Before we start, a couple of things: Your club Captains should have the full results, if you haven't seen them, then let us know and we'll send them to you.
1) If you're at a UL College (if in doubt, they're listed here: http://www.london.ac.uk/305.html) and you're thinking of competing at any of the major BUCS events this academic year (Cross Country, Triathlon or Athletics) then please join up to the UL Athletics, Cross Country and Triathlon Club, it only costs a tenner in total! It's easy, just pop along to UL Union on Mallet Street, get a UL card (this bit is free, all you need is a passport photo and your college ID) and join the club with a 'Join a Club/ Society' form. You need to enter all 12 digits from your UL card, luckily this year digits 1 and 12 are a bit bigger than they were previously! Please try and join before the end of October or we might not get the funding we need for this year!
2) It'd be great of anyone that has photos of the race could add them to the London Colleges League flickr group!
3) We'd love to get new people contributing to the blog, if you'd like to add your own flava to it, please just let us know, doesn't have to be all 'stat' based, weave your own narrative arc with a prose account of your experience of a race! Although these posts tend to focus on the faster runners, we want to emphasise that the LCLs are for all abilities and speeds so getting new contributors from the wider field would be a great way to do this.
Women's Race
Jess Andrews stormed the Heath with a powerful run, up with some of the stronger men on the first lap, and held on having been tracked down in the closing stages by Annabelle Gunmow to win by 3 seconds. There was a slightly bigger gap to Adelle Tracey in third.
Women's Top 10
1
Jess Andrews
Brunel
13.59
100
2
Annabelle Gunmow
SM
14.02
99
3
Adelle Tracey
SM
51
98
4
Ashley Scott
UCL
15.05
97
5
Katie Allen
Brunel
14
96
6
Emma Dixon
RVC
31
95
7
Isabel Brinsden
RHUL
35
94
8
Imogen Simmonds
Imperial
40
93
9
Katy Bingle
SM
44
92
10
Rachel Titheriage
Brunel
52
91
Ashley Scott took the UL Colleges win. Emma Dixon a battle with Isabel Brinsden for the second place with Calvi Thompson and Ella Fuller also duking it out in a battle royale, finishing with exactly the same time! The King's athlete narrowly edging Fuller out.
UL Colleges Women: Top 10
4
Ashley Scott
UCL
15.05
97
6
Emma Dixon
RVC
31
95
7
Isabel Brinsden
RHUL
35
94
14
Calvi Thompson
KCL
26
87
15
Ella Fuller
UCL
26
86
17
Kanan Parida
LSE
34
84
20
Alyssa Binczyle
UCL
49
81
26
Rosie Heller
Barts
15
75
27
Pennylouise Hever
KCL
33
74
31
Olivia Mulligan
RHUL
53
70
32
Kirstie Conway
UCL II
54
69
Women's Team Results
1
St Mary's University College
289
2
Brunel University
287
3
University College London
264
4
Imperial College London
260
5
Brunel II
250
6
St Mary's II
243
7
King's College London
229
8
University of Bedfordshire
219
9
St Mary's III
206
10
Royal Holloway University of London
198
Women's UL Colleges Top 5
3
University College London
264
7
King's College London
229
10
Royal Holloway University of
London
198
13
UCL II
192
14
London School of Economics
182
In the mens race a bunch of St Mary's lads bossed it up front as usual with Matt Withey coming out on top.
Men's Race: Top 10
1
Matt Withey
SM
25.47
150
2
Toby Loveridge
SM
54
149
3
Robbie Farnham-Rose
SM
26.04
148
4
Ben Bradley
SM
7
147
5
Jack Partridge
SM
11
146
6
Nyle Clinton
Brunel
17
145
7
Joe Morwood
SGUL
21
144
8
Ben Coldray
SM
31
143
9
Gwynant Jones
SM II
38
142
10
Michael Wood
SM II
39
141
Joe Morwood showed his class, the only UL Athlete in the top ten overall for the UL win. UCL put on a fine show with 6 of the top 10 from UL colleges!
We’re
on the verge of a new season! This coming Wednesday at 3:15 they’ll be the best
part of two hundred London students charging up Parliament Hill on Hampstead
Heath!
Who’ll
be King of the Hill?! Usually someone from Imperial takes pride in snaffling that
prized accolade!?
