Oxfordshire Cross Country League: Race 4 Cirencester
Preamble
After Round 3 at Horspath, one might have considered the hardest course of the season to have now been ‘done and dusted’. ‘Run and mudded’ might be a better way of phrasing it. However, by near unanimous consent of those runners who took part, both ERRs and also many friends from other clubs, the Cirencester course had other ideas and took us to a new level of challenge.
Those of us who had also braved the sludgefest of the SEAA South of England XC Champs the weekend before were (over-)confident that Cirencester would be a doddle in comparison. After all, it was only 5.4 miles instead of almost 9 miles, for the Men. But oh how we were wrong!
The course is usually one of the flatter, firmer races, with the short sharp hill near the finish the only notable ascent other than a tiny hillock half way along the valley. But the valley itself was another matter. Just mud. Thick, quagmired slop. But, hey ho, that’s XC for you, and so we ploughed on through. Times were therefore understandably slower for almost everyone in comparison to previous years, but it was a good event nonetheless and lots of hearty efforts were done.
Fortunately the route is pretty well-sheltered, and the fixture this year was in the middle of various very gusty winds of winter storms, but there was hardly anything to contend with windwise, as the shelter belts of broadleafed and coniferous woodland coupled with the dips of the locally lower elevation meant at least some respite from the wind, that was still asking questions. A brief blast of icy rain half way through the Men’s race was all we had to contend with really, although temperatures were probably hovering only around 6 or 7 degrees C so it was by no means warm.
Stalwartesses and stalwarts
At this stage of the season, things are starting to become clear, both in terms of the more elite end of the club in the annual inter-club league tables, but also in our very own fledgling ERR XC Club Championship. Prior to Cirencester it was a little difficult to make any firm conclusions as to either the likely candidates for the top prizes or who might be the stalwarts gunning for recognition of their excellent commitment to being ever-present, or nearly so. Now race 4 is under our belt, it seems highly timely to make mention of the 26 runners who have competed 3 or 4 times this season, who really do make a play by turning up, joining in, helping take down the tent, cheering up the day with their presence, smiles, and brave efforts out on the course.
Despite a part of my mind deceiving me on a regular basis, it really isn’t all about winning (not that I have personally won a huge amount at this point), and so I feel it is particularly important to witness, name and celebrate what is a very real camaraderie and lively spirit on race day, co-created by so many club members of all ages and speeds, chatting and joking away happily, whilst also sporting the white chevron, and representing the club so well.
‘Mention in Despatches’
So, irrespective of whether you’re gunning for a medal or a prize or not, or whatever your personal ambitions, motivations or reasons for running are, it’s high time to present an unofficial ‘Mention in Despatches’ to all of the following who have completed either the full complement of 4 races, or 3 races so far this season (listed below in reverse handicap order) … well done to each and every one of you for your time and effort. Keep it up! There’s Harwell still to come on March 6th too, so do please do come along for that final XC run of the season.
| Four races | Three races |
| Alexander Bishop | Jane Whitlock |
| Al Graham | Ewan MacDonald |
| Keith Baker | Kate Williamson |
| Jacky Pinnock | Lee Hillsdon |
| Graham Bridges | Cecilia Dahljso |
| Colin Hancox | Arthur McEwan-James |
| Kate Welsby | Nick Hardwick |
| Tony Whitlock | Dave Ferrier |
| Mark Creasey | Dafydd Warburton |
| Tess Evans | Mark Schofield |
| Hannah Hale | Tom Baker |
| Henry Hart | Jane Garton |
| Mark Baker | |
| Benedict Pollard |
Notable individual performances at Cirencester
It would also be remiss not to highlight the individual achievements of the race, with Hannah in very fine form looking back to her best, or certainly on her way there, with a 3rd placing in the Senior Ladies. The ERR Men again switched places in terms of first Man home, with Mark Baker taking the honours again, with a strong 16th place. Arthur did very well, with a best ever placing of 111, especially notable considering he and Mark Schofield had both run 20 miles+ on the Saturday. The Men also welcomed Matt ray back into the fold for the first time this season, and look forward to having him racing again at Harwell.
In the Ladies, Tess had another excellent run too and Cecilia her 2nd best of the season. Unfortunately both Kerry Lock and Beth Sonley were unavailable but we look forward to welcoming them back soon.
Highlights from the ERR handicap scores: it’s getting interesting!
Performance of the day was undoubtedly by Jane Garton, who brought home 49 points in the club handicap to push up into the current overall Club XC Champion position for the season. Men’s performance of the day was from Tom Baker, who collected the maximum award of 50 points as he outsprinted Graham at the finish and sealed his first ever A team placing. Much more to come from him in future, I would say. Strong and fast is a good combo for XC. This excellent run pushes him up into second overall place in the Championship, just 2 points behind Jane, and 1 ahead of myself in the competition for the Men’s Winner’s place.
