The following taken from the Belgrave Harriers website.
An historic day for Belgrave
Any doubts as to whether our men’s team were serious about the race were blown away on the stiff Yorkshire breeze when the team manager turned up at Temple Newsam Park on the Friday afternoon to check out the course and found that half his team were there, having had similar ideas.
And that course was bit of a shock. The steep rise from the start at the lowest point in the park was tougher than anything Parliament Hill could offer: undulations, tussocks of grass and boggy patches added to the torture of that relentless 800 metre climb which would also have to be tackled at the finish. Then there was the farmland and the general rough nature of the ground throughout the rest of the loop. Although, of course, one has to say, “It’s the same for everyone,” there’s no doubting that this time it was a real cross country runner’s course.
Later in the evening, pre-race speculation among the supporters over a drink or two in the Toby Carvery centred on the fact that Birhan Dagne was reportedly looking for a medal to raise her profile in her quest to obtain selection for the Olympic Marathon and that the men’s chances, although good, were by no means certain. Regular rivals Newham & Essex Beagles had been so dominant in the “Southern” while the holders, Leeds AC, were sure to be strong on their home ground. Everyone felt that we had five men who would normally be equal to any other team’s five – but Paul Freary was suffering from a little niggle while 1500m/5000m man Stephen Sharp was not enamoured with the course. And who would that sixth man be? We reckoned he’d need to be home in 60th-70th but would it be Will Cockerell (always solid and looking for that something special), Hassan Raidi (sometimes brilliant), or Simon Marwood (a very promising ‘chaser but an unknown quantity over the country). At least all were agreed that it was going to be exciting.
Race day dawned still and cold. The tent party had completed their task by 8am, and before heading back for breakfast they looked back down on the scene from the heights of Temple Newsam House. The claret, gold and blue Belgrave pavilion stood in splendid isolation on the brilliant green of the course below.
Four hours later and the park was a hive of activity. Shelters of every kind now surrounded our marquee. Most displayed the colours of hopeful teams and there, in the centre, below the Belgrave flag, our team began to assemble. Let the tournament begin!
Birhan Dagne wins our first senior individual gold
Reigning champion Hayley Yelling (WSE&H) had chosen to miss the race in favour of warm weather training in the USA but when the starting gun fired there were plenty of positive runners making a bid for a forward position, not least among them being our own Birhan Dagne. Louise Damen of Bournemouth, the winner of last year’s Junior race and the favourite for this, was soon at the head of the field and as they descended to the farmland it was Birhan taking up second spot although already 30 metres behind.
At the end of the first lap the Mick Woods coached Bournemouth girl had extended her lead to 50 metres but Belgravians were delighted that Birhan appeared to be on course for a silver medal. She was well clear of third and running freely down that bumpy slope to the farmlands. The majority of spectators now made their way to the last half-mile of the course, lining the route to greet the leader. The tide of applause preceded the runners up the final climb and, amazingly, it was the compact figure of Birhan that finally hove into view first. Louise Damen had not been able to match Birhan’s strength and experience over the second circuit and the Belgrave woman ran into the finishing straight a full 120 metres to the good. Belgrave’s first senior “National” winner! Tremendous!
Team title returns to Belgrave after 56 years
Down at the foot of the hill the tension was rising. The three minute warning had sounded and still Belgrave runners had no intention of getting down to their racing strip. Finally, thirteen men in claret and gold stood line abreast intending to get the best start possible. The weeks of anticipation, persuasion and organisation were over and the best Belgrave cross-country team seen in almost a lifetime was in action.
A huge roar from the 1500 runners followed the starter’s gun and as they burst up the slope there seemed barely time to scurry across to the next section of the course before the runners could be seen tearing at breakneck speed down to the bottom again. Coventry Godiva’s Glyn Tromans, a winner at Stowe in 2000, was already clear. He was up for it and no mistake! But the pack behind was full of Belgrave runners and after the first full lap we had the glorious site of six of our men in the top 36 – Barden at 4, Graffin 7, Nash 11, Freary 25, Sharp 26 and Raidi 36. What a start.
