Conditions at Crossags Farm in Ramsey were most untypical for Round 2 of the Manx Gas Cross Challenge on Sunday 11th November. The hilly and challenging course is often extremely wet and muddy, but on this occasion conditions were excellent both overhead and underfoot – ideal for fast and exciting racing.
Defending champion John Halligan secured his second win of the season in the Senior/Veteran Men’s race with a characteristically well-judged run. After a cautious start that saw him back in 6th place midway round the first of the three laps, he gradually upped the pace to build a comfortable lead on lap 2 after which he was never in danger of being caught. The real excitement came with a thrilling battle between 4 athletes for second place. At the top of the climb on lap 3, Ed Gumbley, Darren Gray and Nigel Armstrong were virtually together with Gianni Epifani only a few metres in arrears. Gumbley and Gray showed impressive speed on the steep descent through the fields to edge away from Armstrong who in turn opened up a small gap on Epifani. A final sprint for the line saw Gumbley just nudging ahead of Gray to take 2nd place. Behind this group, early leader Tony Okell may well have seriously challenged the leaders had he not sustained a nasty gaping cut just below his shoulder when he took too tight a line through one of the fast downhill corners on the first lap. Although he must have been in considerable pain, he gamely continued the race to finish 6th.
Ryan Fairclough of the host club Northern AC was the only competitor in the Junior Men’s race, and continued his magnificent track form of last summer with a fine run over two laps of the course.
There was a disappointing turnout of only 4 competitors in the Senior/Veteran Ladies Race. Gail Griffiths was unchallenged in the absence of her main rival Sarah Nelson, running strongly throughout to win by almost 3 minutes from Bridget Kaneen. Ann Cain took 3rd place, whilst not far behind Bethany Clague continued her recent spectacular improvement with another excellent run.
The most exciting finish came in the Short Course race. Conor Delanbanque led narrowly from Michael Haslett in the closing stages of the 1-lap race, but 400 metre specialist Haslett used his sprinting speed to good effect to reel in his younger rival. At the line they couldn’t be separated and the result was given as a dead heat.
In a pleasing reversal of recent trends there was a good turnout in the Under 17 age group races. Tom Richmond proved that his talent is not restricted to the track with a fine run to win the Men’s race from Tom Bateson and Jordan Cain. In the corresponding Ladies race Gemma Astin eased to her second victory of the series more than a minute clear of Island Games team-mate Rachael Franklin. Bronwen Kaneen ran well to finish 3rd in her first appearance of the series.
In the Under 15 Girls race, Sarah Astin was in magnificent form winning by a minute and a half from Hannah Scarlett who just held off Polly Rogerson to take 2nd. Indeed, Sarah finished only 10 seconds behind elder sister Gemma in the concurrently run Under 17 race. They can both look forward with confidence to the UK Cross Challenge event in Liverpool a week on Saturday.
Jack Garrett gained revenge for his defeat by Adam Young in the 1st Round with a hard-fought win by 6 seconds in the Under 13 Boys race with Shaun Moore not far behind in 3rd. In the Under 13 Girls category the highly talented Alice Ashe made a most welcome return from injury to take the win by 20 seconds from Alexandra Ross with Clara Nathan completing the top 3.
Will Morris took another victory in the Under 11 Boys, but Harvey Neale and Conor Caley also ran extremely well and were much closer to Will than they were last time out. The Under 11 Girls race turned into a repeat of the last round with Rebecca Nathan just edging out Katie Astin – this promises to be a battle royal all season! Alicia Oates showed great improvement to take 3rd.
Newcomer Jamie Garrett took a great win in the Under 9 Boys race, ahead of Patrick Cox and Conor Davies who had another sprint finish just as they did at Nobles Park. Danielle Barton turned the tables on Aimee Cringle with a fine win in the Under 9 Girls with Anna Clarke Smith taking 3rd place.
Many thanks go all at Northern AC and Crossags Farm for their usual friendly hospitality, and to all who helped out on the day. Round 3 will be hosted by Western AC at Glen Lough Camp Site in Glen Vine on Sunday 9th December, with racing getting under way at 2pm. All are welcome.
