National Cross Country Championships - Alton Towers - 23rd February 2008

It proved to be another highly successful and golden day out for Richmond and Zetland athletes, who made the long bus journey to take part in the National Cross Country Championships, held at Alton Towers, Staffordshire on Saturday 23rd February. The course was certainly challenging, being very undulating and included an extremely steep climb, with an additional section at the top, which became quite muddy as the day’s racing progressed. The weather however, was dry without much wind, which produced favourable race conditions and the club is now proud to have a national champion.

Fergus Roberts wins Gold Medal in U13 National Cross Country Championships 2008

U13 Boys Team take 10th Place in Nationals

Once again the Under 13 Boys team produced the top results of the competition, with the unsurpassable Fergus Roberts claiming a magnificent victory by 18 seconds from a field of 353 competitors and is a certain talent for the future, with this, his third Gold Medal of the Cross Country season, having already won this year’s Yorkshire and Northern Championships. Another bright hope in the form of James King, also did fantastically well, finishing in an excellent 42nd position overall, while team mate Daniel Overin also had a brilliant run to take 64th on the day, along with Max Robson, who looked strong and crossed the line in 213rd place. Paul Harmsworth promptly took 285th place to bring the team into an extremely well-deserved 10th place overall, considering the opposition of all the larger city clubs. There were three representatives in the Under 13 Girl’s race over approximately 3K, with Amy Coulson having a strong race to take a highly commendable 211th, while Abi Fletcher ran extremely well to claim 222nd position overall and Rosie Stirr continues to progress all the time, claiming 297th place overall.

The Under 15 Boys team was down to three runners on this occasion, but were more than able to cope with the fast pace on the day. Top athlete and first Harrier home was Sam Wood, producing a fabulous performance to finish in 23rd place, with some top-notch running and only 52 seconds behind the overall winner, which really highlights his talent. The other team members stayed in close proximity of each other around the course and were difficult to separate, even to the extent of being given the same finishing time when crossing the line. Marc Scott and George Robinson really enjoyed the challenge and were duly rewarded with 81st and 82nd place respectively.

In the Under 17 Women’s race, Rosie Adams had a great outing on the course to claim 143rd place in the field and looks set to run well in the forthcoming season, while her sister Jo Adams has found her form just at the right time and produced a strong and convincing run to finish in 90th position. Doug Roberts was another member of the family trio at the event and promptly took 42nd position in the U17 Men’s race, in what was a highly competitive arena, while team mate Liam Fletcher put in another determined and highly creditable performance to cross the line in 206th place.

The Senior Ladies were next away, with just 2 representatives for the club, due to other training commitments. Tamsin Clark has really found her top form recently and this was reflected in her performance on the day, with a comfortable top 100 finish in a national event, taking 82nd place and looking in great shape. Kelley Haniver has also produced some excellent results this season and was just outside the top 100 places, crossing the line in 125th position from almost 500 runners, which demonstrates the quality she has been consistently achieving. The men’s field meanwhile, boasted no less than 1244 competitors, underlining the popularity of the event, amongst which there were four Richmond and Zetland athletes. Top senior male runner on the day for the club was Ken Harker, who has been benefiting from regular racing throughout the winter and this paid off with a finishing position of 263rd, which was a welcome achievement, while Tad Zaranko displayed excellent form, showing that his marathon training has really had a positive effect, taking 393rd place overall. Paul Roberts has also achieved an upturn in form recently through hard work and this was duly rewarded with 435th position, as he overtook a tired Shaun Purkiss on the run in, who was only 4 seconds behind, but nevertheless always runs convincingly and competitively and finished well up the field in 442nd overall, which again reflects the calibre of athletes taking part.

RZH Results: Under 13 Boys – 1st (& National Champion) Fergus Roberts, 42nd James King, 64th Daniel Overin, 213rd Max Robson & 285th Paul Harmsworth, Team 10th. Under 13 Girls – 211th Amy Coulson, 222nd Abi Fletcher & 297th Rosie Stirr. Under 15 Boys – 23rd Sam Wood, 81st Marc Scott & 82nd George Robinson. Under 17 Women – 143rd Rosie Adams. Under 17 Men – 42nd Doug Roberts & 206th Liam Fletcher. Junior Women – 90th Jo Adams. Senior Women – 82nd Tamsin Clark & 125th Kelley Haniver. Senior Men – 263rd Ken Harker, 393rd Tad Zaranko, 435th Paul Roberts & 442nd Shaun Purkiss.