Men regain Essex Cross Country crown
Woodford’s senior men regained the Essex Cross Country Championship team title at a bitterly cold and windy Basildon on 3rd January, with Tom Frith leading our packing of four in the top ten. Earlier a small senior women’s team had finished 6th, led in by Lauren Evans.
With the north side of the hills in Gloucester Park not having received any sun, much of the course was frozen solid, leading to many a late change of spikes or footwear, and a very different kind of slipperiness on the descents. Although the bright sunshine took the edge off what could have been altogether miserable conditions, it made life difficult in another way, temporarily blinding anyone looking uphill on the second of the three large ascents each lap. The spectator’s marquee had been dispensed with but four hay bales and a fallen tree were still placed across the course. With the challenge set, four Woodford women and nine men rose to it.
The women’s race over two laps for 8k, was won by Kate O’Neill who led her Havering squad to the team title. First in for Woodford was Lauren Evans, in 20th. Lauren is in great form, having just two days earlier got within 3 seconds of her outright parkrun personal best and we hope she’ll return for the remaining Met Leagues and championships this season. Naomi Doye was 30th. She started more conservatively but overhauled her sister Lydia Doye, who went on to finish 36th, around halfway through the race, equalising in this season’s head-to-head record between the two. The team was closed by Dawn Holford for whom the cold air and hard surfaces on the descents felt particularly harsh, but who was able to rouse a sprint finish for 51st place. This team, incredibly comprised entirely of debutants for this championship, scored 137 points for 6th place, just 7 points off 5th. Having seen what the ‘interested few’ can achieve, the team manager is considering a concerted targeting of this race next year.
The men’s race was over three laps, for 12k. Callum Charleston regained the individual title he last won in 2024 and led his Chelmsford squad to team silver by 14 points over individual silver medallist Adam Hickey’s Southend. However, Woodford triumphed with a score of 79 points, a victory margin of 45. The nucleus of this dominant win was the packing of Tom Frith, Videsh Weerakkody, Oliver Bushdari, and James Stockings in 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th places, separated by just 33 seconds. Tom had started conservatively but worked his way through the field to capture a top 6 finish and guarantee selection for Essex at the Inter-Counties. Contrastingly Videsh had gone out hardest with the goal of an individual medal, and admitted to struggling somewhat through the second lap. He recovered for a strong final lap, partly due to the encouragement of James when he moved alongside on one of the hills. Oliver had come off a training holiday with his brother Deelan Bushdari and admitted to being heavy-legged following 20+ hours of cycling in addition to some hilly trail runs. He applied himself well to move steadily among the sparse field, with a similar strategy adopted by James. We always welcome the return of this second-claimer who captains Wimbledon Hercules in their XC efforts. Tom Beedell was disappointed with his run for 20th place, and couldn’t quite place it in context of his recent form and good health. The team was closed by Dan Steel in 29th. Dan has mastered the art of a conservative start before surging through in the second half, and delivered more of the same here having sat around 40th at the end of the first lap.
7th man in was Angus Holford, in 34th. While disappointed with the result Angus can’t realistically claim that his form in training would merit better. However, with a co-team manager hat on he was delighted to be squeezed out of scoring for a winning team! It had been a decade since this last happened and is positive sign of the youth integrating into the team. Deelan Bushdari can take pride in that his 62nd place would, as a substitute 6th man, still have delivered the team title back to Ashton. Finally, former 4th-placer in this championship Harold Wyber shepherded his niggling hamstring round for 76th place.
This was Woodford’s third team title out of the five post-pandemic championships, and 10th of the 21st Century. Southend having forgotten to return the trophy prevents its being mined for longer-term statistics, but happily the U20 team’s heist of the junior team title provided some silverware for the team to pose with. Both teams appreciated the youngsters and parents who hung around to watch, and ineligible squad members and committee members who made the journey to support. The next fixture is the Met League at Welwyn Garden City in just a week’s time, and next championship is the Southern on 25th January at Beckenham.
L to R: Tom Beedell, Dan Steel, Tom Frith, Oliver Bushdari,
James Stockings, Videsh Weerakkody