Mohamed Ali won the Under 17 men’s race at the recent South of England inter county cross country match, with the county finishing fourth in this category. Elias Ahmed finished 19th and was second to score for Middlesex. Arun Manget also battled round in county colours, on a blustery and at times wet day.
U15 Seweryn Czapka was placed 44th in his race and was second to score for Middlesex. The county finished ninth out of 21 teams.
We had four women in the Middlesex U20 team, with Jessica Leane finishing 19th and first to score for the county. Nicola Ravenhill followed just a minute behind to claim third scoring place, while Angel Grimes-McTavish completed the scoring team. Cameron Thomas was also selected to represent the county, with mum Pat watching on. Their race was combined with the senior women, and Pat observed that the start was ferociously quick, which hopefully didn’t unsettle the younger runners in the field like Angel and Cameron.
Congratulations to all these athletes and to their coach Steve Mann.
Two of our veterans took part in the southern masters cross country championships which took place at the same venue. Patricia Thomas finished 58th and fourteenth W50 in the 6K W40 race, while Steve Plested finished 179th and twelfth M65 in the 10K M40 race.
Pat noted that the course had changed, and was hillier and tougher than last year. She had set off from home without her spikes and had turned back to get them. Having experienced the new course, she concluded it had been worth the stress, as they were very much needed. (She was the first ESM member to race that day, so she was at least able to brief other club members on what they were about to undertake!)
ESM results summary:
U15 Boys (4K): 44 Seweryn Czapka 14:37
U17 Men (5K): 1 Mohamed Ali 15:22, 19 Elias Ahmed 16:06, 97 Arun Manget 18:39
U20 Women (6K): 19 Jessica Leane 25:27, 32 Nicola Ravenhill 26:33, 41 Angel Grimes-McTavish 27:54, 49 Cameron Thomas 29:45
Full results on power of 10