Lancashire Cross Country Championships 2020

Posted on By Anthony Brand

The annual Lancashire Cross Country Championships has been an event keenly anticipated every year by local athletes since the mid-1990s. This season’s meeting was no exception, and 34 competitors took part from four Isle of Man clubs with age groups ranging from under 11s to veterans.

The success of the day at the event’s traditional venue of Witton Park in Blackburn was reflected in eight medals being brought home to the island, including two golds. Teamwork plays a huge part in cross country championship events, and the fact that four of the medals were won by teams of different age groups proved the commitment, pride and willingness to fight for the team cause that has always been a hallmark of athletes from the island.

Pride of place must go to the Manx Harriers senior women’s team, who won the team title for the seventh year in a row and the eighth time in nine years. This really is a magnificent achievement, and this year’s victory was as hard-earned as any especially as the team were without some of the regulars of recent years.

The margin of victory of only two points from Blackburn Harriers, with a combined finishing score by the four scoring runners of 49 points to Blackburn Harriers’ 51, demonstrated clearly the value of each athlete taking responsibility for gaining every possible place.

Rachael Franklin produced another high-class run to take the individual silver medal in a 91-strong field. Although she was billed as the pre-race favourite, a late entry on the day came from Eleanor Bolton (Ribble Valley Harriers) who last month ran for Great Britain in the U23 women’s race at the European Cross Country Championships in Lisbon. Rachael pushed her very hard all the way, but after her record-breaking 10-kilometre run the previous Sunday it was understandable that she tired a little in the closing stages. She continues to compete on equal terms with international athletes.

Elissa Morris proved her ability again with a seventh place finish, crucially making up places on the third and final lap. Carly Craig’s sprint finish took another place for the team and she finished in an excellent 15th place, taking the silver medal in the 40 age category. Under-20 athlete Laura Dickinson ran perhaps her best-ever race to finish 25th overall as the fourth counter for the team, a really impressive run. Ciara Hardisty, in her first cross country appearance for many a year, battled hard for 37th place despite having to stop to retrieve one of her shoes on the first lap!

The first medal of the day had come in the u11 girls’ race, and it went to the Manx Harriers team who won the bronze medal in the team contest. It was a great achievement by four young athletes who were all competing at this level for the first time.

Abi Clayton ran superbly to finish fourth and was in a medal position for much of the race. Summer Craig was eighth, Kayleigh-Dee Corrin 16th and Abi Sinclair 25th. All four needed to finish in good positions for the team to have a chance of a medal and they did just that.

Five local runners featured in the u11 boys’ race, with Harry Stennett (Northern AC) finishing in an excellent eighth place. Freddie Crowe (Western AC) was 16th, Liam Blake (Manx Harriers) 22nd, Timothy Perry (Northern AC) 23rd and Corrie Brogan (Manx Harriers) 47th.

The u13 boys’ race produced the next highlight, with the Northern AC team repeating their 2019 team silver medal. This was the first age group to go onto the full lap which includes the famous curving hill known as the ‘saucer’ and the long descent with a very muddy patch at the bottom.

Cian Howard finished sixth with a terrific run to earn automatic selection for Lancashire at the Inter-Counties Championship in March. Lucas Stennett was tenth, Sam Perry 13th and Charlie Teare 18th, all running with absolute commitment for the team cause. It was a close contest with Preston Harriers for the silver medal, and all four of the Northern runners narrowly beat their Preston counterpart, another great example of teamwork.

In the u13 girls’ race Northern AC athletes Penny Webster and Lucy Ormsby both ran splendidly to finish eighth and 16th respectively, with Penny having a reasonable chance of a Lancashire selection for the Inter-Counties.

There were more fine performances from the Isle of Man contingent in the u15 races, with Ryan Corrin (Manx Harriers) finishing in an excellent 10th place in the boys race, improving from 29th in the same race last year.

In the girls race Ella Crowe (Northern AC) clinched another Lancashire selection with a very determined run to finish sixth in a high-quality field. Macy Hillier (Manx Harriers) finished 11th in her first year in the age group, and her teammate Mairi Harrison was 30th. Madison McMullan (Northern AC) was 34th in her first year in the U15s.

The final event of the day was the men’s race which attracted a field of 150. Manx Harriers had seven competitors with six counting for the team score, with three of them also forming a team in the junior (u20) category. It was good to see representation from Manx Fell Runners for the first time at the event, Neil Brogan and Nigel Maddocks making a late decision to travel.

David Mullarkey produced a fine run to finish in fifth place which earned him the silver medal in the u20 category. He is one of only six local athletes to achieve a top five finish in the senior men’s race over the years. One of those is Alan Corlett who was sixth this year and was closing in on David at the finish, a fine effort after illness a week ago.

Alex Bell produced one of his best performances to place 25th overall, having been 45th and 58th in the past two years. He placed seventh in the junior category. Gianni Epifani finished 50th in his 21st appearance at the event since 1995.

Cross country stalwart Andy Fox was delighted to win the gold medal in the 60 age category having targeted the race for several months. His overall 81st place was his highest finish since 2013 and this was his 23rd appearance in all.

Andrew Falconer battled away despite feeling under the weather and finished in 82nd for the final counting position, and George Dickinson completed the Manx Harriers contingent with 88th place and was 16th junior.

The senior team finished fifth, while the junior team of David, Alex and George clinched the team bronze medal.

The two Manx Fell Runners competitors enjoyed their outing and found themselves in close battles with some of the Manx Harriers runners during the race. Neil Brogan was 65th despite doing a hilly Parkrun just a few hours earlier, and Nigel Maddocks was 75th.

