CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20918, 27 July 1933, Page 15

CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING.

NOTES AND COMMENTS, j KEEN RACING EXPECTED AT| CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS. i Coming; Events. August 12— Canterbury cross-country championships at Cashmere. August 26—New Zealand cross-coun-try championships at Wanganui. Club Titles In Doubt. Almost every one of the club championships this season will be in doubt until the end of the race. The Christchurch, University, Methodist, and Baptist Clubs will hold their races on Saturday. The Presbyterian Club decided its championship last week. The Christchurch Club's race will probably be the most interesting of all. There are several claimants for places among the first four—G. H. Wat-! son. R. Rogers, T. H. Wilhelm, D. H. Pannell, L. C. Richards, and F. Palmer should all be up in an exciting | struggle. Watson is expected to win the club title, but judging by Rogers performance 4ast week he will be tully extended all the way through the race. Pannell is a new man, and it is hard | to tell how he will go this week., Richards is 'always well up, and he; will probably be found in fourth, fifth,! or sixth place on Saturday. The i junior championship is practically be-. yond doubt as there is no other junior ] in the club who is likely to be up with Rogers at the finish. j The interest in the University Club s championship be not so much 10 the first man home as in the placings further down the list. A. P. Thomson it? regarded as a certainty for the club i title. On recent form it is very diffi-! cult to distinguish between those who are likely to fill second, third, fourth, and fifth places. Those who besides Thomson should figure prominently are W. E. Parrott, L. S. Bambery, E. B. E. Taylor, W. W. O. Hursthouse, R. H. Anderson, and A. T. Shannon. A Fast Race Expected. A. D. Park seems safe for the Baptist Club's championiship, but here again a great deal of interest attaches to the next few places. E. Bissett should finish second, with C. W. Bell third and H. G. Brown, L. J. Milner. G. S. Harrison, and A. Wilson fighting out the next few places. The junior championship will almost certainly go to Bissett. One thing is certain about the Baptist Club's championship—that the pace will be fast all the way. The Methodist Club's race should be one of the best. L. Smith and C. N. Thornton will probably fight out an interesting race, to which a close finish is expected. If C. S. EU runs, a good deal of interest will be added to the contest. With Ell, others who should be well up are W. E. Crawford, C. P. Dixon, W. N. Purchase, A. C. Pratt, and E. M. Jones. The junior championship is very open. j H. O. Savage will not be a starter j in the Anglican Club's championship, j and S. V. Ellis should capture the) title. Several other members of the I club are capable of springing a sur-1 prise, and D. Upton, G. Tulloch, E. J. i McEachen, R. V. Milne, T. M. Penny, ■ and R. Whyte have excellent prospects o£ finishing well up in what promises' to be a very even contest. ; Criticism of Racing. ! There has been a good deal of criti- j cism, from one of the clubs especially,' levelled at the big number of inter- i club races and special events in this; season's programme. It is said that the racing men have had hardly three runs with the packs, and that as they are often officials of. the club, difficulties are caused by their absence from the regular club runs. Another criticism is that the racing men have had j too much racing, too early. j There is a good answer to every, one of these arguments, but there | is plenty of justification for the; complaints. Probably all the clubs! have noticed the effect of hav- j ing their racing men frequently away, and have thought that something should be done about it. It seems that with the advance of the racing side of the sport this will have to be, and clubs will have to put up with it; but there are several improvements that could and probably will be made next season. First of all, the inter-club events should be confined to the second half of the season. The Kennett Cup race comes too early and must necessarily interfere with a man's training, especially when it is three-and-a-half-miles instead of seven. The race could with considerable advantage be moved 'further on in the season, and its leng . perhaps increased. Every one agrees that the inter-club racing, although it should do much for the standard in Canterbury, was started too early this season. The committee realises this, and it is probable that the inter-club competition will be moved n next season. At least to the middle of June. If all the racing events were confined to the second half of the season they would do the runners far more good, and get them, with plenty of competition, into splendid form for the national championships. If a man is really fit, as he would be by the secend half of the season, tnen the more racing he has and the more frequently he has it, the better it is for him. As to the objection about runners being away from club runs, it seems that the clubs will have to make the most of the first half and allow their racing men to take part in outside events towards the end of the season. Club Notes. The Anglican Club will hold its next run from St. Michael's schoolroom, Oxford terrace. ! On Saturday members of the presby--1 tcrian Club will be the guests of the

St. Giles' Younr; Women's Bible atid will hold their run from St. Giles? Church, Papanui road. The Christchurch, University, and Baptist Clubs will hold their championships on Saturday over the Cashmefa course, and the Methodist Club's championship will be held from the Opewa Methodist Church. The Presbyterian Club's championships on Saturday were not held under the best conditions. Tne course was very heavy after the recent rain, and the track down Huntsbury Hill, where more than one competitor came to grief, was very slippery. The conditions suited J. Charlesworth, the winner, and he thoroughly deserved his success. He has been running very consistently this wucn and his win was not unexpected. The biggest surprise of the race .was K. Robinson, who finished second. Although he has been running exceptionally well for a junior, it was not thought that he would gain a higher place than fifth, but he ran well, easily defeating his brother and A. Charierworth. The heavy conditions did not suit M. Robinson, and this, as well as the fact that he had a cold during the week, may have had something to do with his defeat. Every one of the 42 starters finished the course. L. C. McLachlan (Civil Service, Dunedin), who won the Kennett Cup race, has announced that he does not intend to start in the Otago championships on August 12. The recent successes of McLachlan and E. C. Brown have probably stimulated J. G. Barnes into action, according to a Dunedin follower of the sport. The way he went In the run 10 days ago showed that he is keen to be at the top of his form for the championship. It is not likely that L. C. Fulford (Baptist), last year's junior champion, will run in the Baptist's Club's A team i this season. The annual handicap race among I members of the Presbyterian Club for I the Comber Cup will he held on Atti gust 5, from St, Martins Presbyterian Church, over the same course as the club championship, and an interesting race should result, particularly among the back-markers. ! Plenty of training has been bet*- ' flcial to L. Knight, a new runner' in ! the Christchurch Club this season. He has been consistently improving and should finish well up in the club's championship on Saturday. The Anglican Club's annual race with the Timaru Anglican Club on Saturday resulted in a very close cmtest, the Christchurch team winning by a margin of six points. The teams consisted of eight men, the first six home counting for points. H- O. Savage (Christchurch) and G. Valentine (Timaru) set a very fast pace from tm start, the latter being in the toatf throughout and winning by a sale margin from S. V. Ellis (ChnstchufcM. G. Simpson (Timaru), D. upwft (Christchurch), and W. Pearson <Tlmaru) improved their positions Wg the later stages and finisMa tmro. fourth, and fifth respectively. The winner ran well and showed It is understood that J. G. HaV. who has been Dlayinsr football, will run in the championshiD of the _ Christ - church Club on Saturday. . In oofr junction with the chammonsihip a sealed handicap will be held.