Flahavan's Cross Country Round 2: Monday 16th January 2023
After the December postponement of Round 2 of the Flahavan's Cross Cross Country Series, we were delighted to be back racing today with a squad of 11 runners making the trip to Delamont Country Park.
The 1.2km route involved children completing a short loop followed by a longer loop into the finish line. The varying underfoot conditions made for a very testing course with runners having to negotiate patches of frozen grass, marshy muddy sections, hills, and some long grass!
First up were our girls team at 11:15am. Right from the off, Iris and Lily B made strong starts, followed by Lily M not too far behind. Alisa, Addyson and Victoria packed well in the middle of the sizeable field. At the end of the short loop, all the runners could be seen to be working hard- the undulating and uneven surface taking its toll on everyone alike. Back into the sunshine and along the perimeter of the park, Iris led the way home for the Castle Gardens team with Lily B finishing at speed closely behind. Lily M was our third counter today with another strong run which showed her application. Our fourth runner, having her strongest run to date, was Victoria; a great performance after training with the squad last week. Alisa and Addyson completed our team, both girls racing one another all the way to the finish line which saw them pass a number of other competitors in the run in to the finish. Well done to all our girls for the grit and determination they showed in testing conditions.
Next up were the boys. At 11:30am the whistle blew to send the large field on their way. At the front, there was a strong Castle Gardens presence with Calvin, Lukas and Daniel all appearing in the first twenty places with the former very much in the mix for the lead. Oliver and Zac made determined but sensible starts in the middle of the pack, looking to push on strongly in the latter half of the race. Finishing the first loop, Calvin was looking focused in second place at the the head of a pack of five runners. Lukas was also running very strongly on the fringes of the top ten places with Daniel on the fringe of the top twenty. Oliver and Zac looked comfortable and were beginning to pick up places. With the finish approaching, the runners came into view at the top of the hill on the horizon. Calvin was one of four boys in a line- each in contention for second place. Lukas had maintained his position well in the middle of the race while Daniel had made a fantastic surge taking him from the edges of the top twenty almost onto Lukas' shoulder. Behind him, Oliver made a stunning charge down the hill and onto the home straight helping him to pick up five extra places on the run in. Zac, following Oliver's lead, also made a very strong finish picking up several places in the last hundred metres. Well done to our boys team for another fabulous effort on a tough course.
Our thanks are offered to our fabulous parents who both helped transport runners to and from the race and were a brilliant source of support before, during and after the race. Well done to all our runners who, as always, made Mr Gray and Mr Graham very proud with how they conducted themselves and the effort they made.
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