Parliament in session as runners tackle the hill – Farnham Herald
Parliament in session as runners tackle the hill Farnham Herald
NINE Farnham Runners chose to run at the iconic venue of Parliament Hill in the South of England cross-country championships on Saturday.
The course is renowned for its mud as it doesn’t drain well. This year, after lots of rain over the winter it earned its reputation, though some years it’s been even muddier. The ladies run over eight kilometres but the men take on the challenge of a 15k course.
Starting in pens stretched across about 100 metres, runners charge for position up a long and gruelling hill before coping with tough undulations and uneven mud.
There were almost 700 finishers in the ladies race, from all over the South of England. The Farnham Runners team came 47th of 70 full teams, with many others incomplete.
Louise Granell impressed with a confident run for 174th place in 36 minutes 48 seconds. Kayleigh Copeland was a strong second scorer in 40.30 (310th), with Lindsay Bamford in 42.29 (387th) and Linda Tyler in 42.48 (405th), final scorers for the team. In addition, Jane Georghiou and Kay Copeland clocked 45.19 (480th) and 48.17 (570th) respectively.
This year they were joined by three Farnham Runners men, though not enough for a team of six.
David Roy in 1.05.34 was 605th of almost 1,200 finishers, with Stuart Haig 747th in 1.08.18. Both are experienced ultra-distance runners so coped well with 15 kilometres of mud. Chris Cramp also made a good first attempt at this race, finishing in 1,008th place in 1.18.03.
The next day, 19 members of Farnham Runners took on the very different challenge of the Farnborough half-marathon, though not a league race. With more than 1,900 finishing, this race is a competitive event, yet seven Farnham Runners gained top-ten category places, while Douglas Blyth gained a new M75 club record.
William Sweeney was first Farnham athlete back in an impressive 1.23.56, with Harvey Wickham also finising in under one-and-a-half hours in 1.28.45.
Other times: Keith Marshall 1.33.56 (eighth M60), Neil Ambrose 1.34.37, Justin Clarke 1.34.50 (ninth M60), Stuart Williamson 1.35.41, Emma Pearson 1.37.16 (ninth F45), Damian Probett 1.37.12, Linda Tyler 1.40.30 (fourth F55), Billy McCulloch 1.42.26 (eighth F50), Chris Jackson 1.46.40 (sixth M65), Catherine Timson 1.51.21, Craig Tate-Grimes 1.51.41, Emma Campbell 1.58.22, Vicky Goodluck 2.09.26, Hayley Clayton 2.11.04, Jane Probett 2.15.24, Douglas Blyth 2.24.11 (fourth M75) , Lisa Hodgkinson 2.33.32.
