On Saturday 14th December, a team of thirteen AVEAC athletes travelled across Derby to compete in the second match of Derbyshire Athletics Cross Country Mini-League series being held at Moorways Sports Village. In defiance of the late time of year, weather conditions were ideal for off road running, dry and sunny, albeit with a slight chill in the air. The low temperatures were however soon forgotten, following an energizing warmup delivered by coach Chris Aikman.
Under 11s
Five girls lined up for AVEAC in the Under 11 Girls category at this match, an improvement from the previous event in Buxton. Katherine Turner led the AVEAC quintuple, finishing in second place in a time of 6min 55sec. Competing in their first cross country race for the club, sisters Jessica and Sophie Wright finished in fifth and ninth place respectively, crossing the line in 7min 59sec and 8min 32secs. Claudia Sangster finished just behind clubmate Jessica in sixth place, with a time of 8min 2sec. The club’s sole competitor in this age category at the previous match, Florence Protheroe, crossed the line in 9min 5sec, finishing in tenth place. Running alongside the girls in a mixed heat, there were two athletes donning their yellow tops to represent AVEAC in the Under 11 Boys age category. Jasper Sangster finished his race in fifth place, recording a time of 7min 5sec, with clubmate Benjamin McLaren crossing the finish line in 7min 34sec and eighth place.
For their efforts, the two teams were awarded 13 and 24 points respectively.
Under 13s
After having no representation at the first match of the series in the Under 13s age categories, there were two athletes competing at this match, with Isla Douglas lining up for the girls and Lucas Sangster for boys. Isla finished her race in 11min 49sec to claim fifth place, with Lucas crossing the line in 12min 10sec to finish in tenth place.
The teams were awarded 27 and 38 points respectively.
Under 15s
In the Under 15 Girls age category there were three athletes competing at this match, with first place finisher from the first match, Madeleine Turner, joined by clubmates Imogen Spencer and Lucy Norman. Madeleine claimed her second first place finish of the series, crossing the line in a time of 15min 44sec. Lucy finished her race in sixth position, with a time of 18min 28sec, however, Imogen unfortunately had to withdraw and was unable to complete the race. In the Under 15 Boys category, Harvey Glover was again the sole representative for AVEAC, crossing the line in 15min 4sec to claim fourth place.
The teams were awarded 15 and 14 points respectively.
Overall
The club earned a total of 131 points on Saturday, bringing our total to 261 points for the series so far and leaving us in third place, with one match to go.
- Derby AC – 134 Points
- High Peak AC – 218 Points
- AVEAC – 261 Points
- Chesterfield AC – 298 Points
- Heanor Running Club – 313 Points
- Buxton AC – 323 Points
Next Events
Up next, on Saturday 21st December, we have the final match of the Derbyshire Athletes Cross Country Mini League series, which is the rescheduled AVEAC event at Rutland Sports Park. Then, on Saturday 4th January the Derbyshire Athletics Cross Country County Championships 2025 takes place at Shipley Park, Heanor. Following this, the final match of the North Midlands Cross Country League takes place at Bulwell Hall Park on Saturday 11th January.
Entries for the Derbyshire Athletics Cross Country County Championships 2025 close on Friday 20th December, and can be made by clicking the below link.
Report – Dan Humphrey, Photos – Chris Aikman