After the conclusion of the club’s road championship races last weekend at Brampton to Carlisle this could have been a bit of an anti-climactic week.
But no, because the cross country season is well underway with what should have been the 4th fixture at Aykley Heads, but was actually 3rd after Lambton was cancelled.
As a result we were all champing at the bit to get back into our spikes to brave the mud and hills in Durham for probably the last time.
The morning saw some storming performances from our enthusiastic Juniors – see the separate report for their exploits.
It seemed quiet early on at the venue, but around 400 women turned up to race, among them were the stalwart Elswick ladies who made up two full teams plus an extra three for an incomplete team.
Against some stiff competition we saw the A team gain vital points in Division 1.
| Pos | Num. | Name | Race Time | Pack | Cat | Actual Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 188 | Judith Nutt | 33:34 | F | FV45 | 30:19 |
| 70 | 196 | Louise Allen | 35:45 | S | FV50 | 35:45 |
| 83 | 180 | Felicity Smith | 36:02 | F | FV45 | 30:47 |
| 95 | 181 | Gillian Johnson | 36:12 | M | FV35 | 33:47 |
| 151 | 179 | Debbie Spoor | 37:26 | M | FV50 | 35:01 |
| 220 | 176 | Andrea Banner | 39:31 | F | FV50 | 34:16 |
| 225 | 195 | Laura Shepherdson | 39:42 | S | FV40 | 39:42 |
| 248 | 1033 | Caroline Johnson | 40:33 | S | FV40 | 40:33 |
| 314 | 203 | Sarah Muparutsa | 43:29 | S | FV45 | 43:29 |
| 361 | 529 | Genevieve Buee | 47:41 | S | FV50 | 47:41 |
| 389 | 199 | Maxine Cottam | 53:13 | S | FV50 | 53:13 |
At 2pm it was the men’s turn to brave the claggy quagmires so cheerfully created by all the previous races – 3 laps of one of the best XC courses on the NEHL calendar.
The Elswick men’s team is in Division 2 and came a creditable 6th place with some good indivual perfomances.
| Pos | Num. | Name | Race Time | Pack | Cat | Actual Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 292 | Sean Mennim | 40:19 | S | Msen | 40:19 |
| 102 | 274 | Jonathan Rewcastle | 44:31 | M | Msen | 41:56 |
| 155 | 260 | Ben Hall | 45:37 | S | MV40 | 45:37 |
| 165 | 294 | Simon Allen | 45:47 | S | MV55 | 45:47 |
| 171 | 265 | Chris Mason | 45:53 | M | Msen | 43:18 |
| 178 | 278 | Mark Turnbull | 46:06 | M | MV55 | 43:31 |
| 196 | 269 | Iain Hardy | 46:20 | S | MV55 | 46:20 |
| 225 | 722 | John Rippon | 46:49 | S | MV55 | 46:49 |
| 292 | 725 | Roland Brown | 48:24 | S | MV50 | 48:24 |
| 321 | 279 | Mike Russell | 49:32 | M | MV50 | 46:57 |
| 322 | 1434 | Grant Henderson | 49:37 | S | MV45 | 49:37 |
| 363 | 271 | James Sunley | 50:55 | S | Msen | 50:55 |
| 392 | 273 | Jonny Lowes | 52:02 | S | MV40 | 52:02 |
| 462 | 290 | Sammy Craig | 55:12 | S | Msen | 55:12 |
| 542 | 293 | Sean Motsi | 66:03 | S | Msen | 66:03 |
Aykley Heads is a tough course, but it will be a big miss from the NEHL XC season – but who knows what will replace it, it could be even worse, or better, depending on your perspective.
Matfen 10 Miler – 26th November
Not satisfied with a superb XC result on Saturday, Sean Mennim also braved a cold Sunday at the Matfen 10 Miler covering the undulating course in 58:21 and coming 5th.
Jeffrey Emerson was the only other Elswick contender completing the distance in 2:13:43.
Great work everyone 🙂
