Hants XC, Wimborne - 11th Feb 2006
THREE was definitely the magic number for Stubbington Green Runners & AC on Saturday, with Mark Le Gassick placing third at the final Hampshire Cross-Country League fixture of the season, at Wimborne, and the mens' veteran team finishing third overall in division one.
Following the misfortune and injury that plagued them at Reading , in January, the greens were back on top form at Wimborne. And, as if a virtuoso individual performance and an amazing veteran's team result were not enough, the senior mens' team also escaped relegation from division one at the eleventh hour, in a manner that the great Houdini himself would have been proud of. Portsmouth FC take note!
Conditions for the final round of the Hampshire Cross-Country League were markedly better than the force-10 gale that greeted runners in 2005. This year, it was virtually dry underfoot with only a meagre force-8 to contend with.
Going into the final race, Mark Le Gassick needed a good performance to maintain or improve his 5th position in the overall standings. He didn't disappoint, staying with the leaders for the first two laps before moving up into third at the start of the final lap where he remained, clocking a time of 29 minutes 19 seconds, over two-and-a-half minutes quicker than a year ago.
With a third place finish on the day, Mark moved up into joint second overall, missing out on second out right on count back. However, he was extremely pleased with third place, an improvement of eight places, having finished eleventh in 2004/5.
Tor Duffin underlined his off road ability with another strong performance, finishing in 22nd place in a time of 31 minutes 38 seconds. Not far behind Tor, was Gordon Reid who put in a solid run to finish 32nd , in 32 minutes 1 second.
Ross Lamport, who made his Stubbington debut with an excellent 11th place at the Lords Hill 10-Mile last November, has only recently returned to running following a period of illness over Christmas and New Year. Despite this, a decent performance saw Ross achieve a top-50 placing, finishing in 46th position in a time of 33 minutes 6 seconds.
Ray Gunner was just five seconds behind Ross in 49th place, stopping the watch in 33 minutes 11 seconds. Mike Harper ran well finishing in 59th position in a time of 33 minutes 45 seconds despite suffering from a calf injury picked up in training earlier in the week and sliding his way around the corners in racing flats!
Andy Simpson managed to make it round the three-lap course despite plunging headlong down a steep bank 'Becher's Brook' fashion shortly after the start. The mad Mancunian recorded a time of 34 minutes 40 seconds to finish in 71st place.
Graham Bell (36.25, 94th), Phil May (37.51, 111th ), Colin Elderfield (40.19, 139th ), Nick Crane (40.28, 141st ) and Gordon Westley (41.12, 145th ) completed Stubbington's mens' contingent. There were 156 finishers.
Despite facing the usual selection problems, ladies' captain, Chris Haskell, did well to assemble a senior ladies team at the last minute. Geraldine Perrier has completed all five of the Hampshire cross-country fixtures this season and was the first Stubbington lady to complete the two-lap course, finishing 47th in a time of 28 minutes 18 seconds. New member, Margaret Pritchard, finished in 62nd place, with a time of 32 minutes 47 seconds. Chris Haskell completed the ladies' line-up coming home in a time of 33 minutes 23 seconds in 64th place. There were 66 finishers.
Division 1 Senior Men:
1. Aldershot , Farnham & District AC 8pts
2. Basingstoke & Mid Hants AC 17pts
3. Team Southampton 20pts
4. Southampton Running Club 22pts
5. City of Portsmouth AC 27pts
6. Winchester AC 28pts
7. Reading AC 35pts
8. Stubbington Green Runners 35pts
9. Bournemouth AC 40pts
10. Alton Runners 43pts
Division 1 Veterans
1. Reading AC 12pts
2. Overton Harriers 15pts
3. Stubbington Green Runners 17pts
4. Southampton Running Club 26pts
5. Bournemouth AC 27pts
6. Poole Runners 28pts
7. Hamworthy Harriers 32pts
8. City of Portsmouth AC 33pts
9. Fleet & Crookham AC 39pts
10. Reading Road Runners 50pts.