Despite having a depleted available team Tamworth AC’s senior men’s XC team produced a gutsy team performance to conclude the 2017/18 season and solidified their position firmly in Div#2 of the Birmingham & District Cross Country League. CLC Striders from Cheltenham Spa were hosts of the last race of the 2017/18 season, ran over a new multi-lap, undulating course, water logged in places and heavily mudded following recent heavy rain.

Steve Parkes once again produced a very measured performance to lead Tamworth home with a season’s best league performance to finish in 8^th place, ‘that was hard work, in places I felt that I was hardly moving such were the underfoot conditions’ commented Steve.

With Scott Hudspith not available due to work Ben Evans produced a superb effort to finish 2^nd counter in 28^th place with another season best performance, ‘I really enjoyed the course, the heavy conditions and terrain seemed to suit me very well’ comments Ben. ‘I’m in heavy training for the Manchester Marathon at the moment and therefore I’m very happy with how I ran today’.

3^rd counter was Howard Bush in 79^th place and in doing so completed his 50^th Birmingham & District XC League Race and all of those fifty finishes in the counting 6 – Superb ‘H’ and congratulations.

Anthony Parkes, younger brother of Steve made his season’s debut finishing in 111^th place and 4^th counter, narrowly beating Dave Williams who finished 5^th counter in 117^th place. The all-important 6th counter place was taken by Steve Deegan in 163^rd place, just ahead of team manager Andy Wright in 172^nd place.

Team manager Andy Wright commented, ‘The team suffered today with two key athletes from the counting 6 missing through work and sickness, that’s how it goes sometimes, thankfully we have reasonable depth in the team that can carry-us through difficult times when key athletes are missing’.

Taking a complete a clean sweep with all four league race wins, Cannock’s Chris Perrin won in a time of 35.44, followed by Paul Ward of Telford in 36:02 and in 3^rd place Stephen Millward of CLC Striders in 36:12.

In the all too important team competition, the race was dominated by Worcester AC who enjoyed an emphatic win with 87 pts, beating Cannock & Stafford into second place with 130 pts and Telford AC in third place with 147 pts. Tamworth AC finished in 13^th place on the day with 506 pts.

Overall, Telford AC took Division#2 championship honours and promotion, securing a dominating victory over the four races with 416 pts. Also, gaining promotion, 2nd place went to Worcester AC with 506 pts followed by Cannock & Stafford AC in 3^rd place with 554 pts.

Tamworth AC concluded the season in 11^th place overall with 1996 pts and in doing so secured a very well earned Div#2 status for the 2018/19 season.

 

Note. Anyone interested in Cross Country running or endurance athletics then contact Andrew Wright c/o Tamworth AC.