The Forum of Benfleet Running Club

Karl C

BILLERICAY STRIDERS RUNNING CLUB.

Web site: www.billericaystriders.com
E mail: secretary@billericaystriders.com
Affiliated to SEAA, Essex AAA.
Postal Address: 5, Fieldfare, Billericay, Essex. CM11 2PA.
Telephone: 01277 626605.

SOUTH ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE

Round 2 – Weald Country Park
Run under Permit no. 72:09.
Sunday 15th November 2009. 10.30.a.m.

The Venue. Weald Country Park. One lap of 7K, marked by flags and tape and marshalled where necessary.

Access. The nearest main road is the old A12 (Brook Street) from which Country Park signs direct you to Weald Park Road.

Parking. All three car parks are now pay and display, with a charge of £2.00. per car for any stay over one hour. We suggest you share cars wherever possible to minimise cost and also congestion in the car parks. In very wet weather it is possible that one or more car parks could be closed.

Toilets. Available in the Belvedere car park and by the cricket ground.

Entry Fee. The entry fees for each race are now £2.00, and these together with your declarations should be presented to the organiser at the open barn.

Identification. All runners to wear club letters and colours, and all participants must be over 17 years of age. Please present your discs immediately after you finish, to ensure the results can be announced and subsequent presentation of trophies can take place as soon as possible.

Refreshments. Will be provided in the open barn at the rear of the Visitors’ Centre, where presentations will also take place.

For any additional information please call Dave Godfrey on 01268 761154.

Run under UK Athletics rules.

Best wishes, and have a good run. Dave Godfrey, Billericay Striders.
26.10.2009.

Coach · #1 Joined: 18 May 2007 Posts: 65 Location: Daws Heath

For those wanting a lift or wanting to follow someone to South Weald so you don't get lost, we will be meeting at Tarpots opposite the snooker centre at 9 am.

For those with spikes, judging the by rain forecast over the next few days you will be needing 12 at the very least or 15mm spikes!

Steffan · #4 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 588 Location: Basildon

One word..............

MUD!

Haha, love it! 15mm spikes!

pete the young one · #1 Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Posts: 56 Location: Benfleet

mud bath anyone?!

Ian J · #2 Joined: 20 May 2006 Posts: 267 Location: Rayleigh

Any results yet, was it another win for Benfleet?
_________________
Whad'ya mean "Run fat boy, run"? I AM running!

Karl C · Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 10:13 pm Post subject:

Congratulations to home club Billericay who pipped Benfleet by a mere 21 points.

Billericay 156
Benfleet 177
Thrift Green 204
Havering 555
Castle Point 405

WELL DONE ALL...running totals still leave us top though !!

Benfleet 9 320
Billericay 8 400
Thrift Green 7 427
Castle Point 4 781
Havering 2 979

Graham · #3 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 395

Yeah very disappointing for the new captain to see our season spanning undefeated streak come to an end. What's the phrase about cheats & prospering........?

Karl C · Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:56 am Post subject:

G, was there some underhand performances then - pray do tell !

Graham · #3 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 395

Let's just say there is a dark side to our clean cut, fresh faced young poster boy captain....

MikeBriggs · #1 Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 45

Listen, I didnt realise I cut the last corner, it was the marshall's fault....honest! I think I was home and dry by then anyway! Pretty disappointed we lost our winning streak, maybe the double header stretched us somewhat. A real cross country course as supposed to Dunton, boggy in places, lots of hills and even the odd log jump.

***RACE REPORT***

A slightly smaller womens team than normal took 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 9th, 11th I think. Put this next to the supurb 3rd team place they took the day before in the Essex League then you realise how much depth they have. Special mention for Jacqui and Lucy who doubled up, hard as nails the pair of em!

Mens team were a little short on numbers also and Graham, Matt and Pete Anderson also had the Saturday race in their legs. Cops managed to squeeze a visit to the Pink Toothbrush in between the races, superb. I placed 4th, my best X-Country finish to date, after being dragged up the hills by G then winding up 800m, benefiting from being rested the day before, to outsprint the group of 4 we were running in...but i'll take a win against the Bearded One any way I can! Graham was 5th, Tony Mead (cult hero) next in 17th, Pete Watson next in, a great performance then Nick, Pete Anderson and Stef being the other scorers I believe. I understand Stef had back trouble half way round and Andy Morris was not feeling too good on the start line... Matt was hungover! Just missed out by 21 places for the win, so with a few more bodies and a bit more luck it could have swung our way.