Dafydd continues with steady improvement, and a strong 60th place. It really makes all the difference to the A team to have strong finishes all the way from runners 1 thru 7. He scored well in the handicap too, and climbs up the leaderboard into the top 10 as a result. Some other solid performances were put in by Mark Schofield, Dave Ferrier, Henry Hart, Mark Creasey and Bob Newby, with both of the Marks pushing up into the XC Club Champs Top 10 (listed below). The full handicap scores will be e-mailed separately.
Top 10 positions in the ERR Club XC Championship
| W/M | Name | Total | Slowest | Races |
| W | Jane Garton | 145 | ( – ) | 3 |
| M | Tom Baker | 143 | ( – ) | 3 |
| M | Benedict Pollard | 142 | (44) | 4 |
| M | Mark Baker | 139 | (35) | 4 |
| M | Henry Hart | 136 | (33) | 4 |
| W | Hannah Hale | 133 | (22) | 4 |
| W | Tess Evans | 130 | (26) | 4 |
| M | Mark Schofield | 128 | ( – ) | 3 |
| M | Dafydd Warburton | 126 | ( – ) | 3 |
| M | Mark Creasey | 122 | (29) | 4 |
Note: scores are based on your best 3 of 4 races, hence your weakest score (the number listed in the 4th column from the left) is dropped if you have run 4 races.
So, with one to play for, it’s all coming together nicely in the chase for top spot. A new proposal for this season is to also award prizes for 2nd and 3rd places in each of the Men’s and Women’s categories to recognise more of those who have really put in a stint over the season, in addition to the medal for racing all 5 races. So, there’s a little added late-season motivation.
Oxfordshire Cross-Country League team positions: season update
In the Leagues, Eynsham Men were 6th on the day, and are now in 7th place in Division 1, and unfortunately back in the relegation battle. A full-strength team might have been up in 3rd or 4th place overall but let’s congratulate those who have run, as it means we’re still in with a fighting chance of retaining our Division 1 status (for what that’s worth). Interestingly, as things stand, it’s still possible for four teams to be relegated from Division 1, and the turnout and level of grittiness on display at Harwell will go a long way to deciding our final position this season. All hands to the deck please chaps!
The Ladies are sitting healthily in third in Division 2, but it’s probably a leap too far to aim for Division 1 this season, but it’s perhaps good to take a long-term view of these things, and always keep next season in mind.
For me, its steady, consistent improvement both as an individual and as a team that makes the mark of success in running, whilst we also learn navigate the inevitable ups and downs.
Thanks
Final words of thanks are for Jane, John and Alexander Bishop for arranging the tent swap and setting it up pre-race, especially seeing as the pegs had gone missing (and still are)! Also to Graham for his knowledge of creating Excel formulae to help with calculating the handicap scores.
BP
16/02/2016
Here is Graham’s original piece with the race results
[This is a ‘just the facts’ piece in advance of Benedict’s report.] As it was the first Club Championship/Short League fixture of 2016 it is also a chance to show people’s points and make sure that everyone has been put into the correct league.
The ERR ladies lie 3rd in Division 2, while the men are 7th in Division 1, so in the relegation zone, but with plenty of opportunity to ‘escape’ in the final round at Harwell next month.
| Race | Forename | Surname | Position | Time | CC Pts | SL Pts |
| U11 Boys | ||||||
| Alexander | Bishop | 21 | ||||
| Women | ||||||
| Hannah | Hale | 3 | 26.12 | 50 | ||
| Tess | Evans | 47 | 33.16 | 49 | ||
| Jackie | Pinnock | 74 | 36.09 | 48 | ||
| Jane | Garton | 77 | 36.23 | 50 | ||
| Cecilia | Dahlsio | 83 | 37.04 | |||
| Jane | Whitlock | 109 | 42.08 | 49 | ||
| Kate | Welsby | 114 | 43.39 | 48 | ||
| Men | ||||||
| Mark | Baker | 16 | 37.52 | 50 | ||
| Benedict | Pollard | 24 | 38.38 | 50 | ||
| Henry | Hart | 40 | 39.56 | |||
| Dafydd | Warburton | 60 | 41.31 | 49 | ||
| Dave | Ferrier | 81 | 42.53 | 48 | ||
| Tom | Baker | 88 | 43.12 | 49 | ||
| Graham | Bridges | 89 | 43.16 | 47 | ||
| Matt | Ray | 99 | 44.16 | |||
| Arthur | McEwan-James | 111 | 45.48 | 46 | ||
| Ewan | Macdonald | 143 | 47.21 | 45 | ||
| Mark | Schofield | 151 | 48.04 | 48 | ||
| Robert | Newby | 153 | 48.09 | 44 | ||
| Mark | Creasey | 155 | 48.14 | 43 | ||
| Tony | Whitlock | 198 | 54.48 | 42 | ||
| Alastair | Graham | 203 | 55.11 | 47 | ||
| Colin | Hancox | 204 | 55.11 | 41 | ||
| Keith | Baker | 222 | 61.55 | 40 |
