96th Mob vs Orion Harriers

A trawl through past Ranelagh comms, e-news & gazettes gives a fascinating insight into the saga - defined for the purpose of this race report as 'a long story of heroic achievement' - that is the annual mob match between ourselves and our 'eastern' friends, Orion Harriers.

Proving the aptness of the definition, it was first held in November 1920 (long story), with the score so far, 50 Ranelagh wins against 45 Orion wins (achievement). It's when one starts defining heroic, is when the saga truly begins to unfold. Consider this..

In October 2015, then Men's Captain Phil Killingley reported, 'We start the 2015-16 season with a record 7-match winning run in mobs, having won all four for the first time ever in 2014-15, and having broken our 30-year bogey run in Epping Forest.. This year we set out to retain our winning run as long as possible, and see if we could get 100 people out at the first fixture, vs Orion at home'

Named Operation Centurion, a club call out went far and wide for all Ranelagh 'men and women, young and old, fast and slow...', and the call was resoundingly answered.

A record 117 Ranelagh Harriers turned up for that mob match, beating the previous record mob turnout of 106 against Blackheath in 1988. After beating Orion, Phil led the club towards a truly 'heroic achievement'; winning 15 mob matches in a row, over 3 straight seasons, before sadly seeing that astonishing streak end at the hands of Thames Hare & Hounds in November 2017.

10 years on and we find ourselves potentially on the cusp of taking the first steps towards replicating that 'heroic achievement'. Should we win against Orion, it would be a winning streak of 3 mobs in a row, giving us a real chance of a clean sweep this season. A long way away from a 3 season, 15 mob match winning streak but it'd definitely be a good start.

Winning against Orion though, is easier said that done, given that we've lost the last 3 meetings. So the stakes were high as we gathered en-masse to greet the Orion coachload of 22 runners. Admittedly, it wasn't even close to 117 Ranelagh Harriers that turned up; rather a more modest 37.

Ranelagh Half & 10K RD, Ed Perry writes,

'The 96th Orion mob saw the debut of our new kit and what an awesome moment it was to see us all lined up in our new threads, ready for action on the start line. With both our new dark blue race kit, and light blue change kit smartly on display, proudly adorned with our new go-faster stripes, surely the result of the mob was a foregone conclusion? We've won the numbers game, and we hands down have won the best-looking battle, so surely the result would go our way too?'

After rousing club cheers from both teams; the runners were set off down our traditional mob match route, two laps across Richmond Park; a distance of approximately 7.5miles/12.2km. The weather was glorious - bright blazing sunshine, warm and pleasant - a boon for the marshals and timekeepers, but soon to prove utterly torturous for the runners.

First to start their second lap was our Joe Killip, coolly and lithely moving; a marked difference from his clear torment at last weekend's Parliament Hill mud-fest. Close behind, was Mick McTernan and Roger Maidment, in Orion whites. They in turn were shadowed by our Jackson Creegan, and Jonny Smith. Some great packing from Ranelagh's Ross Mac, Dave Lawley, Gareth Williams, Olaf Wasternack, and Jonathon Moore ensured that the threat of Orion's Brian Jenkins, Harold Wyber and Neil McGoun were mitigated.

By the end of the first lap, it was clear to see that the heat was taking a toll on the runners. But on they went, once more round the wood, once more down Queen's Ride, once more round the course to complete their second lap. The timekeepers settled down for another spot of sunbathing, pondering how perfect it would be to have something cold, preferably in a martini glass, garnished with a cherry and a cocktail umbrella.

As the cry RUNNER came up again, all eyes looked across to see who would be the first coming up the deceptively exhausting rise. Running strongly, and taking his second mob match win, was young Joe (43:58), followed just under a minute later by Orion's Mick (44:42) and Roger (44:47), to make the 3 fastest open. One to Ranelagh, two and three to Orion.

Jackson (44:53) and Jonny (45:17) responded with four and five for Ranelagh; pushing Orion's Brian (46:45) into sixth. Then the fabulous wave of dark blue and amber, complete with go-faster stripes, crashed down - Ross (46:57), Dave (47:08), Gareth (47:57) and Jonathan (48:10) - negating Orion's next 3 runners, Harold (48:21), Neil (49:34) and Jon Whitehouse (49:38); with a fab finish by Olaf (49:00) to split that trio even further.

After that, our Sam Roberts (50:09), Rick Jenner (50:17), Peter Haarer (50:46), Ed Perry (51:05), Pete Howgego (51:47), Ed Forbes (51:56) and Stephen Hird (52.27) wielded even more damage to the Orion scoreline.

Clearly the go-faster stripes work, but would it be enough for us to win? As everyone crossed the line, hopes were high that somehow, just somehow, Ranelagh had done enough to spare the Harold Lee Cup the 2-hour coach ride back to deepest, darkest Epping Forest.

After all the runners had come home, everyone decamped to the clubhouse for a well earned tea and to await the results. Once again it was tight in the clubhouse (guys, we really need a bigger boat!) with everyone there, but the camaraderie and warmth between our two clubs made up for it all.

Results boffins Pete Vox and Andy Bickerstaff crunched the numbers and with 20 to score, the results showed a resounding win for Ranelagh; 325 against Orion's 544. For the first time in 3 years, the Harold Lee Cup returned home, and the scores extended to 51 Ranelagh wins against Orion's 45.

The fastest five ladies were Sarah Cogswell (56:47 | RAN), Aoife Kilpatrick (58:47 | RAN), Lucilla Ashton (59:50 | ORION), Nikkii Barnett (60:30 | ORION) & Karen Lyons (62:39 | ORION). The fastest five open were Joe Kilip, Mick McTernan, Roger Maidment, Jackson Creegan and Jonathan Smith. Well done to everyone who finished, despite the tough conditions.

Thank you to all the competitors, and especially to our visitors for making the long trip over. Shout out to our dear Carol for a much appreciated tea at the clubhouse, but the biggest thank you must go to our wonderful volunteers; your support and smiles matched the weather and ensured a warm and fantastic event for all.

Spare a thought though to Ranelagh stalwart David Wright; who'd played his part not only in the 15 historic winning streak 10+ years ago, but also well before that. This year's mob marked his 50th meeting with Orion; undeniably a 'heroic achievement' in itself. Stats wise though, a bit a of damp squib: 25 wins against 25 losses - talk about negating one's own impact!

In closing, the last mob of this season will be against the 'Heathens' of Blackheath on 22 March. Can we make it a clean sweep? YES WE CAN! See you there.

Race report by Narissa Vox, Race Director

📸 by Cecily Day @ https://photos.app.goo.gl/UB6UmtQxgYy5KX4Z6
📸 by Agnes Nagy @ https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/593134v3bfzbr01vgm3b5/AHUc3KuzR1ZYc7jwnM-2zr8?rlkey=hye6zehhgizagco4iqzrun5tw&st=b06m8w9o&dl=0
📸 by Ellie Lawley & Ally Salisbury, video by Mike Morris https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Iqmp0Aq7yExAxkCoZ3RWA84rcnb67aVI?usp=sharing

💛 Results & Fastest Groups (PDF): Ranelagh.Orion.Mob2025.RESULTS.pdf
💙 All times (PDF): Ranelagh.Orion.Mob2025.TIMES.pdf