Report by Graham French
Four of ESM’s young athletes & one of our under 20s were selected to represent Middlesex County at the South of England inter county race at Horspath, Oxford, on the 10 December.
It was a clear day but bitingly cold, with a layer of frost & snow on trees & fields, which made for a picturesque scene, but underfoot was potentially treacherous with frozen ruts & potholes.
In the under 13 girls, Alya Johnson ran a great tactical race, leaving just enough to kick in the final 200m & was the County’s 2nd scorer in the age group in 40th place. Sophia Sargeant also had a terrific race finishing 93rd. The Middlesex team placed 7th.
Jack Hayward also had a really strong race. Like the girls he skilfully negotiated rock hard holes & divots, pacing himself well, with a strong sprint finish to claim 56th place & 4th scorer for the County. The team finished 6th.
For the under 17 women, Nicola Hewitt was juggling running training with mock GCSE’s. She wasn’t sure how the race was going to go as training had been limited. She shouldn’t have worried, as she ran a storming race as part of a strong Middlesex team, finishing 51st. The team was 5th.
There was another great run from Charlie Cooney-Quinn who finished 45th in the under 20 race, the Middlesex team again finishing in 5th place.