Race two of the hotly contested Manchester & District XC League.Its a competitive league this year with high numbers at each race.
Today was a collectors item : Boggart Hole Clough bathed in warm sun. Tony commented that it had to be a first ! One common thread was the mud : Its muddy , it has to be BHC!
The ladies were away prompt at 1.50 and straight from the gun , Clare was away with the leaders with Vicky not far behind and Jane just yards back : good to see Jane out on the country .
Sue was unwell but with Captain Kates supersquad , we still had plenty of blue and gold vests to cheer on .
Thanks to Tony's excellent training including the additional Saturday AE sessions , our ladies excelled over the challenging course.
As the race developed both Clare and Vicky moved up the field with Clare finishing 2nd and Vicki 4th .Two outstanding results. Not far behind , Jane finished in the mid teens. Captain Kate finished in the early 20's with Katy Green a couple of places back.
The team was complete with Angela and Louisa packing well and Nina just behind : Nina has vowed to run without an alcohol fuelled body next time (except for Louisas mulled wine) and to remember her XC shoes : Road flats and the mud that is BHC dont mix!
Penny was not 100% but we were delighted to have her in support to cheer her team mates on .
Another big mens turnout with Malcolm leading us home and showing his strength as he powered up the final slope and outsprinted a freshfaced young gun !
Jim continued his fantastic form with an oustanding top 10 position .
Rob and Mike finished close together in the top 20 with the ageless Tom not far behind : A returning to fitness Stuart post flu completed the counters : Places changed over the course but some real battles unfolded betwen Ray , Steve , Mark , Bill , Mike , Ian , Gavin , Gareth and Geoff.
Good to have both Mike and Ian with us and we hope to have them with us again in future races .
We all eagerly await the results of our multi talented multi teams .Results will appear on line at www.race-results.co.uk in the next 24 hours.
A super effort from all and a couple of points worth remembering . We regularly praise XC for being a "real team" event . Every person plays their part : each position pushing another club counter down the ladder , and even more as we field "A" and"B" teams.
Its a pleasure to see so many turning out , clearly enjoying themselves and doing so well.
Tony mentioned the Sunday away day training camp at Tuesday training , please let him know if you are coming along .
Nick.