Race Date: Sunday 15 December 2024
“And you see, gold medal, silver medal, bronze medal and for me a potato. What to do?” These were Emil Zatopek’s thoughts as he saw Chataway, Schade and Mimoun powering away in the final of the 1952 Helsinki Olympic 5000m. The Czech went on to win in a new Olympic record but this is the final league event of the season at Graves Park so not quite the Olympics. For one M65, if he could beat the chap from Penistone, there was a possibility of third place (out of ten so don’t get too excited). Most of us rarely get to race in the true sense of the term as even for those who may pick up the occasional age category prize it’s seldom a “head to head” tussle. Veterans’ athletics is a mere sideshow but for him this will require everything including the kitchen sink.
Away from the rarefied atmosphere of the M65’s, with only one point in it, Steel City had every chance of finishing top of Division One and the call was out from team captains to get as many bodies on the line as possible. This was after all a de-facto home fixture. Conditions on the day at Graves Park were, as ever, blustery but conditions underfoot were generally good although the strategically placed softer parts on the narrow sections in the woods and elsewhere meant that spikes definitely had the edge over studs.
The women’s race is off with the ridge and furrow being the first test. (Ben Baxendale)
On race day, Abbie Pearse completed her first XC of the season finishing first. In the men’s event a rather delicate Rob Byers spurned the desire to lay asleep in bed to lead the men home in 19th position. And our M65? Penistone pushed him all the way with the lead changing every time that they came to a hill and on the final climb he had to give himself a good Zatopek style talking to, reminding himself that this was what he wanted to do. Although not in the same “race”, there was always someone to try and catch only just failing to get Nicola Ross who he was never going to catch in a sprint finish anyway but in the process they both caught and passed a couple of opponents on the last lap. So much better than being an M60 where the target was not to finish last.
Dot Kesterton and Nicola Ross early in the race with Penistone in the blue long sleeve top always getting the gap on the hills. (Ben Baxendale)
RESULTS Lots to get through with the Graves Park race itself, Individual and Team Championship Medallists, Individual League Results and Medallists and finally Overall Team Positions with Steel City picking up nearly twenty medals and trophies in the main belonging to the women.
RESULTS RACE 4 GRAVES PARK 2024 with South Yorkshire Championships Individual Medallists in brackets (-)
Senior and Veteran Women (6000m)
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time |
| 1 (1) | Abbie Pearse | SF | 24.09 |
| 8 (1) | Caroline Brock | F35 | 26.20 |
| 11 | Sarah Thorne | SF | 26.42 |
| 15 (1) | Natalie Neville | F45 | 27.52 |
| 22 | Sarah-Jane Brown | SF | 28.28 |
| 30 | Emily Green | SF | 30.04 |
| 40 (2) | Fiona Jeffries | F55 | 31.06 |
| 41 | Jacqui Herring | F45 | 31.20 |
| 52 (1) | Dot Kesterton | F70 | 32.46 |
| 54 | Nicola Ross | F35 | 33.00 |
| 63 | Karen Clark | F55 | 34.15 |
| 64 | Samya Armoush | F35 | 34.24 |
| 66 (2) | Louise Rowley | F70 | 34.32 |
| 78 | Jo Gleig | F55 | 37.28 |
| 84 (3) | Carol Beattie | F70 | 38.33 |
| 93 | Katelyn McKeown | F35 | 40.46 |
105 Finishers
Senior and Veteran Men (10,000m)
| 1 | Euan Brown (Hallam) | SM | 33.25 |
| 19 | Rob Byers | SM | 38.08 |
| 23 | Seth Kirby | SM | 38.32 |
| 33 | Liam Brennan | M35 | 39.20 |
| 38 | Richard Millier | M35 | 39.47 |
| 40 | Steven Cahill | M35 | 40.02 |
| 57 | Michael Cockings | M45 | 41.18 |
| 58 | Louis Wood | M45 | 41.33 |
| 61 | John Kilcoyne | M45 | 41.50 |
| 63 | Robert Cook | SM | 42.04 |
| 66 | Richard Carter | M45 | 42.44 |
| 70 | Malcolm Baggaley | M35 | 43.17 |
| 73 (3) | Jed Turner | M55 | 43.23 |
| 76 | Chris Ireland | M55 | 43.55 |
| 79 | Chris Lawson | M45 | 44.05 |
| 80 | Brendon Wain | SM | 44.11 |
| 95 | Ian Stinson | M45 | 47.12 |
| 106 | Ben Baxendale | M35 | 48.27 |
| 108 | Sergei Shkul | M45 | 48.33 |
| 128 | Andy Rowland | M55 | 52.48 |
| 132 | Tony Bell | M55 | 57.42 |
134 Finishers
Veteran Men 65 and Over (6000m)
| 1 | Kevin Newman (Donc) | M65 | 27.49 |
| 5 (3) | Peter Brown | M65 | 33.02 |
| 10 | Dave Beech | M65 | 35.14 |
15 Finishers
Steel City’s combined Womens and Vets Team comprised of Abbie Pearse, Sarah Thorne, Caroline Brock and Natalie Neville placed second behind Hallamshire Harriers and ahead of Rotherham Harriers.
