Midland Cross Country Championships: Prestwold Hall, Loughborough, Sat 25 Jan 2020

Tamworth AC athletes made the trip to Prestwold Hall in Loughborough for the Derby Runner Midland Cross Country Championships last Saturday. After the recent spell of mild weather, it felt much more like a January weekend for cross country racing. The course was very muddy, but that didn’t do anything to lessen the performances of the best runners from across the region.

Jessica Salt followed up her county championship result with an outstanding top-20 place; taking 17^th place with a time of 10:48 in the 3km Under-13 Girls race. For the Under-13 Boys, Dominic Harper battled with every stride to finish in 79^th place with 11:11. He was followed by Francis White in 120^th place with 12:31.

The Under-15 Girls race saw regular Tamworth stars Lottie McLaren and Phoebe O’Connor take on the 4km course. Lottie put in another typical performance and was back first to take an excellent 36^th place with 14:57 on the clock. Phoebe wasn’t far behind, demonstrating the great progress she’s made this season with a 47^th place finish and a time of 15:10.

Charlotte Perry scored an excellent result in the 5km Under-17 Women’s race with 26^th place and a time of 19:53. Sophie Perry also did very well in 48^th place, crossing the line with 21:03 on the clock.

Sarah Jemmett stepped up for Tamworth in the Senior Women’s event, completing the 8km race in 115^th place with a time of 41:15.

Further success for Tamworth came in the 6km Under-20 Women’s race, with Hannah Brayer taking a brilliant 12^th place on 26:52 and Rebecca Brayer following well up the field in 18^th place on 28:22.

An unfortunate mix-up at the start line meant Max Kent had work to do in the Under-20 Men’s race; starting late after the gun and having to chase down the rest of the field. Despite the setback, Max charged through the order to take 19^th place with a time of 32:28 for the 8km race.

Finally, a huge field of more than 350 Senior Men lined up for the gruelling 12km race. David Brayer in the company of incredibly strong competition, closed out the day for the green & whites in 170^th place with a time of 49:19.