Just keep running, running...
A certain fresher (who shall remain nameless) really showed how well he will fit in with the club!
On Wednesday 17th October saw 42 runners from Imperial College make the journey to north London to take on the “mountains” of Hampstead Heath. This marked the start of the annual London Colleges Cross Country League, with six races taking place around London over two terms.
A race rich in tradition began with a shout of “Gary Hoare” a legend within the club, followed by a slightly dubious starting gun. It was then up to the nominated ‘King of the Hill’ (Sam O’Neill) wearing the obligatory orange t shirt to take on the first hill, aiming to reach the top of the hill in first position. He took on the challenge with immense spirit but sadly St Mary’s had cottoned on to our plan, and they sent some beastly looking runners to chase him on up Parliament Hill. Despite reaching the top of the hill in 2nd position and sacrificing his race for the good of the club, Sam completed the two lap, 5 mile course to finish in 32nd position in a field of 140 runners. Star performances came from Men’s Captain James Ellis finishing in 18th position closely followed by fresher Chris Thomas in 25th, showing great promise for the coming season. The men’s first team finished in a creditable 5th position, the first non St Mary’s team, who are all practically pro runners, and ahead of UCL which is the most important thing!
In the 2.5 mile Women’s race, the first team again finished in 5th position and with a record 15 women from Imperial, the future looks bright! The first team made up of Sophie Kirk, Josie Bowler and Imogen Keane all finished within one minute of each other in 19th, 21st and 27th position respectively. The highlight of the day had to be the post race celebrations with cake, burgers and the traditional sports night at the union, where a certain fresher (who shall remain nameless) really showed how well he will fit in with the club!
With the majority of the Imperial team made up of new members to the club, we are very excited for the coming season, and are looking forward to moving up the leader board throughout the league!
