Cross-Country Report 2010

Following on from the English Schools Cross-Country Championships in Manchester last weekend, one of the main impressions that I have is how I am always amazed by the enthusiasm, hard work and determination of Dorset athletes year after year. One of the joys of managing the team is seeing the mix of established runners and new faces, eager to establish themselves as part of the team. On the one hand, experience, training, even the confidence born of familiarity; on the other, as-yet untried talent coming to the fore. This year I had the opportunity of greeting all of the athletes into the finishing tent at Manchester, and it was a thrill to see the grins (admittedly tinged with high levels of exhaustion!) on so many faces: young men and women who could see the culmination of all those weeks of dedicated training finally paying off!

So to the three rounds, and perhaps even more than usual, they couldn’t have been more different:

The Dorset Schools Championships on the 4^th February at King’s Park. We have used this venue for a number of years now, and I would like to thank Alan Ridout and his team for their hard work in providing a good quality, varied course that offers excellent spectator opportunities and a challenge for all standards of runner. The results are on the Dorset Schools AA website.

Truro was the venue for the South-West Schools Cross-Country Championships. As in years past, we were impressed but not surprised by the high standard of organisation from Cornwall Schools AA. The course at Truro School was on a series of terraces linked by short, steep sections that proved tougher than many runners expected. However, there were also some faster loops for those who like a flatter run. Accommodation for teams was under cover, which was excellent. The only downside was the unavoidable clash with the National Cross-Country Championships in Leeds, which made it hard for any of the counties to field a full team. Nevertheless, it was good to see that, whether in Leeds or in Truro that day, Dorset’s athletes acquitted themselves well, and several of them were able to use their performances on the 27^th February in a successful bid to compete in the Mini London Marathon later this Spring. We look forward to seeing them run there. It did make it harder for us to select runners for the English Schools Championships, however, as we had to balance performances from both events! My thanks to Liz Scott and Jan Westhenry, who travelled down on the team coach and managed teams on the day, as well as Rupert Pepper, Dave Barlow and Quentin Craddock, who also managed teams despite having their own athletes to look out for.

Finally to the English Schools Cross-Country Championships in Heaton Park in Manchester on the 20^th March.

This event was also in conflict with another major event: the National Biathlon Championships at Crystal Palace. With several Dorset athletes involved, including some top-ranked Biathletes, it was always going to be a difficult decision. A few runners were also hit by injury in the interval, which must have been desperately disappointing for them. I wish them well in their recovery. Nonetheless, we were able to field full scoring teams in all events, and in a couple of events we didn’t need to call upon reserves. Once there, everyone – whether “top flight” runners or reserves – did us proud, especially given how difficult the running conditions became during the course of the afternoon. Manchester managed to produce a fantastic venue, with excellent access and facilities, even though continual rain turned it into a veritable quagmire. As one Senior Boy delighted in telling me after his race: “We had to use our hands to get up the slope!” Since I was obliged to drive up on the day with the team minibus, I must make a special mention for the Courtneys, who kindly took up the team envelopes for me the night before and who set up “base camp” for Dorset. They, along with Janet Letherby, Jan Westhenry, Dave Barlow and Quentin Craddock managed teams, and provided much-needed organisation, encouragement and wisdom for our young athletes. All of the results for the day are on the English Schools AA website: www.esaa.net. (There was originally a mistake with the Junior Boys results, but this has since been corrected and the true results are now posted.)

Performances for Dorset runners taken from the results produced by the organisers:

South-West Schools Cross-Country Championships, 27^th February 2010:
Minor Girls:		Minor Boys:			Junior Girls:
14	Abbie Hine	7	Lewis Golden		5	Isobel Glaisher
15	Alex Phillips	24	George Bourne		17	Hermione Seymour
16	Tara Chittenden	27	Kingsley Wellman		20	Layla Felgate
17	Annabel Arnold	37	Harry Middleton		22	Abigail Dare
30	Ella Morley	45	Toto Gandiya		43	Honor Slade
43	Verity Hayter	48	Fin Cruse-Drew		49	Anna Roberts-Wray
48	Mikayla Curtis	54	Sam Scarratt		54	Elizabeth Fernley
49	Abbie Logan	55	Tim Rutland		60	Emily Elliott
58	Lucy Gray				63	Rebecca Bowles
61	Sophie Rogers
Junior Boys:		Inter Girls:			Inter Boys:
3	Ben Wilson	17	Siobhan Stewart		7	Ben Westhenry
7	Joshua Nevin	27	Bethan Cramer		37	Oli Caudwell
12	Andrew Smith	38	Lauren Willows		43	Jamie Grose
21	Tom East	39	Chloe Taylor		45	Tom Austin
24	Connor Heath	50	Lizzie Harris		48	Ryan Davison
31	Eddie Clements	51	Megan Edwards		50	Harry Lane
34	Ryan Walbridge	61	Sarah Warren		52	Jack Rumens
39	Jake Willingham	64	Jemma Bawa		57	Oliver Teenan
42	Declan Toth	65	Steffi Wilson		59	Tom Hole
47	Stanley Parker				60	Tim Rogers
Senior Girls:		Senior Boys:
6	Joanna Freeman	15	Alex Samson
18	Olivia Kennard	23	Conor Mugan
21	Emily Boon	28	David Freeman
22	Sam Moxey	33	Hugo Dale
24	Jess Belford	36	Alex Van Tuyl
33	Daisy Crichton	47	Charlie Hensher
44	Olivia Frost	48	James Evans
45	Tabbie Cameron
46	Maria Moxey
English Schools Cross-Country Championships, Heaton Park, 20^th March 2010:
Aggregate Scores for “C” Counties:
Boys: 2^nd (2270 points)				Girls: 5^th (2806 points)
Junior Girls: 20^th		Inter Girls: 38^th			Senior Girls: 17th
14	Isobel Glaisher	172	Africa Mason		7	Melissa Courtney
127	Hermione Seymour	177	Bethan Cramer		47	Joanna Freeman
159	Layla Felgate	179	Siobhan Stewart		91	Katie Allen
168	Beth Letherby	203	Megan Edwards		140	Olivia Kennard
174	Abigail Dare	249	Lauren Willows		160	Samantha Moxey
190	Georgie Hoff	332	Sophie Allen		217	Jess Belford
205	Olivia Esposti				254	Daisy Crichton
268	Honor Slade
Junior Boys: 14^th		Inter Boys: 20^th			Senior Boys: 28^th
5	Ben Wilson	51	Ben Westhenry		41	Adam Sloan
29	Josh Nevin	64	Fergus O’Reilly		42	Richard Horton
73	Andrew Smith	130	Nick Tauwhare		183	David Freeman
86	Connor Heath	150	Oli Caudwell		198	Hugo Dale
183	Ryan Walbridge	172	Tom Austin		206	Conor Mugan
224	Declan Toth	190	Jamie Grose		213	Alex Samson
313	Jake Willingham	264	Ryan Davison		293	Charlie Hensher
		278	Harry Lane		294	James Evans

One final footnote: I would like to pay my personal tribute to Peter Fryer, who for many years has proved to be the steering force behind Dorset athletics. In February he finally said his farewells to move to the Midlands. I cannot express how much I owe to him for his hard work, wisdom and leadership. The number of Dorset’s pupils who owe him a debt of gratitude must be beyond measure. We all wish him and Brenda a long and happy retirement.

Ian Denison

23^rd March 2010