Ryan
wins as juniors turn on the style in the rain.
After a week of torrential
rain, driving conditions to
Salisbury were
hazardous. The venue has many rugby and football pitches and usually on
a Sunday, there are hundreds of people taking part in sporting
activities of different types. We arrived early in order to erect the
tent and walk the course as one rugby match was coming to an end, but
all other games had been called off due to the conditions. Needless to
say it was definitely game on for our cross-country runners.
It was great to have so
many supporters along with us to cheer our red shirts on. One of these
was making his first appearance, Bertie the bear! Bertie was won by
Sharon in the raffle on Friday’s awards night, and come Sunday he had
been adopted as our new team mascot and was proudly sporting his
‘Wimborne 10’ shirt. He turns out to be something of a fair weather
supporter though as it was deemed too wet and muddy for our precious
bear (he spent the day in the car), but not so for our runners! One
thing that did feel a bit strange was to turn up at a cross-country race
with no Vaughan-Johnceys with us, Alex was laid low with a bug and Maddy
looks set for a longer lay-off to allow a bout of tendonitis in her foot
to clear. As the races approached we were subjected to occasional
downpours and a wind with a real chill to it. Our team tent was to prove
itself invaluable.
The first race was the
under-11s. Having made a great debut at Kings Park a month ago, Liam
once again put in another excellent performance to be our first ‘red’
home. Grace was the second place girl. Phoebe is starting to run with
much more self-belief and this was easily her best performance for us in
a cross-country race so far. We had a full complement of Hines for race
day and Pippa was the first to run and despite some pre-race nerves she
put in a very determined performance.
For the past year our
dominant performer in the under-13 girls category has been Sharon
Hutchings. Although on paper her results so far look decent (8th
in a Hampshire League race is no mean achievement) they don’t reflect
her true potential as she has been struggling with colds and viruses.
After Goodwood Sharon was diagnosed with bronchitis and was put on a
course of antibiotics. That was a couple of weeks ago and so this race
was always going to be about getting out there and seeing how it went.
Up until now we haven’t been able to back up Sharon’s performances with
a full team in this age group, but that changed with an exciting crop of
new talent. Abbie competed in only her second cross-country race for the
club, while Alivia and Chloe both made their debuts. Abbie’s rate of
progress has been excellent, while Chloe and Alivia gave a fine display
of teamwork on their debuts. With little to choose between the girls
this should make for a tightly-knit group who can work really well
together in training and make real progress. The big disappointment in
this race was that it was quite clear that Sharon has far from recovered
and after a steady start she struggled, and using a good deal of common
sense she pulled up. We can’t wait to have a fully fit Sharon racing
hard with her team-mates.
The first Wessex League
race of the season showed that we had a number of runners with the
potential to a win a race in this league. The question was, Who would be
the first to do it? The under-13s race was to provide the answer. Ryan
had a quiet confidence about him gained from the experience of the last
few races. He got to the front very early on and then steadily built a
lead, and once he got to the front he was under no serious threat as he
comfortably claimed his win. What was also encouraging was that in what
was a longer race than at Kings Park, Piers managed to close the time
gap down on Ryan as he and Alex got involved in a tussle to see who
could be the next red shirt home. The matter was settled as Alex found
an extra gear on the approach to the finish line (surely Alex’s best
race for us so far). Well done boys first team on the day.
The next race with WAC
interest in it was the under-15 boys. We only had two runners in this
one Callum and Tate. Callum’s recent form gave him the confidence to
take the race to the rest of the field as he and Keiron Young of Mendip
AC forced the pace and steadily built a gap between themselves and the
chasing pack. At the end of the first lap both leaders came down heavily
on a sharp and slippery right-hand bend, picked themselves up and got on
with the job in hand as the gap to the pack continued to grow. On the
second lap Keiron slowly eased away from Callum and he eventually had to
settle for second place. This was probably Callum’s best run so far in a
Wimborne vest and although the Wessex League season is only two races
old, sees Callum currently top of the averages in his age group as do
Ryan and Grace in their age-groups. Tate has only just started running
XC again after a long lay off and he too came down in the treacherous
conditions. Tate went over on the muckiest part of the course at the
gateway to the field where the cattle had been kept. He didn’t allow
this to distract him as he stuck resolutely to the task.
We had seen an excellent
turnout for the junior races but for the seniors we were a bit thin on
the ground. We only had two ladies running, one shy of a team and for
the men we had the minimum required for a team score, which would bring
its own problems come the race.
Lynn as usual led the way
for our ladies and it was great to see Paula running in her second
Wessex League race in a row too. Paula showed a marked improvement from
last time out, even if she did find the distance a little daunting.
The role that Lynn plays
for the Ladies is fulfilled by Graham for our men’s team in the Wessex
League and he was easily the first Wimborne runner home. Although the
field wasn’t large there was some quality to it as Mike Grist of Poole
Runners who had been involved in a duel for 1st/2nd
place in the first race of the season had to settle for 5th
on this occasion. Paul got off smartly but after the end of lap 1 (of
four) felt a twinge in the calf and was forced to back off. He knew we
needed three finishers to record a team score so wasn’t going to quit if
he could help it. Ian was able to run at a consistent pace and was able
to catch Paul on the second lap. We finished as 5th team
overall.
Despite the filthy weather
we saw some inspiring performances, particularly from our juniors.
WACers times and results were:
Under-11s (22 finishers) –
Wimborne 3rd team
5 – Liam Murphy-Parry – 6:45
10 – Grace Copeland – 7:01 (2nd girl)
15 – Phoebe O’Mahony – 8:06
17 – Pippa Hine – 8:36
Under-13 Girls (10 finishers) –
Wimborne 1st team
5 – Abbie Hine – 8:33
7 – Alivia Gillard – 8:50
8 – Chloe Morris – 9:06
Under-13 Boys (7 finishers) –
Wimborne 1st team
1 – Ryan Walbridge – 10:23
4 – Alex Diment – 10:46
5 – Piers Copeland – 10:48
Under-15 Boys (6 finishers)
2 – Callum Kennedy – 14:58
6 – Tate Young – 20:31
Senior Women (8 finishers)
5 – Lynn Hutchings – 27:43
7 – Paula Hine – 32:29
Senior Men (23 finishers) (Wimborne
5th, Wimborne Vets 3rd)
13 – Graham Whiffen – 33:22
19 – Ian Kennedy – 36:34
22 – Paul Hine
– 38:39
Full results for the Wessex League will
be found at
www.wessexleague.com
