Frank Tickner once again won the prestigious South of England Cross Country Championships at a very muddy Parliament Hill, London on Saturday February 16^th. This is the 2nd time Frank has won the trophy and he takes over from his older brother Ben who won last year. There was also some great running by a whole host of other junior and senior Harriers.

Photos of the event here

The Championships were re-arranged from their traditional date at the end of January due to the condition of the Hampstead Heath and the dangerous conditions following snow. The Harrier entry this year was less than half of the normal number due to the original clash with the Somerset Schools Championships, which ironically was also postponed. Those who had been entered and made their race were not to be disappointed however with the challenge that they faced.

In the u13 boys race Luke Baker was an excellent 146^th in a time of 12.49 for the approx 3,000m course, whilst Luke Macpherson, just old enough to compete, was a great 168^th in 13.13. In the u15 girls race Charlotte Baker had a fantastic 36^th place finish in 15.21 for the approx 4,000m course. Then, in the u17 women’s race Isobel Glaisher and Emily Smith recorded the best finish positions of the day for the juniors with a 6^th and 15^th place finish respectively. Isobel was home in19.18 and Emily in 20.15 for the approx 5,000m course.Isobel will be young enough to compete again at this age group next year.

The Senior men’s trophy has been contested for since the late 1800s and the race distance of 15km is reputedly the longest cross country championship racing distance in the world. With the start of this race, and all others, moved slightly up the hill this year and probably knocking a couple of hundred meters off the traditional distance, the muddy conditions especially as the last race of the day after hundreds of other feet had churned the course cannot be under-estimated.

Last year we had witnessed some great running, chasing and passing by Ben Tickner when he won the title at the Brighton venue. This year it was younger brother Frank’s turn again when Frank won the title in 48.10 and thus emulated his achievement on the same course of 2008. Frank is again aiming to be selected for the TeamGB squad to contest the World XC Championships later in the year.

Next man home at Parliament Hill was Adrian Marriott (V40) in an excellent 12^th place, 52.04. Both Adrian and Frank are Hon Life members of the Club for their athletic achievements over the years. Then came Nathan Young (u23) in a solid 43^rd place, 54.14. 4^th Harrier in was another Hon Life member Andy Hennessy in 112^th place, 58.52. Evergreen Steve Masters (V50) had another good run in 179^th place with 62.08 and then Paul Allen, 237^th in 65.07. Tom Dukes was 253^rd in 65.41; Ed Tickner (V60) 362^nd in 71.29 (did Ed get lapped by his son Frank on the multi-lap circuit?); and finally Rex Whitcombe 435^th in 76.41.

That’s a great set of results and the club continues to fly the flag for not only Somerset but the South-west at the Southern Championships. Some of the juniors now go on to compete at the Somerset Schools Championships on the 23^rd; whilst a number of the seniors will be competing at the National XC Championships being held at Sunderland on the same day. Good luck to all!