Let's make sure we have a winning return at our home fixture on Hadleigh Downs in a few weeks. Some of us are planning on going over to the downs on Saturday to review the course, all are welcome, details to be posted during the week.

Karl C · Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:50 pm Post subject:

[list=]Position. Name. Club. Time.

1. Loretta Sollars. East Essex Tri. 28.07.
2. Tracey Swindell. Benfleet. 30.16.
3. Gail Dawson. Benfleet. 30.19.
4. Jacqui Watson. Benfleet. 31.01.
5. Hayley Pegg. Thrift Green. 31.12.
6. Lucy Mancer. Benfleet. 31.34.
7. Suzanne Croudass. Billericay. 32.48.
8. Carys Sutton. Thrift Green. 32.55.
9. Dominique Ballard. Benfleet. 33.08.
10. Debbie Slack. Benfleet. 33.27.
11. Vanessa Dodds. Benfleet. 33.42.
12. Vanita Derby. Tri Sport Epping. 34.08.
13. Chris Mowle. East Essex Tri. 34.15.
14. Paula Purtell. East Essex Tri. 34.27.
15. Maxine Brown. Barking. 34.32.
16. Sarah Grabowski. Benfleet. 34.44.
17. Carina Holmes. Thrift Green. 35.00.
18. Denise Warner. Castle Point. 35.03.
19. Geraldine Howard. Billericay. 35.10.
20. Natalie Snow. Tri Sport Epping. 35.11.
21. Nina Barrett. Thrift Green. 35.37.
22. Runner given two discs.
23. Georgina Bullock. Castle Point. 35.58.
24. K. Payne. Havering 90. 36.00.
25. Jodie Timbrell. Thrift Green. 36.01.
26. Jo Burtenshaw. Benfleet. 36.13.
27. Frances Clayton. Tri Sport Epping. 36.19.
28. Louise Perrin. Barking. 37.07.
Ladies’ Results cont. Page 2.

29. Keeley Wright. Castle Point. 37.13.
30. Nicky Sayle Smith. Tri Sport Epping. 37.22.
31. Bev Clark. Thrift Green. 37.45.
32. Helen Bealey. Thrift Green. 37.51.
33. Anne Howe. Benfleet. 37.53.
34. Louise Stoakley. Billericay. 38.11.
35. Louisa Latham. Benfleet. 38.21.
36. Natalie McD. Tri Sport Epping. 38.28.
37. Nancy Fontaine. Thrift Green. 38.36.
38. Janice Brown. East Essex Tri. 38.49.
39. Ruth Raynor. Thrift Green. 38.59.
40. Gemma Tune. East Essex Tri. 39.04.
41. Madeleine van der Brandt. Tri Sport Epping. 39.13.
42. E. Mole. Havering 90. 39.16.
43. Katie Wilkinson. Benfleet. 39.19.
44. Rachel Flanagan. Pitsea. 39.32.
45. Jenny Ackroyd. Dagenham. 40.17.
46. Kate Cammidge. Castle Point. 40.21.
47. M. Dyer. Havering 90. 40.47.
48. Ellen Waters. Barking. 40.50.
49. Joanne Ling. Billericay. 40.51.
50. Charlotte Edwards. Billericay. 41.06.
51. Louise Hammond. Billericay. 41.09.
52. Sue Fuller. Benfleet. 41.33.
53. Jan Burrows. East Essex Tri. 41.35.
54. Helen Thompkins. Pitsea. 41.39.
55. Pat Green. Havering 90. 41.41.
56. Teresa Flanagan. Pitsea. 41.47.
57. M. Lucien. Havering 90. 42.03.
58. Tracy Lee. Billericay. 42.13.
59. Janet Finch. Barking. 42.30.
60. Wendy Milllard. Pitsea. 42.42.
61. Janet Hanson. Thrift Green. 42.45.
62. Kathy Scourfield. Billericay. 43.07.
63. Eileen Hammond. Castle Point. 43.31.
64. Moira Pidgeon. Billericay. 43.37.
65. P. Thompson. Havering 90. 43.39.
66. Caroline Bristow. Tri Sport Epping. 44.26.
67. B. McDonnell. Havering 90. 44.58.
68. Jan Swallow. Tri Sport Epping. 45.25.
69. Vicky Groves. Barking. 45.43.
70. Diane S. East Essex Tri. 46.05.
71. Val McCullough. Castle Point. 46.26.

