National Titles For Connor And Judd

Ben Connor and Jess Judd Take the Honours on a Muddy and Testing Nottingham Course

- Steve Smythe

THE English National Cross Country Championships had a highly successful 130th outing in Wollaton Park in Nottingham. The event resulted in rather disappointing quality fields in the senior races but the sport overall is healthy with many record fields and a total of 5191 finishers in the 10 races was only bettered by Parliament Hill in 2015.

With Parliament Hill hosting the event next year, a record should be achieved if the senior men’s numbers advance.

While the senior races lacked far too many of the seemingly ever decreasing international standard English runners (see panel), the age group races were true quality English Championships, though the event was a surprisingly Southern dominated affair. They won nine team and seven individual out of 10 titles on offer.

The course got lots of plaudits with its mixture of mud, fast sections and a few testing hills. Incredibly, such is Wollaton’s vast open space, it used a course that did not go near the courses used in the Inter Counties and British Masters International.

There was a problem in the women’s race that led to the men bypassing the river crossing after a female athlete was cut by hidden wire in the mud that pierced her foot.

SENIOR MEN

NORTH OF ENGLAND champion Ben Connor was the clear favourite as the race started and he controlled the race throughout and was well placed even in the usual cavalry charge at the start of around 1800 starters.