Photo -Stuart Brown and Cole Gibbens
Tonbridge Athletic Club’s men had a convincing win at The South of Thames Cross Country Championship, on Saturday, which the club hosted, at The Schools at Somerhill. The event is one of the oldest in the Winter distance running calendar, having been first held in 1888 and this was only the second occasion that Tonbridge had hosted the race.
Run over 12 kilometres, the very hilly Somerhill course consisted of a small lap, plus three larger laps, with more than two hundred starters, from twenty teams. Soon after the start Lewis Mills, from Tonbridge, was at the front, ensuring a reasonably fast pace. Behind him a group followed in single file and by the end of the small lap, Tonbridge had five runners in the top eight.
Halfway around the first of the three large laps Stuart Brown and Cole Gibbens were at the front and had a small gap to Mills. Brown was back in England for Christmas, from working in Mexico, where he had raced a marathon just two weeks before, whilst Gibbens was aiming for his second win of the cross-country season, having won a Kent League in early November.
Brown continued to force the pace and, on several occasions, looked like he had broken Gibbens, but the latter managed to stay within reach and just before the start of the final lap hit the front. He built a decisive lead, which he held to the end, although Brown was never out of sight. Gibbens won in 43.21, with Brown sixteen seconds behind. Tonbridge then packed their four further scorers in the top ten, through Lewis Mills (4th), a fast-finishing Matthew Taylor (5th), Alex Howard (6th) and Jamie Goodge (10th). Their final score was the lowest in the history of the event and recaptured the team title which Tonbridge last one two years ago. Belgrave Harriers were second team, and the Tonbridge squad was so strong that their B-team took third spot through James Crombie (11th), Ben Pearce (12th), Jamie Macdonald (18th), Tom Lockhart (21st), Mark Pepper (24th) and Isaac Arnott (32nd).
The women’s event was run alongside the men’s, although Tonbridge had just three runners, including Tina Oldershaw, who finished 17th and won the over 50 age group category.