Our women once more showed the way with fine performances to finish 11th again and consolidate their position overall. Sadly we were missing our seven fastest men and could turn out only six on the day too. It was good to see Mike Turner and Katrina Patching there after such long-standing injuries, if only to lend their verbal support, but sad that Chris Marshall was forced to stand on the sidelines after illness. Les Humphrey managed to cmplete a full house, having taken part in every one of the seven races this season.
Race report - Rob Bright
The curtain came down on another successful season on the windswept slopes of Shooters Hill on Sunday with nearly 300 runners contesting the tough 9 kilometres of woodland paths with sweeping descents.
Larkfield AC won their first team race of the season in a Kent Fitness League League match at Eltham, but they were unable to claw back the huge lead which Paddock Wood AC had amassed throughout the season.
Paddock Wood were missing their leading runners James Ridger and Tina Oldershaw and they were pushed down into 4th place on the day, but they hung on to a 4 point lead at the top of the table with Rob Rowland and Mickael Hegesippe leading them home in 16th and 17th places.
Last year’s champion Andy Pickett of Dartford Harriers led the field from start to finish ahead of a couple of guest runners. Officially second and third were Chris Wyles (New Eltham) and Sam Murphy (Sittingbourne) who have both been consistently good throughout the season.
Debbie Percival, champion in 2004 of Istead and Ifield Harriers was the leading lady home. Cara Oliver (now Dartford Harriers) made a rare appearance in the league to finish second with Marnie Ellison (Dartford RR) just getting the advantage over Janet Cobby for third.
So, with neither of them actually contesting the final race, Mike Baron(Swanley AC) and Tina Oldershaw (Paddock Wood) were crowned champions of the 7-race series. Mike becomes (to the best of my knowledge) the oldest of our champions at the age of 48, having consistently been our leading veteran in recent years.
Thanks to Ray Marshall and all the people of PlumsteadRunners who put on the race and ensured that 290 people finished safely. Although there were a small number dropping out, I don’t believe there were any casualties on the circuit. Thank you to all who have supported our races over the winter and let me know if you have any suggestions for rule changes, new venues etc.