Ladies’ Results cont. page 3.

72. Lisa Bebbington. Thrift Green. 47.02.
73. Jackie Mills. Pitsea. 47.07.
74. Surinder. Barking. 47.21.
75. Cass Wallace. Pitsea. 47.32.
76. Jayne Hayward. Castle Point. 47.46.
77. Marina Hinns. Thrift Green. 47.49.
78. Tina Leung. Thrift Green. 47.51.
79. Linda Bates. Pitsea. 47.53.
80. Heather Jackson. Pitsea. 48.25.
81. Jackie Woodruff. Thrift Green. 49.04.
82. Lynn Clark. Thrift Green. 49.06.
83. Daphne Pugh. Castle Point. 49.14.
84. Sally Spencer. Barking. 49.26.
85. Gemma C. Barking. 50.31.
86. Rachel Stovold. Thrift Green. 51.33.
87. Sandra Swan. Barking. 54.40.
88. Lois Bannister. Thrift Green. 54.40.

Mens’ Results.

1. Rob Warner. Havering 90. 25.04.
2. Keiran O’Doherty. Billericay. 26.02.
3. Crispian Bloomfield. Billericay. 26.11.
4. Mike Briggs. Benfleet. 26.40.
5. Graham Booty. Benfleet. 26.50.
6. Steve Philcox. Barking. 26.52.
7. David Butler. Billericay. 26.56.
8. Glen Wellams. East Essex Tri. 27.24.
9. Kevin Jacob. Billericay. 27.29.
10. Dale Loughlin. Thrift Green. 27.39.
11. Ray Laurence. Tri Sport Epping. 27.43.
12. Anthony Came. Thrift Green. 27.43.
13. Mark Laing. Tri Sport Epping. 27.47.
14. Greg Deacon. Castle Point. 27.49.
15. Mark Read. Thrift Green. 27.52.
16. Andy Jopson. East Essex Tri. 27.56.
17. Tony Mead. Benfleet. 28.01.
18. Anthony Squire. Billericay. 28.05.
19. Les Henderson. Tri Sport Epping. 28.10.
20. N. Collins. Havering 90. 28.14.
21. Greg Wisken. Castle Point. 28.15.
22. Ian O’Neil. Thrift Green. 28.15.
Men’s results cont. Page 4.

23. Peter Watson. Benfleet. 28.30.
24. Joe Giggins. East Essex Tri. 28.36.
25. Mark Brooks. Tri Sport Epping. 28.38.
26. Alan Butler. Thrift Green. 28.43.
27. Kevin Partridge. Tri Sport Epping. 28.46.
28. Kurtis Swann. Billericay. 28.48.
29. Alan Clark. Billericay. 28.54.
30. Paul Jackaman. Castle Point. 28.58.
31. Simon Theobald. Tri Sport Epping. 29.02.
32. Richard Fuller. East Essex Tri. 29.07.
33. Jim Marshall. Thrift Green. 29.13.
34. Kevin Wotton. Barking. 29.16.
35. Nick Rankin. Benfleet. 29.22.
36. Bradley Brown. Barking. 29.33.
37. John Sweeney. Tri Sport Epping. 29.36.
38. Peter Anderson. Benfleet. 29.39.
39. Mike Day. Billericay. 29.43.
40. Nigel Swinburne. Dagenham. 29.46.
41. Brian Loynes. Tri Sport Epping. 29.47.
42. David Lloyd. Thrift Green. 29.53.
43. Kevin Hinns. Thrift Green. 30.02.
44. Matt Pickett. East Essex Tri. 30.08.
45. Gerry O’Doherty. Billericay. 30.11.
46. Steff Cohen. Benfleet. 30.16.
47. Matt Copse. Benfleet. 30.18.
48. Keith Thornton. Thrift Green. 30.20.
49. Richard Bonham. Castle Point. 30.22.
50. Taz Porter. East Essex Tri. 30.49.
51. Ron Vialls. Barking. 31.05.
52. Mike Stagg. Thrift Green. 31.11.
53. Paul Ward. Barking. 31.16.
54. Malcolm Bristow. Tri Sport Epping. 31.17.
55. Terry Allen. Thrift Green. 31.18.
56. Barney McCarthy. Thrift Green. 31.18.
57. M. Duncan. Havering 90. 31.19.
58. D. Hallam. Havering 90. 31.28.
59. Stuart Dunn. Tri Sport Epping. 31.32.
60. Rob Fulbrook. Tri Sport Epping. 31.37.
61. Jim O’Mahoney. Tri Sport Epping. 31.40.
62. Andy Frith. Benfleet. 31.45.
63. Peter Adeleke. Castle Point. 31.53.
64. Steve Dear. Benfleet. 32.00.
65. Paco Garcia. Thrift Green. 32.04.
66. Peter Barratt. Thrift Green. 32.05.
Men’s results cont. Page 5.

