Handy Mandy Saves the Day!
The new x/c season kicked off this year at Wrekenton with both Strider teams competing in their respective First Divisions. With a myriad of other distractions this weekend today was always going to be difficult for Striders’ x/c faithful. Nonetheless, some magnificent performances throughout the field, not least by the evergreen Mandy Dawson, saw the teams steer clear of their dreaded ‘drop zones’. Striders women finished 8th from 10 on the day while the men finished 7th from 10.
No less than 48 Striders gathered beneath the purple banner to resume, or begin, their love affair with cross country racing. Veterans of many previous campaigns, such as Roz, Jan Y & Conrad, were there rubbing shoulders with newcomers like Andrew Davies, Phil Ray, Kirsten Fenwick, Diane Harold and Faye Bell and trying to calm pre-race nerves. The weather was very ‘un-cross country like’ with sunny skies, mild temperatures, a gentle breeze – and a bone hard course! A perfect day to make one’s x/c debut.
The women were first up and, after a disturbing absence of any of the ‘Sea of Purple’ with their toes on the start line, Mandy was first to the fore with a quick start from the slow pack melee. Rachelle and Lesley followed with Mudwomen herself keeping in close contact. But as always Striders were conspicuous throughout the 350 strong field where no less than 41 other clubs were represented. It was great to see come backs from Nina & Sue, gratifying that Camilla preferred her running to be ‘alcohol free’ and gladdening to see no less than 27 Striders giving their all for the greater glory of their club. Fresh faces and familiar faces were cheered to the echo by their club mates some of whom, like Simon, Karen, Phil and Mark, had come along just to watch.
Mandy maintained her ‘lead’ to be first Strider home, & gaining promotion to the medium pack (again), while on the second lap Mudwoman came through strongly to pip Lesley while being closely pursued by Tamsin running from the medium pack. But there were some great performances throughout the field including Jean (2nd in age group), Jan Y (3rd in age group) and Roz (4th in age group)! Some great sprints for the line too – Jill and others. Well done everyone – particularly the debutants – x/c can be a ‘savage arena’ even for us ‘old lags’ and you may feel more exposed than in say a road race, but the rewards and sense of achievement are fantastic! Let those endorphins flow!
And so to the men’s race. The final event of the afternoon and a field of 532 competitors or 1,064 elbows! Striders’ first run out in the top division for more than 20 years – bring it on! A crowded start from the slow pack and a bottle neck at the first incline showed how important it is to find a position near the front of the field if such situations are to be avoided. No such problems for James Garland who had one of his best races of recent years and sped off to head the slow pack Striders. Only two of the clubs best athletes managed to overhaul James – Michael Mason first Strider home running from the medium pack and Stephen Jackson second Strider running from the fast pack. Incredible performances! James was followed in by debutant Phil Ray – rewarded by a strong performance in a tough race – then Jason flying through from the medium pack and Matt Claydon making a very welcome return to x/c. These guys were backed up by a further 15 Striders all of whom gave their all including Danny Lim (travelling up from Teesside), Daniel Mitchel (in his second season for Striders), veteran Richard Hockin with hair flying in the wind and webmaster Dougie just making it the start line after a very thorough warm up!
Well done to you all! We held our own first time out in the top flight so there’s much to be pleased about. But make no mistake we’re going to need a battalion of purple clad reinforcements if we’re going to hold out against the top clubs in the region. I know we can do it – so come on, let’s get cracking!
