Report from the Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill is the spiritual home of English cross-country running having been a race for venue for over 100 years in which all the ‘greats’ would have competed here. Once a year we make our pilgrimage. From this elevated spot you are normally afforded a magnificent view of London’s ever-changing skyline, but on this misty, murky day the city was little more than a silhouette.
This year saw our highest number of entrants. Unfortunately, illness robbed us of an unprecedented number of athletes, but we still had 40 competing across the age-groups. For some it will have been the toughest cross-country course they have yet faced, all were up to the task.
Many travelled on the team coach, whilst others arrived at Hampstead Heath by car or train. The team tent was erected in a sheltered spot amongst the trees near the top of the hill. We had arrived in good time for those in the first race, our under-15 boys, to warm-up prior to heading to the start line.
Tom Jackson, making a fine Parliament Hill debut, was our first runner home. Jay Dunn’s hard work over the past 12 months saw him more than 60 places up on where he finished last year, while both Josh Fazakerley and George Butcher have stepped up an age-group since 2019. The older you are the further you run, and there would have been a 50% increase (to 4500m) in distance for Josh and George. The team was completed by Jack Wrann, this is Jack’s third successive year at Parliament Hill.
Under-15 boys (317 finishers)
86 – Tom Jackson – 16:14
163 – Jay Dunn – 17:13
214 – Josh Fazakerley – 17:53
299 – George Butcher – 19:49
308 – Jack Wrann – 20:32
The under-13 girls were next, with all three making Parliament Hill debuts. They weren’t at all daunted by the task laid before them. Imogen Rawles is the most experience of the trio and recorded the highest finish, but both Isla O’Connor and Kaci Cadman impressed too. This was a fabulous start to their Parliament Hill race history. Both Imogen and Isla have another year in this age-group too.
Under-13 girls (299 finishers)
180 – Imogen Rawles – 15:23
206 – Isla O’Connor – 15:48
225 – Kaci Cadman – 16:02
The under-13 boys ran the same course and distance as the girls (3k). The Williams brothers were here in 2019, as was Jack Doran. Although there was only 12 seconds between Jack and Tom at the finish, they were 21 places apart, an indication of just how fast and furious runners were crossing the line at that point. The Williams boys have made big progress this season, Jack improved by almost 120 places since 2019 with a similar improvement from Tom. Toby Butt’s Parliament Hill debut was an impressive one, 164th would have seen him first red home in this age-group in 2019. Both Toby and Josh Fricker were running ‘year young’ so they will be in the same race in 2021.
Under-13 boys (304 finishers) – 25th team
54 – Jack Williams – 12:44
75 – Tom Williams – 12:56
164 – Toby Butt – 13:50
290 – Jack Doran – 16:48
296 – Josh Fricker – 17:13
At 11:50 our under-15 girls were awaiting the gun. Birdie Payne and Ruby Sargeant both ran at Parliament Hill last year in a younger age-group, so this time they had an extra kilometer to cover. Seven days earlier Birdie was on her sickbed, but she’d made a remarkable recovery, having raced well in a mid-week race she was first WAC home at the Southerns. Hebe Hunter, one of Birdie’s training partners at Sherborne Girls, was just ahead of her in 117th at 19:57. Hebe is second claim WAC, but was wearing the red and black hoops of her first claim club, Herne Hill Harriers. Selene Corran pulled on a red vest for the first time, I’ve seen her give some fine performances in local schools races over the past few years. It’s been worth the wait, this was an impressive Parliament Hill debut. Anabel Townhill was also making a club debut. She was one of three – along with Birdie and Ruby Sargeant – running ‘year young’. Anabel has clocked up some mileage in schools races, but this will have been the toughest race she’s experienced so far. Lauren Hancock is also new to the club, her first competitive race for us was earlier this month. She is a strong and determined character and was just nine seconds back from Anabel.
Under-15 girls (304 finishers) – 29th team
146 – Birdie Payne – 20:21
161 – Selene Corran – 20:38
227 – Anabel Townhill – 22:00
234 – Laura Hancock – 22:09
304 – Ruby Sargeant – 26:02
For the next two races, under-17 men and under-20 women, the distance went up to 6km. There was a contrast here as the under-17 men saw our greatest number on a start line, and our under-20 women the least. It’s been a bizarre season results-wise for our under-17 men. Trying to predict the finishing order of these guys has been a thankless task. One of the reasons for this is that, although almost all were fit to run at Parliament Hill, they have been plagued with coughs and colds all the season. Generally the most consistent member of this team has been Ben Martin, and it was Ben who was first in. Tom Fuller has definitely had a rollercoaster of a season, but he does have a knack of seeing an upturn at the toughest races. Joel Green also raised his game for this one and headed Charlie Davies by 20 seconds, although it’s not clear how much time Charlie lost after face-planting. Only 11 places separated our remaining three racers – Josh Jack, Seth Lake and Ollie Rawles.
