Vernon's Trio of Wins

Hampshire man coasts to victory despite heavy week of training in legs.

SENIOR MEN

ANDY VERNON did not go to Prestwold Hall to earn selection for the World Cross. Instead he was after the £2000 prize money for winning the British Athletics Cross Challenge series.

The 31-year-old probably could have sealed it by finishing third or fourth but he won his third senior Inter-Counties crown in dominant style.

“I got a lead after the first short lap and then took off the gas toward the end as I just wanted to get around safely,” he said. “I’ve run about 110-115 miles per week since my last cross country race in Hannut (in late January) including this week as well as I’ve done about 95 miles from Monday to Saturday and I’ll do about 18 tomorrow (Sunday).”

Behind Vernon, Alexander Teuten enjoyed a storming run to take silver, while Andy Maud, Sam Stabler and Phil Wicks followed. Vernon was a class apart, though, winning by 24 seconds.

Despite that, he has no interest in going to Uganda and instead will race the Reading Half Marathon this month before targeting track races in Stanford and Highgate for the British 10,000m trials for London 2017. “The flights to Uganda are long, it’s probably not going to be the most hygiene friendly place and then after killing myself after 12km of ross country there’d be flights back where it’s hard to sleep,” he said. “If I was a junior I would be doing it, no question. The World Cross was my debut GB vest as a junior in Brussels in 2004, but at this stage as a senior it’s not an event I’m too interested in doing.”

On his Cross Challenge win, he said: “It sounds mercenary but I needed the cash. Two grand is a lot of money and a good month’s wage for most people. In fact I don’t know why more people don’t do it (the Cross Challenge). So that was my main aim here as I’m trying to earn a living.”