Highgate Harriers Schlep North For Liverpool Cross Challenge
By Chris Rainsford
An afternoon of train cancellations was not enough to deter four (almost five) of our brightest young talents venturing north for the latest stop in the UK Cross Challenge Series in Liverpool last weekend, 22 Nov.
With seemingly all trains out of Euston gone kaput, Leoni Delvendahl, Joe Drinkell, and Harris Austin, accompanied by coaches Hannah Viner and Chris Rainsford, criss-crossed the country via Sheffield and Manchester to make it to the start line at Sefton Park.
Carbing up for race day
Pre-race pizza, pasta, and apple pie at The Quarter on the edge of Liverpool’s bubbling nightlife district set the youngsters up adequately for their efforts against the best in the country the next day.
The Liverpool Cross is a race that doubles as the annual European Cross trials for Team GB. The extremely wet yet relatively runnable going underfoot belied the drizzly morning conditions and bucketful of rain that fell in the week prior.
Leoni was the first of the bunch to line up for her debut Liverpool Cross. Two weeks ago, the 17-year-old finished 24th at the Cardiff Cross Challenge, the first in the 4-race series that also visits Parliament Hill on 7 Feb and reaches a climax in Loughborough in March.
Rampant start to race action
In Liverpool, Leoni excelled. Like in Cardiff, a rampant start saw Leoni get out the blocks well as she positioned herself inside the top 40 on the first small lap. Quick as a flash, the race began to unfold.
GB international Innes Fitzgerald took an impressive, immediate stranglehold on the race and won with ease. Following 4.4k of unrelenting effort, Leoni rounded the last bend and chipped away at the long finishing straight to finish 33rd in her first year in the age category.
“I'm really happy with that,” exclaimed Leoni after the race. "I already can't wait to come back next year and have another go. I love racing against the top girls in the country."
Following in Leoni’s footsteps were Harris and Joe in the junior men’s race. They were joined by teammate Felix Kent, who faced no such travel woes travelling south from university in Durham. Nick Taylor, however, was an unfortunate casualty to the train cancellations and was left to watch the livestream from home.
“It’s OK, I managed to get my refund from Avanti,” confirmed Nick.
Trio tackle tough conditions
Another splashy start caught Harris a little cold. After a challenging start, Harris struggled to find any momentum and was left to fight his way through a densely packed field. Left frustrated throughout, the London Schools and Middlesex cross country champ finished 44th, 30 seconds off the top-10.
"That race sucked," said a disappointed Harris. "I never got going. Lots of learnings to take away. But don't worry, I'll be back."
Felix, on the other hand, ran a more measured effort as he felt his way into his first race since his team silver medal winning exploits at the National 12-Stage Road Relays in Sutton Coldfield in April. The theology undergrad finished 73rd, almost 40 positions higher than 12 months ago.
"It's been a busy year, what with revision, A Levels, moving to Durham, starting university," commented Felix. "So, I'm really happy to get back in the saddle here and race again with the team. The season starts here."
Joe, generally more at home over two laps of the track than 4.4k of cross country, was left mud-splattered and shell-shocked from the rapid start. But once he got to grips with what he was up against, Joe settled in and managed his effort well. The third-generation Highgate Harrier plugged away to a 167th finish.
"Well, that was something, wasn't it!?" concluded Joe.