67. Jez Baxter. East Essex Tri. 32.10.
68. Simon Tippett. East Essex Tri. 32.11.
69. Philip Hardy. Billericay. 32.21.
70. Laurence Harrison. Billericay. 32.23.
71. Simon Rawlings. East Essex Tri. 32.26.
72. Martin Page. Barking. 32.32.
73 Phil Street Benfleet 32.39
74 Colin Jones Barking 32.46
75 Roger Clark Thrift Green 33.03
76 Richard Fearon Castle Point 33.05
77 Paul Taylor East Essex Tri 33.06
78 Chris Dunn Tri Sport Epping 33.07
79 Steve Knights East Essex Tri 33.16
80 Chris Bell Tri Sport Epping 33.17
81 Dave Robinson Barking 33.18
82 Dave Flanagan Castle Point 33.21
83 F.Fuente Havering 90 33.31
84 Peter Warrior Billericay 33.35
85 Dave Gretton Tri Sport Epping 33.38
86 Chris Milne East Essex Tri 33.39
87 Mark Brown East Essex Tri 33.48
88 Danny Ward Tri SportEpping 34.00
89 Bradley Taylor East Essex Tri 34.02
90 Robert West Castle Point 34.04
91 Steve Harris Tri Sport Epping 34.11
92 Ray Selwyn Castle Point 34.12
93 Terry Whatley Tri Sport Epping 34.14
94 Mike Wheatley Tri Sport Epping 34.15
95 M.Hemmings Havering 90 34.16
96 Paul Gammon East Essex Tri 34.18
97 Tony Dennis Castle Point 34.27
98 Paul Gudgin Benfleet 34.30
99 Alex Sprules Thrift Green 34.31
100 Graeme Newman Benfleet 34.32
101 Peter McLaughlan Pitsea 34.34
102 Colin King East Essex Tri 34.36
103 John George Barking 34.40
104 Ian Bartram Castle Point 34.41
105 Ray Brooks East Essex Tri 34.42
106 James McNaish Porter Thrift Green 34.43
107 Nigel Burvill Billericay 34.48
108 Steve Pallett East Essex Tri 34.56
109 Brian Butcher Castle Point 34.58
110 Kevin Gregory Thrift Green 35.00
Men’s results cont. Page 6.

