Met League 4 - Seniors

The fourth Met League fixture was held at the cambered Stanborough Park. Following the successful Essex Champs last week where individual and team medals had been collected by the senior/U20 men’s squad, there was some trepidation that worse conditions would be faced. However the women and men were welcomed by a reasonably firm course and dry conditions overhead. 

Eight senior women lined up to start this 4th Met League fixture of the season. Lauren Evans was first home in 33rd. Having slid her way round the course last year without spikes, this was a huge improvement on her January 2025 position of 85th and made a big difference to our team standing on the day! For much of the race Abigail Reid had been our leading lady but she sadly did not finish having dropped out at the start of the second lap.

Having just about recovered from the hills of the Essex Championships the week before, Noami Doye was next home in 76th with sister Lydia not too far behind in 87th. Since joining the club earlier this season, both Noami and Lydia have been ever-present at Met Leagues making a significant difference to our team. Although Lydia claimed not to have enjoyed this fixture as she crossed the finish line, the team are hoping she’ll be around for the final Met League of the season before excitedly moving to Hong Kong for work.

Those who regularly read these reports will know that, in recent years, Katie Olert and Kate Stockings have battled each other to close our scoring A team in many a fixture. With Katie having recently had baby Isaac, Kate took the crown for the first 3 fixtures of this season but she knew it was only a matter of time before Katie’s strength saw her return as a key rival! Needless to say, this fixture was the one and, having overtaken Kate on the 2nd lap, Katie managed to hold onto the lead and win the sprint to finish 102nd in front of Kate in 103rd.

Making a welcome return to our senior ladies team, Anaand Tratt (139th) was our 6th lady home and closed our scoring team. Anaand has missed the earlier fixtures of this season owing to various school and other commitments and admitted that she’s not feeling very fit at the moment so she took this race relatively easy but it’s great to see her back. Fellow U20 athlete Matilda Frith finished in 154th- a big improvement on her previous 169th finish which shows her adjusting well to the senior distance. 

The senior men squad turned out in reduced but still committed numbers, with twelve athletes on the start line. While that was down on the 20-plus who featured in the opening three rounds, it was hardly a surprise given a deep-winter fixture and the cumulative toll of the cross-country season. Those who did race ensured the club was well represented throughout the field. 

Once again, Tom Frith delivered a performance that has become something of a trademark this winter. Calm and controlled early on, he carved his way relentlessly through the field to finish an excellent 7th (5th if you exclude the guests this fixture traditionally attracts). The result leaves him top of the individual Met League standings with one fixture remaining — a particularly satisfying position given the frustration of 2022, when a cancelled Trent Park fixture denied him what looked like a title winning opportunity. 

There was strong support behind him. Tom Beedell finished a pleasing 22rd, a fine run considering he felt it took a while to recover from last week’s Essex Championships. A toll that saw a few athletes skip this fixture. With probably the run of the day was U20 Aidan O’Driscoll coming in 38th and keeping company with experienced senior athletes that should give him confidence. Individual season standings for U20’s aren’t published but it is likely that Aidan would be topping these. 

Dan Steel came home 52nd overall and continues to sit top of the Veterans standings. He felt it was a solid performance, even if he missed the usual consistency check of having Angus alongside him. Further down the field, Owen Hibbert finished 71st, around 20 seconds slower than at this fixture last year, a promising indicator as he continues to rebuild following a significant injury last summer. 

Tom Phillips crossed the line in 79th following a fallow six months of training, but it marked a pleasing and encouraging start to his London Marathon build-up. His race developed alongside a nice bit of internal Woodford competition, as Tom, Harold Wyber (115th) and Bertie Powell (140th) ran much of the first lap closely together before Tom gradually pulled clear of Harold, who in turn managed to open up a gap on Bertie as the race wore on. Harold felt it was better run than at Essex, which is good news for the orienteering adventures he has lined up. 

The remaining scorers were completed by Simon Beedell in 188th, who admitted a desire to skip this fixture but turned out to assist the team. Phil Doye (285th) was pleased to get back ahead of Asif Hussain (295th) and now leads their own individual head-to-head competition 2–1. Asif’s warm weather training over the Christmas period hasn’t yet paid off but his children provided great support out on the course. Paul Stockings closed the Woodford team in 344th, an especially gritty effort coming off the back of a recent chest infection.

Reduced numbers on the day left Woodford 6th overall at this fixture, but the club remains a strong 4th in the Met League standings, behind London Heathside, Victoria Park Harriers and Highgate Harriers. The SEAA Champs awaits the squad before the final league fixture, where the team’s league position is unlikely to change but the individual standings will be settled. 

Results: https://metleague.run/results/

Senior women photos: https://markeaston.zenfolio.com/p1017209420

Senior men photos: https://markeaston.zenfolio.com/p595419557