Race reports for the Ladies Midland and Men’s Birmingham Cross Country Leagues Race 1 of Division 2, 12 November 2022 - Park Hall Country Park, Stoke and Plock Court
Race reports for the Ladies Midland and Men’s Birmingham Cross Country Leagues Race 1 of Division 2, held on 12 November 2022 at Park Hall Country Park, Stoke and Plock Court respectively
British and Irish Masters cross country international in Dublin, Ireland
On an unseasonably mild mid-November morning it was time for CLC Striders to return to their respective regional cross country racing, with the ladies travelling to Park Hall Country Park, Stoke, in a Midland League Division 2 fixture hosted by Trentham RC, while the men stayed closer to home to run at Plock Court in Gloucester in their Birmingham League Division 2 fixture, hosted by Severn AC.
First, the ladies, who were running four miles among the woodland, heath and lakes of Stoke’s national nature reserve at Park Hall Country Park the rolling hills of Park Hall Country Park, where Helen Knight continued her phenomenal form to finish in third place overall and as 1st in the Masters category in a blistering time of 26:59. Next home was ladies captain Rachel Vines, getting stronger with each race, and finishing in 17th overall as 6th in the Masters category in a time of 29:09. Amelia Mullins was 38th overall and 18th in the Masters and Helen Howes was 58th overall and 31st in the Masters. The ladies fought hard to achieve 7th place in the overall team competition on the day, and were 2nd in the Masters team competition.
Full results of the ladies race are available on the Race Tec Results website
Meanwhile, the mens team were at Plock Court in Gloucester where, even with all the recent rain, there was only one short section of wet and boggy ground to navigate in what was otherwise a firm, flat and fast course. The men turned out three full teams.
First home for the A team was the ever-reliable Rob Green in 10th place overall and as 2nd MV40 in a time of 34:53. Green was followed closely by the fast-improving Dan Bazzard in 15th place overall and a time of 35:44. Will Ferguson bagged a top 20 finish in a time of 36:11, with Joe Willgoss, making his club debut, in 30th and a time of 36:47. Another recent club signing, Alex Johnston, finished in 47th place in a time of 37:48, with Sam Baylis completing the A-team scorers in 52nd place and a time of 38:01. On the day, the A Team registered the best ever team performance CLC Striders have ever achieved in this highly competitive league, for a third place finish.
Almost as impressive as the flying A-teamers were the B team scorers – all finishing inside the top 100, for third place – again, a first for the club. The B team scorers were Oliver Watkins in 70th, Tom Burgess in 76th, John Comer in 77th, the returning Rustam Hemsley in 78th, Will Pearce in 90th and Sheng Peng in 94th.
The C team runners on the day, in order of placing, were Paul Northup, Paul Lockyer, Adam Greenwood, Joel Freeland, Matt Ashman and Eoin McQuone.
Not only did the A and B teams register 3rd place overall, but in the Masters competition, CLC Striders A and B teams finished in 2nd place.
Full results of the mens race are available on the Race Tec Results website
And, while the CLC ladies and men’s teams battled it out here in the Midland and Birmingham cross country leagues, two members of the club were representing England in the British and Irish Masters cross country international in Dublin, Ireland – Liza Bradshaw in the women’s V35 category and David James in the men’s V70 category. The entire membership is incredibly proud of Liza and David in representing the club on the international stage – an amazing achievement for a relatively small and inclusive local running club.