The famous Knole Park course has enjoyed 50 years of epic national long course races, and sometimes international ones, with teams from Italy and all 4 home nations frequenting it at various stages in its history.
Atharv P in the blue vest with red and white hoops, spurred on by a small but impressive team, won an individual bronze medal. It took an inspirational sprint at the end of a 6-mile course to secure the medal. He was in 9th place halfway through the first of two laps, with everything still possible. He managed to astonishingly push himself up to the top 4 just before the Knole House on the last lap. In the last mile, he left it all out on the course as he flew around the treacherous final bend and closed a 15-meter gap after an all-out 300m sprint to only just shade the 3rd place runner on the finish line. With over 500 of the nation’s top athletes competing on the snowbound Knole Park course, it was a great achievement, especially sweet for the teacher in his last year in charge of the team.
Earlier, the junior team placed 9th out of 52 teams, an impressive debut in this category, particularly as they competed against intermediates up to two years older. Tarun K’s brilliant individual debut was crucial in closing out the team score. Adrian C ran strongly in midfield, while top-20 finishes came from Anas B and another leading run from Fredric B. To be among the top 10 teams in the country is fantastic, as we typically only reach this level once or twice a decade. This was the best team and individual result here in 35 years.
The senior team saw strongman Akaran N complete the line-up, with new find Omer T just ahead, and Luke H two places further up. Finishing 12th overall was well above our average in this event, and being among the top dozen in the country is still very impressive. This success is a tribute to the ever-present team manager Andrew T, who, despite being injured, has orchestrated the team’s regeneration over the past seven years.
Good luck to all those running for Kingston in the Surrey County Championships at Reigate next weekend!
