Isle of Man Cross Country League – Round 4 & Isle of Man Cross Country Championships – Results & Report

Posted on By Anthony Brand

The 2020 Isle of Man Cross Country Championships, sponsored by Law Trust, took place on a beautifully sunny afternoon at QE2 School in Peel on Sunday 19 January. The Western AC hosted event also formed the fourth and final round of the Isle of Man Cross Country League and attracted a record turnout for the Championships of 230.

The latest senior athletes to add their names to the prestigious list of island cross country champions were Alan Corlett and Carly Craig, both of Manx Harriers. Corlett’s fifth title in the past six years saw him draw level in second place on the all-time list of men’s champions with Andy Fox and Kevin Loundes, with only former Commonwealth Games Marathon runner Dave Newton ahead of him with seven. For 2001 Island Games 5,000 metres medallist Carly Craig it was a first women’s cross country title.

A real feature of the day, and indeed of the season, was the number of families taking part in the various age groups, proving that cross country is a welcoming and encouraging sport for runners of all abilities.

Alan Corlett once again proved himself a worthy champion, settling into a relaxed rhythm from the start and gradually extending his lead throughout six circuits of the undulating farmland close to the school which was dry underfoot everywhere. Currently in high-mileage training as he prepares for his Marathon debut in London this spring, Corlett had warmed up for the race by running ten miles into Peel.

In second place less than a minute in arrears was Orran Smith who is such a wonderfully consistent performer on all types of terrain. There was a race-long battle for third place between Dave Bignell and Mark Burman, with Western AC man Bignell pulling clear on the final circuit. Christian Varley and Mike Garrett rounded out the top six and Luke Phair was the leading junior.

There was an exciting battle for team honours, with Manx Fell Runners taking the honours by just five points from Manx Harriers, with an aggregate score from their six scoring runners of 49 points to 54.

The battle for the women’s title over four laps was won by Carly Craig, better known as a long-distance road runner but who has made an effective transition to cross country in recent years. On the first three laps the race was led by 2009 champion Gail Griffiths, making her first appearance over the full distance course this season after illness last year. On the final lap Craig came through strongly to bag her maiden cross country title.

In third place was the leading junior Phoebe Coates, who had to work hard to fend off a strong challenge from Sian Coleman, and she was followed by junior Laura Dickinson and Alison King. The team title went to Manx Harriers.

Some of the racing in the younger age groups was breathtaking, not least the five-lap U17 men’s race in which QE2 School students Ieuan Owen and Corrin Leeming ran toe to toe for virtually the whole race before the former opened up a five-second winning margin in the final run to the line.

The feature of the U15 girls’ category has been the battle between Ella Crowe and Macy Hillier, who have been swapping places all through the season. This time it was Northern AC athlete Ella who came from behind to take victory by 11 seconds, successfully defending her title. Both girls have won two races each during the league season.

Ryan Corrin (Manx Harriers) looked in fine form as he took the U15 boys’ title in some style, with Gethin Owen resisting a determined effort from Western AC clubmate Corbyn Schade for the silver medal.

Just four seconds separated the three medallists in the U13 boys’ race with Cian Howard winning back-to-back titles. Sam Perry and Lucas Stennett were the other medallists, and the silver medal winning Northern AC team at the Lancashire championships filled the first four places.

The U13 girls champion Lola Bass (Northern AC) was one of four athletes to complete a clean sweep of four league victories for the season, and she ran as well as ever. There was an exciting contest for the silver medal with Florence Griffin edging out Penny Webster by three seconds.

The two youngest age groups raced on the school field, with the under-nines completing one lap and the U11s two. All four races produced some memorable competition.

Harry Stennett (Northern AC) timed his effort well to take victory in the U11 boys’ race over Freddie Crowe by two seconds with Liam Blake in third a further three seconds behind. It was equally tight in the U11 girl’s race, where victory went to Summer Craig (Manx Harriers), whose mum Carly later won the senior women’s title. Holly Salter and Abi Clayton finished close behind to claim the other medals.

Timothy Perry (Northern AC) has been the dominant figure in the under-nine boys’ category this season and he won the title by three seconds from Henry Allen who was one second ahead of Rory Condon in third. A very exciting girls’ race was won by just one second by Issy Kennaugh (Northern AC) from Poppy Clayton, and Sophie Kaighin narrowly claimed third place from Tara Nelson.

