Juniors and Teens at Ciren Park XC
On a still, sunny and dry day some of our Juniors and Teens competed in our local Glos XC league match in Cirencester Park on Saturday. Unfortunately, due to being held during half term many youngsters were away so many of th races were low on numbers and so were we. We had four U12 boys, but no girls, one U14 girl but no boys, three U16 boys and one girl. Many thanks to those who did compete.
The photos are courtesy of Ian Barrett, Heather Ralling and Gemma Conway.
The Under 12s ran approx. 2km. U14s approx. 3km and U16s about 5km.
Our Under 12 boys : Brecon Musk, Stanley Woodfine, Ted Ralling and William Richards are all 10 years old, although Brecon is Year 5 and the others Year 6.
Our two young lady runners were :
Sophi Mason (12) and Holly Stewart-Hodges (14) and they ran in the U14 and U16 girls races respectively.
You're likely to have seen Sophi at a Parkrun as this is her type of event, but Holly is a sprinter, but wasn't the only one running on the day, but the less said about that the better.
Our 16s boys team comprised : Henry Woodfine (14), Toby Conway (14) and Wilf Williams (15).
Example of superb running technique :
Despite XC being an endurance event, often there is a sprint finish. Here Heather Ralling has caught both William and Ted on camera close to the finish in a way that gives me the opportunity to highlight the boys' great technique.
Both boys have their head up, looking ahead with a slight body lean forwards. As they are sprinting they are "driving" to the line with high rear foot pull-through and with driving arms. Both boys feet are landing more or less under their centre of mass and both are remaining relaxed (see hands and shoulders) despite being close to the line.
If you think you or your Junior or Teen would like to have a go at XC, please speak to Dorian, as there are a couple of options, coming up in December.
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