KFL Cross Country #5 – Allhallows –

Allhallows Rochester XC – A bit muddy! 

We travelled to Allhallows in Rochester this week for the fifth instalment of the XC season. Whilst there was frost on the ground, the sun was shining against a windless blue sky – bliss!

In spite of the perfect winter weather conditions, the thawed ground was treacherously slippy – there was an accident which required medical attention even before the race commenced. This delayed the start by approximately 15 minutes, with runners huddled together at the line, waiting for the whistle.

This course is “proper” cross country: one lap around a tufted, muddy field before rounding a corner which takes you out onto a beach. The silty sand, strewn with pebbles, leads onto a section of muddy sand with lots of holes to watch out for. Runners are faced with what is described as a “gully” which has apparently been growing year-on-year. There were two options: leap over or take the “stairs”, with a makeshift handrail of shovels. There were plenty of marshalls on hand to help anyone who fell into the hollow. After surviving the gully, there’s another stretch of sand which, up a stumpy hill, leads onto a stretch of grass before heading out onto tracks beside fields. Two kissing gates and a notable “puddle” later, runners are faced with the second lap. A chance to do it all again!

Some runners chose to wear spikes – these were the smart ones. There was no ability to gain any traction on the muddied tracks and, therefore, many runners were forced to take this one slowly. However, compared to last year, the weather was much more favourable and made for an altogether more enjoyable experience – right?!

In my estimation, the average number of falls per person was two. Everybody who crossed the finish line had some body part covered with mud. Some (Andy!) even went so far as to cover their entire bodies – this, I believe, was not intentional.

Once again, we had great representation with 24 runners from Thanet. Alex Dugard (8th) brought it home for the men’s team, closely followed by Will Coles (12th on Debut!) and Matt McCarthy (13th). Another fantastic top 10 finish for Georgie Judge (8th), followed by Brittany Crombie (16th) and Jo Kemp (30th).

But again a brilliant team effort with great scores throughout the age categories meaning team TRAC placed in 5th position in both the men’s and ladies competitions – this shows fantastic consistency and strength and depth throughout the whole club! 

Results

Overall Position	Gender Position	Runner	Time	Rtg
8	8	Alex Dugard	35:43:00	97.60
12	12	William Coles	36:31:00	96.23
13	13	Matt McCarthy	36:47:00	95.89
38	37	Jamie Hipgrave	39:20:00	87.67
46	45	Christopher Brenchley	39:54:00	84.93
63	60	Philip Morton	41:02:00	79.79
77	71	Mark Croucher	42:26:00	76.03
81	8	Georgie Judge	42:53:00	95.42
114	99	Phil Stevens	45:30:00	66.44
115	16	Brittany Crombie	45:36:00	90.20
143	118	Andy Jones	47:19:00	59.93
145	120	Mark Scholefield	47:26:00	59.25
156	130	Andrew Philpott	48:13:00	55.82
173	30	Joanne Kemp	49:34:00	81.05
192	157	Mike James	50:46:00	46.58
221	178	Stephen Forshaw	53:02:00	39.38
251	54	Joanne Holl	54:55:00	65.36
276	215	Oliver Northrop	57:08:00	26.71
287	221	Adrian Neaves	57:48:00	24.66
296	70	Samantha Hastie	58:23:00	54.90
300	73	Nicola Boyes	58:31:00	52.94
320	83	Abigail Hoss	01:00:54	46.41
327	242	Matthew Stanley	01:01:51	17.47
355	101	Tamasin Drumm	01:04:51	34.64

See below link for full XC results:

https://kfl.canterburyharriers.org/#

Thanks to all who joined us today for the penultimate race in the XC calendar. I hope everyone has their kit in the washing machine and is looking forward to the final race of the season on 23rd February at Blean Woods.

Next Club Championships / KGP is Sunday 16th February for the Deal Half Marathon. 

Thanks to Brittany Crombie and Jo Kemp for the race report, and Vic and Sam for the great photos.