Woodford Seniors continue to benefit from increased depth

The morning of the 4th Met League of the season dawned bright and chilly but, to the relief of our athletes, the temperatures rose quickly and the seniors found themselves racing on ground, at Welwyn Garden City, that continued to thaw with each lap. Whilst this made for more pleasant running conditions, it made for a course that became increasingly muddy and, for those yet to put in much-needed longer spikes, much concentration was spent on staying upright! 

Having finished 88th in her first Met League (Horsenden Hill), new recruit Jenna Sheehy was pleased with her improvement to 68th to lead our senior ladies home. Jenna is one of several ladies who have joined us in the last couple of years as our team continues to go from strength to strength with regards to squad depth. Zoe Watson had Jenna in her sights throughout and finished close behind in 78th.

Lauren Evans made her Met League debut but, without spikes, struggled with the camber and mud. Despite these challenges she finished in a respectable 84th place but we look forward to seeing her race for us again soon and, hopefully, in the right shoes! Close behind was Claire Allen in 86th who, despite feeling fatigued, had a good run. Jenna, Claire and Lauren have stepped up their training recently as they concentrate on preparing for the Manchester and London marathons respectively and we wish them all the best in this training.

Kate Stockings was our 5th lady home in 102nd place. Having reassured the team prior to the race that this was one of the easier courses, she was taken aback by just how difficult it was to stay on your feet and, upon finishing, promptly completed an order for some new 12mm spikes. With Trent Park looming as the final venue, she’ll be sure to prepare the team for the mud that awaits there…

Katie Olert joins training-partner Kate as the ever-present members of the team so far this season and finished 135th. Expecting her 4th child in the summer, Katie is taking races more cautiously now but hoping to race at Trent Park and finish her 2nd season of Met Leagues with another full house. Another regular member of Bertie’s Tuesday night training group is Gillian Whelan who was sporting a brand-new pair of spikes for her 2nd Met League. Finishing in 165th and with spikes no longer box-fresh, Gill had a good run and enjoyed another experience of cross-country. As the winner of the club marathon place, Gill will be spending a lot of time out on the roads in the coming months and we look forward to cheering her on, alongside our other club athletes, in April! 

The course proved a challenge for many of our senior men but Oliver Bushdari seemed to have no issues as he led the team home for the second consecutive fixture. He was 12th over the line but was beaten by two guests (and narrowly beat another two) so could view this as another top 10 finish. The guests from Cambridge University, treating this as a trial race for BUCS, were far fewer than had used to attend this fixture pre-COVID. Oliver is in fantastic shape and will be testing himself over 3k indoors, 5k road and 15k XC over the next month! 

Tom Beedell admitted he was disappointed with his performance but had been delighted pre-race that the team had unusually gained rather than lost runners in the week leading up to the fixture. He benefited from the target of Tom Adolphus who had committed himself early, though on reflection said that was ‘naive’. The two Toms claimed 22nd and 24th with Beedell only catching Adolphus on the final of the 3.5 lap course. 

Also finishing close together were Mike Waddington in 43rd and Videsh Weerakkody in 46th. They’d taken contrasting approaches with Mike starting conservatively (unsurprising given his 18 mile long run the day before!) and enjoyed moving up through the field, whilst Videsh was initially positioned towards the front. Although Videsh faded, it is worth mentioning that he had only returned home on Tuesday from a long holiday and so his starting pace represented what he’s capable of in normal circumstances. His willingness to turn out for the team despite a lack of recent training showed great dedication. 

A minute later saw a flurry of runners with Owen Hibbert (71st), Tom Phillips (72nd), Dan Steel (73rd) and Ronan Edwards (76th). This was Owen’s cross-country debut for the club and it was a promising performance given he’s typically seen on the track in the summer and has been establishing his training regime since relocating to London a few months ago. It was a solid performance from Phillips who was another athlete that had recently returned from holiday and this is a useful marker as he starts his next marathon build. Dan’s marathon target is Boston in April and the undulating course can be treated as useful preparation for that. Ronan had started aggressively, likely buoyed by his strong performance in the U20 race at the Essex Championships the previous week. He felt the lack of flatter, runnable sections that the Basildon course had prevented a higher placing. 

Nate Harding also featured in that U20 last week. In 113th he found himself further down the field than his senior debut in November but this will have been a useful experience. Next in was experienced Met Leaguer Simon Beedell (138th) who had to cope with developing blisters following poor sock choice. Godwinner Nkebani has either found himself as final scorer for our A team or first scorer for our B team this season. On this occasion, in 178th, he closed the A team. The team’s overall performance was in line with the Uxbridge fixture but we were beaten on the day by Heathside, and they have now risen above us in the season standings. 

Opening the B team was Pete Caton in 191st. Supporting his children’s own sporting endeavours had prevented an appearance at Uxbridge so his return was welcomed and he was able to overtake Bertie Powell (208th) on a slippy downhill section. Bertie continues to accumulate Met League finishes, and enjoyed an appearance in Athletics Weekly celebrating his 100th consecutive finish at the previous fixture. Chris Hogg (281st) has demonstrated fantastic commitment being the most regular club competitor this winter and finished every possible XC fixture. Tony Pamphillon (320th) hadn’t featured since Claybury, when he notched up his own century of finishes, as he allowed his injury to clear up. The next four in all had children racing on the day as well, with Asif Hussain taking the title of first dad. He was 333rd and remarked that the focus was to stay upright, which was a fair summary of the challenge that was faced by all. Ben Stockill (348th) has transformed from supporter to his son Harry (who finished an impressive 4th in junior race) to regular Met League finisher. Finishing Met Leagues is a habit that Richard Hogg (371st) has re-established this season. Paul Stockings (390th) finished his 170th Met but was disappointed with a slower time than the previous year; however he was already thinking ahead to the next racing opportunity immediately after the race. A full complement for the B team helped secure 2nd place in Division 3 on the day and we sit in the same position in the season standings.  Although he started, unfortunately Feroz Mansoor suffered from a muscle strain and had to withdraw but we hope he’ll recover in time for the next fixture at Trent Park.