PECO Round 1 – Temple Newsam

The PECO Cross Country series is always very popular with all the local clubs.  5 rounds of muddy fun and even though its always nice to do well for yourself this is all about the team.

The top 8 men and top 5 ladies score points but everyone else can take points off other teams.  If you see a different club vest in front of you going into the finish you have to go for it.  With nearly 100 club members registering there interest, it shows how much the club take this seriously.

It was great to see many new faces as well as returning regulars getting ready for the Temple Newsam rounds.  The men set off first on the one lap course which included a couple of cracking hills  but very little mud.  26 Harrier men took part in a field of 495.

Alec Francis on his PECO debut was 1st Harrier home in an excellent 17th with another 1st timer Michael Vargas 21st just 16 seconds back.

3rd Harrier was Matthew Pinnock in 32nd then there was a bit of a gap until the next batch which included Aron Hinds (109th), Michael Taylor (138th), Colin Tranter (145th), James Booth (169th) and final point scorer Colin Grant in 188th.

There was some cracking runs throughout the field and the final result saw the men finishing –

6th out of 7 in the Premier Division,  8th out of 12 in the Vets.  In the second teams – Team B were 9th and Team C were 22nd.

While the men did well the ladies team smashed it with an excellent performance.  25 Harriers in a field of 381 with Meghan Bentley 1st back in an excellent 16th overall.  Swapping to the red and white vest this year was definitely a bonus to us as Renna Mistry was next home in 50th.

Jennifer Gridley was back running and home in 60th, Caroline Young 68th and the new Mrs Booth, Claire taking the final points scoring place in 79th.

The rest of the ladies team were well placed through out the field and were putting in some storming finishes while being shouted home by the men’s team.  It was a great performance all round.

1st out of 7 in the 1st division, 9th out of 12 in the Vets.  In the second teams – Team B were 3rd, Team C were 14th, Team D were 26th and Team E were 38th.

Next up Middleton Woods and our round to organise.

Photos thanks to Philip Bland

Peco 1 Men	Pos	Time			Peco 1 Ladies	Pos	Time
Alec Francis	17th	27.37	A		Meghan Bentley	16th	33.21	A
Michael Vargas	21st	27.53	A		Reena Mistry	50th	36.19	A
Matthew Pinnock	32nd	28.37	A		Jennifer Gridley	60th	36.52	A
Aron Hinds	109th	31.25	A		Caroline Young	68th	37.08	A
Michael Taylor	138th	32.04	A		Claire Geeson	79th	38.09	A
Colin Tranter	145th	32.21	A		Lois Gardner	85th	38.20	B
James Booth	169th	33.05	A		Clare Evans	97th	39.11	B
Colin Grant	188th	33.27	A		Julia Herterich	122nd	40.15	B
Steve Rhodes	216th	34.19	B		Laura Cummings	127th	40.24	B
Curtis Broadhead	245th	35.01	B		Claudia Bauer	133rd	40.37	B
Farhad Hamad	247th	35.05	B		Naomi Farrar	172nd	42.14	C
Tom Martin	254th	35.17	B		Maika Ohno	178th	42.34	C
Graeme Miles	274th	35.52	B		Lucy Rider	179th	42.38	C
Chris Jones	288th	36.26	B		Matilda Rhodes	188th	43.19	C
John Blatherwick	302nd	37.00	B		Samantha Scarlett	205th	43.55	C
Jonathan Mason	325th	37.50	B		Heather Fulton	219th	44.38	D
Jason Newell	333rd	38.06	C		Caroline Sanders	222nd	44.42	D
John Hayes	341st	38.16	C		Laura Edwards	253rd	46.07	D
Gordon Crawford	385th	39.29	C		Emma Amor	275th	47.33	D
Ralph Kidner	401st	40.04	C		Johanna Rhodes	292nd	48.17	D
Richard Edwards	425th	41.03	C		Eleanor Parkhill	300th	48.39	E
Paul Dickens	436th	41.48	C		Ciara Crossan	328th	50.24	E
Phil Hammond	469th	44.52	C		Victoria Taylor	356th	53.32	E
Matthew Gray	481st	47.58	C		Clare Mason	366th	55.00	E
Michael Mason	485th	48.21			Kay Jefferies	373rd	57.14	E
Trevor Raddings	494th	55.51