The recent weather certainly made for a well prepared cross country course on Saturday at Towneley with plenty of surface water and mud for the competitors. We were lucky on the day itself especially as the wind did not blow as forecast and we had no ground pegs for the tent!
The juniors certainly lead the way with 24 competitors from under 11’s to under under 17’s not far short of the total of seniors who ran on the day!! i cannot think of a time when this has happened previously and only goes to show what a great job Marion,Andrew,Jason and the parents are all doing in encouraging the juniors. Long may it continue.
In the junior section whilst it is totally unfair to single out any particular runners as they all put in such a good effort i would like to mention how well Millie Stubbs did in the under 11’s girls race she certainly had a very determind look at the start of the race and fought really hard to come 5th. In the boys under 15’s Ryan Clarke had a really good run, despite looking behind him for most of it, because he thought he was going to be overtaken by boys who would normally be in front.Who knows where he would come if he looked where he was going! Well done Ryan.
In the seniors races 149 ladies and 302 men competed with Liverpool winning both events. Clayton had 9 ladies running who were lead home by captain Irene,in the mens there were 21 Clayton runners with Spencer Riley coming in as first counter. He was well supported by his fellow clubmates ensuring our first team beat the likes of Blackburn and Preston. Phil Hall also deserves a special mention as not only did he have a good run he was just warming up to run for Clayton again the following day in the Accy 10k. Not only is Andrew Armstrong developing the junior section his additional training is also pushing him up in the results and was pushing Phil all the way.Also thanks to the lads who put Clayton Harriers before Burnley FC at least for 40 minutes,glad you did not miss the goals.
A big thank you must go to Richard and Val Lawson who make this day possible for all and ensure Clayton le Moors Harriers host one of the best Mid Lancs fixtures. We can now all look forward to Liverpool and the opportunity to run against some of the best x country runners in the UK as it is used as a trial for selection for the European x country championships. Watch the notice boards and face book to arrange lifts etc.
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