A weekend full of gales and rain meant that this was going to be a ‘real’ cross country race.
We drummed up enough runners to make a team in both Ladies and Men’s races.
The Ladies were off first at 1230 for their race of 5000m and luckily the rain was holding off. The wind, however, was howling and the fact that St Austell Rugby Club over-looks the town meant they would feel the full force.
Paula (above) was flying and she battled the wind to finish a magnificent 2nd in the Senior Ladies. Donna (below) was next in 9th position.
Watching the girls fight against that wind, the boys knew they were in for a tough race.
Ceri (above) was our 3rd runner home and completed an excellent team performance for the club.
The men’s race started at 1335 at a rapid pace. They faced a course of 9250m. Our team was made up of Hodgey, Barrie, George and Chris Harper. Always mad for a bit of mud and sh*te, they were soon ploughing through the remains of Friday night’s ‘Guinness Night’ that the cows that usually inhabit that field had enjoyed!
Hodgey was going mad and was well up the field. It wasn’t too long before he was paying the price though as his “12 miles a week” training schedule failed to deliver!
The other Chris was also feeling frisky in the first lap and kept Barrie and George company for as long as they could maintain the threesome. George was first to break up the ‘club run’ and edged ahead. Barrie followed suite half a lap later and went off in pursuit of George.
The wind was a real pain on the two straights in the middle field and many pleas to smile for the camera went unheeded!!
Hodgey hung on in there and was our first runner home. Barrie’s tactics paid dividends as he reeled in George and pushed on to the finish. George then Chris completed good, strong runs against the elements to record another good Men’s/Vets team result in this seasons Westward League.
Ladies Race.
2nd Paula Telford
9th Donna Jenkin
30th Ceri Drew
Men’s Race.
36th Chris Hodge
49th Barrie Cardew
53rd George Williams
60th Chris Harper
The next Westward League race is at Bideford on 6th January.
We’ve had good team results in all three races (Redruth, Exeter & St Austell) so far in this season’s Westward League.
We’ll be taking teams to Bideford for the next race. The more runners we can take, the better.
If you are up for running at Bideford contact Barrie or Chris Harper for details.
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