For the 3rd successive year, 40 athletes and coaches from Rugby & Northampton Athletic Club, travelled to Alicante in Spain for a weeks warm weather training, just prior to the 2004 Track & Field season. The aim, to get some quality training in warm weather conditions and to build Club bonding. This year there were 37 athletes together with 3 coaches and a number of supporters. The first 2 days provided untypical Spanish weather, with strong winds and a 12-hour rain downpour, but the elements relented and the purpose of the week was more than fulfilled. There was general conditioning work on the beach in the morning, followed by quality track work on the fast Alicante track in the late afternoon.
Halfway through the week, on the Saturday evening, there was an International Grand Prix Meeting at the Alicante track, which was the last in a series of 3 that had been held in the Costa Blanca area in the previous week. Standards were high, and the training group entered five of its athletes for the meeting. The results were better than expected with a Gold and 2 Bronze medals being won. In the Women’s 100m, Ellena Ruddock confirmed her recent excellent winter form by winning the 100m Grand Prix final in 12.12 secs into a –1.8m/secheadwind, having won her heat in 11.9 secs also into a 3m/sec headwind. She won her final despite an appalling start, giving away at least 3 metres to the field. Claire Spurway also qualified for the final, finishing 6th in 12.41 secs, and in addition Emma Bailey who was at the meeting with a group of Loughborough University athletes, finished 7th in 12.62 secs.
In the Mens 100m, Martin Rutt was 3rd in his heat, and then ran a stormer of a race to win the bronze medal behind GB International Alyn Condon. Martin’s time of 11.3 was also into a –1.8m/sec headwind. The performance of the evening by a R & N AC athlete must go to Claire Pearson in the 100m hurdles. Again running into a strong headwind in her heat she qualified for the final in 3rd place in 14.46 secs. The final was a completely different affair. An aggressive start took Claire to 3rd place in the final in 14.18 secs into a headwind of – 1.8m/sec, to set a new PB and Club Record. A truly excellent performance and Claire will now be looking to duck under the 14 secs barrier