Midland and Birmingham Cross Country League Division 2, Race Day 2

Midland and Birmingham Cross Country League Division 2, Race Day 2

On the familiar home ground of Pittville Park in Cheltenham, CLC Striders Ladies and Men’s teams competed in the second fixture of their Midland and Birmingham Cross Country Leagues on Saturday 3 December. The weather was perfect – cold but still. And the ground itself was not too muddy. Even the infamous stream crossing didn’t seem too deep on the day!

First, it was the turn of the CLC Striders ladies. Packing the top order early on, the team put in a fantastic performance. Fresh from representing England in Dublin in the Masters international fixture, Liza Bradshaw led the Ladies home in 7th place overall and as the 1st in her Masters category. Not far behind her were Helen Knight and Kate Telford, finishing in 11th and 12th places, and as 2nd and 3rd in the Masters. Ladies captain Rachel Vines completed the four scoring places, finishing in 24th overall and 5th in the Masters.

Rachael Cary was 27th, with Amelia Mullins 47th and club debutante Anja Whelan 58th. The ever-faithful Sophie Longmore was 68th and Nicola Weager was 98th. On the day, the team finished in 2nd place overall, with the Masters winning 1st place. In the team standings after the first two races, the ladies are in 4th place overall, knocking on the door of possible promotion.

Full results of the ladies race are available on the Race Tec Results website

Next, it was the turn of the men. In a large and incredibly competitive field, once again the team were led home by the irrepressible Rob Green, who finished 8th overall and 1st in his MV40 category. Next home was Joe Willgoss in 42nd place, just pipping Will Ferguson, who finished in 43rd. Recovering from injury, Tom Burgess finished 62nd, with the fast-improving Alex Johnston in 67th. Sam Baylis completed the A Team scorers, finishing in 78th place on the day.

Once again the A Team were well backed up by strong performances from the B Team finishers – John Comer in 82nd, Rustam Hemsley in 89th, Sheng Peng in 108th, Jamie Hartnoll in 113th, Will Pearce in 114th and Paul Lockyer in 117th .

The Striders also turned out enough (and more) for a C Team, too – with Nick Ledwold, Chris Driskell, Paul Northup, Adam Greenwood, Joel Freeland, Matt Ashman, Javid Norat and Eoin McQuone all running well.

In the team competition, the A Team seniors finished 7th and the B Team finished 2nd. And in the Masters, the A Team were 5th and the B Team 4th. Overall, after the first two fixtures, the CLC Striders Men are in a strong 3rd position in Division 2 and looking good for possible promotion.

Full results of the mens race are available on the Race Tec Results website

From left to right: Anja Whelan, Liza Bradshaw, Kate Telford, Amelia Mullins, Nicola Weager, Helen Knight, Sophie Longmore, Rachel Vines, Rachael Cary

Back row, from left to right: Matt Ashman, Javid Norat, Ryan O’Donnell (not running on the day), Adam Greenwood, Nick Ledwold, Rob Barnett (not running on the day), John Comer, Jamie Hartnoll, Sheng Peng, Rustam Hemsley, Sam Baylis, Will Ferguson, Chris Driskell. Front row, left to right: Paul Lockyer, Will Pearce, Eoin McQuone, Brendan Ward (Head Coach), Joel Freeland, Paul Northup

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