Steel missses out at Prestwold

HAMPSHIRE athlete Andy Vernon stormed to victory to become both British Athletics Cross Challenge champion and the Inter County champion at the British Athletics Cross Challenge incorporating the Inter-County championships and IAAF World Cross Country Championship junior trials at Prestwold Hall on Saturday.

After entering the race as Cross Challenge series leader by 6 points, Vernon tackled the 12km senior men’s course with an aggression and determination that saw him lead the race from gun to tape.

“The course was very undulating and sapping on your body – it serves as a different test for your body, and having to run through fatigue is something you can always apply to different styles of racing.”

In the women’s senior race, Jess Judd (Essex) continued the fine start to the year which saw become English National Cross Country champion two weeks ago, as a gutsy run in the mud saw her break the tape to be crowned senior Inter County cross country champion for the very first time, with victory also sewing up the Cross Challenge title.

She saw off the challenge of Charnwood AC’s Gemma Steel to win the title, with Steel ending the race in third place, quite an achivement as she ran the second half of the race shoeless due to her footwear falling victim to the boggy and difficult conditions.