Suzanne Phillips and Tom Beedell lead in sparse senior Scrubs CC
There were many creditable individual performances from Woodford seniors at the second Met League of the season at Wormwood Scrubs. The men were led in by Tom Beedell in 26th, 7 places down from Claybury but closer to the winner in a considerably stronger field. Suzanne Phillips continued her strong start to the season with an excellent 7th place. However, a disappointing turnout made for disappointing team scores. The men finished 10th on the day and sit 7th in the league; and the women were 9th both on the day and in the league. Both have a moderate buffer before this season can reasonably be described as a relegation battle, but the managers hope for future fixtures to be able to focus on the strength of the scoring 12 or 6, rather than getting that number out.
The women’s team had 3 scorers. Suzanne Phillips was pleased with her race coming home in 7th but felt tactically it wasn’t her best race as she was in between groups of runners for much of it but held onto her position. Alicia McArdell had a really strong run and was next home in 25th. She is getting into racing again and using Parkruns to get some race speed practice. Kate Stockings came 97th, getting back into racing post marathon. She was cheered on by on Dad Paul Stockings who helpfully kept shouting out her position to keep her in the top 100!
The two-lap course was dry and flat, and the senior men’s race was quick out of the traps, with Tom Beedell (26th) clocking 5:08 for the first mile, faster than he’d have planned for, but looking around and seeing the very competitors he’d hope and expect to be alongside. The field slowed together, but Tom much less than most, with his continuous threshold effort surviving to the finish to gain around 12 places in the second half. Angus Holford (41st) and Mike Waddington (45th) had been around or even ahead of Tom in the early stages, and gained more places than they lost as the race went on, but wondered if a slower start could have paid dividends. Angus was relieved to edge out training partner James Morley of ESM, repaying a defeat over 1500m from the summer, and reflected that he was pleased enough with the performance given the lack of hills and mud. It was a big bonus to have Mike back following his 2:25 PB at London marathon last month that prevented his presence at the Claybury fixture. We are hoping that his first-claim clubmates who also made the long journey from ‘Ware’ will transfer across from their guest status. Tom Phillips (58th) was happier with the course, and transferred straight to the track in the adjacent Linford Christie Stadium for 20 minutes of tempo after finishing the race. The management appreciates his contribution in working the race into his training. Simon Beedell (120th) was, like all the teammates ahead of him, down on Claybury, but his being up 3 places from the last visit to this venue back in January is probably a better marker of consistency. There was a Woodford tussle slightly further back, in which Peter Caton (192nd) gained the major scalp of multiple Ken Bray Trophy champion Dan Steel (196th), ‘fresh’ (which really isn’t the word!) from a sub-2:58 marathon at New York just 6 days earlier. Pete reported that he had carefully timed his finishing kick to ensure he claimed bragging rights. Whilst Dan had made a last-minute decision to race having only landed back in the UK on Friday and we take our hats off to the unwavering commitment he demonstrates. The usual example of this is Bertie Powell (222nd) who completed his 89th consecutive Met, and 84 of those in the scoring team. He’s no longer at his quickest having to manage a long-term back injury but his presence is always valued.
The team was closed by three Vets but missing a 12th runner. Tony Pamphilon (273rd) was the third V60 on the day, and with his rivals up ahead both representing Middlesex clubs, can feel confident for an under-the-radar crack at the Essex Vets V60 title at Writtle in three weeks. Fellow V60 Paul Stockings (418th) and V75 Roger Green (450th), both legendary for their longevity and consistency completed our squad for the day, at 11 Woodies in all.
Notable absentees included Tom Frith and Joel Doye. Frith is still recovering from his club-record marathon in London in October, and turned out to support. He admitted that he’d let several niggles or injuries go unaddressed in the final weeks of his marathon training, so now having delivered that performance he needs time to build his resilience back. Doye, who impressed at Claybury with his stunning 11th place on senior debut, was competing at the Cross Challenge in Milton Keynes where he placed an excellent 25th. He was racing against many high calibre athletes as the event included a home countries as well as inter-regional match, but this will prepare him well for the European Trials at Liverpool in two weeks time.
Focus now turns to getting out the strongest possible team for Uxbridge, in three weeks time.