Sunday saw the opening fixture of the new Ness XC league season hosted by our very own Halstead Road Runners at the normal venue of Gosfield School.
It was a beautifully sunny but fresh day with a strong wind provided by Storm Boelo that was causing havoc across the country. Despite the last 2 days continuous rain conditions were nearly perfect for running, slightly soft underfoot but lacking the mud that Broaks Wood normally offers.
Also this year runners had to tackle a lap of the Halstead Hills motocross track in the middle section of the race, the track offers a mixture of sandy terrain in some parts and slippy mud & puddles in others, chuck in a few energy sapping hills and the runners were really put to the test.
Running in his 2nd xc of the weekend Matt Thomas opened his season in impressive style finishing in 3rd position overall.
James Withams was next home for Halstead in 22nd spot, showing his recent training for this xc season is paying off.
James North wasn’t far behind in 33rd also showing the benefits of his recent training.
Bradley Doe,continuing his return from injury & also in his 2nd xc of the weekend, finished in 62 place.
Perry James’ goal today was to enjoy the run & just get round the course and he did just that, finishing in 85th out of the 147 men running.
Only a few places behind and completing the mens scoring side in 89th was Luis Betancourt Canas.
The next 2 runners hot on each other’s heels were Simon Smith, completing his xc double header, & Sam Wolton in 91st & 92nd place respectively.
Len Marten, having celebrated his impressive feat of his 400th parkrun the day before upped his distance to 5 miles & crossed the line in 121st with Dave Clarke, swapping his famous dancing shoes for a pair of trail shoes, bringing the Halstead team home in 139th.
In the ladies race, a very impressive run from HRR newcomer, Isabel Alcon Gardner, running in her first ever XC race, crossed the line in 12th place out of the 79 ladies running.
Bringing the ladies side home in 78th & 79th respectively were Wendy Carter & Lorraine Garnham, who were both also running their 2nd xc of the weekend.
These results meant the men finished 2nd and the ladies in 4th in their respective Pool B’s, placing Halstead 2nd overall in Pool B once the results were combined.
Well done everyone, some great running from everyone.
Race report credit to Steve May
