The fifth and final race in the 2015 Chiltern Cross Country League took place last weekend at Teardrop Lakes in Milton Keynes, in cold damp conditions on muddy terrain.
Vale athletes have competed well throughout the season against strong competition, finishing with an individual gold medal for Max Perry (U13) and a team bronze for the men’s Vet team who have worked well together throughout. Two of our younger athletes produced wonderful performances on Saturday. In the U13 boys’ race, Max Perry won his event in 9:24; he has not only competed in all five races this year, but has won all of them which is an amazing achievement. Another top performance came from Anna Cuthbert (U11), a talented runner who finished in 3rd place. She has had a great season and her hard work meant that she finished in 4th place overall for the season.
In Saturday’s other junior races, Alice Wright and Sarah Sheperd crossed the line just one second apart for the U17s and Tom Swindlehurst had a good run finishing twelfth after being out with illness for some time.
In the senior events, our ladies continue to suffer from a range of injuries and illnesses; Charlotte Steptoe was first Vale lady to finish in 31st position a few seconds ahead of Julia Austin who was third V45 to finish; Vicki Sheldon was third Vale lady. In the men’s event, a welcome return for Patrick Taylor (U20) who was first Vale man to cross the line in 30th position from 200 runners, and 11th in his age group. He was followed by Martyn Summerfield in 41st place and another runner returning after a long absence, Andrew Rolt finished third Vale man in 48th place. Full results and final league positions can be seen on the Chiltern League website. http://www.chilternccl.co.uk/results.htm