National Cross Country Relays
Berry Hill Park, Mansfield - Saturday 1st November
Following on from the excellent series of results already achieved in 2008, once again, junior athletes from Rugby and Northampton performed with distinction when competing at the English National Cross Country Relay Championships this week end.
Held at Berry Hill Park, Mansfield for the past 21 years, this event is rapidly growing in stature, prestige and importance in the annual cross country fixture list. In an era where participation in events is in continual decline the number of clubs competing at Berry Hill Park increases each year and the ECCRC has evolved into an event providing a series of high quality, competitive races.
Unlike normal cross country races, athletes compete in teams of three, with each runner taking turns to complete a lap of the course. Not only is the athlete racing against the competitors around them, they are also have the additional pressure of running for the other two members of their team.
Taking part for the first time, RNAC Juniors entered three teams (U13B, U15G, U17W) with all athletes performing well and being a credit to the club.
U13 Boys (3 x 2km) – 19th place
All 3 athletes turned in good performances, with times that were very similar. Running first in probably the most competitive leg, Dan White (7min 38) handed over in 44th position to Michael Inwood (7min 46). Michael worked his way through the field and completed his leg in 29th position. James Smith (7min 34) then provided a good performance to bring the team home in 19th place
U15 Girls (3 x 2km) – 11th place
Once again, the ability of the club to field 3 good quality, consistent athletes resulted in an 11th place finish. Charlotte Inwood produced the 12th fastest time of the day (7 min 22) on the final leg, but the runs by team mates Gabby Moriarty (7 min 52) and Eleanor Barnes (8 min 03) were also crucial in an overall excellent team performance
U17 Women (3 x 2.5km) – 16th place
Despite feeling unwell, Briony Banks (10 min 23) completed the first leg in 40th place. Just returning from injury, Emma McGowan (10 min 38) handed over in 39th place to Emily Waugh (9min 14), who produced the 14th fastest time of the day to bring the team home in 16th place.
U17 Men (3 x3km)
Unfortunately, due to prior commitments, the club was unable to field a full team for the U17 Men’s event. Two of our athletes, Rory Grant (10 min 17) and Tom Collins (11 min 42) both produced strong performances in an extremely competitive race
Overall, this was an event in which all our athletes performed well and did not look out of place despite the prestigious nature of the event and the quality of the athletes competing. It represents a stepping stone for the club and shows that RNAC does have junior athletes that are capable of performing well on a national stage.
Senior Men (3 x5km)
Rugby and Northampton senior mens cross country team produced there best ever performance at the National cross country relays on Saturday as they finished an excellent 36th.
The team was led off by in form Stephen Emery who stormed around the two lap course to record an outstanding 15min 57secs. This was over a minute faster than the he recorded last year which underlines the fantastic improvement he has made in the past 12 months. Nigel Marley took over on the second leg and produced a solid run in 17m 01secs. John Gercs then ran strongly to post an impressive time of 16m 45secs to bring the team back to 34th position. Paul Birch, making his season debut, battled well to hold on to 36th spot in a time of 17m 22secs.
The B team also ran well, being led off by 800m international Damion Moss who clocked 17m 22 secs. He handed over to Chris Lamb who showed improved form in 17m 36 secs. Marcin Seti then ran 17m 41secsand the team eas brought home by Nigel Sewell in 19m 22secs.
