It was another really enjoyable day at the Lancashire Cross Country Championships yesterday. The Manx Harriers athletes did themselves proud and the races were excellently organised as always by Blackburn Harriers and the Lancashire AA. The Witton Park course was under half an inch of snow and the ground was semi-frozen 24 hours before the event, but an overnight thaw with some rain turned the course into a classic cross country mixture of grass and mud! Weather conditions on the day were good but chilly.
There were eight event debutants amongst the Manx Harriers party, and all acquitted themselves well on the challenging course. It was unfortunate that the Inter Schools cross country event, postponed from December, was held on Thursday on a very heavy course at Peel. This left little recovery time for the younger age group athletes and there were some heavy legs out there yesterday as a result, particularly in the under 15 and under 17 age groups. A total of six medals was excellent, especially as we only had full teams in two categories this year.
David Mullarkey got the day off to a great start with an excellent bronze medal in the under 11 boys race. He was 8th in this race last year, and underlined his progress as an athlete with a strong and intelligently judged run. Jayden Fayle also ran well to finish 27th on his debut, and will have benefitted from the experience.
In the under 13 boys race, Conor Davies and debutant Jordan Cowin finished 23rd and 28th respectively, both having their first experience of tackling the famous 'saucer' hill. In the girls race, the second medal of the day came courtesy of a brilliant run by Katie Astin. She looked strong and controlled all through the race to finish in a superb 2nd place. Ahead of her was the best athlete in the country in the age group, and Katie kept her in sight throughout the race. It was her first medal in these championships to add to the family collection, and she is actually one up on eldest sister Gemma who didn't win a medal in the under 13s! Danielle Barton also ran with great determination, and 6th place was a very good effort after recent illness.
It was marvellous to see no fewer than six Manx Harriers athletes in the under 15 boys race, four of whom were competing in the Lancs for the first time. They produced an outstanding team performance, packing closely to bring the team home in the silver medal position. Ammon Yeardsley led the team home in 7th place, and there were some great battles behind. Terence George just pipped Alex Price to take 10th, while there was a last-ditch sprint finish between Zac Kelly and Stephen Garrett for the fourth team counting position - Zac took it by a matter of inches. Oliver Dickinson finished not far behind them, and has come on a lot since last year. The four counters for the team were all debutants in the event, and it was a superb effort by all the lads especially after running in the Inter Schools only two days earlier.
Ollie Lockley and Sammy Holt went in the under 17 men's race, and gave it their all to finish 8th and 23rd respectively. Sammy found it particularly hard going after his Inter Schools win on Thursday, but he is a very talented athlete and will soon bounce back from a rare off-day. Both Ollie and Sammy are very promising athletes who can achieve a lot in the future.
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| Sarah Astin glides easily through the Witton Park mud to win the under 17 women's race by a big margin. It was her fifth gold medal in six years at these championships! (photo Ian Astin) |
The first gold medal of the day came in the under 17 women's race, in which Sarah Astin produced a typically dominant and classy run to win by a substantial margin. After a steady start she eased through the gears and rapidly pulled away from her rivals, making it all look very easy. She now has five gold medals in her six years competing in this event - what a record!
The under 20, senior and veteran women all ran together, and Gemma Astin and Gail Griffiths both started strongly. The field included top 800m runner Alison Leonard who is ranked number 9 in the UK with a best of 2.01, and she showed that she is also at home over the longer distances by dominating the race. Gemma ran in close company with under 20 rival Hannah Bateson for a lap and a half, but unfortunately recent illness caught up with her and forced her out of the race at three-quarter distance after a brave effort. Gail produced another gritty and determined run, showing good fitness and strength in the heavy conditions to finish 7th overall in the women's race and win the gold medal in the V45 category. She can look forward confidently to the Brass Monkey Half Marathon in York a week on Sunday.
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| Gail Griffiths finished 7th in the senior women's race and won the gold medal in the V45 category (photo Ian Astin) |
There was a massive Manx Harriers contingent of 13 in the senior men's race including debutants Andy Barron and Stuart Christian, and they produced a brilliant team performance to win the silver medal behind an extremely strong Blackburn Harriers squad. Lancashire are the reigning senior men's Inter Counties champions, which shows how high the standard is and how good a performance it is to finish second in the team event.
Kevin Loundes looked in excellent form, finishing in a fine 6th place. In the last ten years only Keith Gerrard and Kevin himself have finished higher. He hit a slight bad patch midway through the race but ran through it and finished very strongly. Martin Malone was slightly below his best after recent illness but still ran very well to finish 17th, just holding off team mate Ed Gumbley who looked in very good form. Andy Barron was next in 21st place with a tremendous debut run in the event. He judged the race perfectly and looked strong and relaxed throughout. The six counters for the team were completed by Mike Garrett and Nigel Armstrong who can both be very satisfied with their performances.
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| An excellent performance from the senior men's team to take the silver medal. Left to right - Martin Malone, Kevin Loundes, Ed Gumbley, Mike Garrett, Nigel Armstrong, Andy Barron (photo Ian Astin) |
Although not amongst the team counters the rest of the team did very well – Gianni Epifani, Stuart Christian, Andy Watson, Russell Collister, Andy Fox, Phil Cain and Dave Newton. It was good to see Stuart competing at this level for the first time after his fine recent half marathon performances, and doing very well. Bad luck to Newty, who lost time on the first lap when a particularly glutinous patch of mud yanked off one of his shoes!
Many thanks as always go to Andy Fox for organising another very enjoyable and successful trip, and to all who helped out on the day. Let’s hope plenty of our athletes are selected to represent Lancashire in the Inter Counties championship in March.
