A Team Result: 20th Place Runners:
Chelsea Creak 14:38
Megan Brewer 16:29
Jessica Heffer 15:53
Amy Hammersley 15:12
B Team Result: 43rd Place Runners:
Amy Nicholls 16:23
Maeva Couchard 16:38
Katie Strange 17:48
Megan Powell 16:58
There was much to celebrate for the women’s teams. Firstly, the A team’s total time of 62 minutes and 12 seconds would have secured silver medals two weeks ago at the Midland 4-Stage Road Relays, edging out Team Bath by 20 seconds! Looking back to 2017, this time would have ranked in the top 12 on three occasions, peaking at ninth. This shows the remarkable progress in women’s running standards.
Chelsea Creak, an international mountain trail runner, led the A team and impressively tackled her first-ever road race. Stationed at the base of the hill, I watched as Chelsea made her way through the field after a slow start, hindered by slower runners due to positioning in the starting pen. Despite these initial setbacks, Chelsea pushed ahead, finishing in a superb time of 14 minutes and 38 seconds, placing her 14th and recording the 24th fastest time of the day, equal to National Cross-Country bronze medallist Gemma Steel.
New to the club, Megan Brewer joined only four weeks ago, quickly showcasing her potential. She reduced her parkrun time by over a minute in this short period, thanks to interval training. Though inexperienced, she courageously took on the second leg. Despite setting off a little too quickly, Megan held her ground on the hill, finishing in 16:29—a time that would have been our second fastest in the Midlands relays.
Jess Heffer set aside her half-Ironman training (wince!) to run the third leg. Shaving seven seconds off her Midlands time, Jess’s steady performance helped her pick up a few places, finishing in 23rd with an excellent time of 15:53. Finally, Amy Hammersley, now recovered from a summer injury, powered through the last leg, gaining three more places with her time of 15:12.
The B team, finishing 43rd overall and ranked 9th among other B teams, achieved an impressive 67 minutes and 47 seconds, which would have earned them 9th place in the Midlands relays. Amy Nicholls, facing similar start-line congestion as Chelsea, improved on her Midlands time, running 16:23 and finishing 49th. Maeva Couchard, a new French triathlete, debuted with strength, moving the team up nine places to 40th. Katie Strange, recently returning to full training after a spring injury, ran admirably despite stepping in last-minute, finishing in 17:48. Megan Powell closed out the B team’s run, her time of 16:58 showing a 14-second improvement from the Midlands.
The Future Looks Bright
Charlotte Taylor set a new PB of 74:21 in today’s Cardiff Half Marathon, placing 10th overall among international-level runners. Deborah Bruce ran strongly with a time of 77:10, while Chelsea Baker is back from a spring stress fracture and will represent the club next Saturday in the Gwent League Cross-Country at Pembrey Park. Chelsea will also lead the teams at the Midland Cross-Country Relays on October 19. Kat Entwistle is recovering well from surgery, and we hope for a speedy recovery for Georgia Curry and that Hannah Green finds her work less demanding. Many other ‘Nippy’ ladies are progressing well, so save the date for the 6-Stage Relays in March and April next year. Bristol could very well bring home more medals!
Chris & Sian
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