Remember those schooldays when you went on those muddy, slippery horrible Cross-country runs and you learnt to hate it. Well it does not really change as an adult, but the benefits of those tough, gruelling, leg sapping runs are there is no better way of building both strength and stamina in both your running and your muscles. Forget the gym Cross-country running over 5 miles or so will strengthen those legs more than many hours pumping iron and using exercise machines.
Many club runners who compete in Marathons tend to ignore Cross-country as they feel the distance is too short, but at Great Bentley Running Club we totally dismiss this. A 5 mile cross-country can seem like 10 to your legs and the feeling you get in those legs when they tighten up and ache as you try to keep going is very much what you feel on your last 6 miles in a marathon. Many at the club feel cross-country is a vital part of your marathon training.
In 1990 the club joined the Today’s Runner Cross Country League. We were entered into the North Essex Division. Originally there were clubs in this league, we became the ninth. For the first few years the clubs target was “Not to finish bottom of the Cross Country League “This did not always prove easy, but it was achievable. From the time Ray Broad took over there seemed to be a running (sorry ) joke – at the annual cross country meeting , Ray would tell the other clubs – this would be our year. On paper this was possible, but we never seemed to get all the runners out at the same time. The idea was that we gained promotion from our pool in the league to go to the top pool, though we knew in all probability that we would go back down.
In 1994 the possibility of promotion was further away than ever as the club finished bottom of the league (with a record low score ever of 8 points from 6 races) , due to many injuries and members leaving . 1995 saw the usual objective return – don’t finish bottom, and with new runners and returning old members, this was easily achieved. 1996 was the first time the club could think of promotion, though we proved not quite strong enough over the whole season. It was in 1999/2000 that promotion was actually achieved , a fitting tribute to Derek Cook’s final reign as Chairman and the club went on to the final near Leicester , though due to marathon training , many members did not attend , a great day out was had by those that did go.
Great Bentley Running Club competes in the McNeils Intersports Cross-country League and have built a reputation to be proud of. Over 5 years we have worked our way from wooden spooners par excellence to in the 1999-2000 season winning Pool B at a canter. It is tough continuing at this high standard, but it will not be without us giving it 100%.
Here is how the club got on in the 2002-2003 season :-
Results for Event 1 - Gosfield School, 27th October 2002
MEN
| Geoff Tomlinson | 9 |
| Peter Pearce | 11 |
| Jeff Wharton | 35 |
| Matt Anderson | 49 |
| Dean King | 105 |
| Brian Telford | 106 |
| Graham Sheward | 114 |
| Paul Felton | 117 |
LADIES
| Lucy Westcott | 13 |
| Paula Bolton | 17 |
| Michelle Robinson | 21 |
| Indi Allen | 29 |
| LEAGUE TABLES | |||||||
| MEN | SCORE | WOMEN | SCORE | ||||
| 1 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 129 | 1 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 15 | ||
| 2 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 139 | 2 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 16 | ||
| 3 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 143 | 3 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 30 | ||
| 4 | HALSTEAD ROADRUNNERS | 274 | 4 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 34 | ||
| 5 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 318 | 5 | HALSTEAD ROADRUNNERS | 50 | ||
| 6 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 340 | 6 | GBRC | 64 | ||
| 7 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 351 | 7 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 69 | ||
| 8 | GBRC | 429 | 8 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 91 | ||
| 9 | MID ESSEX CASUALS | 483 | 9 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 94 | ||
| 10 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 504 | 10 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 242 | ||
| 11 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 1095 | 11 | MID ESSEX CASUALS | 358 | ||
| LEAGUE | LEAGUE | ||||||
| OVERALL SCORES | POINTS | LEAGUE POSITIONS | POINTS | ||||
| 1 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 154 | 11 | POOL A | |||
| 2 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 159 | 10 | 1 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 11 | |
| 3 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 234 | 9 | 2 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 10 | |
| 4 | HALSTEAD ROADRUNNERS | 324 | 8 | 3 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 9 | |
| 5 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 352 | 7 | 4 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 6 | |
| 6 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 409 | 6 | 5 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 1 | |
| 7 | GBRC | 493 | 5 | ||||
| 8 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 593 | 4 | POOL B | |||
| 9 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 598 | 3 | 1 | HALSTEAD ROADRUNNERS | 8 | |
