CLC Striders race reports - Midland and Birmingham Cross Country Leagues
Midland and Birmingham Cross Country Leagues, Race Day Two - Saturday 6 December
Saturday 6 December saw the second fixture in the all-important regional leagues for the CLC Striders Ladies and Men’s teams. With both teams competing in Division Two of their respective leagues, the ladies travelled to south Birmingham to compete over the rolling parkland of Cofton Park in the south of the city, while the men were able to race over familiar territory in Pittville Park, Cheltenham.
The going was soft-to-quagmire, after torrential rain the day and night before, making for testing and true cross-country racing. Once again, both the ladies and men’s teams did the club proud.
Ladies Midland Cross-Country League - Race Day Two, Cofton Park, Birmingham
In their Midland League, the ladies performed superbly well, with all five finishing inside the top 50 in a competitive field, and all four senior team scorers finishing inside the top 25.
Ladies captain Helen Knight led by example, bringing the the team home in 7th place overall and as the 4th Masters finisher. Just behind her was a determined Kate Telford, giving her all and finishing in 12th overall as the 6th Masters finisher. Ellie Pudifoot ran brilliantly, crossing the finishing line about one minute later in 19th place overall and Liza Bradshaw came in shortly after for 24th place overall as the 15th Masters finisher. With Rachel Vines completing the team with a 42nd place overall as 26th Masters finisher, the ladies recorded a wonderful 2nd place in both the Senior and Masters team competitions on the day, and remain on course for promotion back to Division One for next season.
Men’s Birmingham Cross-Country League - Race Day Two, Pittville Park, Cheltenham
Closer to home, the CLC Striders men turned out in force to take on the sodden ground and notorious stream crossing of Pittville Park. Even without a couple of their star performers, the men registered an outstanding team performance on the day.
Leading the team home was endurance trail specialist Rich Elsworthy, who ran superbly for 16th place overall. He was followed closely by Pete Duffy in 23rd place overall and 4th in the Masters competition. Hot on his heels was Joe Willgoss in 29th overall and 8th in the Masters. Making his club cross-country debut, uncertain of what to expect in first-time spikes, Geoff Milne ran amazingly for 33rd place overall, with Tom Burgess continuing his good cross-country form in 43rdplace. With five of the six team finishers already inside the top 50, Tom Fletcher completed the A Team finishers with a 62nd placing – meaning the men finished 2nd overall in the Seniors field and 1st in the Masters ranking – the Masters team scorers being Pete Duffy, Joe Willgoss, Tom Fletcher and Louis Jones).
Another stellar day for the club was helped massively by the great turnout – the strength-in-depth of the team not only meaning great finishing positions for the B Teams on the day but also pushing other clubs’ scorers down the field.
The B Team finishers on the day for CLC Striders were Louis Jones, making his club debut, in 65th place, Fred Reid in 71st, James Endicott in 78th, Gavin Woods in 81st, Oliver Wright-Jones in 91st and Jonathan Margetts in 115th . The B Team were 2nd in the B team standings.
But it didn’t end there. No less than 11 more men raced on the day, all indirectly adding to the team results with their gritty individual placings. In order of finishing, they were – John Comer, Jamie Hartnoll, Liam Richardson, Will Pearce, Andy Richardson, Jon Pearce, Tim Brock, Nigel Bailey, Gary Farquharson, Pete Mitchener (making his club cross-country debut), and Chris James.
Like the ladies, after Race Day Two, the men stand 2nd in their league, looking to be on course for promotion to Division One next season.
Pictured from left to right, the CLC Striders ladies: Kate Telford, Liza Bradshaw, Helen Knight, Rachel Vines and Ellie Pudifoot
Pictured, the CLC Striders men
Left to right (as far as you can tell, there’s a lot of them!)
Louis Jones, Oliver Wright-Jones, Will Pearce, Nigel Bailey, Joe Willgoss, Gary Farquharson, Andy Richardson, Tom Burgess, Fred Reid (back row), Tim Brock (front row), Jon Pearce (semi-obscured), Jonathan Margetts, John Comer, Chris James, Rich Elsworthy, Pete Duffy, Gavin Woods, Geoff Milne, Jamie Hartnoll, Liam Richardson, James Endicott and Pete Mitchener.
Front row, reclining: Tom Fletcher