The Winter League season which is predominantly cross country based traditionally starts with a speedy 5k on tarmac at Hog Hill around a cycle track. We turned up there on Tuesday 8th October in murky conditions but thankfully the rain held off until the very end.

We had been worried about low number but were boosted by the inclusion of a significant number of Transformers who were preparing for races this weekend and they not only boosted the numbers but also the team atmosphere on the night. We also had a number of new faces who boosted our success opportunity. The final additions to the team were a number of our Juniors, which we don’t normally have, but all 3 performed superbly.

The men ended up with 22 runners and finished 3rd in Division 1. Our scorers were Charlie Bruce (3rd finisher), Ben Allen, Jim Arrowsmith, Andy Naylor, Scott Aiken and Matt Littleford. Of the scoring team only Ben is not a veteran and he was replaced in the vet team by Robert Sikorski. This is amazing when they are up against some very fast youngsters. Special mention for Matt Littleford making his debut for the Club. The vet team finished 2nd on the night. Our B team (the next 6 finishers) ended up 5th.

We had 19 women race which is fantastic and great to see. Our A team finished 4th in Division 1 only missing out on 3rd by 1 point/place. The scorers were Kat Alpe (4th place), Anja Greenwood (7th), Beata Falkowka, Poppy Allwright, Anna Sikorska and Sarah De Los Rios. The women’s vet team came 4th with Anja, Beata, Anna, Sarah plus Theodosia Green and Nikki Nufer scoring. Theodosia was the 1st Vet 60 in the whole race and was only just pipped on the line by Sarah De Los Rios from being in the scoring team.

Our 3 Juniors were Lawrence Greenwood, 4th Under 11 boys, Kevin Bagate, 3rd Under 13 boys and Jagna Falkowska, 1st Under 15 girls. Brilliant performances by all of them.

Overall not too bad a start to the Chingford League season and it was a great atmosphere especially with the new additions and the Transformers. It’s always a bit emotional when the men waiting to start give a massive cheer and applause to the later ladies finishing.

Chas