111 James Kane East Essex Tri 35.06
112 Andy Morris Benfleet 35.08
113 Paul Gribbon East Essex Tri 35.11
114 Peter Van Der Brad Tri Sport Epping 35.17
115 John Reynold Castle Point 35.21
116 Nigel Whitehead Billericay 35.25
117 Keven Smith Tri Sport Epping 35.26
118 Chris Cammidge Castle Point 35.28
119 Andy Smith Pitsea 35.29
120 Tim Rumble Castle Point 35.42
121 Keith Jackson Pitsea 35.56
122 Ray V Castle Point 35.57
123 Craig Nicholls Thrift Green 35.59
124 Ian Pike Benfleet 36.03
125 Paul Rawlings Pitsea 36.15
126 Daniel Barking 36.32
127 John K Tri Sport Epping 36.33
128 D.Mole Havering 90 36.36
129 Matt McDonald Tri Sport Epping 36.58
130 John Smith East Essex Tri 37.04
131 Dave Finch Barking 37.06
132 Ian Tinworth Tri Sport Epping 37.07
133 Bill Adams Dagenham 37.10
134 Ray Farance Thrift Green 37.15
135 Mike Hayward Castle Point 37.16
136 Bob Armstrong Barking 37.20
137 Trevor Hand East Essex Tri 37.46
138 N.Moses Havering 90 37.47
139 Nick McCullagh Castle Point 37.48
140 Graham Silcock East Essex Tri 37.55
141 Rob Kielder East Essex Tri 37.56
142 Nick Booroff Castle Point 37.58
143 John Tracy Pitsea 38.01
144 Lee Barking 38.02
145 Jacque Pertorius Tri Sport Epping 38.11
146 C.Mansfield Havering 90 38.21
147 Neil Lynch East Essex Tri 38.22
148 Nick Wilby Barking 38.29
149 Tim Shea Pitsea 38.34
150 Simon Jolly Tri Sport Epping 38.45
151 Alan Kemp East Essex Tri 38.53
152 M.Fribbins Havering 90 39.12
153 Dave Southgate East Essex Tri 39.15
154 R.Hagan Havering 90 39.27
Men’s results cont. Page 7.

155 Chris Williams Benfleet 39.47
156 Steve Acton Benfleet 39.56
157 M.Phillips Havering 90 40.06
158 Alan Porter Billericay 40.07
159 Karl Barking 40.16
160 Gareth Tucker Barking 40.25
161 T.Denham Havering 90 40.40
162 S.Birkett Thrift Green 41.07
163 Martin Mason Barking 41.08
164 Andy Howe Benfleet 41.34
165 Colin Corky East Essex Tri 41.36
166 Chris Carrott East Essex Tri 41.43
167 John Dyer Dagenham 41.44
168 Peter Bates Pitsea 41.56
169 C.Clifford Havering 90 42.17
170 Steven Smith Tri Sport Epping 42.30
171 C.McDonnell Havering 90 42.41
172 Gwyn Hughes Phoenix 42.53
173 Dennis S.P. Barking 43.10
174 Dave West Castle Point 43.52
175 Michael Swan Barking 44.22
176 Nick Pugh Castle Point 44.25
177 Peter Campion East Essex Tri 44.58
178 G.Harford Havering 90 45.06
179 Micky Ball Barking 45.08
180 Henry Howard Castle Point 45.14
181 Rob Courtier Barking 45.23
182 B.Rowell Havering 90 45.42
183 T.McDonnell Havering 90 45.47
184 Doug Adams Dagenham 46.01
185 Mike Linstead Dagenham 48.05
186 D.Holland Havering 90 48.50
187 C.Turner Havering 90 49.47
188 Tony Bullock Castle Point 50.41
189 Mark Seaton Barking 52.24
190 John Virgo Castle Point 52.37
191 A.Klinker Havering 90 53.27
192 Scott Christian East Essex Tri 57.27
193 Reg Gunthorpe Thrift Green 58.20
Mike Cottrell Billericay (Last Runner Marshal)
Richard Lee Tri Sport Epping DNF
[/list]

Karl C · Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:52 pm Post subject:

[list=]South Essex Cross Country League.
2009 – 2010.

Round 2. Weald Park.
Hosts: Billericay Striders.
15th November 2009.

Results.

Division 1.

1. Billericay Striders. 156.
2. Benfleet. 177.
3. Thrift Green Trotters. 204.
4. Castle Point. 405.
5. Havering 90. 555.

Positions after 2 event2.

1. Benfleet R.C. 9 points.
2. Billericay Str. 8.
3. Thrift Green Tr. 7.
4. Castle Point. 4.
5. Havering 90. 2.

First Female Finisher. Loretta Sollars. East Essex Triathletes.

First Male Finisher. Rob Warner. Havering 90.

279 runners took part in the event.

Next round: Hadleigh Country Park, Sunday 6th December. Hosts: Benfleet.

D. Godfrey
15.11.2009.
[/list]

erasedcitizen · #1 Joined: 21 May 2006 Posts: 79 Location: Benfleet

Well done guys and girls, roll on Hadleigh!