The non-championship short course races formed round four of the league and these were won by Dave Cain and Mairi Harrison.

Here are the full results.

  • Many thanks go to Western AC, QE2 School, the landowner and all the officials involved with putting on another top-class afternoon of competition.
  • Video footage of all the races has been posted on the manxathletics.com Facebook page.
  • The Prize Presentation for both the League and Championships will take place at the Claremont Hotel, Douglas on Saturday 21 March.  Further details will be announced nearer the time.

David Griffiths
21 January 2020

Isle of Man Cross Country League 2019/20 – Round 4 – Isle of Man Championships

Posted on By Anthony Brand

The local cross country season reaches its climax on the afternoon of Sunday 19th January with the fourth and final round of the Law Trust sponsored Cross Country League. The event also doubles as the Isle of Man Cross Country Championships for 2020, with the winners of each age group adding their names to the list of many of the greats of Manx athletics over the years.

This year’s event is hosted by Western AC and will be held at QE2 High School in Peel. The courses for all ages from U13 upwards take the runners onto the adjacent farmland. The timetable is as follows:

The timetable is as follows:

12.45pm to 2pm Registration
2.00pm U9 boys – 1 small red lap – 850 metres
2.05pm U9 girls – 1 small red lap – 850 metres
2.10pm U11 boys – 2 small red laps – 1750 metres
2.20pm U11 girls – 2 small red laps – 1750 metres
2.30pm

U13 boys & girls & short course – 1 and a half small red laps then 1 large yellow lap – 2800 metres

The short course race is not part of the Championships but is a round of the league as usual.
2.40pm

U15 boys & girls, U17 women – 3 yellow laps – 4580 metres

U20, senior, veteran women – 4 yellow laps – 5920 metres
2.55pm

U17 men – 5 yellow laps – 7260 metres

U20, senior, veteran men – 6 yellow laps – 8600 metres

Here is the Timetable.

Here is a map of the course.

Strictly no dogs are allowed on any part of the course. Spectators are asked to keep the course clear during the races.

If you have already paid for the series and have your race number there is no need to attend the registration desk, just go to the start line five minutes before your race. Otherwise payment should be made at the desk where entry forms will be available – forms can also be downloaded from the website linked below. If you have lost your number and need a replacement there will be a separate desk at registration.

Ollie Lockley and Rachael Franklin were the senior champions in 2019, and the latter will certainly be the favourite to add another women’s title to her collection. Ollie will not be competing on Sunday which will leave Alan Corlett as the most likely contender for the senior men’s title.

We hope to see as many of you as possible.

David Griffiths
13 January 2020

Isle of Man Junior Open Pentathlon 2019

Posted on By Anthony Brand

On Saturday 7th September 2019, Isle of Man Athletics will be holding the Isle of Man Junior Open Pentathlon at the NSC in Douglas.

The competition is for the U13 and U15 age groups and will consist of 5 events over the course of the day – Hurdles, Shot Put, High Jump, Long Jump and 800m.

Here is the Timetable.
Here is the Entry Form

Competition starts at 10am however you must declare your intention to compete at least 30 minutes before the start of the competition.

Entries cost £7.50, close on 5th September2019 and should be sent to Kelly Hillier, 6 Close Cowley, Douglas IM2 2HX.

For further information please contact Kelly on 451898 or by email on k.milnes@hotmail.co.uk.

Isle of Man Track & Field Championships 2019 – Report & Results

Posted on By Anthony Brand

Over the weekend of Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th August 2019 the Isle of Man Track & Field Championships, sponsored by SPAR, were held at the National Sports Centre. In the aftermath of the Island Games it was great to see so many senior athletes taking part alongside our very talented juniors.

The mild calm conditions on Saturday proved to be perfect for competition. The first events on the track were the hurdles, setting a high standard for the rest of the meeting to follow. The first island record of the day was set almost immediately by talented young athlete Regan Corrin (Manx Harriers) in the U13s boys 70m hurdles category in a time of 12.8 seconds.

The 100 metres followed the hurdles where many new personal bests were set, but the main race saw the seniors battle it out in what proved to be a stacked field. The race was won by Jack Lemaire (Western AC) in a very swift 10.9 seconds.

