National Cross-country Championships 2006
By Owain Bristow
This year the event older than the Varsity Match was staged at the spiritual home of cross-country: Parliament Hill, London. For those who haven't cantered over this course before, the name doesn't lie, the start and most of the rest of the course is run up a big hill. If you're not going up you're going down and if you are doing neither than you are most likely to be ankle deep in mud. In fact the flattest nicest bit of the course is the finishing straight, but even this was made challenging this year by a strong and icy wind. If it had rained, as in 2002, things would really have got interesting, but thankfully it stayed dry (above the knees).
With all this in mind a small but select bunch of Hareys made the bus/train journey to the hill, eager to make the most of cross-country as the season starts to draw to a close.
First "over the top" was Erica Thompson in the Junior Women's 5km, enjoying the relatively unsullied conditions she went on to place 69th. Soon after this was the Junior Men's race, featuring a quintet of fearless Cambridge runners engaging in a 10km battle of determination. Owain Bristow led them home in 22nd place, battling past GB Junior International Kelvin Hardy in the closing 1000m before being out-kicked by Varsity sixth placer Richard Franzese with 50m to go. Not too far behind him were Matt Grant (68th), Lee Harper (94th), both making the top 100, with Richard Mathie (115th) and Andrew Duncan (127th) completing the Harey contingent. Andrew's Manx team-mate Keith Gerrard went on to pick up a bronze medal, while Andy Vernon of Lee's club took the individual title and ensured AFD's team title.
Next up was the Senior Women's 8km in which Silke Pichler and Sarah Kummerfeld mixed it with England's best to finish a minute apart in 126th and 160th respectively. The final race of the day was the big one, the Senior Men's 12km. Watching the field of 1300+ runners charge up the opening hill is truly an awesome site to behold, and probably even more fun if you're in the middle of it. At the sharp end of proceedings BUSA champion Frank Tickner had to concede victory to Peter "12x800 in 2min15" Riley. Back in the masses Matt Sims and Si Rutherford battled through the dry mud and the wet mud and the clingy mud and the deep mud to tame the monster. Matt, contesting his first Senior National, came home strongly in 214th place, beating alumni Darren Talbot (361st). Captain Si achieved his best placing yet, finishing in 394th place, up 20 from last year.
Aside from the two-hour wait for a Cambridge bound National Express, the day went splendidly, everyone managing to apply the Magnus Magnusson philosophy successfully. The Southern XC Champs are back at Parliament Hill next year: don't miss out!