Booth Decorators Cross Country League Race 3
Despite a night of Christmas excess only two nights before, there was an excellent turnout from LERC runners for the third race in the Booth Decorator's Cross Country League on Sunday 4th, as the club took its turn to host at Trent Meadows. While the venue was the same as for the East Midlands League race that took place in October, the course was a shorter 4.3 miles for both men and women, taking in a variety of twists, turns and ditches. Thankfully the downpour that took place on Sunday afternoon was avoided and conditions were good for running.
The women's team was larger than in previous races in the series, and V50 Jackie Mather was first to finish for Long Eaton, taking 87th position overall and second in her age category. She was followed home by Cath Benson, who also finished in the top 100, taking 93rd place and 3rd V40. Cheryl Brown and Wendy Ray both dipped under 40 minutes for the course, while Patricia Allen performed admirably to finish as first woman over 65. It was also great to see Sarah Kuehne and Rachael Hemsley complete their first cross country races.
Of the men, Blane Crawford ran a controlled first lap and then moved through the field to take an excellent 13th place, while Mark Boot maintained his good form in this league, yet again finishing in the top 20. Rob Fox, having raced in the North Midlands League the day before, also performed admirably to take 22nd place and third M50, while Ian Chant (24th), Dave Boot (32nd), Phil Abbott (33rd) and Alan Maplethorpe (36th) completed the scorers, with Dave also having raced in the North Mids league. Peter Webb and Mark Lay (another to have raced on the Saturday) were involved in the closest of finishes, with just a second separating them in 40th and 41st (with the victor still in question at the time of writing). Richard Howe, John Hay, Paul Burchell and Captain Shaun Burton all made the top 100, while Steph Catelain (after a night of hard drinking), Pete Fowles and Phil Walters completed the team, with Pete finishing as second M65.
The club now lies in 4th place in the combined standings, with the next race scheduled for January.
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