Anyone know who the selectors are ?
Anyone know who the selectors are ?
John Downes might have been saying a thank you prayer, not many other people were. The whole bottom end of the course was like running through a stream.
I know, I ran through it!
Have you ever tried to run 7 kilometers in bare feet with thick mud in places? one hell of a tough challenge.
Awesome run by Phil, almost embarassing for the rest of us left trailiing behind. Sub 42 round that course in those conditions, which were truly awful(Belgrave website has some great photos!)is unbelievable. Spoke to Dave Taylor, who was also spectating, after the race and he has only run a minute quicker when it was bone dry in perfect conditions.
You're spot on with your assessment, I was thinking the same thing re similarity with runners from the 70s in terms of training and also racing mentality. Phil has clearly got the ability and form to be high up in the big ones ie. national & inter-counties so is going to make an impact in those races sooner rather than later.
Downesy ran a great race, he must be 38/39 now. Although it was wet and muddy the mud wasn't too deep. If it had been he'd have won!
Northampton results.
good wins for Sian Edwards and Tom Bark
Was warming up while sian was racing in combined race with u17 boys and she looked strong - the 2 river crossings with the back being about 2.5 feet deep caused many to fall- tuff course, mens race was 10km but only won outside 40 mins with some good athletes strugging further down the field
Results -
Back in the good old days a county cross title really meant something and to make the team for the inter-counties was a big achievement for club runners.
etc etc etc blah, blah, blah...
i would have loved the mud to have been much deeper - i would have used my awesome strength to win by more!!!!
Oxfordshire results
Another very muddy course. Easy victories for Ashton and Briscoe.
Wicks to win the national. You heard it here first.
UMMMM i just love cheese.
Not sure he has the ability to beat Riley, Vernon, Tickner etc... he's running well but one thing he hasn't done yet is produce in the big events.
How tough will it be to make a team of 9 ?
Farah pre-selected. Riley either recovering or on way to a marathon. Brown opting out for one reason or another. No sign of Keska. What does that leave us with ?
A Tickner or two, a Thompson or two, a Vernon or two. Skinner, Warmby on a good day. So if Wicks is anywhere near as good as some of you are suggesting then he will make the team. Time will tell.
McCormick perhaps to add. Ford. Bannister or Whalley. Davies. Abyu. Bowden perhaps.
You say it's not that hard to make the team but Tickner x 2, Vernon x 2, Skinner and Warmby are 6, add Farah and then you've only got two places. Not sure if he will make the team but I think he's definately a hope for the future and one of our better young runners, not quite on the top tier of British runners but one of the best of the rest.
Cheese Freak wrote:
Wicks to win the national. You heard it here first.
Win the National? If it's a muddy race I say Wicks for the world cross. These Kenyans might be pretty good on the track or the road, but give them a good old fashioned English mud-bath and they don't like it up 'em.
Dry race:
3rd) Zersenay Taddesse
2nd) Mica Kogo
1st) Sileshi Sihine
Wet race:
3rd) Mo Farah
2nd) John Downes
1st) Phil Wicks
By the way, I'm usually an advocate of having the Southern at Parly Hill but I'm certainly glad its not there this year given the conditions at all the county champs courses. Whatever the course is like at Holkham Hall there's no way it can be as bad as PH would be in a couple of weeks time.
Holkham is flat, good grass land, similar in kind to Wolaton park at Nottingham, it is in the grounds of a stately home. Guess it could be muddy but less likely than on heathland, and it is pretty flat.
Anyone know what the course is like in Sunderland. Flat, hilly, mudbath, all three? I hope so.
Also whats the course like at Stafford for this years Midlands. Heard it's at a school so i'll guess a lot of it will be around boring football fields.
Cheers.
Pete.
The Sunderland course was used for the North Eastern and by all accounts it is tough, muddy, hilly with lots of camber, and worryingly it is very narrow in a lot of places, lots of people saying 'how the hell they going to run the national on that!'.