This in from Tom on behalf of Ryde Harriers. Ed
A week previously a much bigger group had travelled to Eastleigh for the championships and it looked as if these efforts had taken their toll on the numbers with a smaller selection of athletes boarding the coach, as well as reduced fields lining up for all the races at Reading’s Prospect Park.
Younger runners
IWAC’S Under 13 boys continued their strong placing, but slipped behind in their battle with Southampton for third in the league. James Haggerty lead the team home in 18th. Maisie Witty was IWAC’s sole representative in the Under 13 girls, finishing a creditable 35th.
Also the only Island runner in her race was Under 15 Elsie Lewis and she also finished 35th. The Under 17 boy’s race saw IWAC’s championship winning team from the previous week maintain their 3rd place in the league lead home by Sam Metcalf and Michael Illot who finished 10th and 11th respectively.
Senior Women’s
In the Senior Women’s race, Sarah Kavanagh demonstrated her continuing return to the form of last Spring as she finished 24th. Julie King came next in 55th whilst Rosie Eldridge and Elaine Parry continued their personal battle with Rosie coming out victorious this time as they once again finished within touching distance in 83rd and 85th respectively to complete the Ryde Harriers team who sit 10th overall with one fixture left.
Grace Crumplin was the only other Island runner competing and she crossed just before Rosie and Elaine in 78th.
Senior Men’s
The Senior Men’s race also featured the smallest Island group of the whole season, but Ryde Harriers once again had a full team running as they moved clear of their Wight Tri rivals to take third place in the league.
First Islander home was IWAC’s Steve Haggerty, who showed his returning fitness with a strong performance to finish 69th. Next came Les Cupis who anchored Ryde’s team home in 89th followed by Tom Blackwell in 97th.
Keith Curwood of Wight Tri split the remaining Harriers as he finished in 109th. Simon Joy came next on his debut cross-country and showed a strong finishing kick to overtake four other runners in the final 200 metres. Simon finished 172nd overall with the final Ryde team members being Ken Beak in 182nd and Andy Leal in 189th.
Take part
There are opportunities for cross-country racing on the Island over the next couple of months as the annual Ryde Harriers series takes place. Starting and finishing at Smallbrook Stadium there are races for men and women over seven and five miles respectively. Runners must be 17 years old and above.
The first race is the Ryde Harriers Championship on Sunday 25th January. The event is open to all for a fee of £3 but trophies and medal are for RH members only (all runners will be timed though).
This is followed by the IW XC Championship on Sunday 22nd and Arthur Biggs Handicap on Sunday 1st March.
All races start at 11am prompt with more details available at www.rydeharriers.co.uk or from club night meetings on a Tuesday.
