Striding through CLC teams put up solid show in Wolverhampton
CLC Striders’ men’s and women’s teams took on race two in the Midland and Birmingham Cross Country Leagues, Division One at Aldersley Stadium in Wolverhampton
Once again, the ladies were led home by Helen Knight, in 27:10 for 26th place overall and fourth in the Masters category.
Kate Telford was next in 27:59, 42nd overall and as 13th in the Masters, while Liza Bradshaw clocked 28:14 for 50th and 14th in the Masters,
Rachel Vines finished in 28:58 in 68th as 21st in the Masters, and Steph Parker was 108th and 40th in the Masters in 31:55.
Overall, the ladies were 10th of 18 teams, but second in the Masters category.
Next, it was the turn of the men, with many of the club’s strongest runners competing in other events over the weekend.
Sam Baylis continued his strong start to the cross country season by leading the team home in 103rd in 36:41.
The remaining five scorers for the A team finished in relatively close order – Paul Lockyer 197th, Aled Leaver 198th, Gary Farquharson 201st, Richard Aarons 211th, and Tim Brock 217th.
The B team runners were Robert Hyams, Jack Wilde and super-vet David James as the team finished 16th in the senior field and 10th in the masters.
Elsewhere, Rob Bircher, the club’s ultra specialist, used the Salisbury Plain Trail Marathon, as a training run in temperatures well below zero, running through banks of freezing fog.
The club’s emergent ultra-man, Ollie Watkins, faced freezing conditions in the La Saintélyon – a night-time run between Saint-etienne and Lyon.
Despite falling a few times on the icy trails, the last time hurting himself badly, he managed to battle through the remaining 22 miles to complete this gruelling event in one piece.
Perhaps the performance of the weekend came from Alex Johnston in the Valencia Marathon as he ran a perfectly judged race, keeping his pace steady to achieve a PB time of 2:43:30.