NEHL Wrekenton, 29th September 2018

The Harrier League season kicked-off at a bright, sunny, if a bit breezy, afternoon at Wrekenton. The ground was rock-hard so it some ways it was more like running on a very uneven, hilly road surface than cross-country.

It was a good turnout with a number of cross-country debutants among the 27 strong Claremont contingent. There were some good individual performances too.

Grace Scott flew the flag for us in the juniors – running well in the under 11s where she is still one of the youngest competitors.

For the ladies, Sarah Bowen benefited from moving back to the slow pack to lead the team home. Sarah Kerr continued her recent great form, impressively ploughing through the field in her first run from the medium pack. There was also a strong first outing from the fast pack for Catherine Young who is gradually getting back to form after her recent health issues. However I think a special mention should go to Nicki O’Brien who has had little chance to train due to the demands of a very young baby, but still put in a determined run from the medium pack.

The men’s team also had a few problems with fitness with both debutant Daniel Mourenza and normally speedy Anthony Liddle finding the bumpy hard ground not exactly ideal for their ankles. Daniel couldn’t complete the course, while Anthony had to ease off. Roberto led the team home – so lucky for us that he managed to arrive just in time for the start.