Herefordshire Cross Country League review 2008-09

Race 1

The opening race in the series was at Holme Lacy and there was a good sized field for both the men’s and ladies event.  The course was drier than usual, but there were a couple of muddy sections where it was very deep and sticky.

Cliff Berry and Barry Thompson went with the leaders from the start and stayed with them throughout the race.  As the group entered the last mile, Cliff managed to ease away from Barry to finish in fourth place just ahead of his team mate who held fifth, the two Ledbury runners splitting up the very strong Wye Valley team.  Meanwhile, Chris Law held a good position to the finish for twenty eighth place and David Horne came home in forty fourth.  Howard Abel had a frustrating race and finished in an uncharacteristic seventy second place. When well placed he fell victim to the sticky mud, which sucked the shoes from his feet.  He managed to recover them, but the slippery mud made it difficult to undo the laces and to then tie them up properly.  On the second lap the same thing happened which lost him the places he had regained, but he continued to the finish as every point counts.

In the ladies race there were only two Ledbury runners which meant there would be no team score.  Jenny Jones ran a strong race to finish in seventh place and Sarah Coggins was fifteenth.

On the day the Ledbury men finished as fourth placed team which was the best club placing since they started racing in the league, and two runners in the top five was an excellent result.

Race 2

The second race was as usual, at High Vinnals over a course made very slippery by heavy rain.  Could the Ledbury team record another good result to build on the previous high score?  After the silence for Armistice Day the race began and again Cliff and Barry were near the front.  The descents and climbs were tricky for everyone and the field began to spread out.  As they crossed the summit for the second time Cliff pushed hard to close the gap to the runner ahead and managed to gradually reel him in on the descent towards the finish, in a sprint to the line he managed to snatch fourth place by just two seconds.  Barry Thompson came in to record another good result in seventh.  Richard Huffer was making his first appearance in Ledbury colours and had never raced Cross Country before. He ran a good race after starting off a little too fast, he settled into the pace to come home in forty first and David was forty ninth.  Ledbury also entered a guest runner, Pawel Gradowicz, who although not a club member joined the group on some of their runs.  He would have been placed thirteenth if he had counted as a team member.

The only Ledbury entry for the ladies race was Sarah Coggins who ran a lonely race in more ways than one, and finished in eighteenth place as part of another larger than usual field.

The men’s team scored sixth place on the day which gave them enough points to hold on to their fourth in the league, but were now just one point ahead of Ludlow Runners and Hereford Couriers B team.

Race 3

This was at Croft Castle and took place on a freezing cold day, a hard frost and bitterly cold wind combined to make it a major effort just to force yourself to the start line. Sarah was once again the only lady and the men were missing Barry for this one, but there was a full mens team so we would score and Pawel was again running as a guest.

For the ladies there was a large entry again and Sarah ran an uneventful race to finish twenty second.  She then had the pleasure of waiting in the cold for the men to finish.  Luckily, Cliff was not hanging around and had been part of the leading group throughout the three laps.  He finished in fifth place and just a few seconds off fourth.  Chris Law was second man home for the club in twenty seventh and Mike Sutton in his first run in the winter league was thirty third.  He had just managed to ease away from team mate Richard Huffer who had been pushing him for most of the race, Richard was thirty fifth which was another solid performance.  David had a very poor second lap, but managed to pick up over the final lap to come in fifty first.  Pawel finished in fourteenth, but as he was a guest he did not count for the club.

On the day the team scored sixth place, this allowed Wye Valley B to move up to joint fourth in the league with us, but we were still there so the season was going well.

Race 4

This race was at Monkhall Farm and would also incorporate the County Championship.  Ledbury had never entered the County event before, but decided that this year we would try it.  There is normally a fairly deep water crossing on this course, but for this race it had not been dammed so was just a splash. The course was also very difficult underfoot, after a period of hard frost the ground was frozen underneath but slippery on the surface

For this race Jenny was back to keep Sarah company, but still no other Ledbury ladies to make up a scoring team.  The mens team would be made up by the regulars of Cliff, Barry Chris and David and for the first time this season Steve Rooke.  There was a large group at the front and Cliff and Barry were holding about tenth with the leaders just ahead.  As they came to the last mile both runners started to pick off some of those in front and as they approached the uphill to the finish Barry pulled ahead of Cliff to record fourth place with Cliff in fifth.  Steve was next home for the club, he finished eighteenth in a group of five closely spaced runners.  Chris was in twenty sixth place and David came in thirty eighth.

The ladies race was a good one for Ledbury.  Jenny was running strongly, her recent training with Barry and Steve seemed to be paying dividends as she ran to an excellent fourth place.  Sarah also finished well placed in eleventh.

The team were astonished to find that they had scored a third place finish on the day, definitely a best ever result.  This moved them two points clear of Wye Valley B and maintained their fourth in the league.

In the County Championships, Barry’s run gave him a third place in his age group, Cliff was second in his age group and Jenny was second in her age group.  The mens veteran team of Cliff, Chris and David finished third to round off a very successful day for the club

Race 5

The final round at Presteigne attracted a good sized entry, particularly for the ladies race.  Clubs were looking to maintain or improve their league positions and some individuals would be hoping to win medals in their age groups.  Ledbury were guaranteed a league medal as Cliff Berry was in an unassailable position at the top of his age group and David Horne could win a silver or bronze medal if he could better the other three runners also in the frame for the same awards.

The course was rougher than usual as the forestry commission had been working there recently and the felling had led to a late revision to the mens course to avoid some of the working areas.  The ground was muddy but in some exposed areas was frozen and slippery and it was another cold day.  The regular Ledbury team members of Barry, Cliff Chris and David were again joined by Steve and as always, Jenny and Sarah were running for placings with no others to make up a team.  The pace at the front was quick and Barry and Cliff stuck with it although the front two runners began to gap the rest as the race progressed.  On the final climb before the long run in to the finish Cliff managed to open a small lead on Barry who chased him hard to the line and they came in fifth and sixth to
split the victorious Wye Valley team.  Next in for the Harriers was Steve in nineteenth place followed by Chris in twenty seventh and David in thirty seventh position.  For the ladies Jenny ran another good race to finish seventh and Sarah was fourteenth.

Overall on the day the team finished in third place once again, to consolidate their fourth in the league; a fantastic achievement for a club that only just made the top ten on the few occasions that they could field a full team in previous seasons.  At the presentation afterwards it was great to see Ledbury runners taking home some of the awards.

In the County Championships there was a silver medal for Jenny in her age group, Silver for Cliff in his age group and Bronze for Barry in his age group.  There was a Bronze medal for the Veteran team of Cliff, Chris and David.

In the league Cliff won the gold medal in his age group and thanks to his run on the day, David took silver in his age group.  The other club members who completed enough races to qualify all did well.  Sarah was fourth in her age group, Barry was also fourth in his and Chris was sixth.  Without a doubt a very good season for the club.