Metropolitan League XC 2017-18 – Race 4 Wormwood Scrubbs, January 13th

VPTHAC X Country Teams Scrub up well at Wormwood!

The penultimate Met League Fixture saw 33 men and 13 VPH women descend to the iconic Scrubbs for a fast, flat and furious race set against the backdrop of the prison.  Unusually there was a distinct lack of mud for this time of year which provided for some spectacular finishes and some very speedy individual times were clocked. It also marked the highest turnout ever for a 4^th met league fixture for the men with 540 and an overall record of 260 for the women, testament to how popular x country is becoming and the high standard of this league.

 

Again it was the juniors who stole the show with some heroic team efforts. The Under 11 Boys finished in second and are first overall with the title firmly in their sights as we head towards the final fixture. The scoring quartet were Edgar (7^th), Edison (9^th), Tom (14^th) and Jaydon (19^th) all having fantastic cross country seasons. The Under 11 girls also had a good run out finishing in 4^th on the day and cementing 3^rd place in the overall standings. But the team performance of the day was undoubtedly the under 13 girls who finished in first spot led home by Ruby Naughton (2^nd), followed by Kiera, Nancy and Amina. In the Junior Men’s race Luca had a very strong run to finish inside the top ten with Keo and Theo in (30^th) and (31^st). The Junior women rounded off a successful afternoon putting in another consistent performance and a cracking individual run from Myla to finish 9^th and help the team get 4^th place and maintain 3^rd spot overall.

Under 13 Girls

 

Despite the Women’s A team sagging to 4^th spot they were able to hold their own in a very strong crammed field, Rachel in (12^th), Sophie (26^th), Annie (30^th), Hannah (32nd), Kelly (37^th) and Emma (47^th). A high turnout at the next fixture could see us back in contention for third spot. On the other hand our B team are looking unstoppable at the top of Division 3 with storming runs from Jo (65^th), Catherine (73^rd), Faye (76^th) and Cheryl (104^th). Special mention to Catherine who was in the throes of bronchitis yet still managed to run and cheer (shout) on the men and even used her vocal ability to help the officials with crowd control at the finish funnel.

Alison fending off a Serpie

 

In the men’s event a bronzed Paul Martelletti made a welcome return to the Met League and didn’t fail to disappoint his fans smashing it around to finish very strongly in an impressive 4^th position overall. He wasn’t the only one with a strong finish and David Jones nabbed the fastest Strava finish segment of the day and made up about ten places with a devastating sprint to the line in (66^th). Aaron continued his fine form and just seems to get better and better after every race (one to watch for next years Most Improved Athlete), finishing in (37^th), shadowed by Josselin in (38^th), James Cordwell (55^th), Ewan (72^nd), Andrew B (73^rd), Paul (75^th), Steve (82^nd), Fabien (90^th), William Kirk (93rd), Andrew Hodgetts (127^th) and Tony MacDowall completing the team in (132nd).  Another consistent performance from the As meant a 5^th place finish on the day and 6^th place overall in Division One.

 

A solid effort from our B Team meant that they finished in 3^rd spot with our C team also doing well in 7^th in Division 3.

 

We are fast becoming the Club for ‘Old Gits,’ with the standout team performance for the men being the VETs who finished top of Division 1 and the B team top of Division 3, with some fine running from Anthony, Simeon and Andre to add to the points tally.

David Jones - almost too quick for the camera

It was a great team effort for the club continuing the high bench mark we set in Claybury back in October, let’s keep the pressure on for the 5^th and final fixture at Trent Park on February 10^th. The course is guaranteed to be, lumpy, muddy and hilly with some great views and there will no doubt be some celebratory drinks to toast an excellent X Country Season in a local drinking establishment after.