Last weekend (Saturday, Jan 13th) brought the fourth instalment of the Chiltern League series in Watford. This was a new course for many as the last time it was run was in 2014. With temperatures low, a hill named accordingly on strava as the ‘cardiac hill’ and a course run mostly on trails, our athletes were to face many challenges.
Our U11 girls team composed of Shona Esslemont (15th), Poppy Alder (28th) and Imaan Al-Din (33rd) helped the team finish 9th for the round and saw them remain 14th in the league after 4 races. Once again we had a bigger turn out on the boys side with the U11 boys: Devon Powell (24th), Dexter Kann (28th), Zane Hmaidi (31st), Jenson Bloxham (33rd), Cooper Paul (39th), Lachlan Wiseman (40th), Ennis Cann (44th) and Harvey Barnett (45th) scoring a 5th place finish for the round but sees them drop to 7th in the league after 4 races.
The U13 girls team had just enough athletes for a full team. This team consisting of Gabriella Cheung (8th), Tilly Valind (29th), Annabelle Harrison (35th) and Emma Storey (47th) finished 5th in the round and saw them stay in 5th in the league after 4 rounds. We saw a larger turn out on the U13 boys side with Zachary Honour (5th), Luca Dolan (7th), James Clifford (25th), Peter Cheung (32nd), Joe Mercer (35th), George Lloyd (36th), James Rendell (41st), Theo Rickard (46th) and Ethan Alcock (47th). The team finished 3rd in the round and sees them stay in 6th after 4 rounds.
We only had 2 athletes competing in the U15 girls races, these were Sarah Cintalova (26th) and Holly Dennis (44th). Together they helped the team to 8th in the round and helped them to keep 8th in the league after 4 rounds. A better turnout from the U15 boys saw Joseph Storey (27th), Lucas Garner (38th), Digby Martin (39th), Jack Ambrose (44th) and Mikolaj Rozacka (45th) ensure the team kept 7th in the league after 4 rounds and saw them finish 7th as well in this round.
We had a small turnout from both the U17 women and the U17 men but those who did compete were Lucy Cuthbert (36th) and Iona Esslemont (41st) on the women’s side and Archie Lynch (12th) and Rhys Williams (31st) on the men’s side. The U17 women finished 10th in the round and remain 10th in the league after 4 rounds. The U17 men finished 6th in the round and remain 7th in the league after 4 rounds.
On the senior women’s side we had Alice Rolfe (9th), Sarah Pearse (27th), Becky Lee (76th), Amanda Esslemont (78th), Anna Cuthbert (95th), Vicky Sheldon (100th), Sue Barnes (137th), Heather Fallaize (139th) and Pat Card (157th). This meant that the senior women team finished 10th in the round and are also in 10th after 4 rounds. The veteran women finished 11th in the round and are currently 10th after 4 rounds. We also had a brilliant turnout on the senior men’s side as well with William Ralston (20th), Euan Anderson (25th), Jamie Pugh (26th), Mark Baines (50th), Scott Ramsell (64th), Andrew Rolt (125th), Robin Barrett (145th), ben Riley (146th), Tim Jones (154th), Marcus Maxwell (161st), Mark Fallize (190th), Trevor Lynch (201st) and Alan Robert’s (215th). This saw the senior men finish 10th in the round and also 10th after 4 rounds. The veteran men’s team finished 15th in the round and are 16th after 4 rounds.
A massive thank you to everyone who came out to support the athletes and make sure that they made it to the start line with plenty of time. Well done to everyone who raced on the challenging course and helped gain valuable points for the team. We hope that we see more people out in Oxford for the last race of the league.
Report by Lucy Cuthbert
