NYSD Cross Country - Windlestone Hall 10th November 2002

Scarlett Gray

The NYSD X-C League got underway at the second time of asking on Sunday 10th at Windlestone Hall, near Newton Aycliffe. The changeable weather gave way to a bright afternoon and the course around pasture land was heavy but no worse than last season’s swamp.

Several of Richmond and Zetland Harriers younger athletes had run for the Allertonshire School in the English Schools X-C Cup on the Saturday and elected not to compete on consecutive days. Despite this reduction in numbers there were Harriers in all seven races.

First away were the under 13 boys and Tom Rennison headed the field down the first hill with Nick Outhwaite in the middle of the chasing pack. Tom’s enthusiasm didn’t desert him but his legs did; after 1½ miles of heavy going, he had slipped back to finish 12th having learned a valuable lesson.

The under 13 girls were equally enthusiastic from the gun and Abby Johnson of Scarborough, unable to stay with the pace, fell at the first turn. Scarlett Gray showed that she had done her homework; having had a second place last year, this time she went one better and won her first X-C race. Unaware of the melee behind her, Scarlett forged ahead through the mud and water and came home a clear winner. Behind her were twin sister Jessica in 5th place and Sophie Broadway in 9th, her highest ever place to date.

Third race on the card was for under 15 boys, one large lap and a smaller loop, approximately two miles in total. Philip Fitzpatrick finished in 5th place complaining of sore hamstrings - probably due in equal parts to the heavy course and the increase in his mileage after the end of the T&F season. Chris Andrade and James “Titch” Robinson both made their League debuts, both ran strongly and finished well.

Jade Cawthray, Ashleigh Robinson and Leah Jackson made-up the under 15 girls team on the day and had a flock of sheep as well as the deteriorating course to contend with.

RZH had only one runner, Carl Outhwaite, in the under 17 boys race over two laps, approximately three miles. Carl ran in his usual determined fashion and was well up at the finish.

The Ladies race includes the under 17s with the juniors, seniors and veterans and the Harriers team was boosted to six by three new under 17s moving up a year. Louise Jackson has lost none of her form whilst studying at Leeds Metropolitan University and finished 5th with Rachel Robinson just 4 places behind. Amy Baines was first of the under 17s, just ahead of her Coach, Fiona Hughes who finished 35th. Neither Sadie Potter nor Jenny Fenwick enjoyed the three miles of mud but ran well and will be back for more.

The last race was the Mens and was a real slog over four laps, approximately five and a half miles. Jon Orange wasn’t deterred and the strength he’s gained from the extra miles put-in as part of his London Marathon training showed as his stayed in contention throughout and finished in 5th place. Behind him, John Aspell and Ken Harker were inside the top ten, followed by Kedar Singuali, Ian Scott and Club Captain, Shaun Purkiss, making up the scoring six. Final positions aren’t available yet and so we wait to see if this was a winning team performance. Dan Brooks led the “B” team home with Chris Peacock, Jim Robinson, Brian “Taff” Rogers, Mike Brooks and Neil Piper giving support.