On Saturday 4th January Shipley Park in Heanor hosted the 2025 Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Cross Country County Championships, with ten AVEAC athletes braving the cold temperatures to compete. As a combined event, athletes from both counties were running together in each of the age group races, but were then split out into their respective counties for the results.
Under 11s
There were three athletes competing in AVEAC colours in the Under 11 Girls age category, Florence Protheroe, Katherine Turner and Lola-Rose Funnell. Lola-Rose led the trio of AVEAC athletes, finishing in 8min 2sec to claim 6th overall, but 3rd on the Derbyshire side of the event, earning herself the bronze medal. Katherine crossed the line in 8min 15sec and 8th position overall, but 5th in the Derbyshire results, whilst Florence completed her 1,500m lap of the park in 10min 14sec to finish in 22nd overall and 10th in the Derbyshire results. Under the rules of the competition three or more athletes from a single club constitutes a team, with the first three athletes earning points based on their finishing positions. Based on their finishing positions, Florence, Katherine and Lola-Rose earned a total of 18 points, putting them in first place and earning them the Under 11 Girls team event gold medal.
In the Under 11 Boys category there were two AVEAC athletes competing, with Harry Lees running on the Derbyshire side of the event, and Benjamin McLaren running on the Nottinghamshire side. Harry crossed the line in a time of 8min 21sec, finishing 20th overall, but 10th in the Derbyshire results. Benjamin finished just behind his clubmate, crossing the line in 8min 29sec to claim 24th place overall, but 13th in the Nottinghamshire results.
Under 13s
There were two AVEAC athletes competing in the Under 13 Girls age category, with both Isla Douglas and Ruby Hill completing the 3,000m course on the Derbyshire side of the event. Isla crossed the line in 15th place overall with a time of 16min 45sec, earning herself 9th place in the Derbyshire results. Ruby completed her race in 21min 22sec, finishing in 26th place overall, but 15th in the Derbyshire results.
Under 15s
Two AVEAC athletes competed across the Under 15s age categories, with Lucy Norman competing for the girls and Joseph Stimson for the boys, both on the Derbyshire side of the competition. Lucy completed her 4,000m race in a time of 19min 57sec, finishing in 24th place overall, and 10th in the Derbyshire results. Joseph finished his 4,500m race in 23rd place overall, claiming 10th place in the Derbyshire results with a time of 22min 37sec.
Under 17
Eleanor Rigby was the clubs only competitor in the Under 17 Womens category, completing her 4,500m tour of Shipley Park in 24min 37sec to finish in 26th place overall, and 14th in the Derbyshire results.
Overall
A massive well done to all the athletes that competed in the event, your dedication and efforts are fantastic, and you should all be proud of yourselves for your performances. Even more so given the conditions and the event coming straight on the back of the Christmas/New Years break. A big thank you also to the club volunteers and the parents who supported in coordinating the athletes at the event, their performances wouldn’t be possible without you too braving the weather.
The club are the process of starting up an off track/cross country running group for club members in the hope that we can increase participation ahead of next season. More details will be shared at club training sessions and via our social media channels as they are confirmed, but, if you would like to register you interesting in attending or supporting the running of this group, please speak to Chris Aikman.
Up Next
The final match of the North Midlands Cross Country League takes place at Bulwell Hall Park on Saturday 11th January, with all members across all age groups welcome encouraged to compete. It would be amazing to see a sea of yellow vests lining up in each of the races on the day, so if you’re available and fancy a final fling with cross country before the season finishes, look out for the AVEAC flag to register with our team manager.
Report – Dan Humphrey, Photos – Chris Aikman
