LANCASHIRE COUNTY

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Cross Country

Gold medal winner Sarah Astin

I know Andy Fox is doing a report for the paper this week (hopefully the lack of sport on the island last weekend will leave plenty of space for comprehensive coverage of the cross country!), but I thought I would post a report and some of my thoughts on Saturday’s event.
Firstly, I thought everybody involved with putting the event on – Lancashire AA, Blackburn Harriers and all the officials and marshals – did a fantastic job. Nearly all the other counties called their events off at the weekend, but the decision to go ahead with the Lancs event proved to be 100% justified. We had no problems with any of our air or road travel, and the snow-covered course was actually better and safer to run on than last year’s frozen and rutted conditions. It was hard going though – many of the competitors likened it to running on deep soft sand – but everyone seemed to really enjoy it. I think the conditions made it one of the most memorable days of athletics I have ever been involved with, and I can guarantee that many years from now the Lancs Cross Country Championships of 2010 will still be talked about as the year everyone ran through the snow! There was glorious sunshine all day too, which made the wintry surroundings look even more spectacular.
It was a great day for Manx Harriers, with a club record of nine medals being won in total – six by individuals and three by teams. Our task was made a little easier by the lower than usual number of competitors taking part in the championships this year, many of the regulars presumably being put off by the ground conditions for the second successive year. I can only say that those in the Lancashire area who chose not to compete missed a terrific day of athletics.
Danielle Barton made history by becoming the first Manx athlete to win a Lancashire cross country medal in the under-11 age group. She led for the first half of the race before being passed by the eventual winner. She was being closed down by the third placed girl in the latter stages of the race but then produced a tremendous finish to pull well clear and take the silver medal. A great run! David Mullarkey, who is in his first year as an u11, ran most impressively on his Lancashire debut to take eighth place in the boys race ahead of Conor Davies who finished in a good 11th position.
The u13 girls race followed and was the first age group to head out onto the testing ‘saucer’ hill at the back of the course. Katie Astin continued her excellent form this season and ran strongly throughout to take a fine fifth place. Katie was one of the youngest competitors in the race and must be in with a great chance of getting into the medals in the same age group next year. Josie McGarrigle (16th), Sosie Cox (22nd) and Daisy McGarrigle (29th) made up the rest of the team of four, the team finishing in fifth place but not all that far behind the bronze medal winning team. Daisy produced one of the best sprint finishes of the day, suggesting that she has the potential to be a good track runner.
Sammy Holt underlined his great improvement over the past year with a highly impressive run to finish seventh in the u15 boys race. He judged the pace very sensibly in the first half of the race, keeping a little in hand in the very testing conditions. As others tired, he surged past several of his rivals on the second lap and finished very strongly. Stephen Garrett and Oliver Dickinson were both debutants in the event and did very well to finish 14th and 21st respectively. The experience will benefit them both greatly.
In the u17 men’s race Oliver Lockley was also an event debutant and produced a run very similar to Sammy Holt’s in the u15 race. He was 14th after the first of two laps before producing a really powerful second lap to haul himself up to an impressive seventh place finish. He and Sammy both have a chance of selection for the Inter Counties in March.
The u17 women's race produced the first gold medal of the day for the club, courtesy of yet another superb run by Sarah Astin. Sarah was up against a very good athlete, Melanie Hyder, who is an outstanding fell runner and also very good over the country. Sarah established a lead of about 40 metres by the first ‘saucer’ climb, a gap which had stretched slightly by the same place on the second lap but was not yet a winning lead. However, Sarah ran really strongly up the hill to increase the gap, and her lead had grown to a comfortable 17 seconds at the line. This was Sarah’s fourth Lancashire championship in the five years she has competed in the event, a fabulous record. Her only blemish was last year when she was coming back from a long injury layoff. Even then she was fourth having hardly run for six months! There were really gritty and determined runs also from Polly Rogerson and Caitriona Cox who finished 11th and 13th respectively, and along with Sarah they picked up the bronze medal for the team. Caitriona is a great supporter of this event having competed every year since she was a first-year under-13.
There was a change of format for the u20 age groups this year, as for the first time both the women and men raced over the same distance as their senior and veteran counterparts, and the races for u20s, seniors and veterans were run concurrently. The women’s race was first, and this produced what I feel was the most outstanding performance of the day from the Manx athletes. Gemma Astin, in her first year in the u20 age group, not only beat all her age group rivals but also all the seniors! She ran with great confidence and authority over the 7k course, which is by far the longest distance she has contested at cross country. She stayed on the shoulder of Hannah Bateson (fourth in the Inter Counties u17 race two years ago) for most of the first lap with the leading senior in close company. On the second of the two long laps, Gemma made her move and powered into the lead which she increased with every stride. She ran in a manner that almost said to the rest of the field ‘you’ve got no chance because I’m better than you!’ The athletes Gemma beat convincingly included the second and fourth place finishers in the u17 Inter Counties race two years ago (Gemma’s team mates in the gold medal winning Lancashire team that year), and two senior athletes who have recorded 80 and 82 minute Half Marathon times in 2009. I think that brings into focus the quality of Gemma’s run on Saturday.
The third gold medal of the day came in the same race, Gail Griffiths producing another outstanding run to finish fourth overall in the senior women’s race and to win the v40 category. Four years ago Gail finished 25th in this race, which just shows how much she has progressed since. She is an ambitious and totally committed athlete, and deserves all the success she gets. The good news didn’t stop there for the women’s team either. Rosy Craine ran with real determination to finish 15th and to take the silver medal in the v35 category on her debut in the event. She has improved spectacularly over the last few months and I think there is plenty more to come. Jan Gledhill was a late addition to the team and also did extremely well in her first race at this level. She finished in 32nd place, and helped the team to an unexpected but thoroughly well deserved bronze medal. The fourth, fifth and sixth placed teams were just one, two and four points behind us, proving that every position really does count in team events!
We had a slightly depleted team in the senior men’s race as Keith Gerrard missed the race for the first time for several years and Kevin Loundes is injured. Some of those who did run are also slightly below par following injuries/illness, but the strength in depth in Manx cross country running was shown by the fact that we still picked up the team silver medal! The whole team gave 100% and did themselves proud. Martin Malone improved last year’s finishing position to lead the team home in 13th place, Ed Gumbley ran with typical determination for 21st place, and Mike Garrett underlined his improvement over cross country this winter with an excellent 25th place finish. Andy Watson, who concentrates mainly on the fells these days, had a great run to take 31st place, and fifth finisher for the team was Darren Gray who has had a terrible time with injuries and illness this winter but still gave it his all to finish 37th. Final counter for the team was Russell Collister, well inside the top half of the field in 44th place. Murray Lambden finished just behind Russell in 46th place, and his silver medal in the v50 class gave us a record ninth medal on the day. A big well done also to Robbie Lambden who finished 86th and came in inside the hour.
For only the second time in many years, Andy Fox was unable to run following recent illness, but did a marvellous job as always in getting the trip on (also involving a lot of liaison with club officials, airline, coach company etc during last week’s bad weather). I’m sure that the only reward Andy would have wanted for all his hard work was success for the team, and they certainly delivered. Andy may not mention in his report for the paper that the three gold medallists on the day are all athletes he coaches – so I will mention it here!
Perhaps 2011 will be the year when the medal tally goes into double figures for the first time?

