Weekly Update - 15th Oct. 2025

cambridgeharriersa
19 minutes ago
4 min read

Kent Cross Country League #1, Footscray Meadows (Sat. 11th Oct.)

A combination of mild dry weather and Thames Water having finally got round to fixing the leak that had been saturating part of the course made for fast running conditions. Many opted for road shoes and had no cause to regret the decision, an abundance of acorns underfoot being the biggest challenge the course had to offer. Every so often acorn production goes into overdrive, it is what is known as a "mast year".

Senior Men (Clem Dixon) : As always the first race of the cross country season was eagerly anticipated; how strong will the opposition be? Never mind the opposition, how strong will we be? With Tom Brooke having moved away from the area, who will step into the four to score team to join Bobby Babaker, Danny Kendall and Ben Shearer? Alex Walker that's who. Alex even kept pace with Bobby (13th) for much of the race and ended up being our second scorer just a few seconds back in 15th. As per last season there was little to separate Danny and Ben, Danny edging it by five seconds, these two being 1st and 2nd in the over 40s category. Four in the top twenty was good enough for 2nd place behind Tonbridge, although with a lead over Medway & Maidstone that leaves no room for complacency.

The team of twelve was bolstered by Gavin Hows and Phil Dickens, both of whom coincidentally last ran cross country for the club in 2012. Hopefully we will not be waiting another 13 years for their next appearances. Alongside the usual suspects these two took us to another 2nd place behind Tonbridge.

There was plenty more strength in depth behind these twelve; we had 37 finishers, a new club record. We have not been idle in attracting new members since the end of last season: in addition to Alex we had seven others making their debut.

In the earlier over 70 race we had four starters including John Barron and Les Pullen both of whom have graduated to this age category since last season. John started impressively but unfortunately had to pull out with a hamstring issue leaving Mick Ellsmore (8th) our first finisher.

Young Age Groups (Mark Newell) : There was a good turnout from our younger age groups with 15 of the 36 on the day competing for the club over cross country for the first time.

In the under 13 girl's race, Peggy O'Leary (No 21) ran a well judged race, moving through the field to finish in 7th place. Charlotte Foster (No 211) and Lizzie Sanders (No 218) finished comfortably inside the top ten of the under 15 girl's race when finishing 2nd and 8th respectively. In the boy's under 15 race, Ayotunde Dauda looked effortless when placing 3rd.

Our best team performance came in the under 17 women's race. Elena Oliphant (No 403 5th), Meri Cummins (No 4027th) and Celia Allen (No 400 20th) ensured second place in the team competition. In the under 17 men's race, Olly Cook was first to finish for the club in 13th position. In her first season in the under 20 age group, Emer Tynan (N0 445) ran a good race to place 1st.

Under 13 Boys (Martin Johnson) : Five turned out for the under 13 boys for the opening league fixture, including three cross country debutants in Billy Jardine, Max Foster & Rafael Rosoga.

Max (No 88 16th) was first Harrier home, closely followed by Rafael (No 94 20th) and Harry Baldwin ( No 86 27th) to make our three scorers, before Callum Pattyson (36th) and Billy (57th) rounded off a solid team performance.

This was our home fixture: many thanks to everyone who helped with the organisation, course set-up, marshalling, etc. These events don't just happen of their own accord. It is nice to be responsible for the first one, now that it is out of the way we can relax and just concentrate on the running.

Hampshire Cross Country League, Kings Park, Bournemouth (Sat. 11th Oct.)

Having just started university at Bournemouth, reports Mark Newell, Amelia Lawrence represented her second claim club, Bournemouth AC, in the Hampshire Cross Country League at Kings Park. In the combined Senior/Under 20 Women’s race (over 6.3km’s) Amelia came 6th overall and more importantly, 1st in the Under 20 woman’s race in a time of 25:15.

We look forward to seeing Amelia having continued success in her athletics whilst at university.

Mourne SkyUltra 50km, Newcastle, Co. Down, Northern Ireland (Sat. 11th Oct.)

The SkyUltra is an undulating mountainous route that traverses the Mourne Mountains.

The classic Mourne SkyUltra is an iconic trail in Northern Irish mountain running. The 50km and 3,500m + elevation route encompasses many of the notable peaks of the northern Mourne Mountains including Slieve Donard, the highest mountain in Northern Ireland. It traverses a variety of technical and rocky trails and frequently requires hand holding on the impressive Mourne Wall. The route includes several challenging ascents such as the notorious Slieve Binnian and Slieve Meelbeg.

The first male finisher completed the race in 6:54:20, while the first female finisher completed it in 7:59:29.

Christian Poulton finished in 38th place overall, with a time of 10:18:11, placing 3rd in the M55 category.

Great Eastern Run incorporating Anne Hope 5km, Peterborough (Sun. 12th Oct.)

Cambridge Harriers in Cambridgeshire. Stephen Wood completed the Great Eastern Run half-marathon in a personal best 1:19:14. His daughter Piper (U15) recorded a new 5k personal best of 23:17 in the accompanying Anne Hope 5k.