On Saturday 11th January, the final match of the North Midlands Cross Country League series was held at Bulwell Hall Park in Nottingham. Despite the wintery weather in the lead up to the weekend guaranteeing some tricky conditions, a total of thirteen AVEAC athletes made the short journey across the border into Nottinghamshire for the event.
Under 11s
Ten of the thirteen athletes in attendance were in the Under 11 age category, which is really promising as the club looks to grow participation in this area of our sport. Florence Sibley was the first AVEAC athlete to cross the line in the Under 11 Girls category, finishing in 8th place, with a time of 6min 22sec. Claudia Sangster and Elsie Whittleton crossed the line in 21st and 22nd place, with both girls awarded a time of 7min 36sec. Florence Protheroe was the fourth AVEAC girl competing, crossing the line in a time of 8min 4sec to claim 27th place. Having competed at all four events in the series, Sibles also earned herself 6th place in the overall standings, with a total of 44 points.
In the Under 11 Boys category, Dylan Knowles led the way for AVEAC, finishing his race in a time of 5min 36sec to earn himself 3rd place. Mirroring his sister, Jasper Sangster finished in 21st place with a time of 6min 32sec, just ahead of clubmate Harry Lees in 22nd place, who finished in 6min 35sec. Benjamin McLaren crossed the line in 6min 54sec to earn himself 25th place, George Whittleton finished in 29th place with a time of 7min 8sec, with Charlie Groves finishing in 8min 8sec to claim 33rd place.
Under 13s
Lucas Sangster was the sole Under 13 competitor donning the yellow vest for AVEAC at this event, completing his Under 13 Boys race in 14min 42sec to claim 24th place.
Under 17s
Running in the Under 17 Womens category, Eleanor Rigby completed her 5km tour of Bulwell Hall Park in a time of 22min 9sec, securing herself a 12th place finish.
Senior
The final AVEAC athlete running at this event was the clubs middle distance coach Geoff Lowry. Competing over a distance of 10km, in a mixed field of 179 athletes ranging from Under 20 through to Masters 60-64 age categories, Geoff crossed the line in 37min 24sec to finish in 114th place.
Overall
There has been a fantastic effort from the athletes that have competed across the cross country events this season, and they should all be proud of their performances. With many of these athletes being in the Under 11 age category, the future is looking bright for cross country at AVEAC, something the club is looking to capitalise on with the soon to start cross country training group led by Chris Aikman. 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.
What’s Next
On Saturday 18th January, several AVEAC athletes will be competing in the Derbyshire Schools Cross Country at Moorways Sports Village, Derby, with ambitions of being selected for the County team competing at the English Schools event later this year. Good luck to the AVEAC athletes taking part.
Report – Dan Humphrey, Photos – Chris Aikman