The Stags Show their Quality at Victoria Park in the Chingford League

Saturday 31st January saw the sixth Chingford League race of the season at Victoria Park, and it proved to be a great morning for the Stags.

This race is the most popular in the Chingford League calendar because it is on tarmac, flat as a pancake, and VERY! PB friendly. As a result, all clubs turned out in large numbers and we were no exception. 47 Stags started the race which is indicative of the fact we are now one of the big Chingford League clubs such is our enthusiasm for racing.

George on his Chingford League debut led our men’s team home with a terrific performance closely followed by Nehal (securing yet another PB). Sarhan and Alex secured PBs too and Rob, after a long layoff, had a great race also as did Andy W. It was great to see Liam, Chris and Jim competing in the League for the first time this season as well. Carmelo deserves special mention too given his commitment on the day was such that we couldn’t drag him away from the front of the start line (the ‘Sicilian Strategy’ as it’s now known) for a team photo and Stags love photo opportunities! Needless to say, Carmelo had a fine run.

In the women’s race Jo led our women home with yet another of her great performances closely followed by Karen and Charlotte M. Yllka was our fourth finisher, racing as well as she is training, and Charlotte C, still recovering from illness, was fifth with another fine run. Agnes had a brilliant run securing not one but several PBs and Anneli secured a PB too. Charlotte G was three minutes faster than last year and it was great to see the return of Mandy to the League while Jenny dug deep again and was rewarded with a fine run.

There were many other great performances including lots of fierce but friendly competition between club mates (as an example Andy R pipped Dave B on the line) and there were lots of personal achievements. After a difficult build up Kathryn had a tough day at the races but showed true grit to finish and can be very proud of her commitment while Brian sadly was a DNF but will return next year to show us what we missed. Special thanks are also due to Chloe for her help in organising team photos; herding cats is easier. It was great to see Kelvin and Mary offering encouragement throughout the race too.

Richard for the sixth race in a row was first M60 finisher and to no one’s surprise has won the M60 category by a country mile for the third year in succession. Awesome!

The large turnouts meant this fixture proved to be one of the season’s most competitive, but our teams performed superbly in the Division One contest with our men finishing a magnificent second on the day; only the hosts and run away winners of the League had the firepower to beat them. Our women were a terrific fifth.

Thanks to performance such as these by the 83 Stags who have competed in the League so far, our men and women have secured their places in Division One for another season and are currently sitting in fifth with only the Relays left.

Our Men’s Vets Team is currently third and the women’s fourth while our men’s B team is sixth and the women’s fourth in their respective league tables which consist of all 22 teams in the League. This is a fantastic Team Performance, and we can be very proud of everyone who has contributed to this success; not just competitors but volunteers and travelling supporters too.

Well done everyone!