Xmas Kennedy Cup Report

John Fisher School

Cross-Country Report Christmas Term 2019

What is Cross country? Running right? It’s a bit more than that

You run in all weathers, rain, ice, snow, across a route with grassy fields, mud, forests, uneven paths and hills that go on forever, and sometimes a river to cross, and sometimes all of those things in the same race.

The distances vary from 2 miles for juniors up to 6 miles for Seniors. You run as an individual, against the clock and against your fellow runners, but you also run as a team where every place counts so there is no chance to slack off.

You need to be mentally as well as physically strong. There is no half time, no substitutions, no breaks. You just need to keep going.

It is extremely tough but extremely rewarding – and another busy and enjoyable term of competition sees John Fisher retaining its reputation locally and nationally.

One key reason for this is a hugely talented and dedicated Year 7 intake who have made our Junior squad very strong, most of whom have also played rugby for the school but run whenever they could. The Junior Team have won the Relays at Oxted twice and at John Fisher, as well as finishing in First Place at the Sutton Borough Championships.

The Highlight was the Junior Knole, the biggest race in the country for Juniors, where 8^th place was secured out of 50+ teams. An incredible performance on a cold and wet day over an extremely challenging course and the best the school has seen in ten years.

Chris Finch and Oliver Anstee have impressed from Year 8 – Chris finishing 24^th out of 309 runners at the Junior Knole, and from Year 7 Adam Reeves, Daniel Finch, Oliie Rayner, Lucion Gillian and Ollie Hession have ran really well, but several others have also impressed. Adam Reeves finished 28^th at the Junior Knole, an incredible achievement considering he is still Year 7.

The Inters have performed well in League fixtures, with the Year 8 & 9 team finishing 4^th at the Sutton Boroughs. The highlight was second place finish at Charterhouse. A number of this age group have been running for the senior team, showing their huge potential. Consistently impressive were Ebuka and Chizoba, Paul Hewitt and Jack Hession while Emmanuel Victor has carried the flag for Year 9.

The Seniors have had depleted numbers and so have relied on younger runners a lot this season. Robbie Tambling, Harry Smith and Malachi Messette have been consistent from the 6^th Form, and Freddy Georgiou and Joe Roberts from Year 11 have been committed throughout. The competition has been tough and the standard high in all the fixtures, but the age of the squad will stand us in good stead in the future. The Year 10/11 and 6^th Form teams both finished 2^nd at the Sutton Boroughs

The Overall highlight was winning the Sutton Borough Cross Country Championships for the first time in 5 years. All the students from all the age groups who ran deserve credit as they all played their part, and a narrow victory by 4 points was just reward for a sport that is truly ‘whole-school’