Hampshire League Race 3 5 December Popham
Cross-country report from a
great new course.
We were slightly down on
numbers for the third race of the season at a new venue Popham. As a
spectator course it was excellent, as it was possible to view most of
the race from the start/finish area. The terrain was muddy and boggy in
some sections while it was hard and stony in others. There was a
challenging little chicane with a steep drop just before entering
woodland and a long slow drag up an incline in longish grass before a
gentle descent towards the start/finish. The distances we ran were a
little shorter than we have come to expect in Hampshire League races and
this suited some of us better than others.
The first race of the day
was the under-13 girls. Unfortunately we didnt manage to get out a full
team in this age group. Sharon Hutchings came along, but sat this one
out in a bid to be properly fit for the Dorset County Championships the
following week. It was a good job she didnt have her kit with her as
she was itching to get out there come start time. Our girls put in a
couple of terrific performances. Abbie Hine cracked the Hampshire top 20
for the first time and Chloe Morris made a promising Hampshire League
debut in one of the UKs toughest local cross-country leagues.
Chloe on her Hampshire
League debut.
We had Ryan Walbridge and
Jordan Symington in red for the under-13 boys race. Ryan claimed his
highest Hampshire League finish so far, while Jordan didnt quite reach
the high standards he has set in recent races.
It was great to see a full
team in the under-15s. Something we have managed in this age group at
every Hampshire League race so far. Callum Kennedy and his training
partner and schoolmate David Long suffered nightmare starts. Callum
recovered somewhat, but the shorter distance didnt really suit him,
even so he managed to be the first red shirt in with the improving Jack
Snook, having his best race of the season so far, not far behind. Once
again Callum and Jack received excellent support from Lewis
Murphy-Parry.
Callum on the technical
part of the course,
Jack is the red blur in the background!
In the ladies race we had
just one representative. The dependable Lynn Hutchings put in yet
another sterling performance. We really do have to get Lynn some
consistent back-up.
At the previous weeks race
at Salisbury (Wessex League) the men got to run in the best weather,
this time the tables were turned as the bright sunny start had turned to
damp and cold in fading light. In the mens race we were missing some of
our top-end firepower. Once again Bionic Graeme Furley lead the line
for us, while Jerry Shield, our second man, showed a return to form
after a below-par run at Goodwood. Paul Hine seems to find more pace
with each race and when he can combine this with improving endurance he
is going to be one to watch. Despite a few of our faster runners not
being available today we were still able to record a decent team score
as a number of us managed to raise our game.
WACers times and results were:
Under-13 Girls (48 finishers)
19 Abbie Hine 10:31
30 Chloe Morris 10:53
Under-13 Boys (77 finishers)
7 Ryan Walbridge 8:55
45 Jordan Symington 10:09
Under-15 Boys (51 finishers)
Wimborne 7th team
27 Callum Kennedy 12:38
32 Jack Snook 12:52
38 Lewis Murphy-Parry 13:11
42 David Long (as BAC) 13:33
Senior Women (110 finishers)
67 Lynn Hutchings 22:43
Senior Men (256 finishers) (Wimborne
6th in Div. 2, Wimborne Vets 6th in Div 2)
80 Graeme Furley 28:15
99 Jerry Shield 28:59
157 Graham Whiffen 31:07
200 Daryl Davies 33:23
221 Ian Kennedy 34:37
228 Paul Hine 35:19
248 Steve Snook 39:08
Full results for the Hampshire League
will be found at
www.athletics.hampshire.org.uk/events/hxcl.html
