SPORTS YEARBOOK 2011 (Including the 2009-2010 Review

members compete in the London
Marathon, which doubles as the
Varsity Marathon against Oxford.
The club also organises road
running events, including the
Boundary Run, a marathon race
around the perimeter of
Cambridge.The club prides itself
on its diverse membership and
active social scene and indeed
includes many social runners as
well as highly competitive
athletes.
Varsity Match
5th December 2009
Wimbledon Common
Women: Oxford win 17-21
Men: Oxford win 28-52
The 34th ladies’ race began with
Cambridge having very realistic
hopes of registering their first win
since 2006. In the early stages, it
looked as if these hopes would be
fulfilled with Amanda Scott and
Naomi Taschimowitz taking the
lead, splashing through the
stream, with the main body of the
Light Blue team packed in the
middle order.
However, as the course flattened
out towards the half-way point, it
was the Dark Blues who started to
emerge ominously with Michelle
Sikes, last year’s winner, moving
into second and solid support
forming behind her. The Oxford
girls picked off the Cambridge
runners and crucially relegated
our fourth scorer to 10th. With
Oxford holding a narrow
advantage as the runners hit the
heavy mud of the butts, the result
was still in doubt. However, the
Dark Blues’ strong team work
meant that they were able to hold
their positions and secure a 17
points to 21 victory. However, Light
Blue pride was still emanating
thanks to Taschimowitz’s stunning
individual victory and Scott’s
3rd place.
Buoyed by their ladies’
performance, the youthful, but
talented, Oxford gentlemen’s team
produced an outstanding
performance to take the honours
in the 119th race of their series.
From the off, it was last year’s first
two, Richard Franzese and David
Bruce, once again making the
running over the wet 7 1 /2 mile
course,accompanied by team-mate,
Andrew Heyes, and experienced
Light Blue, James Kelly. Behind
them, and emulating their ladies’
team, Oxford were backed-up by a
good supporting pack.
By just after half-way, Oxford were
looking extremely strong and it
appeared that only misfortune
could deny them. However, it was
to be their day and with Andrew
Heyes pulling away from Kelly in
the closing stages, they were able
to secure a 1-2-3 and a 28 points
to 52 victory.The individual
honours were taken by David
Bruce in a very fine time of 38:02.
Varsity IInds-IVths Matches
28th November 2009
Shotover Hill, Oxford
Men’s Seconds: Oxford win
31-54
Men’s Thirds: Oxford win
31-48
Men’s Fourths: Cambridge
win 359-477
Women’s Seconds: Oxford win
15-23
Women’s Thirds: Cambridge
win 213-248
The fearsome slopes of Shotover
Hill served as the battleground for
over 50 Cambridge athletes to
take on their Dark Blue
counterparts.The Women's IInds
were first to get underway but the
race result was sadly decided by a
poorly marked course as fell as
race leader Polly Keen of
Cambridge strayed off route,
dropping ten places as a result. In
spite of this misfortune, the Light
Blues did gain a medallist in the
form of Lowri Richards who ran a
brilliantly executed race to take
2nd place overall. The Cambridge
Women’s Captain, Emma Figures,
also had a very determined race to
finish 4th. However, the marking
errors proved decisive for the
Light Blues as Oxford took the
team victory.
The Men's Second and Thirds
teams, despite medals for Alex
Young and Ben Davis (2nd and 3rd,
Men’s Seconds) and Rowan
Brackston (3rd, Men’s Thirds), were
unfortunately outdone by some
remarkably strong Oxford
performances Nevertheless,
commanding victories in the mob
matches restored Light Blue pride
as Grace Geilinger and Rachel
Kitchen in first and second
impressively led the Women's IIIrd
Team home to victory. Similarly,
inspired were the Men’s Fourths
who not only outnumbered but
also out-muscled their Dark Blue
opponents. An emphatic win by
former-Blues runner Tim Pattison
set the trend for a number of great
performances despite the fact that
(yet again) the routes taken by the
competitors varied quite
significantly.
The Varsity Marathon
25th April 2010
London (Blackheath to The Mall)
Cambridge win 4366-5800
While Oxford had come out on top
through the mud, it was a Light
Blue day in the London Marathon.
Cambridge have not lost this
event since its foundation and
carried on that record despite the
strongest Dark Blue challenge in
years. An unbelievably gutsy run
from James Kelly, running with a
stress fracture to the fibula, saw
him take the men’s BUCS bronze
49