On arrival it was evident that the day would remain sunny and dry. The neighbours had their washing out!
However, sunny or not, the course was muddy in places as predicted, though this was evened out with pleasant path ways and grassy fields.The senior courses were two big laps for the ladies and three big laps for the men.
And it must be said, these cross country venues are great for supporting our fellow runners. The lads cheer on the ladies, prior to their race and the ladies (happy and relieved “its all over”!) cheer on the men. Additionally, more to be said, the cross country venues enable “road” to meet “fell” as in our favoured disciplines. On this particular day it was an honour to introduce Wendy Dodds, one of our legendary fell ladies, to our “relatively newer” ladies.
So, moving on to reporting our performance, Simon Wilshaw demonstrated a solid run for the under 15s in representing our younger section, alone. Top marks to you Simon! Perhaps, the distance to Barrow from our neck of the woods was a major factor for a low turnout for our junior section (though we weren’t the only ones).
The ladies, however, saw a very good turnout (with distance in mind). Dawn Lock, one of the Mid Lancs League organisers commented on “all the Clayton ladies”, as we emerged sporting out tangerine hoodies! Represented by; Vicky Heys, Jean Knightley, Wendy Dodds, Georgina Slater, Christine Leathley, Sue Allen and myself, we achieved the following…. 6th senior ladies, 4th over 35s, 1st over 45s and 1st over 55s. A massive well done girls!
Finally, our Clayton men achieved a team throught the categories. The “Barrow Cross Country Team” representing our Clayton men were; Alex Cran, Mark Whiteman, Pete Browning, Dave Scott, Melvyn Thistlethwaite and our very own Bob Hirst. It was a relief to see this number of male runners appear at the field after learning that the “man flu” had taken its grip on many who intended to run (not to mention Foggy’s foot story and our chairman’s hamstring… a speedy recovery wished to all)!
The men’s senior section brought us in at 14th and the over 40s to the position of 5th. The over 50s achieved 3rd place and the over 60s 2nd. Well done lads!
After a hard afternoon’s competing, Team Clayton were treated to non other than my now famous “Flatjacks” (well I thought this batch could have been awarded the high status of “Flapjacks” but thats me blowing my own trumpet! Further comments/assessments welcome).
Good work Team Clayton!
Regards, Irene Roche
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