Saturday November 14th saw the most important race of the CUH&H season thus far. Cuppers is not only a hotly contested affair in its own right – a chance to get your college’s hand on some silverware – but the final race before Varsity. With team spots up for grabs, it’s all to play for.
A horrendous forecast for Saturday lead to a late decision to move the men’s race forward an hour. This turned out to be a stroke of logistical genius given the amount of rain that was lashing down at 2:30 when the men’s race was originally due to start.
Josh Carr and Ollie Fox shared the spoils, running hand-in-hand across the finishing line in a time of 32:02 over 9.7k. The Captain, however, was aggrieved to find himself placed second in the final standings. Phil Crout (32:31) ran strongly to finish third, and impressive runs from Kelvin Gomez, MacGreggor Cox, Billy Pinder and Paddy Roddy (after an impressive return from injury) saw them earn Blues selection. They will be joined at Wimbledon Common by Fresher George Gathercole. In the battle for second team places, there were particularly impressive runs from Joe Bowness (another injury returnee) and Henry McTernan, flying a solo flag for Christ’s.
Robinson were runaway winners in the college competition, revealing their strength and depth by placing 1st, 6th, 10th, 17th and 19th. They were followed by Jesus and Sidney in second and third places respectively
The women followed, completing 6k over two laps of Wandlebury. Katy Hedgethorne was a clear victor with a highly impressive time of 22:16, over three minutes faster than she ran in her first year. She was followed by two Pembroke Freshers—Ella Hughes (22:56) and Lizzie Apsley (23:14). All three cemented their Blues places, alongside Emily Ruane, Alison Greggor, Sarah Lovewell and Liz Mooney. Carrie Beadle, Chloë Beckett and Kate Curran all ran well to secure second team places.
In the college competition, Pembroke, having claimed second and third places, were in first place, followed by Homerton and Christ’s.
All in all, two very promising races suggest that the Hare and Hounds will be in excellent shape for the seven Varsity races taking place in the coming weeks.