On Saturday 7th December, Thames will once again be hosting the Oxford-Cambridge University Cross-Country Races, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1896.
The 2024 University Races present an intriguing prospect with the Dark Blues looking potentially to be in a position to secure their first double victory since 2017.
The 48th Ladies’ Race should prove to be a tight affair. The Light Blues’ prospects have been hampered by the loss of captain Poppy Craig-McFeely (Robinson) to European selection. However, in 2022 victor Niamh Bridson Hubbard (Magdalene) – making her seventh appearance – and Beatrice Wood (Lucy Cavendish), they have two runners who should feature strongly at the front. Behind them, Oxford will fancy being able to pack their runners. They have two very talented undergraduate freshers in Rebecca Flaherty (St. Catherine’s) and Lauren Russel (Balliol) as well as the experienced Charlotte Buckley (Oriel) who will very likely lead their challenge. Behind them, their octet has a very solid look to it. Although two former Light Blue captains in Milly Dickinson (Caius) and Maia Hardman (Selwyn) should also be in amongst the thick of the battle, on paper the Cambridge team has a longer tail. As a consequence, if the Dark Blues are able to stack their runners solidly throughout the middle order, they should just about shade the team honours and secure their first back-to-back victories since 2017. However, the outcome is far from certain and an exciting contest should play out.
In the 133rd Gentlemen’s Race, on paper at least, it appears that after four consecutive defeats this might finally be Oxford’s year again. The fact that they have been able to leave four resident Blues out of their team and their emphatic victories last weekend point to a formidable strength in depth this year. They are also able to bring in four very strong debutants, the most outstanding of which is former international marathon runner and Olympian Jared Ward (Keble). Chris Parker (Corpus Christi) has improved significantly from 12 months ago and has registered impressive finishes in both of Oxford’s races this season. To add to the newcomers are four experienced returning Blues. Perhaps the pick of them are Joe Morrow (Queen’s), who, after a blip in 2023, looks to be back in the form that brought him a second-place finish in 2022, and Australian Alex Gruen (Keble) who was third last year.
The Light Blue team also looks to be strong on paper, with Joe Massingham (Pembroke), Terry Fawden (Wolfson) and the Spencer brothers all being in good form and likely to feature strongly at the front of the race. However, a bit like their ladies’ team, on current form they look perhaps to have a slightly longer tail than the Dark Blues. Oxford’s top-end firepower backed up by consistent strength down the order should make them a difficult team to beat and they head into the contest as marginal favourites; however, the result is far from certain and another enthralling contest should ensue.
Further details are available on the history of the races and the arrangements for 2024.