| 10 | MID ESSEX CASUALS | 841 | 2 | 2 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 7 | |
| 11 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 1111 | 1 | 3 | GBRC | 5 | |
| 4 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 4 | |||||
| 5 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 3 | |||||
| 6 | MID ESSEX CASUALS | 2 | |||||
Results for Event 2 - Landseer Park, Ipswich, 1st December 2003
MEN
| Peter Pearce | 9 |
| John Cottis | 23 |
| Matthew Anderson | 41 |
| Jeff Wharton | 52 |
| Fred Bees | 74 |
| Frank Gardiner | 103 |
| Brian Telford | 104 |
| Graham Sheward | 120 |
| Dean King | 133 |
| Terry Law | 137 |
LADIES
| Michelle Van Looy | 13 |
| Lucy Westcott | 17 |
| Paula Bolton | 21 |
| Nikki Bennett | 29 |
| Michelle Robinson | 30 |
| Pam Earle | 38 |
| Caroline Goldsworthy | 43 |
| LEAGUE TABLES | |||||||
| MEN | SCORE | WOMEN | SCORE | ||||
| 1 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 102 | 1 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 13 | ||
| 2 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 136 | 2 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 36 | ||
| 3 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 175 | 3 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 37 | ||
| 4 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 227 | 4 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 42 | ||
| 5 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 366 | 5 | GBRC | 51 | ||
| 6 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 393 | 6 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 60 | ||
| 7 | GBRC | 406 | 7 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 71 | ||
| 8 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 409 | 8 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 103 | ||
| 9 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 423 | 9 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 209 | ||
| 10 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 610 | 10 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 257 | ||
| 11 | MID-ESSEX CASUALS | 903 | 11 | MID ESSEX CASUALS | 552 | ||
| LEAGUE | LEAGUE | ||||||
| OVERALL SCORES | POINTS | LEAGUE POSITIONS | POINTS | ||||
| 1 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 172 | 11 | POOL A | |||
| 2 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 212 | 10 | 1 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 21 | |
| 3 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 240 | 9 | 2 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 21 | |
| 4 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 311 | 8 | 3 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 17 | |
| 5 | GBRC | 457 | 7 | 4 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 12 | |
| 6 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 464 | 6 | 5 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 10 | |
| 7 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 465 | 5 | ||||
| 8 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 469 | 4 | POOL B | |||
| 9 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 623 | 3 | 1 | HALSTEAD ROADRUNNERS | 12 | |
| 10 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 713 | 2 | 2 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 12 | |
| 11 | MID-ESSEX CASUALS | 1455 | 1 | 3 | GBRC | 12 | |
| 4 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 7 | |||||
| 5 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 5 | |||||
| 6 | MID ESSEX CASUALS | 3 | |||||
Results for Event 3 - Highlands Park, Chelmsford, 15th December 2002
MEN
| John Cottis | 33 |
| Matt Anderson | 48 |
| Jeff Wharton | 64 |
| Fred Bees | 73 |
| Phil Jacks | 124 |
| Paul Felton | 143 |
| Steve Cartwright | 152 |
LADIES
| Lucy Westcott | 20 |
| Nikki Bennett | 22 |
| Michelle Van Looy | 23 |
| Paula Bolton | 25 |
| Michelle Robinson | 32 |
| Pam Earle | 44 |
| Caroline Goldsworthy | 47 |
| LEAGUE TABLES | |||||||
| MEN | SCORE | WOMEN | SCORE | ||||
| 1 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 64 | 1 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 12 | ||
| 2 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 113 | 2 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 28 | ||
| 3 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 172 | 3 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 32 | ||
| 4 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 331 | 4 | WITHAM RUNNERS | 45 | ||
| 5 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 362 | 5 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 54 | ||
| 6 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 399 | 6 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 55 | ||
| 7 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 472 | 7 | GBRC | 65 | ||
| 8 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 536 | 8 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 72 | ||
| 9 | GBRC | 637 | 9 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 276 | ||
| 10 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 692 | 10 | MID-ESSEX CASUALS | 312 | ||
| 11 | MID-ESSEX CASUALS | 927 | 11 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 430 | ||
| LEAGUE | LEAGUE | ||||||
| OVERALL SCORES | POINTS | LEAGUE POSITIONS | POINTS | ||||
| 1 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 119 | 11 | POOL A | |||
