We arrived at Cassiobury Park with everything on the line for a possible successful end to the season as a whole and the Sunday League in particular. We had the chance to win every category but none of them were certain and things weren’t looking good in the days leading up to the race with some critical regulars being unavailable for various reasons. We did manage to pull together a reasonable team but were still a bit short of top scorers.

In the men’s competition St Albans Striders had their first 4 scorers in the top 10 but their last 2 scorers were in 89th and 104th leaving them only 4th on the day. This shows how important it is to have top people right through the team. Our scorers were Charlie Bruce, Ben Allen, Luke Barker, Jim Arrowsmith, Scott Aiken, David Kunzmann, Robert Sikorski and Alex Brennan. This team came 2nd on the day but did enough to win the League for the season. The Masters confirmed our position at the top of the rankings by easily winning that part of the race with our scoring team as Charlie, Jim, Scott and Robert.

We had 18 men run in Watford and as well as those that scored for the team they all did a brilliant job and we had plenty of cover in case of problems up front. Thanks go to every one of them who turned out as well as all the others who have run during the season. It has been a tough season and it is all the more satisfying to come out with trophies galore.

Our women’s team have had a particularly difficult season in all the leagues in which we participate. We were further hampered on Sunday by Kat Alpe being away on a course for work but everyone stepped up and performed at the highest level. We finished a strong 2nd to St Albans and made it to the top spot for the season. Our scoring team was Anja Greenwood, Alex Baird, Beata Falkowska, Anna Sikorska and Bev Tipping. An outstanding performance from each. The Masters team were in a strong position and made sure by winning on Sunday and have now won all 5 Sunday League races. It is hardly surprising when you consider that all 12 of our runners on Sunday qualify as Vets. The 3 who scored were Anja, Alex and Beata. It also worth recognising that the B team, which is the next 3 finishers after the 5 A team scorers, won for the season and on Sunday this team consisted of Sarah De Los Rios, Claudia Canova and Foulla Green. Congratulations to the ladies on a great result for the day and the season.

As well as thanking and congratulating all of our runners this season we need to thank all of those who have helped with the scoring. It is very important that we get this done, and correctly. Chris, Andrea and David undertook it on Sunday and as usual it was immaculate. Thanks also to those who took my camera and surpassed my efforts. Jagna was in charge on Sunday. The last thanks go to all those who have turned up during the season to cheer us on, it is much appreciated. See you all next season for more success and lots of trophies.

Chas