David Griffiths, 11^th January 2010

Results

Lancashire County Cross Country Championships 2009

Golden Girl Gemma Astin

I share Murray Lambden’s concern over the drop in numbers for this year’s event, not only in the senior/veteran men’s event but in several of the younger age group races as well. I think that the conditions on the day may have had something to do with it on this occasion. A fair proportion of competitors from the local area enter on the day, and several may have been put off running by the freezing underfoot conditions. However the total of only 94 in the men’s race was poor, especially when you consider that Manx Harriers supplied no fewer than 14 of them! 

I also thought the decision to separate the under-17 and u20 women’s races backfired badly. There were only 10 in the u17 race which was run on its own, and consequently wasn’t much of a spectacle. I think they need to start these races together as in previous years to boost the numbers, even if they now run over different distances. I know Gemma Astin agrees with me on this. 

There were some terrific performances from the Manx athletes. The u11s were fantastic, the girls missing out on medals by the narrowest of margins with fourth, fifth and sixth places out of a field of 36. If they had had a fourth team member finishing in the top half of the field they would have won the team gold medal – even with a fourth team member finishing last they would have won bronze. Well done Danielle Barton, Katie Astin and Josie McGarrigle! Conor Davies also ran extremely well to finish 13^th out of 41 on his debut – despite launching into a sprint near what he thought was the finishing line, only to discover that he had another loop round the field still to do! 