Under-17 men (206 finishers) – 19th team
96 – Ben Martin – 25:24
120 – Tom Fuller – 26:02
135 – Joel Green – 26:24
147 – Charlie Davies – 26:45
160 – Josh Jack – 27:09
167 – Seth Lake – 27:32
171 – Ollie Rawles – 27:43
The team most affected by illness and injury between submitting race entries and race day was the under-20 women. I fancied that this might be our best chance for a top team result … it was not to be. We had seven registered, with six still in the mix with a week to go. Come race day we had one – Hannah Slater – on the start line. Maddy Johnson had already made arrangements to travel to London so she was there to cheer the team on as as best as she could, albeit with tonsillitis.
Under-20 women (70 finishers)
52 – Hannah Slater – 31:39
The best results came from our under-17 women over a 5k course. The strong-finishing Emily Shaw claimed a podium just six seconds behind the winner and almost 20 seconds ahead of her closest pursuer. Both Emily and race-winner Bea Wood of City of Salisbury were running year-young too. There were fabulous runs from Marianna Sawyer and Emily Wood. Last year they were top of age-group in the under-15s, this time despite being year-young they both improved their finishing positions. Sandwiched between Marianna and Emily Wood was Holly Nixon. Holly is the most experienced Parliament Hill runner in this year’s team… she’s raced here every year since 2015 (six races). At the opposite end of the spectrum is Lucy Lockwood. Lucy has been competing for the club in track and field since 2016, but it was not until the start of this season that she ran her first cross-country race. Lucy has really committed to middle distance training over the past winter and the evidence of her progress was clear to see here.
Under-17 women (158 finishers) – 6th team
3 – Emily Shaw – 19:19
33 – Marianna Sawyer – 21:16
78 – Holly Nixon – 23:04
93 – Emily Wood – 23:44
106 – Lucy Lockwood – 24:43
It was great to meet up with Dan Baynham, now at Uni in London. His WAC kit is still safely in a drawer back in Wimborne, so it was Richard Davies who came to the rescue with a loan vest. Sam Hughes’ forte is that fantastic kick he has on the track. He did a respectable job in an environment that doesn’t play to his strengths.
Under-20 men (118 finishers)
75 – Dan Baynham – 30:42
104 – Sam Hughes – 34:20
Finally we come to the senior races, and first up are the women running 8k. Our team consisted of Lesley Davies, Sarah Davies and Kay Moss. Lesley is an inspirational character, and it was her hard work that saw us with senior women on the start line. For Sarah she has a single entry on her Powerof10 profile, this race is it! Lesley is a Parliament Hill veteran having raced here in the Nationals in 2018, but it is Kay who has the most interesting story to tell. She last raced at Parliament Hill as a 13 year-old … almost 50 years ago! She says it was much more fun this time around.
Senior women (694 finishers)
586 – Sarah Davies – 49:36
588 – Kay Moss – 49:37
611 – Lesley Davies – 51:05
Five of our men lined up for the challenge of a 15km course for the seniors’ race. Leading the way for us were the two new boys. Both Damian Huntingford and Stuart Downie are in their first season with us. Rob Rawles has definitely upped his game in 2019/20 and he was just two minutes behind Stuart. This year it was announced that there would be a time cut-off of 90 minutes in the men’s race. I think both Brendan Dunn, who’s had so long out injured, and Seamus Doran were a little concerned about this. Ninety minutes for 15km/9 miles seems generous, until you take into account the nature of the course. As it turns out they both made the cut-off very comfortably.
Senior men (1,157 finished inside cut-off)
404 – Damian Huntingford – 1:01:08
807 – Stuart Downie – 1:10:02
868 – Rob Rawles – 1:12:06
1099 – Brendan Dunn – 1:22:27
1120 – Seamus Doran – 1:24:29
That’s if for another year, 40 red vests left the start line and 40 reached the finish, something you can’t take for granted at such a demanding venue. Racing at Parliament Hill is a fantastic experience, we look forward to repeating it all in 2021.