Full results are available for your perusal SYCAA XC Race 4 Graves Park. and South Yorkshire XC Championships 2024
Plenty of bling in the Championships with a clean sweep by the F70’s. L-R Carol Beattie, Fiona Jeffries and Dot Kesterton who was later giving it the old “stone in my shoe” excuse for a below par outing.
FULL RESULTS SOUTH YORKSHIRE CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE 2024
Results for individual league positions are based on the best three races across the season, one of which must be Race 4, the Championship Race. In the event of a tie the award goes to higher place in the Championship race which is how some Steel City gained their medals.
South Yorkshire Cross Country League 2024 Individual Placings.
Senior Women
| Pos | Points | Name |
| 1 | 4 | Emily Cowper-Coles (Roth) |
| 5 | 15 | Sarah Thorne |
| 7 | 26 | Sarah-Jane Brown |
| 14 | 48 | Emily Green |
F35 Women
| 1 | 3 | Caroline Brock |
| 11 | 42 | Nicola Ross |
| 13 | 53 | Samya Armoush |
| 15 | 65 | Katelyn McKeown |
F45 Women
| 1 | 4 | Natalie Neville |
F55 Women
| 1 | 3 | Joanne Rooney (Kimberworth) |
| 2 | 6 | Fiona Jeffries |
| 7 | 25 | Jo Gleig |
F70 Women
| 1 | 4 | Louise Rowley |
| 2 | 7 | Carole Beattie |
Senior Men
| 1 | 3 | Euan Brown (Hallam) |
| 4 | 23 | Rob Byers |
| 7 | 54 | Brendon Wain |
| 8 | 56 | Robert Cook |
M35 Men
| 1 | 5 | Tom Bailey (Hallam) |
| 6 | 21 | Liam Brennan |
| 7 | 28 | Richard Miller |
| 9 | 34 | Steven Cahill |
| 13 | 53 | Malcolm Baggaley |
M45 Men
| 1 | 5 | Alan Ford (Barnsley H) |
| 8 | 24 | Michael Cockings |
| 9 | 25 | Louis Wood |
| 11 | 32 | John Kilcoyne |
| 12 | 36 | Richard Carter |
| 14 | 45 | Chris Lawson |
| 23 | 75 | Sergei Shkul |
| 24 | 76 | Ian Stinson |
M55 Men
| 1 | 3 | Mike Nolan (Hallam) |
| 3 | 17 | Jed Turner |
| 14 | 57 | Andy Rowland |
| 16 | 73 | Tony Bell |
M65 Men
| 1 | 3 | Kevin Newman (Donc) |
| 3 | 10 | Peter Brown |
| 7 | 18 | Dave Beech |
Link to the final league results for the 2024 season SYCAA Cross Country League 2024 Individual Results
At it’s core however, Cross Country is a team event where everyone has a role to play with the opportunity to affect the final score even if not getting in the scoring team themselves. As with any team event in any sport, the trick is to get your best all out in the same place at the same time this being so much more difficult across four races. With athletics this involves individuals who will have their their own personal ambitions to pursue. Following the smoke and mirrors that are how team positions are calculated (SYCAA XC Divisions) Steel City finished just a couple of points clear of Hillsborough but enough to lift the league trophy.
| Pos | Division One | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| 1 | Steel City Striders | 47 | 46 | 45 | 45 | 183 |
| 2 | Hillsborough RC | 47 | 48 | 44 | 42 | 181 |
| 3 | University of Sheffield | 47 | 44 | 44 | 42 | 177 |
| 4 | Hallamshire Harriers | 51 | 36 | 38 | 48 | 173 |
| 5 | Sheffield RC | 41 | 44 | 42 | 41 | 168 |
| 6 | Totley AC | 42 | 31 | 36 | 27 | 136 |
| 7 | Kimberworth Striders | 34 | 36 | 30 | 32 | 132 |
| 8 | Penistone FPR | 23 | 24 | 38 | 15 | 100 |
| 9 | Danum Harriers | 6 | 12 | 28 | 15 | 61 |
Link to SYCAA 2024 League Teams
Credit to all 51 who completed at least one race, all who marshalled at Longley, helped carry, put up or take down the tent and of course the man behind it all, Richard Pegg. Although veterans’ athletics may be viewed as a distraction for the old folks, in this case 78% of those who took part for Steel City this season were within that category so seniors, pints all round please. Sixteen Steel City competed in all four events – your racing next year will be bound benefit from this excellent conditioning work.
Steel City Turnout South Yorkshire League 2024
| Category | Individuals |
| SF | 5 |
| F35 | 4 |
| F45 | 2 |
| F55 | 5 |
| F70 | 3 |
| SM | 6 |
| M35 | 6 |
| M45 | 12 |
| M55 | 6 |
| M65 | 2 |
| Total Individuals | 51 |
| Completed all four races | 16 |
| Total Turn Out all Steel City over four events. | 146 |
| % Vets | 78% |