Thursday 22 November 2007
Wednesday 14 November 2007
Cross country heading for crisis
Several years ago, the sport of cross country running on the Isle of Man was at a very low ebb. Small fields for the races were commonplace, with only the really keen and committed cross country enthusiasts keeping the sport going. Even the senior men’s races were only attracting a handful of competitors.
What was desperately needed at that time was for someone with drive, ambition and a genuine enthusiasm for cross country to come along and take the sport by the scruff of the neck and give it a major shake-up. It needed fresh ideas, it needed a new image, and it needed an infectious enthusiasm spreading right through the sport at all levels. And along came Graham Davies with the brand new concept of the Manx Gas Cross Challenge.
The rest is history. Over the past few seasons, we have come to expect fields of between 100 and 150 competitors for most events, a major sponsor (Manx Gas) was secured, some new ideas (such as the Short Course race and the Workplace Challenge) were introduced, and the emergence of outstanding individuals such as Keith Gerrard, John Halligan, Gemma Astin, Sarah Astin and others has helped to give cross country a very high media profile.
Everything in the garden has been rosy for the past few years – until now. Graham no longer has the time to be involved with cross country, and he deserves the grateful thanks of everyone who has enjoyed taking part in the Manx Gas Cross Challenge over the past few seasons. He has done a wonderful job and has put in place a great structure for cross country racing on the island for us all to enjoy.
Unfortunately, there has been no handover of responsibility for promoting this series and at present there is nobody officially doing the job. The first two rounds this season have gone ahead thanks to the host clubs and the efforts of a number of people helping to ‘muddle through’, but we are fast approaching crisis point. I for one will be unable to assist in any capacity with the next round at Glen Lough as I will be flat out with Millennium Relay work (it is the closing date for entries that weekend and we have 2 days to research and work out all the handicaps – a really major job). Most other people who have helped out so far this season are already fully committed with their own club work.
What is desperately needed – urgently – is for someone to come forward and offer to take on a similar role for cross country as Graham has filled for the past few years. Preferably this will be someone who is not otherwise involved in athletics administration, who has the time and enthusiasm to continue and to develop the work that Graham has been doing. Although the various athletics clubs on the island host individual rounds it needs someone to co-ordinate the series to pull it all together and maybe implement some new ideas – reintroducing the Workplace Challenge is one thing that springs to mind.
The stark reality is that if nobody steps forward to take this on in the near future I don’t think the Cross Challenge series will happen next season – we will probably just have the clubs organising their own events as ‘one-offs’. After all the hard work that has gone into resurrecting cross country over the past few years it would be a tragedy if this was to happen.
Can you help – or do you know anybody who might be interested in taking this job on? There will be plenty of support from people already involved in athletics, so whoever takes it on wouldn’t be on their own. The structure is already in place – it just needs someone to take charge and steer the ship.
If you can help, the Isle of Man AA would be delighted to hear from you – probably Bridget Kaneen would be the best person to contact in the first instance. I would also be pleased to speak to anyone interested as I have a reasonable idea of what is involved. This matter will no doubt be one of the main items for discussion at the Annual Meeting of the IOM Athletics Association at the Ascot Hotel in Douglas on Thursday 15th November at 7.30pm. Please come along if you can.
What was desperately needed at that time was for someone with drive, ambition and a genuine enthusiasm for cross country to come along and take the sport by the scruff of the neck and give it a major shake-up. It needed fresh ideas, it needed a new image, and it needed an infectious enthusiasm spreading right through the sport at all levels. And along came Graham Davies with the brand new concept of the Manx Gas Cross Challenge.
The rest is history. Over the past few seasons, we have come to expect fields of between 100 and 150 competitors for most events, a major sponsor (Manx Gas) was secured, some new ideas (such as the Short Course race and the Workplace Challenge) were introduced, and the emergence of outstanding individuals such as Keith Gerrard, John Halligan, Gemma Astin, Sarah Astin and others has helped to give cross country a very high media profile.
