Macclesfield Sunday 3rd December
A cold and blustery day sees a record 21 race for Wilmslow in the push for both club and individual honours .
With both mens and ladies teams challenging for honours in both open and veteran categories , there was a real buzz amongst the 21 that were Wilmslow . An appearance also from Bill Heaton , fully uniformed on crowd congestion duties . Bill was also carrying a shiner , the price of up keeping law and order in the cells.
Who was actually racing changed by the day and hour but such is our current strength within the club , that male or female , no matter who our counters are , we will always have a strong team fighting the cause.
Whilst we have a fantastic nucleus of runners who commit to each race , we are seeing newer faces turning out to experience cross country for the first time. Brilliant !
Damian was in Glasgow , and Mike in London . Graham pulled a muscle in the week and Stuart pulled out an hour before the race with flu . Jim was on the verge of pulling out the night before with similar symptoms.
Some surprise then when Mike was seen warming up. Sally had too much course work and the trip to London was aborted !
Kate was desperate for a ladies vets team as well as an open age team and two late team changes saw Julie Lucas drive home Sunday morning to race and Catriona Marshall race twice in the day . Not only are the ladies in great form , there is a real spirit amongst the team .
The sudden arrival of Catriona answering an SOS meant that two enthusiastic boxer dogs were thrust into my hands for the duration of the race . Add to that the late arrival of Julie ( another SOS call and lengthy journey ) saw a rather farcical scenario of me hobbling to catch Julie ( I had her race number ) while Julie was racing to catch the runners who had already started and in turn I was being dragged by two boxer dogs who had just seen their owner Cat running off into the distance !
Well done Cat and Julie !!
Another super team performance from all the ladies .
Sally Gilliver led the ladies home with Katie Green making a welcome appearance in hot pursuit . Talisman Dr Kate continued her rich vein of form and was hot on the tails of both.
Nicki Mowatt having warmed up with a few sets of tennis at AE also placed well up the field .
Debutant Jo Aves had a fine race and our two late call ups responded admirably to the challenge .Despite missing the start Julie made good progress and Cat looked strong despite her second race of the day !
We look forward to seeing the results to plot your continued climb up both championships ( open age and vets).
With late changes to the mens team , there was a real opportunity for some new counters to help to boost our championship challenge . As always everyone rose to the occasion.
The course had changed this year , being five laps totalling close to six miles thus spectators could watch the race develop. A tough course was the verdict.
In contrast to BHC , Malcolm got off to a flier with Mike in pursuit. Rob and Jim were placing well while Tom made steady progress . Jeff , Ray and Ian were running together . So too , Steve and Trevor Morris ( first XC race since school ). Gavin was right behind , followed by Bill Staniard ( good to see Bill out ) and Trevor who supports every XC race . Sadly but perhaps wisely Mike Cooper dropped out after a couple of laps with further injury problems.
The club rivalry that saw Mike pip Malcolm by inches at the BHC race , this time saw the big man develop a 100 yard lead as the leaders started the final lap . There was a sharp intake of breath as the finish arrived and we saw Mike finish as first home and in fifth(?) place . More surprise as Rob Downes appeared next (18th ?) and not Malcolm. The reason soon became clear : Malcolm then appeared (20th?) but was hobbling the final stretch having pulled a muscle . What an effort to help the team and finish third counter . Malcolm , hope its not too bad .
Tom had made good progress through the field (24th ?) and just pipped Jim (28th ?).
Who was to be the final counter ? Jeff Capper had a great second half to the race and picked off places at will( 45th?). Positions are best guestimates until we see the results at www.bbresults.com
The final positions stayed the same after that and the steady flow of blue and yellow was thus :
Ray , Ian , Steve, Trevor M , Gavin , Bill S and Trevor F.
A record turn out , a fine performance by all , and real hope that both men and ladies will have improved their championship placings .
Well done to everyone that raced , particularly those that responded to a last minute SOS.
The next M&D CCL race is Saturday 13th January when I am assured that our chairman and Simon Fenton will be appearing ! Venue : Wythenshawe Pk.
Saturday 6th January sees the Cheshire XC Champs @ Winsford .
Nick.
As usual Nick is prompt with the race report.
I’d just like to add my comments that the ladies team gets stronger each race and has a fantastic team spirit. Julie had 2 hours notice to get back from Harrogate and had to catch-up after the race started. Catriona had 5 mins notice when it seemed that Julie might not make it !
Jo had a baptism of fire in the stormy conditions and Katy G says she’s not in training but still ran strongly as we were led home by Sally G in style.
The men had stronger winds and an extra lap (+ more mud) to contend with and all ran well.
Kate S.