Tromans was flying as the second lap unfolded. Dominic Bannister of Shaftesbury was clearly second with Mansfield’s Billy Farquharson third. Of the Belgrave boys, Spencer Barden looked for a while as if he might be able to close up to third place; Allen Graffin was up a place to sixth, Kevin Nash had slipped back to 18th and was now being pressured by our man of the day – Paul Freary – right behind him. Hassan Raidi had also gone back a few places and Stephen Sharp didn’t look comfortable as he began to occupy a position that is unheard of for him in a cross-country race – 50th. Hold on “Sharpy!”
The colours of Newham & Essex were not as prominent as our own so that challenge seemed over and we later learned that Mark Warmby, racing with a sore throat to keep their chances alive, had had to pull out. No other club's colours seemed prominent en masse. Support was on hand behind our scoring six in the form of Will Cockerell, just over the 100; Simon Marwood was not far behind him but going back a bit after a strong start while Tom Hadfield and Roger Alsop were battling it out around 200.
As with the women’s race, forward positions changed on the last lap but nothing was going to deflect Tromans from his second “National” victory – not even losing a shoe with about 2km still to run. Farquharson surged to overtake Bannister while Rob Birchall, racing in the colours of his new club Notts AC (watch them in the next few seasons) but not yet eligible to score, got the better of our own Spen who was in turn now in the sights of Allen Graffin. That man Freary was having a dream run right to the end; he later admitted to not feeling as if he was working, just going through the motions. Kevin Nash, now strong enough to bear the load of 100 miles per week plus in training, wiped out all memories of his nightmare run in 2000. And another to produce more than expected was Hassan Raidi, holding on grimly for a place in the low 40s. Leeds runners had now been spotted in force between 20 and 50 and their last two men were now home before 60. Where was our sixth man? At last, looking more tired than we have ever seen him, Steve Sharp was running down the finishing funnel in 71st – middle distance track races could only seem easy after this.
A quick tally showed that we had about 160 points. Surely nobody could beat that – and eventually confirmation came through from our spy in the results cabin – we’d done it! The English National Cross Country title had returned to Belgrave after 56 winters.
Senior Men's 11.8 km. 1 G.Tromans (Coventry Godiva) 41:24; 2 W.Farquharson (Mansfield) 41:45; 3 D.Bannister (Shaftesbury Barnet) 41:47; 4 R. Birchall M35 (Notts) 42:14, 5 S. Barden (Belgrave) 42:26, 6 Allen Graffin (Belgrave) 42:29, 7 K. Cullen (Highgate) 42:31, 8 D. Mitchinson (Newham & Essex) 42:41, 9 A. Jones (Salford) 42:42, 10 D.Taylor M40 (Blackheath & Bromley) 42:45, 11 N. Talbot (Notts) 42:50, 12 P. Green (Sale) 42:53, 13 J. Moorhouse (Birchfield) 42:54, 14 J.Downes (L.Irish) 42:58, 15 G.Raven (Sale) 43:04, 16 P.Freary (Belgrave) 43:06, 17 H. Lobb (Bedford & County) 43:09, 18 D.Robinson (Tipton) 43:12, 19 M.Shaw (Tipton) 43:13, 20 I.Hudspith (Morpeth) 43:16; 22 K.Nash 43:23; 48 H.Raidi 44:24; 73 S.Sharp 44:58; 99 W.Cockerell 45:41; 158 S.Marwood 47:17; 211 R.Alsop 48:16; 255 T.Hadfield 48:54; 257 J.Wolf 48:55; 291 W.Lynch 49:37; 957 D.Anderson 59:29; 1399 finished.
Team: 1 Belgrave H 160, 2 Leeds City 254, 3 Sale H Manchester 258, 4 Bedford & County 283, 5 Bingley H 423, 6 Newham & EB 451, 7 Morpeth H 483, 8 London Irish 495, 9 Salford H 580, 10 Tipton H 595; 116 teams closed in.
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