We glance again at one of the difficult English Nationwide Cross Nation Championships as runners battled towards brutal climate in 1972
As anticipation builds for the 2025 English Cross Nation Championships, set for February 22 at Parliament Hill, it’s price reflecting on one of the memorable and difficult editions within the occasion’s lengthy historical past – held 53 years in the past in 1972.
That yr’s race, the final to be hosted at Sutton Park (March 4), continues to be etched within the recollections of all who participated, because of the brutal climate circumstances that took a dramatic flip over the course of the day.
What started as tolerable winter climate shortly was an arctic-like storm. By afternoon, the rain turned to sleet, then to snow, and the temperature plummeted, turning the course into an unforgiving battlefield.
Whereas excessive climate is commonly a part of the cross nation expertise, 1972’s circumstances have been on a completely completely different stage. Runners struggled towards a powerful headwind and icy floor, with many needing medical consideration and a visit to the hospital after ending the race.
The officers additionally needed to endure the exhausting circumstances. Tragically, Tom Owen, an official from Liverpool, handed away from a coronary heart assault whereas travelling residence after the occasion.
On the time, the ladies’s race was held individually, per week earlier at Excessive Wycombe. However for the boys, it was a really brutal check.
Because the circumstances worsened through the senior race, runners needed to full three laps of a gruelling nine-mile course, and because the storm intensified, the officers’ tent turned a refuge for these in search of shelter and first support after ending.
For many who managed to cross the end line, the ordeal didn’t finish there. They confronted a further mile-and-a-half stroll to the altering rooms.
The occasion earned the headline: “Arctic climate turned ‘Nationwide’ right into a grim survival check” in AW.
Welshman Malcolm Thomas, competing for Thames Valley Harriers, triumphed within the race, having improved on his second-place end from the earlier yr. Dave Bedford, who had received the earlier yr, was unable to compete as a consequence of an Achilles damage and was as an alternative a spectator.
With most runners falling at some stage through the race, even Thomas took a tumble a couple of mile earlier than the end line.
Invoice Robinson of Gateshead completed second, 36 seconds behind Thomas. Robinson had beforehand solely been ranked twenty third within the Nationwide and clearly the robust climate circumstances suited him. Allan Rushmer, a three-time Commonwealth medallist rounded out the highest three.
The Nationwide Cross Nation Championships has an extended 149-year historical past and the one different occasions the occasion was cancelled earlier than 2021 was through the world wars.
Hugo Milner (Graham Smith)
Nevertheless, the Covid pandemic noticed the 2021 occasion known as off and in 2024 it was postponed as a result of automobile parks being affected by torrential rain and flooding – the primary time climate had pressured the cancellation. It was rescheduled for September 2024, with Niamh Brown and Hugo Milner taking the senior titles.
Looking forward to 2025, the Championships will return to Parliament Hill on February 22. Let’s hope the climate is far more forgiving than it was through the unforgettable 1972 version.
You’ll find all of our unique protection from the 1972 Nationwide Cross Nation Championships by way of the Athletics Weekly archive.
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