Fen Ditton Dash 2007
By Leika Gooneratne
The reputation of a race usually associated with extraordinary weather (horizontal hail blizzards, snow) and set in the chills of late January, in addition to a gloomy forecast, did nothing to deter the sun from bursting forth through the clouds at two o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. As such, despite the fields being waterclogged and "claggy,"1 and the wind being adamant on impeding the runners, at least there was more sun in that hour than Britain had seen in a week.
In light of this (no pun intended), the girls set off happily on a 5.7km rapid tramp through Fen Ditton, over a tin railway bridge, across muddy fields, curving round a tarmac road and back along the grassy river path. Despite leading in the first dog-leg, a rigorous hill session the previous day and Charlotte Forbes' attentive tracking soon wore Polly Keen down, and the New Haller was overtaken by the Girtonian who won with a lead of 10 seconds. Despite their young ages, the two girls are incredibly accomplished and have much to be proud about. Harriet Owles (Selwyn), Lauren Barklie (Magdalene) and Jane Mackey (Selwyn), all relatively new on the competitive distance running scene and improving from strength to strength, also did remarkably well, and easily clinched third, fourth and fifth place respectively. Alex Bell and Jo Melluish completed the Selwyn set to win the Women's Race for Selwyn, maintaining their dominance in the Chris Brasher College League.
In the 8.1km Men's race, Blues' runner James Kelly (Jesus) was the undisputed winner, completing the run in just over 28mins. James Appleton (Girton) had an inspiring run coming second. He has been improving almost exponentially this year and would have been a strong contender for the Cambridge BUSA 'A' team, for which the Fen Ditton Dash forms part of the selection procedure, had he not forgone taking part in the all university cross-country race. Ulrich Paquet (Wolfson), this year's King's Spartan who ran in the Varsity Blues race after being informed less than six hours in advance, once again displayed his dauntlessness for a speedy third place. Lee Harper (Clare) nabbed fourth place with a nifty run, followed by Andrew Duncan (Girton) who this year, has been instrumental in generating one of the most familial college teams ever. With two Girtonians already in the top five, their victory was easily secured with the help of Si Rutherford, who himself had completed an exhausting 16 mile run just that morning, Chris Watson and others. In Division II, Wolfson, as well as fielding three full teams, retains its victory with a massive lead.
Once again, a great deal of gratitude is owed to Captain Claire Day and the League Organisers James Gill and Ali Connell who organised the race. Also many thanks to Carol Schweichler, Mark Coley and Dr Thorne for very efficiently sorting out the results and time-keeping and to all the marshals who helped out on the day -- your presence is invaluable as always.
- "Claggy" = a mixture of clag and ee, adjective of clag (Captain Claire Day's dictionary); OR "Claggy" = said of a roof in a mine to which coal clings (Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, proving that Claire did far too much caving at training camp).