Everything in the garden has been rosy for the past few years – until now. Graham no longer has the time to be involved with cross country, and he deserves the grateful thanks of everyone who has enjoyed taking part in the Manx Gas Cross Challenge over the past few seasons. He has done a wonderful job and has put in place a great structure for cross country racing on the island for us all to enjoy.
Unfortunately, there has been no handover of responsibility for promoting this series and at present there is nobody officially doing the job. The first two rounds this season have gone ahead thanks to the host clubs and the efforts of a number of people helping to ‘muddle through’, but we are fast approaching crisis point. I for one will be unable to assist in any capacity with the next round at Glen Lough as I will be flat out with Millennium Relay work (it is the closing date for entries that weekend and we have 2 days to research and work out all the handicaps – a really major job). Most other people who have helped out so far this season are already fully committed with their own club work.
What is desperately needed – urgently – is for someone to come forward and offer to take on a similar role for cross country as Graham has filled for the past few years. Preferably this will be someone who is not otherwise involved in athletics administration, who has the time and enthusiasm to continue and to develop the work that Graham has been doing. Although the various athletics clubs on the island host individual rounds it needs someone to co-ordinate the series to pull it all together and maybe implement some new ideas – reintroducing the Workplace Challenge is one thing that springs to mind.
The stark reality is that if nobody steps forward to take this on in the near future I don’t think the Cross Challenge series will happen next season – we will probably just have the clubs organising their own events as ‘one-offs’. After all the hard work that has gone into resurrecting cross country over the past few years it would be a tragedy if this was to happen.
Can you help – or do you know anybody who might be interested in taking this job on? There will be plenty of support from people already involved in athletics, so whoever takes it on wouldn’t be on their own. The structure is already in place – it just needs someone to take charge and steer the ship.
If you can help, the Isle of Man AA would be delighted to hear from you – probably Bridget Kaneen would be the best person to contact in the first instance. I would also be pleased to speak to anyone interested as I have a reasonable idea of what is involved. This matter will no doubt be one of the main items for discussion at the Annual Meeting of the IOM Athletics Association at the Ascot Hotel in Douglas on Thursday 15th November at 7.30pm. Please come along if you can.
Sunday 11 November 2007
Results from Crossags
Below are the results from Round 2 of the Manx Gas Cross Challenge, hosted by Northern AC at Crossags Farm in Ramsey this afternoon.
There was a turnout of 89 across all classes today - 16 down on Round 1 at Nobles Park, but 13 up on the corresponding event at Crossags in December last year. Particularly encouraging was a turnout of 8 competitors in the Under 17 age group, plus another 2 Under 17s in the Short Course race. It is a long time since we have had so many competing at cross country in this age group. On the downside, we have yet to see a single competitor in the Under 15 Boys category so far this season. Where are they all?
Tony Okell sustained a nasty gaping cut just under his shoulder on the first lap of the race when he took too tight a racing line into one of the fast downhill corners - typically he carried on with the race as if nothing had happened. I was pleased to hear from Steve Kelly tonight that Tony is OK after a visit to casualty to have several stitches inserted. He will be sore tomorrow!
Senior/Vet Men (3 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 190 John Halligan Manx Harriers SM 29.00
2 231 Ed Gumbley Manx Harriers SM 29.28
3 205 Darren Gray Manx Harriers SM 29.30
4 206 Nigel Armstrong Manx Harriers V35 29.38
5 200 Gianni Epifani Manx Harriers V35 29.48
6 234 Tony Okell Manx Fell Runners V45 30.11
7 214 Andy Cannell Northern AC SM 30.34
8 212 Andy Fox Manx Harriers V45 30.55
9 220 Russell Collister Manx Harriers V40 31.53
10 222 James Broughton Northern AC V35 32.26
11 236 Steve Partington Manx Harriers V40 32.41
12 221 Paul Lewthwaite Manx Fell Runners SM 33.13
13 229 Dave Newton Manx Harriers V50 34.44
14 195 Phil Cain Manx Harriers V50 34.51
15 237 Mike Gellion IOMVAC V50 35.51
16 215 Lewis Veale IOMVAC V35 36.56
17 208 Peter Cooper IOMVAC V55 37.11
18 210 Ian Callister Manx Harriers V50 38.10
19 235 Niall McGarrigle Manx Fell Runners V40 38.19
20 192 Barry Moore Western AC V35 38.30
21 199 Les Brown Manx Harriers V55 39.50
22 233 Garry Ross IOMVAC V45 40.39
23 204 Alan Pilling IOMVAC V55 43.02
DNF 232 Paul Clarke Manx Harriers V40 DNF
Senior/Vet Ladies (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 196 Gail Griffiths Manx Harriers VL40 23.52
2 219 Bridget Kaneen Manx Harriers VL40 26.47
3 194 Ann Cain Manx Harriers VL45 28.19
4 207 Bethany Clague IOMVAC VL35 28.50
Short Course (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1= 174 Conor Delanbanque Manx Harriers U17M 10.14
1= 216 Michael Haslett Manx Harriers JM 10.14
3 175 David Munro Manx Harriers U17M 10.39
4 283 Eric Lee Western AC V45 14.12
5 286 June Collister U/A VL40 14.27
6 282 Lucy Veale U/A VL35 16.54
Junior Men (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 181 Ryan Fairclough Northern AC JM 20.47
Under 17 Men (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 177 Tom Richmond Manx Harriers U17M 21.25
2 178 Tom Bateson Manx Harriers U17M 22.21
3 179 Jordan Cain Manx Harriers U17M 22.49
4 172 Jack Leece IOM College U17M 42.06
Under 17 Ladies (1 lap plus 1 small lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 171 Gemma Astin Manx Harriers U17L 12.17
2 173 Rachael Franklin Manx Harriers U17L 13.39
3 176 Bronwen Kaneen Manx Harriers U17L 14.49
4 180 Leanne Garrett Manx Harriers U17L 16.54
Under 15 Girls (1 lap plus 1 small lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 159 Sarah Astin Manx Harriers U15G 12.27
2 163 Hannah Scarlett Manx Harriers U15G 13.56
3 156 Polly Rogerson Manx Harriers U15G 14.10
4 158 Maxine Smalley Western AC U15G 15.00
5 164 Emily Ashe Manx Harriers U15G 16.01
6 160 Penny Crookshank Northern AC U15G 16.28
7 157 Ciara Beattie Manx Harriers U15G 18.57
Under 13 Boys (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 130 Jack Garrett Manx Harriers U13B 11.03
2 129 Adam Young Manx Harriers U13B 11.09
3 122 Shaun Moore Western AC U13B 11.17
4 124 Alex Price Manx Harriers U13B 11.17
5 132 Stephen Garrett Ramsey GS U13B 11.50
6 123 Richard Radcliffe Manx Harriers U13B 11.50
7 131 Fraser Veale Castle Rushen U13B 11.51
8 120 Jake Nathan Manx Harriers U13B 12.25
9 121 Jason Moore Western AC U13B 12.38
10 125 Luke Smith Western AC U13B 13.41
11 128 Jordan Lee Western AC U13B 13.48
Under 13 Girls (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 105 Alice Ashe Manx Harriers U13G 12.17
2 102 Alexandra Ross Manx Harriers U13G 12.37
3 100 Clara Nathan Manx Harriers U13G 14.01
4 104 Holly McGarrigle Ballakermeen U13G 17.51
5 103 Hannah Kelly Manx Harriers U13G 17.51
Under 11 Boys (3 small laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 52 Will Morris Western AC U11B 5.23
2 54 Harvey Neale Arbory U11B 5.46
3 55 Conor Caley Western AC U11B 6.09
4 51 Tom Kennaugh Arbory U11B 6.26
5 53 Grant Thomson U11B 6.41
Under 11 Girls (3 small laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 77 Rebecca Nathan Manx Harriers U11G 5.34
2 78 Katie Astin Manx Harriers U11G 5.40
3 82 Alicia Oates Northern AC U11G 6.29
4 83 Ann Marie Craine Northern AC U11G 6.36
5 81 Daisy McGarrigle Ballacottier U11G 6.46
Under 9 Boys (2 small laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 35 Jamie Garrett Albert Road U9B 3.40
2 30 Patrick Cox Manx Harriers U9B 3.47
3 27 Conor Davies Cronk-y-Berry U9B 3.48
4 29 Brandon Atchison Manx Harriers U9B 3.57
5 26 Kealan Beattie Cronk-y-Berry U9B 4.19
6 32 Lewis Kelly Manx Harriers U9B 4.24
7 34 Tom Partington Manx Harriers U9B 4.33
Under 9 Girls (2 small laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 1 Danielle Barton Manx Harriers U9G 3.39
2 3 Aimee Cringle Western AC U9G 3.45
3 5 Anna Clarke-Smith Manx Harriers U9G 3.51
4 2 Ruth Nathan Manx Harriers U9G 3.52
5 4 Amy Smith Western AC U9G 4.27
6 7 Kaitlyn Boyde Northern AC U9G 4.28
There was a turnout of 89 across all classes today - 16 down on Round 1 at Nobles Park, but 13 up on the corresponding event at Crossags in December last year. Particularly encouraging was a turnout of 8 competitors in the Under 17 age group, plus another 2 Under 17s in the Short Course race. It is a long time since we have had so many competing at cross country in this age group. On the downside, we have yet to see a single competitor in the Under 15 Boys category so far this season. Where are they all?
Tony Okell sustained a nasty gaping cut just under his shoulder on the first lap of the race when he took too tight a racing line into one of the fast downhill corners - typically he carried on with the race as if nothing had happened. I was pleased to hear from Steve Kelly tonight that Tony is OK after a visit to casualty to have several stitches inserted. He will be sore tomorrow!
Senior/Vet Men (3 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 190 John Halligan Manx Harriers SM 29.00
2 231 Ed Gumbley Manx Harriers SM 29.28
3 205 Darren Gray Manx Harriers SM 29.30
4 206 Nigel Armstrong Manx Harriers V35 29.38
5 200 Gianni Epifani Manx Harriers V35 29.48
6 234 Tony Okell Manx Fell Runners V45 30.11
7 214 Andy Cannell Northern AC SM 30.34
8 212 Andy Fox Manx Harriers V45 30.55
9 220 Russell Collister Manx Harriers V40 31.53
10 222 James Broughton Northern AC V35 32.26
11 236 Steve Partington Manx Harriers V40 32.41
12 221 Paul Lewthwaite Manx Fell Runners SM 33.13
13 229 Dave Newton Manx Harriers V50 34.44
14 195 Phil Cain Manx Harriers V50 34.51
15 237 Mike Gellion IOMVAC V50 35.51
16 215 Lewis Veale IOMVAC V35 36.56
17 208 Peter Cooper IOMVAC V55 37.11
18 210 Ian Callister Manx Harriers V50 38.10
19 235 Niall McGarrigle Manx Fell Runners V40 38.19
20 192 Barry Moore Western AC V35 38.30
21 199 Les Brown Manx Harriers V55 39.50
22 233 Garry Ross IOMVAC V45 40.39
23 204 Alan Pilling IOMVAC V55 43.02
DNF 232 Paul Clarke Manx Harriers V40 DNF
Senior/Vet Ladies (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 196 Gail Griffiths Manx Harriers VL40 23.52
2 219 Bridget Kaneen Manx Harriers VL40 26.47
3 194 Ann Cain Manx Harriers VL45 28.19
4 207 Bethany Clague IOMVAC VL35 28.50
Short Course (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1= 174 Conor Delanbanque Manx Harriers U17M 10.14
1= 216 Michael Haslett Manx Harriers JM 10.14
3 175 David Munro Manx Harriers U17M 10.39
4 283 Eric Lee Western AC V45 14.12
5 286 June Collister U/A VL40 14.27
6 282 Lucy Veale U/A VL35 16.54
Junior Men (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 181 Ryan Fairclough Northern AC JM 20.47
Under 17 Men (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 177 Tom Richmond Manx Harriers U17M 21.25
2 178 Tom Bateson Manx Harriers U17M 22.21
3 179 Jordan Cain Manx Harriers U17M 22.49
4 172 Jack Leece IOM College U17M 42.06
Under 17 Ladies (1 lap plus 1 small lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 171 Gemma Astin Manx Harriers U17L 12.17
2 173 Rachael Franklin Manx Harriers U17L 13.39
3 176 Bronwen Kaneen Manx Harriers U17L 14.49
4 180 Leanne Garrett Manx Harriers U17L 16.54
Under 15 Girls (1 lap plus 1 small lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 159 Sarah Astin Manx Harriers U15G 12.27
2 163 Hannah Scarlett Manx Harriers U15G 13.56
3 156 Polly Rogerson Manx Harriers U15G 14.10
4 158 Maxine Smalley Western AC U15G 15.00
5 164 Emily Ashe Manx Harriers U15G 16.01
6 160 Penny Crookshank Northern AC U15G 16.28
7 157 Ciara Beattie Manx Harriers U15G 18.57
Under 13 Boys (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 130 Jack Garrett Manx Harriers U13B 11.03
2 129 Adam Young Manx Harriers U13B 11.09
3 122 Shaun Moore Western AC U13B 11.17
4 124 Alex Price Manx Harriers U13B 11.17
5 132 Stephen Garrett Ramsey GS U13B 11.50
6 123 Richard Radcliffe Manx Harriers U13B 11.50
7 131 Fraser Veale Castle Rushen U13B 11.51
8 120 Jake Nathan Manx Harriers U13B 12.25
9 121 Jason Moore Western AC U13B 12.38
10 125 Luke Smith Western AC U13B 13.41
11 128 Jordan Lee Western AC U13B 13.48
Under 13 Girls (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 105 Alice Ashe Manx Harriers U13G 12.17
2 102 Alexandra Ross Manx Harriers U13G 12.37
3 100 Clara Nathan Manx Harriers U13G 14.01
4 104 Holly McGarrigle Ballakermeen U13G 17.51
5 103 Hannah Kelly Manx Harriers U13G 17.51
Under 11 Boys (3 small laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 52 Will Morris Western AC U11B 5.23
2 54 Harvey Neale Arbory U11B 5.46
3 55 Conor Caley Western AC U11B 6.09
4 51 Tom Kennaugh Arbory U11B 6.26
5 53 Grant Thomson U11B 6.41
Under 11 Girls (3 small laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 77 Rebecca Nathan Manx Harriers U11G 5.34
2 78 Katie Astin Manx Harriers U11G 5.40
3 82 Alicia Oates Northern AC U11G 6.29
4 83 Ann Marie Craine Northern AC U11G 6.36
5 81 Daisy McGarrigle Ballacottier U11G 6.46
Under 9 Boys (2 small laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 35 Jamie Garrett Albert Road U9B 3.40
2 30 Patrick Cox Manx Harriers U9B 3.47
3 27 Conor Davies Cronk-y-Berry U9B 3.48
4 29 Brandon Atchison Manx Harriers U9B 3.57
5 26 Kealan Beattie Cronk-y-Berry U9B 4.19
6 32 Lewis Kelly Manx Harriers U9B 4.24
7 34 Tom Partington Manx Harriers U9B 4.33
Under 9 Girls (2 small laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 1 Danielle Barton Manx Harriers U9G 3.39
2 3 Aimee Cringle Western AC U9G 3.45
3 5 Anna Clarke-Smith Manx Harriers U9G 3.51
4 2 Ruth Nathan Manx Harriers U9G 3.52
5 4 Amy Smith Western AC U9G 4.27
6 7 Kaitlyn Boyde Northern AC U9G 4.28
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