Surrey Cross-Country League Fixture 4 – Epsom Downs – Saturday 8th February 2025. Words: Mark Tennyson. Photos: James Harvey and Danny Easton.
The year was 2012 the last time the Senior Men set foot on Epsom Downs in the second Division Two match of the 2012/13 season. This time it was Division One – a division that has grown from nine to ten teams since the beginning of 2023/24.
By Act of Parliament racehorse training has priority on Epsom Downs until 12 noon, Monday to Saturday. The course could not be marked out until after noon and all clubs were asked not to erect their flags or tents prior to this time. The first race was scheduled for 1pm which was well timed on the day, as the cold morning mist that had shrouded the Downs began to lift and the rain at noon had extra time to cease.
Senior Men
With several ‘A’ team regulars missing, Guildford’s men finished in 6th place on Saturday and slipped to sixth (from ten) for the overall season. Fortunately, the G’s had some superb performances at the sharp end as John Sanderson (3rd) and Cam Reilly (4th) made light work of the very muddy conditions and hilly Epsom Downs terrain. To win the overall individual title, John first had to overturn a three point deficit to move ahead of Andrew Fyfe of Belgrave. His third place finish comfortably did this as his rival from Belgrave could only finish 22nd, giving the Guildford athlete a sixteen point advantage. Another Belgravian, Sam Gebreselassie, who placed sixth on the day, moved into second place overall, but finished the season twelve points off the leader.
John & Cam were followed by the ever-reliable Tom Foster (30th) and regulars Dan Wallis (47th), Colin High (59th), Matt McDaniel (77th) and Callum Job (86th). The scoring ten were completed by Nick Tearle (M50), Terry Booth (M55-1) & Ian Acreman (M50). This was Ian’s first ever ‘A’ team score.
There were some excellent personal battles and strong runs from our remaining squad – James Adams, Peter Marshall, Lee Lintern, Mark Tennyson (M60-2) in his one hundredth Surrey League race, Guy Holcroft (M55-3), Ben Gilmore, Ian Davies, Phil Pryke, Andrew Flanagan, Charlie Alger and Adam Poole.
In the individual rankings, Mark Tennyson finished first overall in the M55 category and Guy Holcroft, who has had a very decent season, second. The G’s had three in the top five in the newly formed M35 category (previously M40 was the lowest age group) – Tom Foster, Matt McDaniel and Colin High finished 2nd, 4th & 5th respectively.
Senior Women
Guildford’s women finished fourth of the fifteen teams in Division One to seal an excellent fourth place overall for the 2024/25 season. They were led home by Georgie Bruinvels (second claim GGAC) in 7th place, followed by Violet Isaacs (17th & U20-1), Katie Grinyer (19th), Eloise Hudson (26th & U20-2) and Jilly Raw (61st).
The ‘B’ team of Alice Batchelor, Sam Ludlow Taylor, Jackie White, Karen Bryant and Rosie Murfitt all combined well to finish sixth team from fourteen.
Eloise Hudson and Violet Isaacs finished first and second overall in the U20 category.
