KFL Cross Country #6 – Blean Woods –

Team TRAC end the season in fantastic 5th place in KFL league after final XC of the season at Blean Woods

Today saw the close of the 2024-25 KFL Cross Country season. We travelled to Canterbury’s Blean Woods for the final instalment, where there were significantly fewer runners than the first race of the season in Swanley. Whether this is because it was the final race, a result of the Facebook posts of sodden tracks, or fear instilled from last year’s race at Blean – who knows! Regardless, TRAC took a solid team to say goodbye to the trails for this year.

With rain the previous day and night, the trails were unsurprisingly muddy and slippy. Debates about trail shoes versus spikes were happening as usual, as runners weighed up the pros and cons as they warmed up around the grounds.

The route starts with one full lap of an open field, clambering over a tufty, boggy section of grass before heading into the namesake woods. Last year the entrance / exit to the woodlands was guarded by an inflatable crocodile, perched in what you could very justifiably refer to as a “pond”. To our delight, the “pond” was more of a puddle today in spite of the overnight rain and Facebook warnings from the Canterbury Harriers. Through the standing water, you emerge into a tight wooded area which opens out onto a paved path. After rounding a corner, runners weave in and out, up and down tracks. Runners need to stay focused and beware any low-laying branches or protruding roots. 

At the mid-way point, there’s a slowly inclining tractor track which, as expected, was slippy and posed some problems for those with tiring legs. The course loops round and connects back onto the path. From there, it’s a run through the woods, back through the pond / puddle, and out into the field. Greeted by a decent headwind, runners scampered over the uneven grass (keeping both shoes on, wherever possible) before the final stretch across the finish line.

There was both a great number of runners and spectators there today. A big shout out to Ade and his foghorn voice cheering everybody on. There were lots of smiles as runners crossed the finish line for the final time this season – what I can only assume are smiles of relief that they don’t have to run around a muddy field on a Sunday morning for at least another year!

Thank you to everybody who took part this year to make it our most well-attended XC season to date. It was a joy to spend these mornings with you out on the trails. As ever, there was mud and cake galore – both essential parts of Cross Country! We hope to see even more of you out there next year.

Well done to all 20 TRAC runners who took on the challenge and completed Blean Woods, some competitive results below. 

The men’s team had some fantastic results throughout the age gradings, resulting in the team securing 3rd place this week. With the Ladies team, always so well supported securing 6th place, meaning that overall team TRAC placing 4th at Blean. 

First men back this week were Alex Dugard (8th), Will Coles (12th) and Matt McCarthy (14th). Brittany Crombie (15th) led back the ladies team, supported by Jo Kemp (32nd) and Jo Holl (42nd).

Results at Blean Woods Canterbury

Overall Position	Gender Position	Runner	Time	Rtg
8	8	Alex Dugard	31:43:00	97.07
12	12	William Coles	32:16:00	95.40
14	14	Matt McCarthy	32:31:00	94.56
22	22	Adam Foster	33:39:00	91.21
38	37	Christopher Brenchley	34:40:00	84.94
43	42	Mark Croucher	34:58:00	82.85
48	45	Jamie Hipgrave	35:39:00	81.59
85	75	Phil Stevens	38:15:00	69.04
88	78	Andy Jones	38:25:00	67.78
106	15	Brittany Crombie	39:41:00	88.33
112	97	Mark Scholefield	39:49:00	59.83
122	104	Andrew Philpott	40:17:00	56.90
175	32	Joanne Kemp	43:22:00	74.17
186	148	Stephen Forshaw	44:02:00	38.49
195	42	Joanne Holl	44:23:00	65.83
203	45	Julie Williams	44:54:00	63.33
229	56	Tamasin Drumm	46:34:00	54.17
250	65	Nicola Boyes	48:04:00	46.67
292	209	Matthew Stanley	51:35:00	12.97
332	227	Tim Kerr	59:40:00	5.44

XC Season Roundup

Team TRAC finished the season with a fantastic 5th place overall, just 2 points behind 3rd! This shows how well supported both the Mens and Ladies teams were this year, and importantly throughout the age categories, where the points are secured. Well done to all Team members, everyone’s results count and push down points of the scoring runners they beat from other teams. 

Thanks again to all who participated – amazingly 49 of us attended at least one race!  Congratulations to the following who managed all 6 races this year!

Alex Dugard, Matt McCarthy, Chris Brenchley

Brittany Crombie, Jo Kemp, Nikki Boyes.