A feature of the weekend was an unofficial Octathlon contested by several of the island’s leading male sprinters, four events being contested on each day. This took the competitors well out of their comfort zones, particularly in the pole vault and 800 metres events on the second day.

Not to be outdone by the track athletes the field athletes literally had a field day, smashing records all over the place. In the senior men’s V45 category Peter Callin (W AC) set a new island record in the triple jump, and Louise Kneen (WAC) set a new record in the senior woman’s Hammer V40 category. In the U13 boys high jump Regan Corrin (MH) was at it again setting a new island record of 1m 63cm which equalled the highest jump for a boy of his age in the UK.

The medal presentations came thick and fast for many athletes, too many to mention individually, who all ran, jumped and threw superbly.

There was also a special presentation of the David Teece Trophy, which is awarded by the late David Teece’s family to an athlete who over the year has shown extraordinary commitment, improvement and desire to succeed within the sport of athletics. This year’s winner David Mullarkey (Manx Harriers), the recently-crowned Island Games 1500 metres champion, proved to be a very popular choice.

Sunday’s conditions were not quite as conducive for excellent times but it didn’t deter the athletes. There were lots of excellent performances on the day but only one island record set in the U15 boys 800m. This was one of the races of the day, pitting English Schools medalist Ben Sinclair (MH) against Ieuan Owen (WAC). During the race the lead changed hands a couple of times, but Ben just pushed ahead in the final 100m to win in a time of 2:02.5.

There was an excellent showcase for race walking on Sunday, with a high-quality field including international athletes Tom Partington and Erika Kelly who have both been selected to represent England in the Manchester International match next week. Both produced top performances to win their respective 3-kilometre races, with Hannah Hunter also performing extremely well.

The 800 metre races also saw the culmination of the Senior Men’s Octathalon. Over the two days the guys took part in the 100m, 400m, Shot Put, Discus, High Jump, Pole Vault, 400m hurdles and 800m which provided great entertainment. With the overall win still up for grabs Michael Haslett (MH) ran a strong 800m to take the overall victory from Daniel Stewart-Clague. Hopefully this event will become a regular feature in Championships.

There were other notable performances, including a 1.90 metre high jump clearance by first-year U17 athlete Jack Coates (Northern AC), and a similar clearance by senior Daniel Stewart Clague who finally joined the ‘1.90 club’ after many years of trying. Island Games debutante Megan Lockwood continued her excellent season with new personal best distances in both javelin and hammer.

Over the course of the two days nearly all the athletes in age groups from under-nine to u17 take part in a number of events to gain points for the Victor and Victrix Ludorum shields. This year’s competition was a good one with many athletes very close on points, but the eventual winners were,

U9 girls Issy Kennaugh (NAC)
U9 boys James Jelski (NAC)
U11 girls Abi Clayton (MH)
U11 boys Ollie Eyres (NAC)
U13 girls Lucy Ormsby (NAC)
U13 boys Regan Corrin (MH)
U15 girls Macy Hillier (MH)
U15 boys Ben Sinclair (MH)
U17 girls Aimee Christian (MH)
U17 boys Craig Martin (MH)

The final award of the day was presented by our sponsors, the SPAR Spirit of Sport award. This award is decided by many different factors and doesn’t always go to an athlete. This year’s winner proved to be possibly the most popular decision yet as the ovation he received was tremendous. The award went to John Whitlow.

John spends almost every day at the track and at one point or another has coached nearly every athlete on the island. Many of the athletes he’s currently coaching or has coached have gone on to achieve great success at Island Games, English Schools, and have reached national and international level. Not only that, John gives up even more of his time to officiate at every athletics event on the island. IOM Athletics would like to thank John for all his hard work, passion and commitment over so many years.

Finally, IOM Athletics would like to thank SPAR for their support, and Debbie and Dean from SPAR for medal presentations. Many thanks also go to the organising committee of Tonya, Kelly, Di, Petra and Simon for their continued hard work, all the officials and volunteers for giving up their precious time, but most of all the athletes for their excellence and the entertainment they provided.

Here are the full results:

Saturday Results
Sunday Results

Simon Sinclair/David Griffiths