Excellent Turn Out By Beverley AC For New Cross-Country Season

The 2012 / 2013 season of the East Yorkshire Cross-Country League got off to a gloriously muddy start last Sunday at Bishop Wilton near Pocklington.

Although it was a beautiful sunny morning, rain in recent days had left the course very muddy in places so the going was tough for the 138 runners from eight local clubs who tackled the hilly 10km course.

There was an excellent turnout by Beverley AC, the most represented club in the race with 38 runners. Every one of them is a member of the team but it is the first six men and the first three women to finish for each club who score points.

Aubrey Morrell was the first Beverley athlete to cross the finishing line. He finished in seventh place in an impressive 41:54 and was twenty seconds faster than last year. He was followed by James Pearson in ninth place in 43:04. Due to family commitments Pearson has not been able to devote a lot of time to running recently but he can still be relied upon to score valuable points for his team when he races.

Darren Rodmell, Jim McGivern, Steve Ostler and Mark Roper all finished in the top 30 and scored points for Beverley. It was Roper’s first race in a Beverley vest and he is a welcome addition to the squad.

It was also David Cammies’ first race for the club. He completed the challenging course in a respectable 62:44.

Carla Stansfield made a huge impact on the Beverley women’s team last season and continued to impress at Bishop Wilton where she was the first Beverley lady to finish and second lady overall. It was her first time at Bishop Wilton and she completed the course in a commendable 46:20.

Zoe Dale and Laura Egan were the other two counters for the women’s team, finishing in 53:00 and 53:44 respectively. It was only Egan’s second race for Beverley and if she can complete the full series of races she will add much needed depth to the ladies’ team.

Although not scoring points for their club, the rest of the Beverley squad made a valuable contribution to the team position by packing out the field and pushing other teams down the finishing order. There was a large number of club stalwarts who compete in the XC league year after year and a welcome group of new members who are encouraged to take part to enjoy the races and to add variety to their running.

After the first race City of Hull lead the men’s and women’s league and Beverley lie second. Although City of Hull fielded fewer runners than Beverley they had a stronger squad – the first five finishers wore the purple City of Hull vest and two of the first five women were also City of Hull athletes. With another five races in the league it will be interesting to see if any of the other clubs can challenge City of Hull who won the men’s and women’s trophies last year. It all depends on who is available. If Beverley fields its strongest squad it can mount a serious challenge for the trophies.

There were 138 finishers and the race was won by Chris Adams of City of Hull in 38:19. The first lady was Nichola Jackson of City of Hull in 44:18.

Beverley AC finishing times:

Aubrey Morrell 41:54; James Pearson 43:04; Darren Rodmell 43:25; Jim McGivern 44:15; Steve Ostler 45:58; Carla Stansfield 46:20; Mark Roper 47:04; Alan Flint 49:41; Gareth Jackson 50:10; Andy Tate 51:12; David Millson 51:38; Pete Watkinson 52:16; Zoe Dale 53:00; Elliot Hakner 53:19; Laura Egan 53:44; Sam Allen 54:06; 54:24; Steve Willietts 54:45; Roy Steele 55:15; Steve Dale 55:20; 55:54; Emma Greensmith 56:01; Trevor Turnbull 56:45; Kate Little 57:27; Steve Parkinson 58:55; Carrie Smith 60:19; Mariana Barbera 60:31; Tanwen Gray 60:45; Brian Richardson 61:08; Adrian Holland 62:07; David Cammies 62:44; Steve Hadley 62:54; Amanda Ritchie 64:06; Christine Hemmingway 68:42; Rachel Cope 69:03; Pam Atkins 69:20; 75:46; Victoria Evins 76:25.
The next race in the league takes place at Drewton Woods near South Cave on Sunday 11 November.

Photos by Mike Atkins and Stuart Little of Beverley AC & | Reported by Kay Farrow



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