| 2 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 145 | 10 | 1 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 31 | |
| 3 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 200 | 9 | 2 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 30 | |
| 4 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 374 | 8 | 3 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 28 | |
| 5 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 403 | 7 | 4 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 19 | |
| 6 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 453 | 6 | 5 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 18 | |
| 7 | GBRC | 702 | 5 | ||||
| 8 | WITHAM RUNNERS | 737 | 4 | POOL B | |||
| 9 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 748 | 3 | 1 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 18 | |
| 10 | HALSTEAD ROADRUNNERS | 966 | 2 | 2 | GBRC | 17 | |
| 11 | MID-ESSEX CASUALS | 1239 | 1 | 3 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 14 | |
| 4 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 10 | |||||
| 5 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 9 | |||||
| 6 | MID ESSEX CASUALS | 4 | |||||
Results for Event 4 - Abbey Fields, Colchester, 29th December 2002
MEN
| Peter Pearce | 13 |
| John Cottis | 26 |
| Jeff Wharton | 41 |
| Matt Anderson | 48 |
| Fred Bees | 81 |
| Dave Mills | 91 |
| Phil Jarvis | 94 |
| Mark Ross | 107 |
| Jason Burch | 113 |
| Brian Telford | 116 |
| Peter Howden | 122 |
| Dean King | 133 |
| Graham Sheward | 137 |
| Stephen Cartwright | 146 |
LADIES
| Michelle Van Looy | 20 |
| Nikki Bennett | 22 |
| Lindsay Horton | 25 |
| Paula Bolton | 30 |
| Indi Allen | 35 |
| LEAGUE TABLES | |||||||
| MEN | SCORE | WOMEN | SCORE | ||||
| 1 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 62 | 1 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 13 | ||
| 2 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 133 | 2 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 28 | ||
| 3 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 191 | 3 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 41 | ||
| 4 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 227 | 4 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 44 | ||
| 5 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 324 | 5 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 45 | ||
| 6 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 346 | 6 | GBRC | 67 | ||
| 7 | GBRC | 394 | 7 | WITHAM RUNNERING CLUB | 74 | ||
| 8 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 474 | 8 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 81 | ||
| 9 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 539 | 9 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 410 | ||
| 10 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 698 | 10 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 426 | ||
| 11 | MID-ESSEX CASUALS | 874 | 11 | MID ESSEX CASUALS | 576 | ||
| LEAGUE | LEAGUE | ||||||
| OVERALL SCORES | POINTS | LEAGUE POSITIONS | POINTS | ||||
| 1 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 106 | 11 | POOL A | |||
| 2 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 161 | 10 | 1 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 41 | |
| 3 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 236 | 9 | 2 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 39 | |
| 4 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 240 | 8 | 3 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 39 | |
| 5 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 387 | 7 | 4 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 26 | |
| 6 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 405 | 6 | 5 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 25 | |
| 7 | GBRC | 461 | 5 | ||||
| 8 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 732 | 4 | POOL B | |||
| 9 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 900 | 3 | 1 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 25 | |
| 10 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 949 | 2 | 2 | GBRC | 22 | |
| 11 | MID-ESSEX CASUALS | 1450 | 1 | 3 | HALSTEAD ROAD RUNNERS | 16 | |
| 4 | TIPTREE ROADRUNNERS | 13 | |||||
| 5 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 13 | |||||
| 6 | MID ESSEX CASUALS | 5 | |||||
Results for Event 5 - Layer-de-la-Haye, 12th January 2003
MEN
| Peter Pearce | 12 |
| John Cottis | 24 |
| Matthew Anderson | 48 |
| Jeff Wharton | 50 |
| Fred Bees | 92 |
| Mark Ross | 95 |
| Dave Mills | 100 |
| Lee Bettis | 124 |
| Peter Howden | 127 |
| Paul Felton | 134 |
| Graham Sheward | 137 |
| Stephen Cartwright | 148 |
LADIES
| Michelle Van-Looy | 22 |
| Nikki Bennett | 24 |
| Lindsay Horton | 32 |
| Paula Bolton | 34 |
| Michelle Robinson | 43 |
| Barbara Law | 57 |
| Caroline Goldsworthy | 61 |
| LEAGUE TABLES | |||||||
| MEN | SCORE | WOMEN | SCORE | ||||
| 1 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 85 | 1 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 8 | ||
| 2 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 112 | 2 | COLCHESTER HARRIERS | 20 | ||
| 3 | COLCHESTER & TENDRING | 195 | 3 | SPRINGFIELD STRIDERS | 40 | ||
| 4 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 207 | 4 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 44 | ||
| 5 | HARWICH RUNNERS | 314 | 5 | IPSWICH JAFFA | 49 | ||
| 6 | GRANGE FARM TROTTERS | 345 | 6 | WITHAM RUNNING CLUB | 65 | ||
| 7 | GBRC | ||||||