A Gold Medal and tons of mud as the XC season starts.

13th October 2019

Henry tops the British xc podium in Cardiff

In a triumphant start to the Cross Country season, Henry Sheffield won his first British Gold Medal in Cardiff. Henry (who is still Under 13) started well and held his place to cross the line convincingly ahead of the pack finding himself the only one from England on the podium.

Gwent League, inc British Athletics Cross Challenge, Cardiff, XC

U13 Boys (2.78km) 1 Henry Sheffield (Cirencester AC) 9.21 23 finished.

Nearer home, our first XC of the season went well. Despite the sodden conditions, our teams rallied to overcome the energy sapping course consisting of knee-deep puddles and squelching quagmire. We were represented by eight hardy juniors including Zac Humphries who secured 14th place in the Under 13 Boys. In the women's race Holly Willis came in an impressive 28th and 1st home for the club despite completing Ironman Barcelona last weekend. We also saw a strong debut performance from newcomer Nea Sneddon-Jenkins. The field of 9 women was a strong turnout for Cirencester and fun was had by all.

Ladies team at Wooton - Lots more photos on Facebook

For the men, Dave Bell had a fantastic performance to come second overall despite a baptism in the muddy waters à la Simon Campbell! He was followed by James Thomas with a top 20 finish and there were more strong performances from others making their XC debut such as Tom Purnell, Chris Miller and David Musgrove. The performances from all of the men contributed to a 5th place standing for the CAC men's team.

The real take away from the day though was the great team atmosphere, of course the cake, and prevailing against such difficult conditions underfoot. We expect an even larger turnout at the next fixture.

Gloucestershire XC League (1 of 4), Wotton-u-Edge

U11 Girls (2.1km)

34 Izzy Chudley (Cirencester AC) 10.11

35 Isabella Stickney 10.14

51 Isabella Lloyd 11.42

Team (3 to score): 1 Cheltenham & County Harriers 11pts, 12 Cirencester AC 120pts

U13 Girls (3.0km)

22 Millie Chudley (Cirencester AC) 12.51

U11 Boys (2.1km)

35 Joseph Stickney (Cirencester AC) 9.32

37 Robert Stickney 9.38

39 Toby Wood 9.44

41 Jonty Lloyd 9.47

Team (3 to score): 1 Bourton Road Runners 17pts, 10 Cirencester AC 111pts

U13 Boys (3.0km)

14 Zac Humphries (Cirencester AC) 11.06

Ladies (6.4km)

1 Amber Watson (Cheltenham & County Harriers) 23.14

28 Holly Willis (Cirencester AC) 25.50

64 Nea Sneddon-Jenkins 27.44

68 Kate Sackett 27.52 – 1st FV55

116 Jo Roberts 31.02

151 Rachel Ranger 33.23

154 Zoe Walters 33.45

170 Pam Wheeler 36.10

180 Helen Manners 39.08

181 Louise Abbott 39.52

191 finished

Ladies teams (3 to score): 1 Cheltenham & County Harriers 12pts, 11 Cirencester AC ‘A’ 123pts, 34 Cirencester AC ‘B’ 360pts, 42 Cirencester ‘C’ 468pts, 42 closed in

Ladies Masters teams (3 to score):

1 CLC Striders 85pts, 18 Cirencester AC ‘A’ 335pts, 27 Cirencester AC ‘B’ 504pts, 28 closed in

Men (9.5km)

1 Ben Robinson (Gloucester AC) 31.50

2 David Bell (Cirencester AC) 32.09

17 James Thomas 34.15

28 Tom Purnell 35.19

38 Aaron Willis 35.53

46 David Musgrove 36.14

78 Chris Miller 38.25

132 Lee Lawrence 42.37

166 Dorian Matts 45.04

203 finished Teams (6 to score): 1 Cheltenham & County Harriers 58pts, 4= Cirencester AC 209pts, 21 closed in

In a rare foray into road racing, Ollie Pritchard secured both a PB and a second place in the Guildford 10k as his time of 33.27 put him 5 seconds behind the winner.

Guildford 10km, road

1 Rob Sherwood (Horsham Joggers) 33.22 2 Oliver Pritchard (Cirencester AC) 33.27 1273 finished.

There was a quality field in the very popular Oxford Half Marathon where we were represented by Rachel and Paul Barrow and Clare Tapley.

Oxford ½ Marathon, 13.1 miles road

1 Alex Milne (Hercules Wimbledon AC) 1.07.31 (chip 1.07.31) 4595 Rachel Barrow (Cirencester AC) 2.27.29 (2.08.18) 4657 Clare Tapley 2.28.20 (2.14.56) 5934 Paul Barrow 2.49.24 (2.29.53) 6839 finished.

Steve Derrick struggled with footwear and a super technical bike section in a very muddy and windy Bowood House Duathlon. Cross country shoes made the second 5k run easier enabling him to finish 46th and 3rd in his age group in 1.40.36 .

Bowood House Sprint Duathlon, 5km run, 21km bike, 5km run

1 David Atkinson (Hoka One) (18.03; 36.53; 19.09) 1.15.15 46 Steve Derrick (Cirencester AC) (25.42; 45.01; 26.56) 1.40.36 128 finished

parkruns, 5km trail

With so many members committed to XC, parkrun numbers were down but there were some fine performances especially from Henry Broadley (JM11-14) whose PB of 21.03 at Cirencester earned him 5th place and Isobel Watt (JW11-14) 1st lady and 5th overall and Joe Cook (JM10). Elsewhere Ian Barrett was 4th at Stroud.

Cirencester AC finishers: Cirencester: 5 Henry Broadley (J) 21.03, 9 Isobel Watt (J) 22.26 – 1st lady, 10 Matt Ulyatt 22.55, 21 Rob Jones 23.44, 32 Neil Broadley 24.47, 38 Paul Timms 25.02, 48 Richard Edwards 26.12, 52 Jocelyn Randall 26.31, 69 Zoe Walters (J) 28.09, 73 Joe Cook (J) 28.42, 80 Samantha Timms 29.59, 84 Ruth Fulford 30.29, 151 Helen Manners (sweeper) 55.50, 152 finished Swindon: 35 Tom Purnell 21.31, 93 Kerry Smith 24.09, 94 Alan McAdam 24.12, 123 Brendan McCarthy 25.24, 140 Rachel McAdam 26.19, 199 Barbara Thomas 28.41, 394 finished Stroud: 4 Ian Barrett 20.23, 127 finished Banbury: 100 Bryan Reid 28.10, 261 finished Clapham Common: 82 Gordon Jones 22.58, 465 finished