Winchester run strongly at the National Cross Country Relays

The National Cross Country Relay Championships take place every year in early November, and for the last several years have been held at Berry Hill Park, Mansfield. For clubs based some distance away, such as Winchester, and given the nature of relay events, this involves some considerable planning and logistical dexterity on the part of officials, athletes, and the parents of junior athletes. Nevertheless, WADAC fielded two strong teams of three in the U13B category last Saturday, and came away with creditable results against the nation’s finest.
nWith six boys in the age category all running at their best, team selection was almost irrelevant, and so it proved with WADAC’s two teams matching each other almost stride for stride around the hilly 2k lap course. In one team, Iosu Harfield took first leg, handing over in 24th place to Joe Hasan, while in the other, Tom Savill nudged home ahead by exactly one second, in 22nd place, passing over to second leg runner and WADAC debutant, Sam Parker . By the time the boys returned, Joe in 16th and Sam in 21st, there were still only seconds separating the two teams. Luke Furby, our only lower-year runner on the day, took over from Joe, with Ollie Foden following on from Sam. Both ran strongly, with one team finishing 17th and the other 19th, separated by around 8 seconds.
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nAnd so WADAC maintained their recent record, with both U13B teams in the top 20, on this occasion of 55 complete teams and 72 starters in total. Also on this occasion, Winchester were the only club nationally to have two teams in those top 20 places, so great credit to the athletes. Well done also to parents for getting everyone in place in good time.
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nFor the other teams, Andy Parkinson writes:
nThe junior women gained a solid 15th position. Lily Neate led the way, ably supported by Rose Chesterfield and Amelia Moore, The U17 men were the next to race with Harry Wilson, Will Atkins and Ben Chesterfield all running to form. Spending a good proportion of the race in a medal position they couldn’t quite maintain their placing and despite the best efforts of Ben finished a very respectable 7th place. Running on his own, Ieuan Thomas put in a solid performance to give him confidence for the season ahead.
nRepresenting the U15 girls, Poppy Taylor, Grace Baker and Darcy Hawkins came through in 25th place while Cecily Wilson and Scarlett Anderson both ran well in the B team. Finishing 29th out of 95, the U15 boys were the last to race, Reuben Price ran the 1st leg, hindered by losing a shoe halfway around before handing on to Aiden Furby and Sam Wilkinson.