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Click on photos to enlarge - use browser back button to return Pictures by Steve Perkin |
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Click on photos to enlarge - use browser back button to return Pictures by Steve Perkin |
Conditions were very good for the major cross country event of the year at Cofton Park, Birmingham on Saturday with a firm, undulating grassy course and cool, still air.
There were sixteen Chiltern Harriers taking part representing Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Dorset in the National Inter Counties Championships where the cream of each county's cross country talent competes.
The first race of interest for the Chiltern contingent was the 3K Under 13 boys. Despite a problem at the beginning of the race with the official clearing the starting tape impeding the athletes, Bill Hughes (40th), Will Perkin (91st) and Rob Hall (98th) all had great runs. Bill was second Bucks scorer and Will fourth in the team that finished 11th from 41 counties. Rob was sixth Bucks finisher from a race which featured 297 competitors.
The senior women were next on a tough 8K course where Sian Thomas running for Dorset did well to be 148th and Bucks' Jenni Coxon was 187th.
The Under 15 boys featured Michael Goddard, who doesn't appear in the published results but finished around 60th from the 298 finishers on the 4.5K course and third Bucks finisher.
In the Under 15 girls event over 4K Connie Lewis ran well to be 29th and second Bucks scorer in the team that finished a creditable ninth. Emma Barraclough had a fall near the start but continued to be 224th and sixth Bucks finisher. Rosalind Firth continued her season of illness and injury woes and did not finish.
The Under 13 girls event over 3K saw another great performance from Hannah Morton running in the orange of Hertfordshire. She was 18th from 305 and leading Herts scorer. Hannah Thear had one of her better runs of the season to be 129th and Katie Bench, also running for Bucks, was 159th. Hannah was fourth Bucks scorer and Katie fifth county finisher.
George Gillingwater and Ben Hall ran for Bucks in the 6K Under 17 men's event, George 180th and Ben 255th. And the final action of the afternoon on the longest (12K) course of the day saw the senior men's race where Matt Bennett and Fabian Downs both ran very well to be 110th and 113th respectively in the highest calibre cross country race of the year.
Senor man Tom Beedell, U15 boy James McCarthy and U13 girl Georgie Bingham were all selected to run for Bucks but didn't due to injury or unavailability.