As
the new season approaches we’re excited to welcome all the new runners to the
London Colleges League. We hope that all the runners, new and returning, are
looking forward to the first race. It’s important that every athlete feels
welcome to come along and race at the LCLs, it really doesn’t matter how fast
or slow you are, the only thing that really matters is that it’s fun and you
enjoy it! Use the opportunity to see London’s beautiful parks!
The 2012 start:
London
is perhaps unique in the world as a city with enough different Universities
with keen athletes and enough different large green spaces to sustain a university
cross country league of such size, diversity and quality. Without wishing to
get too misty eyed and sentimental, and aware of his strong tendency towards verbosity
and hyperbole, this writer hopes that we get a strong turnout throughout the
season and that all the new runners get as attached to the league as some of
the old hands. I hope you all love the races and want to keep coming back! We
need every ounce of your enthusiasm for racing in order to sustain the leagues
future! It’s your league, so make the most of it! If you want to suggest
improvements or get involved in the organisation of the races in the future,
please just let us know.
We
really hope that the races are a highlight of your time at in London and that
in the future, when perhaps you have less time available for competitive sport
in your busy lives, you look back at your results in the LCLs with pride and a
smile. Not just because of the number next to your name on the results and what
that represents; the racing heart beats; the rushed gasps for air; the burning
leg muscles; the hills climbed; the mud conquered and sweat poured, but also because
of happy memories from the races and the friendships you forged through your
time running at university in London. The beers shared afterwards in the pub
are as important as finishing ahead of your closest competitor! For this
writer, the woods and twisting paths of Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park and
Wimbledon Common echo with the names and distant footfalls of friends and
rivals from across the years, that’s what it’s all about. Some of last years King's squad:
Our
sport is sometimes criticized as being an individualistic and lonely pursuit,
unfairly I think. Runners get the best out of each other by running together,
either in training or racing against each other. In competitions like the LCL
the team counts above all else. Each and every runner’s individual effort
contributes to collective success; the honour of your University is at stake! Perhaps
the Highlight of last years league was the battle between the King’s and UCL
women’s 1st teams. The two traditionally strongest UL College Teams
had only a few points between them throughout the whole race series, with their entire teams memorably finishing within seconds of each other in a sprint
finish at Richmond. King’s eventually came out on top so UCL will be looking
for revenge this year. Ever reliable athletes that formed the core of last
years teams like Smart, Fiabema, Blöcher, Dransfield, Kobza, Willson and Bliss
are otherwise committed on years abroad, PhDs, have graduated or returned home
to Oslo, America, Heidelberg or the bright lights of Leeds. Their Presidents
sorely miss them and the training groups have a different feel. So, it’s time
for the next generation of runners from these colleges to renew this ancient
rivalry. From the look of their squads at the early training
sessions both UCL and King’s have another set of strong runners for the season
ahead. Anticipation is high for UCLs James Pigot and Chris Lloyd, ULs top
runners at BUCS last year, restarting their battle royale at Hampstead
Heath. Rumour has it that Pigot has been fitting in Rocky Balboa style training
sessions between his more genteel rounds of golf with his consultants.
James
training:
Who
will finish as the best individual for the University of London Colleges in
2013-14? Last year in the men’s, Patrick Hough of UCL caught Rob Walker with a storming performance at the last race of the season to take first, with
Daveen-Alexander Wingrove of King’s making up the top 3 runners from UL. Such
is the Frenchman’s enthusiasm for the LCL races that he’s rumored to be
returning from the land of cheese and wine for the Wimbledon Common race, plus
he’ll probably be running all the way from a Marseille to London straight from
a boozy night out, an example to us all! Maria Blöcher, of King’s, emulated
Hough, putting together a classy series of races to finish
top of the UL women in 2012-13, followed by Ella Fuller of UCL and Shannon
Colman, also King’s.
Because of the diverse and international nature of the student population in London I’ve had the privilege to meet and run with people from Australia, Norway, America, Spain, France, Germany and Italy, to name but a few. The LCLs are part of that unique opportunity whilst at university in London to befriend like-minded people from countless different cultures and backgrounds. We all gather together for these six races before many of us scatter back across the globe, make the most of it while it lasts! Last years finish:
