Silver Machine

Congratulations to the Senior Men’s squad on a fantastic team silver at the Southern Cross Country Championships on Saturday 27 January at Beckenham Place Park. And to the super-consistent U13 Boys who also graced the medal rostrum. First home was Theo Creed, who led for most of the first half of the race, and was only outsprinted at the end to finish in fifth. James Fraser was tenth, with Max Harrison in 61st and Thomas Hennigan closing the scoring team in 65th. 

The goal for the Senior Men was to go one better than last year's bronze – the first team medals since 1974, and when the entries were submitted before Christmas for this, the biggest and most fiercely contested of the three regional Championships, there was a real buzz of expectation based on the wealth of talent ready and raring to race.

It is of course exceptional for any club to make it to race day without losing at least a sprinkling of athletes to injury and illness, and so it played out, as messages of apology and regret pinged onto the group chat. Nevertheless it is yet another measure of how far this squad has come that where there were dropouts there were others eager to step up, and with four of the six medal winners from last year on the start line the belief never waivered.

'I love the atmosphere this race creates within the squad – everyone was pumped and focused', says former team captain Fred Slemeck, who ran in his first Southern Championships a decade ago in 2014, when he was first man home in 41st on Parliament Hill with the team finishing in 12th. He missed the following year's race which saw a 23rd team placing, but from 2016 there has been steady progress from 13th to 7th in 2017, 5th in 2018, 6th in 2019 and two years of finishing in fourth before last year's breakthrough into the medals. 'To build on our bronze from last year is a fantastic achievement and shows how the squad continues to push each other on', says Fred. 'We’ve now gone 4,3,2 over the last three editions – let’s hope we continue that progression next year!'

This year's 15km challenge – the toughest distance in the cross country calendar – saw a tweaked course stretched over two big laps to shrink lapping to a minimum. 'It was great, with a bit of everything, including one monster hill (which you run up twice) that gets steeper and steeper', says Fred, who acknowledged that running on the South Downs since his move to Winchester has 'definitely helped there'.

First across the finish line for HW was GB International Stuart McCallum, coming back to form after injury. He took the early part of the race steadily, sitting in the mid-twenties, then worked his way through to finish in 11th, despite getting badly spiked. 'I end up having to go to hospital to get some stitches', he reveals, 'but it was worth it for a medal! This was my first time running 15K cross country and I really enjoyed it. It is especially good to be running as part of a strong team and awesome to be able to grab silver!'

Below: Stuart McCallum, first man home in 11th, urged on by coach Keith Scofield (thanks to Mark Hookway for the photograph).

Mixing it with Stuart in the early stages were Fred, who ultimately finished in 15th, and current team captain, James 'Stocks' Stockings. 'Rolling around in a group of quality athletes with Stu and Stocks for the first few miles was one of my favourite ever running experiences', says Fred. 'The legs were feeling very good, and there was quality Hercules support around the course. I was very happy with how my run played out – it was obviously as hard and tiring as you’d expect a 9-mile cross country to be, but it was also one of those days that feels class. On the one hand I felt like I could have done another lap, but equally would have been happy finishing at 10K!'

Below, former team captain Fred Slemeck, with current captain, James Stockings, in the background.

By the time the race played out George Mallett had moved past James as they finished in 22nd and 25th, with Ed Mallett in 32nd. The race was then on for the final scoring place. In the end it was claimed by U23 Henry Silverstein who gave it everything he had in the final uphill dash for home, holding off M40 Richard McDowell to finish in 40th position.

'Overall it was a massive achievement', says Captain James. ' Last year it felt like a relief to make the podium after the squad had been knocking on the door for so long, whereas this year we felt we truly belonged and that we are in the conversation as real title contenders who can show up and be consistently strong. 

'There’s so many people involved in a team performance like this – not only everyone who toed the line, but the supporters who made the journey, the coaches, and everyone who has pushed the group and built the camaraderie at training. Long may it continue!'