Mud,Mud, Glorious Mud !!

Alton Towers. Not exactly the place you immediately associate with cross country running. However this was the venue for the 2011 National Cross Country Championship.



Hopes were running high for for a senior mens team finish. 8 men pre-entered with only 6 to score meant we had a good chance, or so we thought.



In the week leading up to the race unfortunately we had some drop outs. Kevin Ogden's leg fell off (again), Mystery man Jeff Hornby was a no show, Gerrard Skippings went AWOL.



We still had a remote chance till another pull out on Friday meant we were not going to complete a team. This still left us with a potential 5 runners.



Waking up Saturday morning brought another factor into the equation. SNOW. Not forecasted but there it was. 2 inches at least. Meeting up at the track left myself, Frank and Ian Ogden heading off down the M1 to participate in what should be THE race of the year.



On arrival we were faced with some of the most horrendous condition you will ever come across. The course was a total mud bath all of the way round. I repeat, mud all the way round. Some deep, some even deeper but mud all the way.



The earlier races had kept the paramedics busy and they had struggled to cope. Course changes and reduced distances were introduces for safety reasons. Our 4th runner Edward saw the condtions and promptly threw in the towel.



The only happy person was Frank. Loves mud more than hippo's. Some people say if he trod on quicksand he would walk straight over.



So, 3 starters. Myself, Frank and Ian. An economical start saw myself push on in front followed by Ian then Frank. As the race progressed Ian gradually caught and passed me soon followed by Frank.

Frank moved well in front and towards the end. Ian tired and I managed to overtake him half way round the last lap.



Finishing positons were - Frank 985, Me 1096, Ian 1302.

Not really a running race but a war of attrition. However a good workout.

Comments from the day. Well - only runners from Debbie's squad and the senior men took part. Sorry, but this is not good enough. This is the premier XC event of the year. As an athletic club we should be encouraging more participation. I hope this will be adressed at the AGM (well you can always hope!!).
Senior ladies - disappointing. We should be more than just mass participation runners.

TTFN
Michael

Liversedge 1/2 Marathon 2011

The 13th February saw 10 senior Spenborough athletes take part in the 16th Liversedge 1/2 Marathon in which 421 runners took part.



Kevin Ogden and Tony Bradford were the first Spen runners home in 4th and 7th postion in the time of 78.39 & 81.41 respectivly followed by Gerard Skipins in 21st position with a solid time of 86.59 to collect the team prize for the first club home.



Dean Pearce enjoyed a time of 93.24 in 46th position -Dean has been fairly cautious over the past few weeks keen not to pick up any injuries in preperation for the Edinburgh Marathon in May.



This was Ian Ogden's first competitive half marathon and Ian certainly couldn't have picked a tougher course to make his debut, undertered by the difficult conditions Ian ran an excellent time 97.10 returning back in 80th position - a great effort and Ian's time will only go from strength to strength.



Oliver Carter ran a time of 100.46, hoping to dip under the 1.40 mark albeit over 13 mins quicker than last years effort, closely followed by James Kirkwood in a time of 101.50.



Three ladies representing Spenborough also now preparing for Edinburgh were Jackie Carter, Hazel Pike and Liz Bottomley, 112.34, 118.35 and 120.47 respectivly.



A very pleasing turnout and a big well done to all.



Jackie