in the Essex CC in January) would attest.

The race was won in 1:28:51 (literally by a country mile) and a new course record set by our own Harold Wyber, ironman-in-training and incognito in Orion colours. Racing the '15' for the second time, Harold hardly looked taxed by the effort. Next was another 15 familiar, M50 Ray Dzikowski (29) in 1:47:27, a fine run from Ray considering he has been carrying a pesky back injury all season. Third Woodie, and course newbie, was M40 Neil Ford (58) in 1:57:42. Having unluckily snapped a lace in his favourite trail shoes, Neil's last minute flats gamble was just that, but a combination of foot-sureness and forest know-how saved him from disaster, if costing him time across the muddiest parts. Fourth and fifth Woodies home were Orion 15 addicts M50 Tom Spanyol (112) in 2:08:25, a minute or so up on last year, having broken away strongly in the final miles from tiring rival V40 Richard Hogg (118) who finished in 2:09:34. Hoggy had, in turn, broken away from Woodford's sixth finisher and only woman contender V45 Jenny Thomas (126) (W15) frustrated by an undone shoelace at mile 11, and simply glad to be finished in 2:10:18.