David Griffiths
7 January 2020

Inter Counties Cross Country 2019

Posted on By Anthony Brand

Ollie Lockley produced the standout performance of the twelve local athletes chosen to represent Lancashire in last Saturday’s Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Prestwold Hall, a country estate on the outskirts of Loughborough.

In a race that was the selection trial for the Great Britain team for the World Cross Country Championships later this month, Lockley finished in a superb eleventh position, a performance that demonstrated that a British vest is a realistic target for him in the near future.

The senior men’s and women’s races were both held over a distance that was officially given as ten kilometres, though the technology worn on the wrists of the competitors indicated that the distance was some 500 metres further than this. The decision to equalise the senior men’s and women’s distances this year was a controversial one which did not meet with the unanimous approval of the athletes – previously the men have competed over twelve kilometres and the women over eight.

Lockley judged his race superbly over the rolling terrain on an extremely windy day, holding a position around the top 30 in the early stages before moving smoothly through the field as the race progressed. In the final quarter he found himself in a group of three battling for 11th place, but powered away to take the place with plenty to spare. It was a magnificent run, the only local athlete to have ever placed higher in the senior men’s race being Keith Gerrard who memorably won it in 2012.

Alan Corlett, a late addition to the team, also produced his best performance at this event with a 58th place finish. Like his teammate he became progressively stronger and gained countless places in the second half of the race. The two Manxmen were part of the silver medal winning Lancashire team in the six-man team contest and were gold medal winners in the nine-man contest.

David Mullarkey also earned plaudits for his 19th place finish in the Junior Men’s race which was the first event of the day. This was another mature performance from an athlete who has found great consistency this winter and who should do very well on the track this summer.

The nine-strong Lancashire Senior Women’s team included a remarkable five Manx athletes, the biggest local representation ever in a race at these championships. Sarah Astin continued her rehabilitation from injury with a strong run for 28th place, looking noticeably fitter than two weeks earlier in the English National Championships. Middle distance specialist Rachael Franklin found the longer race distance hard going but as ever battled every step of the way to finish in a good 49th place.

Elissa Morris celebrated her 30th birthday with a fine run to finish 123rd and looked to be enjoying the race more than anyone. Gail Griffiths was one of the oldest competitors in the field but proved that she is still competitive against much younger rivals with 175th place, while Karen Shimmin completed the Manx representation with a gritty run to place 184th.

Lorna Spiers, still an under-17, helped the Lancashire team by stepping up an age group, and also in distance, to run in the Junior Women’s race. She placed a highly creditable 63rd in a race that also included the World Championship trial.

Also placing 63rd in the under 13 girls’ race was Macy Hillier who ran impressively and looks to be getting back to her best form in time for the summer season.

Ella Crowe has enjoyed a fine winter season and she continued in the same vein with a 113th place finish in the under 15 girls’ race in her first year in the age group.

Sam Perry was the only member of the local contingent to debut for Lancashire this year, and he proved himself worthy of his county vest with a strong run to place 253rd in a big field in the under 13 boys’ race. He is in his first year in the age group and this experience will greatly help his progress in the sport.

David Griffiths
12 March 2019

 

Inter Counties Cross Country 2017 – Report

Posted on By Anthony Brand

Twelve Isle of Man athletes – seven from Manx Harriers and five from Northern AC – turned out in the colours of Lancashire at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships 2017. It was the biggest-ever Manx representation in the Lancashire team at the event. There was local interest in seven of the ten races, which were held at a new venue at Prestwold Hall just outside Loughborough.

Many of the athletes suffered travel problems the day before the race, and some on the return journey. Nevertheless all 12, six of whom were debuting at county level, ran extremely well and produced some impressive results on an undulating course that became very muddy in places as the day progressed.

Participation in the event is by selection only, so there was quality right through the fields. The majority of the races had fields ranging from 260 to just over 300, with the exception of the junior women which had 183. Distances ranged from 3 kilometres for the under-13s to 12k for the senior men.

The first race with Manx interest was the senior women’s event, in which Elissa Morris ran with great commitment to place 113th on her county debut. Gail Griffiths finished 126th, a fine run and remarkably her highest ever finish on her eighth appearance at the event.

Next came the u17 women’s race in which Laura Dickinson executed a well-judged race to finish in 100th place, a really impressive run from a hard-working athlete. The junior (u20) women followed, a race in which Becky Storrie placed 34th and Katie Astin 44th.  Becky’s performance on county debut was arguably the run of the day from the local contingent to complete a highly successful winter season, while Katie continued her comeback from injury with a solid run.

The u13 girls followed, with another county debutant Ella Crowe running extremely well to place 194th in a field of over 300. The experience of running in such a competitive and tightly-packed field will be invaluable as she continues her development.

The first male race involving the locals followed with David Mullarkey placing 48th and George Dickinson 129th in the u17 men’s category. David, although not quite at his best, still ran with typical determination and plenty of quality, while George produced a really notable result to finish well in the top half of the field having only received a late promotion from reserve three days before the race to make his county debut.

The penultimate race was the u15 girls, featuring three of the Northern AC team who won the Lancashire title in January. Lorna Spiers finished 148th, while debutants Phoebe Coates and Kate Cashin came home in 182nd and 236th places. Kate only received her call-up a few days before the event. All ran with total commitment and should be proud of their efforts.

The final race of the day, as is traditional, was the senior men’s event. Alan Corlett, back from a recent injury problem, proved that he is getting close to full fitness again with a run of trademark guts and determination. Ever the team man, his 98th place helped the Lancashire team to pack well and place seventh in the team race.

David Griffiths