Women
A bright, sunny day greeted the runners at Mallory Park. The course was a testing one, with a good quota of mud either before or after some particularly steep climbs. It made for excellent viewing! The Bristol & West AC women excelled by taking silver team medals behind a formidable Charnwood team.
The race consisted of a short lap followed by two longer ones. On the first lap, Miri King was in the top dozen, followed by Eleanor Carney in the top twenty, with Katie Strange, Emma Clarke, and Ailish Craig running together slightly further back. This order was maintained on the first big lap. Miri kept pulling back places during the race, attacking the most vicious climb to finish in 8th place with a time of 27:34. Miri has been concentrating on improving her speed, and the results show it has paid off. She seems to improve with every race, and this result is outstanding.
Eleanor also moved through the field, holding her own on the climb to finish in 25th place with a time of 29:53. Emma Clarke was not far behind, finishing 29th in 30:12. Emma is having a good season, getting better with each race, and becoming a team stalwart. Ailish completed the team in 32nd place with a time of 30:22. Ailish has great speed, but this was a test of stamina and strength, which she passed with flying colours.
Katie was less fortunate, developing stomach cramps halfway through the second big lap and being reduced to walking back. It was a shame because, up to that point, she had been feeling and looking good.
The team results were:
Charnwood AC - 19 points
Bristol & West AC - 94 points
Coventry Godiva Harriers - 139 points
Men
The men’s race consisted of one short lap and three big laps. At the end of the first lap, Milan Campion was in third place with Felix McGrath not far behind. However, disaster struck Milan on the steep, muddy downhill stretch. I was close by and saw one of his spikes become dislodged. Milan stopped to put it back on before continuing, but he was ultimately forced to drop out.
Felix, by contrast, ran strongly and was in 5th place by the end of the first lap. He maintained his position, finishing 5th in 37:37. He told me he was pleased with his run, which was a place higher than last year. Felix is having an excellent season and should indeed be pleased with his performance.
Next came two outstanding runs from Lee Gawler and Aled Anderson. Lee and Aled ran together for most of the race. From my vantage point, I could see Lee just edging away from Aled halfway through the third big lap. This position was maintained to the finish, with Lee in 19th place in 40:32 and Aled in 24th, just 7 seconds behind. I’ve seen Lee and Aled run many races, but I reckon this was one of their best!
Aaron Bruce, Alistair Farleigh, and Alex McKail were now our three counters for the team. Aaron had another solid run, finishing 43rd in 42:52. Alistair, a trail runner, made his debut for the club and cross-country at the age of 44. He should be well satisfied with his debut, finishing in 60th place with a time of 44:52.
That left Alex, another club newcomer, to complete the team. Alex comes with a good cross-country background honed during his time at Manchester University. He’s getting fit again and, on the day, finished 89th in 46:44.
Now, this suggested that the team took bronze medals with 240 points. However, Alex entered himself because, at the time of his entry, he was still registered with his old club, Framlington. The EA registration checker reveals that he is now registered first claim with us. A representation to the organisers has been made—watch this space!
Update: It has been confirmed that the Bristol & West AC men have taken bronze!
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