NE Cross-Country Championships, 14th December 2019

This year’s North East Cross-Country Championships took place in the beautiful setting of the meadows opposite Alnwick Castle. It was a bright, cold afternoon with a strong wind being the main difficulty facing the runners – as there were, surprisingly, only a few short muddy patches. The course was an amended version of the one used for the Harrier League with a couple of extra loops added at each end of the course to give the extra distance needed for the championships.

The Claremont teams had been decimated by injury and illness and only 3 men made it to the start line – Philipp Manser, Kenny McCormick and myself. The changes to the course added a bit of interest – as well as another bit of uphill. The long stretch in parallel to the river with the views of the castle was directly into the strong wind and it was actually a relief to turn the corner and start going uphill!

The Ladies did manage a full team and finished in a very creditable 14th place – and this without the fast pack girls (and some of the medium pack)! They were led home by Mandy Herworth with Sarah Bowen just 4 places behind. Maria Duenas and Nina Jentl completed the 4 team counters, ably supported by good runs from Nina Jensen and Hazel Juggins.