Results
men
position | bib | name | cat | pack | race time | actual time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 407 | James Askew (DCH) | Msen | S | 31:34 | 31:34 |
55 | 537 | Michael Mason | MV40 | M | 37:00 | 34:30 |
77 | 556 | Stephen Jackson | Msen | F | 37:33 | 32:33 |
90 | 520 | James Garland | MV40 | S | 37:50 | 37:50 |
107 | 546 | Phil Ray | MV35 | S | 38:11 | 38:11 |
116 | 521 | Jason Harding | MV45 | M | 38:18 | 35:48 |
144 | 533 | Matt Claydon | MV40 | S | 38:47 | 38:47 |
149 | 507 | David Gibson | MV45 | S | 38:53 | 38:53 |
211 | 505 | David Brown | MV35 | S | 39:54 | 39:54 |
236 | 515 | Geoff Davis | MV55 | S | 40:22 | 40:22 |
255 | 500 | Danny Lim | MV35 | S | 40:40 | 40:40 |
260 | 501 | Dave Halligan | MV50 | S | 40:47 | 40:47 |
315 | 535 | Michael Hughes | MV45 | S | 42:31 | 42:31 |
318 | 499 | Daniel Mitchel | MV35 | S | 42:34 | 42:34 |
324 | 487 | Aaron Gourley | MV35 | S | 42:49 | 42:49 |
354 | 497 | Conrad White | MV55 | S | 43:35 | 43:35 |
394 | 549 | Richard Hockin | MV60 | S | 44:34 | 44:34 |
447 | 498 | Craig Walker | MV55 | S | 46:57 | 46:57 |
472 | 510 | Dougie Nisbet | MV50 | S | 48:29 | 48:29 |
478 | 504 | David Browbank | MV35 | S | 48:58 | 48:58 |
492 | 492 | Andrew Davies | MV40 | S | 49:51 | 49:51 |
498 | 555 | Stephen Ellis | MV60 | S | 50:51 | 50:51 |
532 finishers.
women
position | bib | name | cat | pack | race time | actual time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 71 | Chloe Price (Birtley AC) | Fsen | S | 24:09 | 24:09 |
27 | 413 | Mandy Dawson | FV45 | S | 28:06 | 28:06 |
87 | 431 | Susan Davis | FV55 | S | 29:48 | 29:48 |
88 | 407 | Lesley Charman | FV40 | S | 29:49 | 29:49 |
92 | 432 | Tamsin Imber | FV40 | M | 29:53 | 27:53 |
103 | 411 | Louise Warner | FV35 | M | 30:08 | 28:08 |
106 | 419 | Rachelle Mason | FV35 | S | 30:10 | 30:10 |
128 | 433 | Victoria Brown | FV35 | S | 30:40 | 30:40 |
139 | 379 | Helen Thomas | FV40 | S | 30:56 | 30:56 |
166 | 425 | Sarah Davies | FV45 | M | 31:30 | 29:30 |
172 | 383 | Jean Bradley | FV60 | S | 31:37 | 31:37 |
183 | 369 | Diane Harold | FV40 | S | 31:56 | 31:56 |
185 | 356 | Camilla Lauren-Maatta | FV50 | S | 32:00 | 32:00 |
207 | 423 | Roz Layton | FV60 | S | 32:46 | 32:46 |
223 | 382 | Jan Young | FV60 | S | 33:15 | 33:15 |
228 | 385 | Jill Rudkin | FV40 | S | 33:25 | 33:25 |
229 | 427 | Stef Barlow | FV40 | S | 33:25 | 33:25 |
239 | 415 | Nina Mason | FV40 | S | 33:37 | 33:37 |
243 | 351 | Anja Fechtner | FV35 | S | 33:40 | 33:40 |
293 | 381 | Jan Ellis | FV50 | S | 36:12 | 36:12 |
301 | 403 | Kirsten Fenwick | Fsen | S | 36:41 | 36:41 |
306 | 422 | Rebecca Talbot | FV35 | S | 36:52 | 36:52 |
309 | 434 | Victoria Jackson | FV35 | S | 37:03 | 37:03 |
315 | 360 | Catherine Walker | FV55 | S | 37:40 | 37:40 |
316 | 348 | Aileen Scott | FV45 | S | 37:49 | 37:49 |
321 | 430 | Sue Jennings | FV50 | S | 38:22 | 38:22 |
329 | 421 | Rebecca Dodd | Fsen | S | 39:46 | 39:46 |
339 | 402 | Kerry Barnett | FV40 | S | 42:20 | 42:20 |
343 | 373 | Faye Bell | FV35 | S | 43:48 | 43:48 |
352 finishers.