Graham · #3 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 395

Copsy - a race the day before, a big night out and still a minute quicker than the last time in Feb. It's all about the preparation my boy!

Co-Skipper · #1 Joined: 28 Jul 2008 Posts: 67

Congratulations to all of you - some extremely noteworthy performances for both the womens and mens teams. To see the ladies romp home in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 9th, 10th, and 11th speaks for itself - ably backed up by numerous others inside the top 40 whose achievements were every bit as important in overhauling the other teams.

As for the mens side, it is superb to see a return to form for Mike, up in his best-ever 4th. Graham still got round in 5th despite a second days racing. The evergreen Tony Mead chipped in with a solid 17th place, and Peter Watson must have run out of his skin to land 23rd. Behind that, it is good to see the nucleus of Nick, Peter, and Steff (not withstanding a bad back) to come home not long after.

And let's not forget the likes of the insanely unlucky Matt Cops (whose pink toothbrush exploits must have cost him those 2 seconds to overhaul Steff and a scoring place) - as well as Andy Frith and Steve Dear along with many others. Their achievements bumped down many competitors of other teams, helping us to cement the close 2nd to an over-strong Billericay side enjoying their home race.

MikeBriggs · #1 Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 45

I forgot to mention Vanessa who also doubled up! great effort

MikeBriggs · #1 Joined: 26 Feb 2009 Posts: 45

From Debbie...

Hi Mike well done Sunday excellent result :- ) can you do me a favour? Been checking the forum on my BlackBerry and its mega hard to log in so I can't post. I am in Las Vegas! Can you post this for me please - Well done to you all on Sunday. Okay it wasn't a win but a damned impressive performance nonetheless. And we are still holding 1st place overall so a win at Hadleigh is a must! I am currently on holiday in Las Vegas but my heart is in muddy and rainy Essex (yeah right) and although I can access the forum posting is tricky so I have asked Mike to post this for me. I have done a long distance report to the Echo which will appear Friday. Apologies for all the references to Billericay but I have been asked to include them too :-(so I need a win next race guys so there will be minimal reference to the men in blue vests). Oh and I expect a victory over Crispian next race Mike ;- )

debbie g · #6 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 707

Thanks for posting for me Mike. I have access to a laptop now. Just want to let you all know the Echo say that the article on this race will go in the paper tomorrow and the Essex League will go in Friday.

I have also booked a photographer for our race at Hadleigh so I need all you fast boys out there racing so we get some cracking Benfleet pics again.

Whilst I shudder to say this I may even be racing there myself. Run out of holidays to use as an excuse not to run!!!!

Jez · #2 Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 291 Location: Eastwood

debbie g · #6 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 707

I will hold you to that Jez - any other takers - Graham? Mike?

Graham · #3 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 395

I'll match Jez! There is a condition though.....two lots of sponsorship = 2 races. Essex league or South Essex, I dont mind.

Had a cheeky couple of laps round the course today, lots of hills and mud Debs. Praying for lots more rain now.

Jez · #2 Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 291 Location: Eastwood

Yep good call Mr B.Got to be 2 races...... Wind, rain, freezing temperatures, Hills and LOTS of Mud = SAFE MONEY!!
_________________
Jez

www.justjez.co.uk

mArKw · #2 Joined: 15 May 2006 Posts: 291 Location: Benfleet

mikemoreton · Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:41 pm Post subject:

What a result!!

My first race as a marshall and Debbie is running. Hoorah!!

Jez · #2 Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 291 Location: Eastwood

Be sure to take lots of photos Mike, we need to see the 'enjoyment' on her face!

_________________
Jez

www.justjez.co.uk

debbie g · #6 Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 707

Tempting offer Mark but I believe I am washing my hair that day

Okay guys 2 races it is - Hadleigh so Mike can take cracking photos of the unadulterated bliss on my face and Hockley Essex League - Gail tells me there is a bridge on that course too but it is hopefully not the sort where I have to grab the nearest runner to get across it as most ladies seem to object to letting me hold their arm in fact I am more likely to be elbowed off the side of the bridge. So the ultimate joy for me - mud hills rain (inevitable now following Graham's rain dance) and a bridge - my world is complete!

I will be waiting at the finish of the Hadleigh race to collect Jez and Graham, muddy and moaning!

The sacrifices I make for Benfleet...