Thanks to all involved behind the scenes, from lugging about the Gazebo, to taking photos of us at our best!, to making cakes or updating the web and socials. And to all the volunteers who made the home leg at Minnis run smoothly for everyone to enjoy! And thanks to Brittany for all the race reports, she has such a great way with words to describe the days, leaving me to do the maths bits! 

Hope to see you all again next year! 

Men’s Seasons Results

Season Position	Runner	Age	Team Age Placing	Number of Runs
7	Alex Dugard	32	1st Senior	6
18	Lee Hardie	46	1st V40	4
22	Matt McCarthy	46	2nd V40	6
29	Adam Foster	32	2nd Senior	5
43	Christopher Brenchley	53	1st V50	6
47	Jamie Hipgrave	40	3rd V40	4
52	Philip Morton	52	2nd V50	5
67	Mark Croucher	40		5
70	Phil Stevens	57	3rd V50	5
85	Chris Pascoe	45		4
86	Robbie Weatherley-Day	38	3rd Senior	4
103	Andy Jones	59		4
161	Mike James	64	1st V60	5
225	Adrian Neaves	54		4
240	Matthew Stanley	53		5

(Per the official KFL results page) ‘’The following do not qualify for the championship standings as they have not competed in enough races. They are ordered firstly by the number of races they have competed in and then by rating’’. 

I would like to say thank you and well done as said previously all contributes to the team standings. 

300	Alex Hoss	32		3
314	Mark Scholefield	51		3
317	Chris Brown	41		3
323	Andrew Philpott	51		3
354	Oliver Northrop	51		3
368	Tim Kerr	64		3
378	William Coles	42		2
392	Matt Finch	45		2
407	James Newing	49		2
416	Elliott Cobb-Webb	33		2
427	Stephen Forshaw	55		2
444	Spencer Hoult	51		2
450	Peter Heath	67		2
476	Louis Eldred	17		1
482	Jude Wood	26		1

Ladies Seasons Results

Season Position	Runner	Age	Team Age Placing	Number of Runs
14	Brittany Crombie	26	1st Senior	6
29	Joanne Kemp	43	1st V35	6
42	Julie Williams	59	1st V55	4
45	Joanne Holl	58	2nd V55	4
64	Nicola Boyes	58	3rd V55	6
88	Janet Morgan	66	1st V65	4

(Per the official KFL results page) ‘’The following do not qualify for the championship standings as they have not competed in enough races. They are ordered firstly by the number of races they have competed in and then by rating’’. 

I would like to say thank you and well done as said previously all contributes to the team standings. 

130	Georgie Judge	24		3
156	Abigail Hoss	34		3
157	Tamasin Drumm	35		3
175	Elizabeth Brown	43		3
179	Anna Harrison	54		3
206	Gemma Barnes	35		2
219	Holly Cobb-Webb	30		2
223	Samantha Hastie	44		2
225	Sharon Mcavoy	62		2
248	Sorcha Page	50		2
259	Alison Smith	60		2
275	Asmaa Hatim	29		1
327	Janice Lee-Miller	57		1

Combined Team Standings

Rank	Club	Match						Best 5	Total
		1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Petts Wood Runners	18	17	17	18	18	17	88	105
2	Sevenoaks AC	17	18	18	16	17	18	88	104
3	Canterbury H	14	14	14	15	15	16	74	88
4	Paddock Wood AC	15	16	12	14	16	13	74	86
5	Thanet RR	13	13	13	17	14	15	72	85
6	Medway & Mstn AC	10	15	15	12	13	14	69	79
7	Dartford H	16	11	16	13	7	4	63	67
8	Istead & Ifield H	11	12	11	11	12	11	57	68
9	NEJ Running Club	12	10	10	10	11	12	55	65
10	Maidstone H	7	9	9	8	10	6	43	49
11	Dartford RR	9	8	8	9	5	7	41	46
12	Swanley & Dist AC	8	4	7	7	6	9	37	41
13	Bromley Vets AC	4	7	5	6	9	10	37	41
14	Larkfield AC	6	6	6	5	8	5	31	36
15	Sittingbourne Str	3	5	4	4	4	8	25	28
16	Plumstead Rnnrs	5	1	3	3	3	2	16	17
17	Deal Tri Club	2	3	1	2	2	3	12	13
18	Gravesend RR & AC	1	2	2	1	1	1	7

Thank you to Brittany Crombie and Jo Kemp for the race report. 

Next Club Championships / Kent Grand Prix race is Sunday 2nd March – Dartford Half. 

See below link for full XC results:

https://kfl.canterburyharriers.org/#

See below link for race video: