The double points awarded for results in last Sunday's 4th round of the league have had a dramatic effect on the league situation going into the 5th and final round on Sunday 3rd February at Pulrose Golf Course. Detailed league tables will be posted in the next few days, but I can confirm a few things now.
The following competitors have now completed enough rounds to qualify for the league (but in many cases could improve their final league position with a good result in the last round):
John Halligan SM
Kevin Loundes SM
Ed Gumbley SM
Darren Gray SM
Paul Lewthwaite SM
Robbie Lambden SM
Nigel Armstrong V35
Gianni Epifani V35
James Broughton V35
Lewis Veale V35
Barry Moore V35
Andy Fox V45
Peter Kaneen V45
Phil Cain V50
Dave Newton V50
Peter Cooper V55
Ian Callister V50
Les Brown V55
Garry Ross V45
Alan Pilling V55
Doug Corkill V55
Gail Griffiths VL40
Sarah Nelson SL
Ann Cain VL45
Ryan Fairclough JM
Tom Richmond U17M
Jordan Cain U17M
Jack Leece U17M
Gemma Astin U17L
Rachael Franklin U17L
Leanne Garrett U17L
Sarah Astin U15G
Hannah Scarlett U15G
Maxine Smalley U15G
Polly Rogerson U15G
Penny Crookshank U15G
Adam Young U13B
Shaun Moore U13B
Jack Garrett U13B
Alex Price U13B
Fraser Veale U13B
Jason Moore U13B
Richard Radcliffe U13B
Luke Smith U13B
Jake Nathan U13B
Jordan Lee U13B
Fergus Veale U13B
Alice Ashe U13G
Alexandra Ross U13G
Sinead Kaneen U13G
Clara Nathan U13G
Hannah Kelly U13G
Holly McGarrigle U13G
Will Morris U11B
Harvey Neale U11B
Owen Dudley U11B
Conor Caley U11B
Tom Kennaugh U11B
Grant Thomson U11B
Katie Astin U11G
Rebecca Nathan U11G
Josie McGarrigle U11G
Alicia Oates U11G
Daisy McGarrigle U11G
Jamie Garrett U9B
Patrick Cox U9B
Conor Davies U9B
Jacob Brand U9B
Lewis Kelly U9B
Danielle Barton U9G
Aimee Cringle U9G
Ruth Nathan U9G
Amy Smith U9G
Conor Delanbanque SC
Michael Haslett SC
Eric Lee SC
June Collister SC
Lucy Veale SC
The following competitors must complete the final round at Pulrose in order to qualify for the league:
Mike Garrett V35
Russell Collister V40
James Bishop V40
Mike Gellion V50
Bridget Kaneen VL40
Bronwen Kaneen U17L
Nathan Pierce U15B
Alex McQuarrie U15B
Jak Morris U13B
Stephen Garrett U13B
Nick Corlett U13B
Brandon Atchison U9B
Gary Smith SC
Those who do not appear on either of the lists above cannot now qualify for the series, but are more than welcome to compete in the final round on a course likely to be faster and much less muddy than Crossags was!!
Quite a few league titles were clinched on Sunday, but I will leave you in suspense for a few more days before revealing these! But one race that will be really exciting at Pulrose will be the Under 13 Boys, with Jak Morris, Adam Young and Shaun Moore all still in with a chance of winning the title.
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Saturday, 12 January 2008
The next Paula Radcliffe?
Actually, I hate those sort of headlines with a passion! How many times over the years have we read about 'the next George Best' or 'the next Ian Botham'? Generally, such tags serve only to put unnecessary pressure on talented young sportsmen and women as well as often insulting the people they are alleged to be following into stardom.
But as the great Paula Radcliffe approaches what we hope will be the crowning glory of her career in Beijing later this year, there are several brilliant young talents emerging in British athletics, especially among the female ranks. Perhaps the most outstanding of them all is an 18 year old by the name of Stephanie Twell. Her name will already be familiar to those who follow the athletics scene closely after producing a string of superb performances at European and World level as a junior, both on the track and over the country. However, it's probably fair to say that she is not yet well known to the public at large. After today, that is surely about to change.
This afternoon she took part in the BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country event which was televised live on the BBC. Although still plenty young enough to compete in the Junior Ladies race she elected to run in the Senior race, and finished 4th behind an Ethiopian and 2 Kenyans who are all among the best track and cross country runners in the world. She only just missed out on 3rd, losing out by inches in a sprint finish to Vivian Cheruiyot, the Kenyan who won the silver medal at the World Championships 5000 metres in Osaka last year. For an 18 year old this was a phenomenal performance, and she comprehensively beat all the established British seniors including Liz Yelling and Hayley Yelling.
She has talent and determination by the bucketful and can look forward to the World Cross Country Championships in March (also in Edinburgh) and the Olympics later in the year with great optimism. At the moment her specialist track event is the 1500m but I suspect it won't be too long before she becomes a world-class 5000m runner.
The future of women's athletics especially looks very healthy in Great Britain at the moment. Is there any particular reason why the women's side of the sport is presently so strong, and why so many talented youngsters have come onto the scene in recent years? In my opinion the reason is very obvious and can be summed up in 2 words: Paula Radcliffe! Paula is likely to remain the undisputed Number 1 for a little while yet, but if you don't know the name now let me remind you again of a name that you will be hearing a lot more of in the next few years - Stephanie Twell.
But as the great Paula Radcliffe approaches what we hope will be the crowning glory of her career in Beijing later this year, there are several brilliant young talents emerging in British athletics, especially among the female ranks. Perhaps the most outstanding of them all is an 18 year old by the name of Stephanie Twell. Her name will already be familiar to those who follow the athletics scene closely after producing a string of superb performances at European and World level as a junior, both on the track and over the country. However, it's probably fair to say that she is not yet well known to the public at large. After today, that is surely about to change.
This afternoon she took part in the BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country event which was televised live on the BBC. Although still plenty young enough to compete in the Junior Ladies race she elected to run in the Senior race, and finished 4th behind an Ethiopian and 2 Kenyans who are all among the best track and cross country runners in the world. She only just missed out on 3rd, losing out by inches in a sprint finish to Vivian Cheruiyot, the Kenyan who won the silver medal at the World Championships 5000 metres in Osaka last year. For an 18 year old this was a phenomenal performance, and she comprehensively beat all the established British seniors including Liz Yelling and Hayley Yelling.
She has talent and determination by the bucketful and can look forward to the World Cross Country Championships in March (also in Edinburgh) and the Olympics later in the year with great optimism. At the moment her specialist track event is the 1500m but I suspect it won't be too long before she becomes a world-class 5000m runner.
The future of women's athletics especially looks very healthy in Great Britain at the moment. Is there any particular reason why the women's side of the sport is presently so strong, and why so many talented youngsters have come onto the scene in recent years? In my opinion the reason is very obvious and can be summed up in 2 words: Paula Radcliffe! Paula is likely to remain the undisputed Number 1 for a little while yet, but if you don't know the name now let me remind you again of a name that you will be hearing a lot more of in the next few years - Stephanie Twell.
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
More from Blackburn
A few further thoughts on Manx Harriers’ trip to Blackburn for last Saturday’s Lancashire Cross Country Championship:
The weather and ground conditions were as good as could reasonably be expected at this time of year (even if Les Brown didn’t agree!). Although sticky in places, it was certainly a whole lot better than last year’s mudbath in which several runners lost shoes during their races, including Andrew Newton and Bronwen Kaneen. I don’t think any of the Manx Harriers runners had any such problems this time.
As always the Manx party was made extremely welcome by everyone at Witton Park, and many members of the squad were personally thanked by the officials for supporting the event. Our athletes certainly impressed many of the spectators round the course. The question I was asked most often during the day was who our Under 15 girl was who completely destroyed the opposition! The second most popular question was what time did we have to get up that morning to travel across.
The web coverage of this year’s event has probably been the most comprehensive ever. With Murray Lambden not running this time he was able to give his full attention to his cameras and video equipment, capturing hundreds of photos and lots of video for http://www.manxathletics.com/. Ian Astin also took many quality photos which can be accessed via the site, and I had my camcorder on the go throughout the day. I have put some of my film onto DVD and am hoping to get some of the highlights uploaded onto the website shortly.
The club’s website http://www.manxharriers.com/ has in-depth features on every Lancs Cross Country Championship since 2005 and is well worth having a look at. John Watterson tells me that the Manx Independent will be giving the event plenty of space in this week’s edition, and if you also throw in last weekend's Manx Radio coverage and the blogs written by Andy Fox and myself, the Lancs has surely had more coverage this year than ever before. Let’s hope this raises awareness of this great event and encourages even more people to go next year. Wouldn't it be great if we could push the medal tally into double figures!
Andy generally books around 30 places on the trip, but judging from the number of empty seats on the plane I think we could probably take at least 35 if the interest was there. We need more youngsters next year, especially in the boys races. Jack Garrett was the only Under 13 Boy this year and there were no Under 15 Boys. They must be out there somewhere!
Attention now turns to the Isle of Man Cross Country Championships at Crossags Farm, Ramsey on Sunday 20th January. Stay tuned to the blog over the next few days for a look ahead to this event, updated league tables from the Cross Challenge after 3 rounds, and plenty more.
The weather and ground conditions were as good as could reasonably be expected at this time of year (even if Les Brown didn’t agree!). Although sticky in places, it was certainly a whole lot better than last year’s mudbath in which several runners lost shoes during their races, including Andrew Newton and Bronwen Kaneen. I don’t think any of the Manx Harriers runners had any such problems this time.
As always the Manx party was made extremely welcome by everyone at Witton Park, and many members of the squad were personally thanked by the officials for supporting the event. Our athletes certainly impressed many of the spectators round the course. The question I was asked most often during the day was who our Under 15 girl was who completely destroyed the opposition! The second most popular question was what time did we have to get up that morning to travel across.
The web coverage of this year’s event has probably been the most comprehensive ever. With Murray Lambden not running this time he was able to give his full attention to his cameras and video equipment, capturing hundreds of photos and lots of video for http://www.manxathletics.com/. Ian Astin also took many quality photos which can be accessed via the site, and I had my camcorder on the go throughout the day. I have put some of my film onto DVD and am hoping to get some of the highlights uploaded onto the website shortly.
The club’s website http://www.manxharriers.com/ has in-depth features on every Lancs Cross Country Championship since 2005 and is well worth having a look at. John Watterson tells me that the Manx Independent will be giving the event plenty of space in this week’s edition, and if you also throw in last weekend's Manx Radio coverage and the blogs written by Andy Fox and myself, the Lancs has surely had more coverage this year than ever before. Let’s hope this raises awareness of this great event and encourages even more people to go next year. Wouldn't it be great if we could push the medal tally into double figures!
Andy generally books around 30 places on the trip, but judging from the number of empty seats on the plane I think we could probably take at least 35 if the interest was there. We need more youngsters next year, especially in the boys races. Jack Garrett was the only Under 13 Boy this year and there were no Under 15 Boys. They must be out there somewhere!
Attention now turns to the Isle of Man Cross Country Championships at Crossags Farm, Ramsey on Sunday 20th January. Stay tuned to the blog over the next few days for a look ahead to this event, updated league tables from the Cross Challenge after 3 rounds, and plenty more.
Monday, 7 January 2008
Great day at the Lancs!
It was another highly successful day for Manx Harriers at the Lancashire Cross Country Championships at Witton Park in Blackburn on Saturday. A total of 7 medals were won by individuals and teams. This may be 1 down on last year’s total – however 3 of the medals this year were gold, which is 1 up on last year.
My fellow cross country blogger Andy Fox has already reported fully on the performances of the Manx Harriers squad at http://mudlark200708.blogspot.com/, but I thought I would add a few comments from my perspective as a supporter to the team at the event.
There were some terrific performances throughout the whole team, but the highlights have to be the gold medal winners. Keith Gerrard and Sarah Astin were both absolutely magnificent yet again. The tactics of both were very simple – head down from the gun and demoralise the rest of the field very early in the race. Simple those tactics may be, but to carry them out requires a lot of talent and a lot of confidence. Keith and Sarah have both qualities in abundance.
Keith’s performance was virtually an action replay from 2006, only this time his margin of victory was even more emphatic. At the start of the ‘Saucer’ climb on lap 1 Keith was already well over 10 seconds clear, and by the time the field came round for the second time Keith was almost at the top of the hill before the second man had arrived at the bottom! From then on the gap just stretched with every stride, and like all top-class sportsmen tend to do, Keith made the difficult look ridiculously easy. The way he tackled the very testing climb on each of the 4 laps was a joy to watch – he almost floated up the hill with a light, easy stride, and wasn’t even close to being out of breath at any stage. It was marvellous to see him running so well in a rare appearance in a Manx Harriers vest, and on this evidence he can look forward to the ‘business end’ of the cross country season with real confidence.
Sarah has an astonishing record at the Lancashire championships. 3 appearances, 3 wins, and every one more convincing. 2 years ago she won the Under 13 class by 5 seconds in a sprint finish. Last year she retained the Under 13 title by a 30-second margin. This time, in her first year as an Under 15, she won by an incredible margin of 53 seconds. Indeed, Keith’s and Sarah’s victory margins on Saturday were the two biggest of the day across all categories! Sarah has clearly fully recovered from her injury setback that caused her to miss the entire track season last summer and is now running better than ever.
Gemma Astin also ran extremely well in the Under 17 Ladies race to take the bronze medal. The front end of the field in this race was of a very high quality indeed, with 4 athletes who rank highly in the UK fighting for 3 medals. Gemma beat the highly-rated Kristie Leybourne which is no mean performance, but wasn’t quite able to challenge the front two this time – having a heavy cold last week didn’t help. The race winner Hannah Bateson is a year older than Gemma and won this race by a big margin last year, whilst in my last blog entry I correctly identified the hugely-improved Annika Jarman as a major threat – she finished 2nd.
Silver medals were also won in the Veteran age group categories by Andy Fox and Gail Griffiths. At the risk of being accused of bias I thought that Gail’s 7th place overall in the Ladies race was one of the performances of the day and a reward for a really good block of very focussed training recently. I thought beforehand that she might have a chance of getting in or around the top 12 if things went really well but to get as high as 7th was a superb effort. And of course it wouldn't be the Lancs Cross Country Championships without Andy Fox getting onto the podium. He missed out on the team medal this time (I think it was the first time that he has not been among the 6 'counters' for the team) but again finished 2nd in the V45 category.
The Senior Men's team performed magnificently to bring home the trophy in great style. So convincing was the margin of victory that we would still have won even without Keith in the team! When time permits I will have a look back through previous years' results to see exactly when was the last time that we had our 6 counters in the first 25.
The other medallists were the Under 17 Ladies Team who won silver, and I'm fairly confident in saying that this is the first time we have won a medal in this category at the Lancs - unless Andy knows better! Rachael Franklin and Bronwen Kaneen both acquitted themselves very well on the day in support of Gemma. Rachael was on a real mission up the Saucer on the first lap, passing about 5 of her rivals (2 of whom ended up in a heap on the floor halfway up the hill). Rachael's hill running this winter has clearly paid off.
It was a real shame that Polly Rogerson had to withdraw from the trip at the last minute with injury, as we would definitely have won at least a bronze medal in the Under 15 Girls with a 4th team member. I thought Hannah Scarlett and Catriona Cox ran magnificently on the day for 11th and 13rd places respectively. Hannah made a most impressive debut at this level of competition and looks to have real talent as a distance runner, while regular Lancs competitor Catriona showed her usual steely determination to record possibly her best performance to date in the competition.
I will post some further thoughts from the day later in the week, but will close this entry by saying a big thank-you to Andy Fox for his usual great organisation of the trip. Let's hope he gets plenty of support for the trip to the English National Cross Country Championships at Alton Towers on 23rd February. For further details regarding this trip, click on http://pub38.bravenet.com/forum/3219660836/show/656794
My fellow cross country blogger Andy Fox has already reported fully on the performances of the Manx Harriers squad at http://mudlark200708.blogspot.com/, but I thought I would add a few comments from my perspective as a supporter to the team at the event.
There were some terrific performances throughout the whole team, but the highlights have to be the gold medal winners. Keith Gerrard and Sarah Astin were both absolutely magnificent yet again. The tactics of both were very simple – head down from the gun and demoralise the rest of the field very early in the race. Simple those tactics may be, but to carry them out requires a lot of talent and a lot of confidence. Keith and Sarah have both qualities in abundance.
Keith’s performance was virtually an action replay from 2006, only this time his margin of victory was even more emphatic. At the start of the ‘Saucer’ climb on lap 1 Keith was already well over 10 seconds clear, and by the time the field came round for the second time Keith was almost at the top of the hill before the second man had arrived at the bottom! From then on the gap just stretched with every stride, and like all top-class sportsmen tend to do, Keith made the difficult look ridiculously easy. The way he tackled the very testing climb on each of the 4 laps was a joy to watch – he almost floated up the hill with a light, easy stride, and wasn’t even close to being out of breath at any stage. It was marvellous to see him running so well in a rare appearance in a Manx Harriers vest, and on this evidence he can look forward to the ‘business end’ of the cross country season with real confidence.
Sarah has an astonishing record at the Lancashire championships. 3 appearances, 3 wins, and every one more convincing. 2 years ago she won the Under 13 class by 5 seconds in a sprint finish. Last year she retained the Under 13 title by a 30-second margin. This time, in her first year as an Under 15, she won by an incredible margin of 53 seconds. Indeed, Keith’s and Sarah’s victory margins on Saturday were the two biggest of the day across all categories! Sarah has clearly fully recovered from her injury setback that caused her to miss the entire track season last summer and is now running better than ever.
Gemma Astin also ran extremely well in the Under 17 Ladies race to take the bronze medal. The front end of the field in this race was of a very high quality indeed, with 4 athletes who rank highly in the UK fighting for 3 medals. Gemma beat the highly-rated Kristie Leybourne which is no mean performance, but wasn’t quite able to challenge the front two this time – having a heavy cold last week didn’t help. The race winner Hannah Bateson is a year older than Gemma and won this race by a big margin last year, whilst in my last blog entry I correctly identified the hugely-improved Annika Jarman as a major threat – she finished 2nd.
Silver medals were also won in the Veteran age group categories by Andy Fox and Gail Griffiths. At the risk of being accused of bias I thought that Gail’s 7th place overall in the Ladies race was one of the performances of the day and a reward for a really good block of very focussed training recently. I thought beforehand that she might have a chance of getting in or around the top 12 if things went really well but to get as high as 7th was a superb effort. And of course it wouldn't be the Lancs Cross Country Championships without Andy Fox getting onto the podium. He missed out on the team medal this time (I think it was the first time that he has not been among the 6 'counters' for the team) but again finished 2nd in the V45 category.
The Senior Men's team performed magnificently to bring home the trophy in great style. So convincing was the margin of victory that we would still have won even without Keith in the team! When time permits I will have a look back through previous years' results to see exactly when was the last time that we had our 6 counters in the first 25.
The other medallists were the Under 17 Ladies Team who won silver, and I'm fairly confident in saying that this is the first time we have won a medal in this category at the Lancs - unless Andy knows better! Rachael Franklin and Bronwen Kaneen both acquitted themselves very well on the day in support of Gemma. Rachael was on a real mission up the Saucer on the first lap, passing about 5 of her rivals (2 of whom ended up in a heap on the floor halfway up the hill). Rachael's hill running this winter has clearly paid off.
It was a real shame that Polly Rogerson had to withdraw from the trip at the last minute with injury, as we would definitely have won at least a bronze medal in the Under 15 Girls with a 4th team member. I thought Hannah Scarlett and Catriona Cox ran magnificently on the day for 11th and 13rd places respectively. Hannah made a most impressive debut at this level of competition and looks to have real talent as a distance runner, while regular Lancs competitor Catriona showed her usual steely determination to record possibly her best performance to date in the competition.
I will post some further thoughts from the day later in the week, but will close this entry by saying a big thank-you to Andy Fox for his usual great organisation of the trip. Let's hope he gets plenty of support for the trip to the English National Cross Country Championships at Alton Towers on 23rd February. For further details regarding this trip, click on http://pub38.bravenet.com/forum/3219660836/show/656794
Thursday, 3 January 2008
All roads lead to Blackburn
We may be in the very first week of the New Year, but one of my favourite events of the whole athletics year takes place on Saturday. A party of approximately 30 from Manx Harriers will be up at an ungodly hour on Saturday morning to travel to Witton Park, Blackburn, to compete in the Lancashire Cross Country Championships. This is an event that Manx Harriers support in large numbers every year across all age groups, and is one in which we have enjoyed great success over recent years. For each of the past 2 years we have come away with a total of 8 medals (individual and team), and looking at the squad travelling this weekend I think we can be optimistic of at least challenging this total again.
In the past, the event used to take place at different venues throughout the county each year, but for the past several seasons the event has made its home at Witton Park in Blackburn. There were one or two comments last year to the effect that it has now become a little tedious to compete on the same course each year, but personally I disagree. It's a good course, the host club do a great job and have the organisation down to fine art, and every year the Manx party receives a warm welcome. Without fail, reference is always made at the medal ceremonies to the commitment we have shown to travel to the event and how much our support is appreciated.
Last year’s total of 8 medals was made up as follows:
Gold
Gemma Astin (Under 15 Girls)
Sarah Astin (Under 13 Girls)
Silver
Conor Delanbanque (Under 15 Boys)
Andy Fox (Vet 45 Men)
Gail Griffiths (Vet 40 Ladies)
Senior Men (Team medal)
Under 15 Girls (Team medal)
Bronze
Senior Ladies (Team medal)
All the above individual medallists with the exception of Conor Delanbanque are due to compete again in this year’s event, and with a fully fit Keith Gerrard also expected to compete things look promising. Last year Keith was ‘only’ 5th, but was in the very early stages of training following a long injury lay-off. With no such problems this year Keith will no doubt be quietly determined to repeat his emphatic 2006 victory in a rare opportunity for him to represent Manx Harriers who are now his ‘second claim’ club.
I think the senior men’s team have a great chance of success in the team event. The home club Blackburn Harriers are always strong, but with the best 6 to count and several members of the Manx Harriers team in excellent form at the moment perhaps we can upset the hosts this time and go one better than our silver medal last year.
The Astin sisters, Sarah and Gemma, have both moved up an age group since their superb victories last year, and can expect tough opposition from some talented athletes in their new age groups. I think both are well capable of winning medals – what colour they are will depend on who hits peak form on the day.
It is interesting to note that one of Gemma’s likely opponents in the Under 17 race, Annika Jarman of Lancaster & Morecambe AC, finished well down in the bottom half of last year’s Under 15 race two and a half minutes behind Gemma. A year on and she is now one of the best in the UK in the Under 17 age group! Surely an inspiration to all as to how much can be achieved with a year’s hard work and commitment.
There are 5 Lancashire debutants in the squad this year, who will no doubt be looking forward to tackling the climb up Witton Park’s infamous ‘saucer’ with a mixture of excitement and trepidation!
I’m really looking forward to supporting the team on the day, even though the weather forecast suggests it may well be very cold. Woolly hats, gloves and thermals are likely to be the order of the day! Hopefully there will be plenty of success to report next week.
In the past, the event used to take place at different venues throughout the county each year, but for the past several seasons the event has made its home at Witton Park in Blackburn. There were one or two comments last year to the effect that it has now become a little tedious to compete on the same course each year, but personally I disagree. It's a good course, the host club do a great job and have the organisation down to fine art, and every year the Manx party receives a warm welcome. Without fail, reference is always made at the medal ceremonies to the commitment we have shown to travel to the event and how much our support is appreciated.
Last year’s total of 8 medals was made up as follows:
Gold
Gemma Astin (Under 15 Girls)
Sarah Astin (Under 13 Girls)
Silver
Conor Delanbanque (Under 15 Boys)
Andy Fox (Vet 45 Men)
Gail Griffiths (Vet 40 Ladies)
Senior Men (Team medal)
Under 15 Girls (Team medal)
Bronze
Senior Ladies (Team medal)
All the above individual medallists with the exception of Conor Delanbanque are due to compete again in this year’s event, and with a fully fit Keith Gerrard also expected to compete things look promising. Last year Keith was ‘only’ 5th, but was in the very early stages of training following a long injury lay-off. With no such problems this year Keith will no doubt be quietly determined to repeat his emphatic 2006 victory in a rare opportunity for him to represent Manx Harriers who are now his ‘second claim’ club.
I think the senior men’s team have a great chance of success in the team event. The home club Blackburn Harriers are always strong, but with the best 6 to count and several members of the Manx Harriers team in excellent form at the moment perhaps we can upset the hosts this time and go one better than our silver medal last year.
The Astin sisters, Sarah and Gemma, have both moved up an age group since their superb victories last year, and can expect tough opposition from some talented athletes in their new age groups. I think both are well capable of winning medals – what colour they are will depend on who hits peak form on the day.
It is interesting to note that one of Gemma’s likely opponents in the Under 17 race, Annika Jarman of Lancaster & Morecambe AC, finished well down in the bottom half of last year’s Under 15 race two and a half minutes behind Gemma. A year on and she is now one of the best in the UK in the Under 17 age group! Surely an inspiration to all as to how much can be achieved with a year’s hard work and commitment.
There are 5 Lancashire debutants in the squad this year, who will no doubt be looking forward to tackling the climb up Witton Park’s infamous ‘saucer’ with a mixture of excitement and trepidation!
I’m really looking forward to supporting the team on the day, even though the weather forecast suggests it may well be very cold. Woolly hats, gloves and thermals are likely to be the order of the day! Hopefully there will be plenty of success to report next week.
Thursday, 13 December 2007
Glen Lough report
Round 3 of the Manx Gas Cross Challenge was held at a very wet and muddy Glen Lough Camp Site in Glen Vine last Sunday. The dreadful weather of the previous week had made underfoot conditions interesting to say the least, but in spite of this there was an excellent turnout of exactly 100 competitors across all classes. With four stream crossings and a steep hill to be negotiated on each lap there were plenty of thrills – and a few spills as well!
As always it was the junior age groups that provided some of the closest and most exciting racing. In the U9s, Jamie Garrett just overhauled Conor Davies in a sprint for the line to record his second win in a row, whilst in the girls race Danielle Barton just got the better of Aimee Cringle in yet another close battle between the pair.
In the U11s there was another dominant performance from Will Morris to win for the third time this season, but behind him Harvey Neale, Owen Dudley and Terence George are improving all the time. Katie Astin produced a strong and stylish performance to comfortably win the girls race ahead of Josie McGarrigle and Alicia Oates.
There was a fantastic turnout of 18 competitors in the U13B race, including several from QE2 School. Adam Young took his second win of the series but had to work very hard to stay just ahead of Shaun Moore, and an excellent run from newcomer Jak Morris brought him a great 3rd place. Alice Ashe won the girls race with something to spare despite good runs from Alexandra Ross and Sinead Kaneen.
For the first time this season there were competitors in the U15B category. Western AC’s Nathan Pierce took a hard-earned win ahead of the QE2 duo of Alex McQuarrie and James Smith. The U15G race was dominated by Hannah Scarlett and Polly Rogerson, who warmed up for their Lancs Cross Country debuts next month with strong runs in difficult conditions – excellent preparation for the testing Blackburn course.
Track specialist Tom Richmond produced a strong run to take victory in the U17M race ahead of Jordan Cain. In the U17L category, newcomer Alicia Corlett showed great determination to take the win over a longer distance than is usually set in this category.
The Short Course race was held over 3 laps, and it was good to see some new names on the leaderboard. June Collister came out on top with Eric Lee 2nd and Moira Hall 3rd.
The main events of the day were the races for S/V Men, S/V Women and J Men, held over 6, 4 and 5 laps respectively. John Halligan recorded yet another win in the Men’s race, but Kevin Loundes pushes him harder with every race. Darren Gray was the early leader, but by lap 3 it was Loundes at the head of the field being shadowed by Island Games team-mate Halligan. Loundes resisted Halligan’s first effort to get away, but the Rhodes gold medallist’s second effort on lap 5 was the decisive moment of the race. He appeared in the top field after the penultimate climb some 20 seconds clear, and despite a strong final lap by Loundes the eventual gap was 19 seconds. Nigel Armstrong overhauled Ed Gumbley on the final lap to take third, with former Island cross-country champions Gianni Epifani and Andy Cannell rounding off the top 6. Further down the field there was a tremendous sprint finish between Dave Newton and Michael George, with the evergreen ‘Newty’ just holding off the exhausted hotelier!
Island Games distance runner Gail Griffiths completed a hat-trick of wins in the Ladies series with a very impressive performance to beat Sarah Nelson by nearly a minute. There was little between the two Manx Harriers team-mates on the first 2 laps but Griffiths showed good strength on the uphill section to take a decisive lead on lap 3 which she steadily stretched to the end of the race. Ann Cain completed the top 3 ahead of former top race walker Liz Corran.
Ryan Fairclough was a decisive winner of the Junior Men’s race, showing good strength and stamina over 5 very testing laps.
Many thanks go to Western AC, all the officials, and the Quayle family for the use of the excellent facilities at Glen Lough. Round 4 of the series, which also doubles as the IOM Cross Country Championships, will be hosted by Northern AC at Crossags Farm in Ramsey on Sunday 20th January 2008. Double points will be awarded for the league in this round – all competitors should get that one in their diaries now!
As always it was the junior age groups that provided some of the closest and most exciting racing. In the U9s, Jamie Garrett just overhauled Conor Davies in a sprint for the line to record his second win in a row, whilst in the girls race Danielle Barton just got the better of Aimee Cringle in yet another close battle between the pair.
In the U11s there was another dominant performance from Will Morris to win for the third time this season, but behind him Harvey Neale, Owen Dudley and Terence George are improving all the time. Katie Astin produced a strong and stylish performance to comfortably win the girls race ahead of Josie McGarrigle and Alicia Oates.
There was a fantastic turnout of 18 competitors in the U13B race, including several from QE2 School. Adam Young took his second win of the series but had to work very hard to stay just ahead of Shaun Moore, and an excellent run from newcomer Jak Morris brought him a great 3rd place. Alice Ashe won the girls race with something to spare despite good runs from Alexandra Ross and Sinead Kaneen.
For the first time this season there were competitors in the U15B category. Western AC’s Nathan Pierce took a hard-earned win ahead of the QE2 duo of Alex McQuarrie and James Smith. The U15G race was dominated by Hannah Scarlett and Polly Rogerson, who warmed up for their Lancs Cross Country debuts next month with strong runs in difficult conditions – excellent preparation for the testing Blackburn course.
Track specialist Tom Richmond produced a strong run to take victory in the U17M race ahead of Jordan Cain. In the U17L category, newcomer Alicia Corlett showed great determination to take the win over a longer distance than is usually set in this category.
The Short Course race was held over 3 laps, and it was good to see some new names on the leaderboard. June Collister came out on top with Eric Lee 2nd and Moira Hall 3rd.
The main events of the day were the races for S/V Men, S/V Women and J Men, held over 6, 4 and 5 laps respectively. John Halligan recorded yet another win in the Men’s race, but Kevin Loundes pushes him harder with every race. Darren Gray was the early leader, but by lap 3 it was Loundes at the head of the field being shadowed by Island Games team-mate Halligan. Loundes resisted Halligan’s first effort to get away, but the Rhodes gold medallist’s second effort on lap 5 was the decisive moment of the race. He appeared in the top field after the penultimate climb some 20 seconds clear, and despite a strong final lap by Loundes the eventual gap was 19 seconds. Nigel Armstrong overhauled Ed Gumbley on the final lap to take third, with former Island cross-country champions Gianni Epifani and Andy Cannell rounding off the top 6. Further down the field there was a tremendous sprint finish between Dave Newton and Michael George, with the evergreen ‘Newty’ just holding off the exhausted hotelier!
Island Games distance runner Gail Griffiths completed a hat-trick of wins in the Ladies series with a very impressive performance to beat Sarah Nelson by nearly a minute. There was little between the two Manx Harriers team-mates on the first 2 laps but Griffiths showed good strength on the uphill section to take a decisive lead on lap 3 which she steadily stretched to the end of the race. Ann Cain completed the top 3 ahead of former top race walker Liz Corran.
Ryan Fairclough was a decisive winner of the Junior Men’s race, showing good strength and stamina over 5 very testing laps.
Many thanks go to Western AC, all the officials, and the Quayle family for the use of the excellent facilities at Glen Lough. Round 4 of the series, which also doubles as the IOM Cross Country Championships, will be hosted by Northern AC at Crossags Farm in Ramsey on Sunday 20th January 2008. Double points will be awarded for the league in this round – all competitors should get that one in their diaries now!
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Results from Glen Lough
Below are the confirmed results from Round 3 of the Manx Cross Challenge held at Glen Lough Camp Site in Glen Vine last Sunday. There were exactly 100 competitors across all classes, which was excellent considering the awful weather over the previous week. This made conditions interesting to say the least! It was really good to see a field of 18 in the Under 13 Boys race, including several students from QE2 School. Hope you all enjoyed yourselves and we will see you again next time.
Senior/Vet Men (6 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 190 John Halligan Manx Harriers SM 29.38
2 230 Kevin Loundes Manx Harriers SM 29.57
3 206 Nigel Armstrong Manx Harriers V35 30.53
4 231 Ed Gumbley Manx Harriers SM 31.01
5 200 Gianni Epifani Manx Harriers V35 31.04
6 214 Andy Cannell Northern AC SM 31.13
7 205 Darren Gray Manx Harriers SM 31.32
8 212 Andy Fox Manx Harriers V45 32.37
9 290 Russell Collister Manx Harriers V40 33.14
10 193 Peter Kaneen Manx Harriers V45 33.35
11 222 James Broughton Northern AC V35 33.41
12 241 James Bishop IOMVAC V40 35.40
13 221 Paul Lewthwaite Manx Fell Runners SM 35.48
14 195 Phil Cain Manx Harriers V50 35.54
15 229 Dave Newton Manx Harriers V50 37.12
16 218 Michael George Manx Harriers V40 37.12
17 215 Lewis Veale IOMVAC V35 38.09
18 239 Paul Jackson Manx Harriers V40 38.47
19 210 Ian Callister Manx Harriers V50 39.27
20 208 Peter Cooper IOMVAC V55 39.40
21 242 Godfrey Clayton Manx Fell Runners SM 39.46
22 235 Niall McGarrigle Manx Fell Runners V40 40.52
23 243 Gary Ashe Manx Harriers V45 41.08
24 192 Barry Moore Western AC V35 41.15
25 225 Doug Corkill Manx Harriers V55 43.09
26 233 Garry Ross Manx Harriers V45 43.25
27 204 Alan Pilling IOMVAC V55 44.44
28 223 Geoff Hall Western AC V55 46.53
29 228 Robbie Lambden Manx Harriers SM 80.40
DNF 197 Mike Garrett Manx Harriers V35 DNF
DNF 238 Paul Renshaw Northern AC SM DNF
Senior/Vet Ladies (4 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 196 Gail Griffiths Manx Harriers VL40 25.01
2 226 Sarah Nelson Manx Harriers SL 25.55
3 194 Ann Cain Manx Harriers VL45 30.33
4 224 Liz Corran Manx Harriers VL50 31.20
Short Course (3 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 286 June Collister U/A VL40 23.32
2 283 Eric Lee Western AC V45 23.48
3 288 Moira Hall Western AC VL55 24.03
4 240 Janette Gledhill U/A VL40 24.23
5 244 Marika Bailey U/A VL40 24.37
6 282 Lucy Veale U/A VL35 29.27
Junior Men (5 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 181 Ryan Fairclough Northern AC JM 27.01
2 217 Ben Brand Manx Harriers JM 33.59
Under 17 Men (4 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 177 Tom Richmond Manx Harriers U17M 23.30
2 179 Jordan Cain Manx Harriers U17M 24.44
3 172 Jack Leece IOM College U17M 32.05
Under 17 Ladies (4 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 182 Alicia Corlett Ballakermeen U17L 36.49
2= 171 Gemma Astin Manx Harriers U17L 42.22
2= 180 Leanne Garrett Manx Harriers U17L 42.22
Under 15 Boys (3 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 140 Nathan Pierce Western AC U15B 17.59
2 141 Alex McQuarrie QE2 U15B 18.14
3 138 James Smith QE2 U15B 20.13
Under 15 Girls (3 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 163 Hannah Scarlett Manx Harriers U15G 18.34
2 156 Polly Rogerson Manx Harriers U15G 19.30
3 158 Maxine Smalley Western AC U15G 22.24
4 161 Fay Latham Manx Harriers U15G 23.15
Under 13 Boys (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 129 Adam Young Manx Harriers U13B 11.23
2 122 Shaun Moore Western AC U13B 11.25
3 139 Jak Morris QE2 U13B 11.48
4 124 Alex Price Manx Harriers U13B 11.53
5 131 Fraser Veale Castle Rushen U13B 12.04
6 130 Jack Garrett Manx Harriers U13B 12.19
7 121 Jason Moore Western AC U13B 12.29
8 153 Sam Callow QE2 U13B 12.37
9 154 Mark Turner Northern AC U13B 12.40
10= 133 Nick Corlett QE2 U13B 13.09
10= 125 Luke Smith Western AC U13B 13.09
12 123 Richard Radcliffe Manx Harriers U13B 13.33
13 128 Jordan Lee Western AC U13B 14.09
14= 136 Juan Hunter QE2 U13B 14.58
14= 134 Sam Tarpey QE2 U13B 14.58
16 127 Fergus Veale Castle Rushen U13B 17.50
17 135 Toby Leece QE2 U13B 18.56
18 137 Oliver Chambers QE2 U13B 19.29
Under 13 Girls (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 105 Alice Ashe Manx Harriers U13G 12.58
2 102 Alexandra Ross Manx Harriers U13G 13.44
3 101 Sinead Kaneen Manx Harriers U13G 14.09
4= 103 Hannah Kelly Manx Harriers U13G 19.58
4= 104 Holly McGarrigle Ballakermeen U13G 19.58
Under 11 Boys (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 52 Will Morris Western AC U11B 5.45
2 54 Harvey Neale Arbory U11B 6.12
3 56 Owen Dudley Manx Harriers U11B 6.18
4 57 Terence George Manx Harriers U11B 6.19
5 55 Conor Caley Western AC U11B 6.33
6 53 Grant Thomson U11B 7.26
7 58 Jordan Hamer Manx Harriers U11B 7.28
8 51 Tom Kennaugh Arbory U11B 7.31
Under 11 Girls (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 78 Katie Astin Manx Harriers U11G 6.33
2 80 Josie McGarrigle Manx Harriers U11G 7.18
3 82 Alicia Oates Northern AC U11G 7.20
4 81 Daisy McGarrigle Ballacottier U11G 7.24
Under 9 Boys (1 small lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 35 Jamie Garrett Albert Road U9B 2.39
2 27 Conor Davies Cronk-y-Berry U9B 2.39
3 29 Brandon Atchison Manx Harriers U9B 2.43
4 33 Jacob Brand Manx Harriers U9B 3.03
5 36 Matthew Cain Western AC U9B 3.04
6 32 Lewis Kelly Manx Harriers U9B 3.05
Under 9 Girls (1 small lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 1 Danielle Barton Manx Harriers U9G 2.41
2 3 Aimee Cringle Western AC U9G 2.44
3 4 Amy Smith Western AC U9G 3.07
Senior/Vet Men (6 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 190 John Halligan Manx Harriers SM 29.38
2 230 Kevin Loundes Manx Harriers SM 29.57
3 206 Nigel Armstrong Manx Harriers V35 30.53
4 231 Ed Gumbley Manx Harriers SM 31.01
5 200 Gianni Epifani Manx Harriers V35 31.04
6 214 Andy Cannell Northern AC SM 31.13
7 205 Darren Gray Manx Harriers SM 31.32
8 212 Andy Fox Manx Harriers V45 32.37
9 290 Russell Collister Manx Harriers V40 33.14
10 193 Peter Kaneen Manx Harriers V45 33.35
11 222 James Broughton Northern AC V35 33.41
12 241 James Bishop IOMVAC V40 35.40
13 221 Paul Lewthwaite Manx Fell Runners SM 35.48
14 195 Phil Cain Manx Harriers V50 35.54
15 229 Dave Newton Manx Harriers V50 37.12
16 218 Michael George Manx Harriers V40 37.12
17 215 Lewis Veale IOMVAC V35 38.09
18 239 Paul Jackson Manx Harriers V40 38.47
19 210 Ian Callister Manx Harriers V50 39.27
20 208 Peter Cooper IOMVAC V55 39.40
21 242 Godfrey Clayton Manx Fell Runners SM 39.46
22 235 Niall McGarrigle Manx Fell Runners V40 40.52
23 243 Gary Ashe Manx Harriers V45 41.08
24 192 Barry Moore Western AC V35 41.15
25 225 Doug Corkill Manx Harriers V55 43.09
26 233 Garry Ross Manx Harriers V45 43.25
27 204 Alan Pilling IOMVAC V55 44.44
28 223 Geoff Hall Western AC V55 46.53
29 228 Robbie Lambden Manx Harriers SM 80.40
DNF 197 Mike Garrett Manx Harriers V35 DNF
DNF 238 Paul Renshaw Northern AC SM DNF
Senior/Vet Ladies (4 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 196 Gail Griffiths Manx Harriers VL40 25.01
2 226 Sarah Nelson Manx Harriers SL 25.55
3 194 Ann Cain Manx Harriers VL45 30.33
4 224 Liz Corran Manx Harriers VL50 31.20
Short Course (3 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 286 June Collister U/A VL40 23.32
2 283 Eric Lee Western AC V45 23.48
3 288 Moira Hall Western AC VL55 24.03
4 240 Janette Gledhill U/A VL40 24.23
5 244 Marika Bailey U/A VL40 24.37
6 282 Lucy Veale U/A VL35 29.27
Junior Men (5 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 181 Ryan Fairclough Northern AC JM 27.01
2 217 Ben Brand Manx Harriers JM 33.59
Under 17 Men (4 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 177 Tom Richmond Manx Harriers U17M 23.30
2 179 Jordan Cain Manx Harriers U17M 24.44
3 172 Jack Leece IOM College U17M 32.05
Under 17 Ladies (4 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 182 Alicia Corlett Ballakermeen U17L 36.49
2= 171 Gemma Astin Manx Harriers U17L 42.22
2= 180 Leanne Garrett Manx Harriers U17L 42.22
Under 15 Boys (3 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 140 Nathan Pierce Western AC U15B 17.59
2 141 Alex McQuarrie QE2 U15B 18.14
3 138 James Smith QE2 U15B 20.13
Under 15 Girls (3 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 163 Hannah Scarlett Manx Harriers U15G 18.34
2 156 Polly Rogerson Manx Harriers U15G 19.30
3 158 Maxine Smalley Western AC U15G 22.24
4 161 Fay Latham Manx Harriers U15G 23.15
Under 13 Boys (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 129 Adam Young Manx Harriers U13B 11.23
2 122 Shaun Moore Western AC U13B 11.25
3 139 Jak Morris QE2 U13B 11.48
4 124 Alex Price Manx Harriers U13B 11.53
5 131 Fraser Veale Castle Rushen U13B 12.04
6 130 Jack Garrett Manx Harriers U13B 12.19
7 121 Jason Moore Western AC U13B 12.29
8 153 Sam Callow QE2 U13B 12.37
9 154 Mark Turner Northern AC U13B 12.40
10= 133 Nick Corlett QE2 U13B 13.09
10= 125 Luke Smith Western AC U13B 13.09
12 123 Richard Radcliffe Manx Harriers U13B 13.33
13 128 Jordan Lee Western AC U13B 14.09
14= 136 Juan Hunter QE2 U13B 14.58
14= 134 Sam Tarpey QE2 U13B 14.58
16 127 Fergus Veale Castle Rushen U13B 17.50
17 135 Toby Leece QE2 U13B 18.56
18 137 Oliver Chambers QE2 U13B 19.29
Under 13 Girls (2 laps)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 105 Alice Ashe Manx Harriers U13G 12.58
2 102 Alexandra Ross Manx Harriers U13G 13.44
3 101 Sinead Kaneen Manx Harriers U13G 14.09
4= 103 Hannah Kelly Manx Harriers U13G 19.58
4= 104 Holly McGarrigle Ballakermeen U13G 19.58
Under 11 Boys (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 52 Will Morris Western AC U11B 5.45
2 54 Harvey Neale Arbory U11B 6.12
3 56 Owen Dudley Manx Harriers U11B 6.18
4 57 Terence George Manx Harriers U11B 6.19
5 55 Conor Caley Western AC U11B 6.33
6 53 Grant Thomson U11B 7.26
7 58 Jordan Hamer Manx Harriers U11B 7.28
8 51 Tom Kennaugh Arbory U11B 7.31
Under 11 Girls (1 lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 78 Katie Astin Manx Harriers U11G 6.33
2 80 Josie McGarrigle Manx Harriers U11G 7.18
3 82 Alicia Oates Northern AC U11G 7.20
4 81 Daisy McGarrigle Ballacottier U11G 7.24
Under 9 Boys (1 small lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 35 Jamie Garrett Albert Road U9B 2.39
2 27 Conor Davies Cronk-y-Berry U9B 2.39
3 29 Brandon Atchison Manx Harriers U9B 2.43
4 33 Jacob Brand Manx Harriers U9B 3.03
5 36 Matthew Cain Western AC U9B 3.04
6 32 Lewis Kelly Manx Harriers U9B 3.05
Under 9 Girls (1 small lap)
Pos No Name Club/School Cat Time
1 1 Danielle Barton Manx Harriers U9G 2.41
2 3 Aimee Cringle Western AC U9G 2.44
3 4 Amy Smith Western AC U9G 3.07
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