Goodman back with a bang at Metropolitan race
ATHLETICS RICHARD Goodman returned to competition with a decisive victory in the second race of the Start Fitness Metropolitan League in Welwyn.
It was the Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier’s first race since resuming serious training in September following a summer break.
The 7.8km race consisted of three laps of a course that twisted back on itself repeatedly in hairpin fashion.
Goodman commented: “It was good to be back in action doing what I like best, running around cross-country fields.
“It was the largest field I have encountered in the Metropolitan League and there were some top athletes competing. The start of the race was the fastest that I have ever experienced in this league. Going into the second lap I put in a surge and built up a lead that I was able to maintain to the end. For the rest of the race I was holding my nerve and trying to stay relaxed.
“It was a real test of fitness and extremely difficult but I was really pleased with the outcome.”
Highgate Harrier Hannah Viner placed fourth in another huge field in the women’s 6km race.
Sisters Lia and Maayan Radus put in strong relay legs for Shaftesbury Barnet in the English National Relay Championships in Mansfield and also ran well in the Chiltern Cross Country League in Milton Keynes.