2015 Essex CC Relays: Senior Men
On Saturday the 26th September the pre-season fixture of the Essex Cross Country Relays took place once again under clear blue skies in the village of Hockley, Essex. The Woodford team had altered many times in the run up to the event as injury, illness and other factors had taken out many possible runners, so that a team of three very credible athletes and one hackneyed trundler decided to take on the best in Essex.
First out was Daniel Steel. It was at this event last year that was Daniel's first race back in Woodford colours since being a teenager, and his performance last year was very creditable, running our fastest leg last year. But his performance this year made last year's effort look positively ordinary, as he paced his leg excellently, cutting through a very good field to get the lead, and no doubt would have won if not for a wrong turn at a corner allowed a Chelmsford man to grab back the advantage. Running 15.11 compared to 16.14 last year shows how much Daniel is improving, and the fact that the next day he was doing the Ealing half marathon made it all the more impressive. (NB Daniel ran 71.46, just 12s off his pb). We were in second place.
Daniel handed over to Pete Caton. Pete had been on a 4 day jolly up the previous week as he had turned 40, but would have no doubt been pleased to see that instead of falling apart he seems to be getting ever better, as he too dismantled his time from last year, turning in a 16.42 compared to a 17.30 last year. I have no doubt Pete was slightly spurred on to run well as he knew Oli, his son, had his phone camera to hand ready to record any moment that his dad put his foot in it! The team was now in 4th with the other teams lined up ahead.
But unfortunately up next was 'this manager'. Having to gear himself up to run after only steady running for the last 6 weeks, he had to resort to saying 'if Matt Shone can get through 9k with only one leg you can get through 5k with two!', (see national 12 stage relay, 2015) he found that this mantra sounded good, but it depended on the quality of the one leg compared to the two! But 19.01 was in fact very pleasing, as 22min was thought more likely, and although being passed by a fair few teams, the team had only dropped to 10th place, with next man Angus Holford ready for the anchor leg.
Angus had been given the baton with Southend on his shoulder, but he showed his quality getting away from their runner early on, and then going on to catch the teams that were some distance ahead. He did this well, and finished just behind Daniel with our second fastest time of the day in 15.19. Angus has had a good summer but had found the last couple of weeks training not fully clicking and with a stitch that had come on a few days previously and stayed around, meant that Angus was happy with his run at the end.
This led the team to finish in a very respectable 7th position, and the fact that the team managed that although having to go with a last resort on leg three shows how strong the other three legs had been, beating last year's time by 36s! Again the event was excellently put on, and helped highlight how some of our athletes, thanks to a very good summer, are now a level above where they were at this time last year, which is as good as gaining a new athlete. Well done to Chelmsford who won and local rivals Orion for getting third place. Next event is the opener to the Start Fitness Met league at Claybury on 10th October.