It was good to see Alice Ashe getting a good solid ninth place finish in the u13 girls race after having to retire from last year’s race with injury, and Sosie Cox acquitted herself very well on her Lancashire debut to finish 18th. 

Sammy Holt and Nick Colburn (Northern AC) both made their Lancs debuts in the u15 boys race and will have gained valuable experience. Both finished in midfield placings. In the u15 girls race, triple Lancashire gold medallist Sarah Astin wasn’t expected  to be on the pace this year after long-term injury problems, but still showed her class with a fourth place finish on the back of a minimum of running over the last few months. I hope she is able to get back to full training soon. The ever-consistent Caitriona Cox produced a typically gutsy run to finish in a fine 13^th place in her fourth successive Lancashire cross country. 

The u17 women’s race produced the highlight of the day with a dominant display of front running from Gemma Astin giving her the gold medal by a big margin. She stamped her authority on the race right from the gun, and such was her lead by the first ‘saucer’ climb that she was able to exercise caution on the dangerous rutted ground on the descent. Her cause was helped by the absence of her two main rivals Annika Jarman and Kristie Leybourne, but that should take nothing away from yet another high-class performance by Gemma. She looks to be building up nicely towards the English National and Inter Counties Championships as well as the regional and national Schools events. 

Also in the u17 women’s race was debutant Polly Rogerson who judged her race very well to finish seventh. Polly should have competed last year but managed to injure herself at home on the morning of the race! 

It was good to see Sarah Curphey racing over the country for the first time this winter in the senior women’s race, following injury and work commitments. She is always very consistent in this race and her 16^th place finish was a good performance especially as she has not been able to train as much as in previous years.  

In the junior (u20) men’s race, Ben Lambden lined up for his first cross country race for many years and battled away gamely to complete the course (including three saucer climbs) despite suffering a pulled calf muscle mid-race. 

We had 14 competitors in the senior/veteran men’s race, which I believe is the highest number we have ever had – certainly since 1999. In the early stages Keith Gerrard kept a watching brief on the shoulder of his two main rivals, but on the first descent through the horrendously rutted fields coming off the saucer he was unwilling to push as hard as they did. He was still within striking distance of the leaders on the third lap, but backed off when he realised they were getting further away on this section every lap. Mindful of the more important races still to come this winter he was unwilling to risk a badly sprained ankle or worse, and who can blame him? 

Behind him, I thought Kevin Loundes and Darren Gray produced the two best performances of the day from the Manx Harriers athletes alongside Gemma’s gold medal. Kevin’s improvement is relentless and he is now a very high-class athlete indeed. He gives 100% commitment from start to finish of every race he is in, and is tactically very smart too. He has a lot to look forward to in 2009. Darren has had a superb winter, and is now turning into the athlete he promised to be a few years ago. He had a difficult race in the sense that there was quite a big gap ahead of him with nobody to chase, but had a chasing pack behind him for much of the race. I wondered if he had pushed too hard in the first half of the race, but there were no worries there - his strength over the final two laps was mighty impressive, as was his sprint finish to edge out his Rossendale rival. 

There was a fine debut by Martin Malone, and impressive performances in difficult conditions by all the athletes. I was pleased for Chris Quine, who has been using this race as his target for many months and is running as well now as he has done for a few years – despite shoelace problems! And a word for Robbie Lambden, who was nervous about the course beforehand, but finished inside an hour which was a really great effort. Robbie celebrated running for 59 minutes in sub-zero temperatures with a large ice lolly in the café afterwards! 

Team wise, we had our six counters all in the first 23 which on paper is possibly our best ever performance - however, Blackburn Harriers did even better with their six in the first 16! This perhaps says something about the lack of depth of quality in the race this year, but it was still a great performance from the Manx Harriers squad. Indeed, we had 11 athletes in the first 31. 

Three medals were won in the veteran’s categories – Nigel Armstrong silver and Chris Quine bronze in the v40s and Andy Fox bronze in the v45s. Andy has won a medal in nine of the 10 years since he became a veteran – the only missing year was the occasion he missed the race through illness! In a rather bizarre twist, Murray Lambden (v50) missed out on a medal despite beating Andy (v45) in the race. 

As always, we were made exceptionally welcome by everyone at Witton Park, and they really do appreciate the efforts we make to support the event in such numbers every year. I really enjoyed the day as always, and look forward to more success next year.

  

David Griffiths 12^th January 2009

Results