Sefton Park, Liverpool 23 Nov 2024
Preston Harriers athletes competed in the Mid Lancashire Cross Country League in Liverpool which was incorporated into the UK Athletics Cross Challenge series, with this prestigious fixture once again hosting the European Cross Country Championships trials.
The muddy terrain of Sefton Park produced a true cross country spectacular with regular rain showers leaving the course a true ‘mud fest’. However this did not dampen the competitive spirit of the Harriers who all performed strongly on the day along with over 2000 other competitors.
In the Senior Ladies race (incorporating M70+) Jamie Robinson was 1st Harrier home in the Mid Lancs League results in 6th place followed by Katie Littlefair 8th and Cathy Flitcroft 21st which was enough to secure a 2nd team placing for Preston Ladies A team. The B team finishing in 25th place with gutsy performances from Julie Tyrer 99th, Agnieska 101st and Sue Wickham 103rd. The Ladies team was also supported by Charlotte Gregory. In the M70+ race just one Harrier, the evergreen Alan Appleby finished strongly in 2nd position.
It was the turn of the Senior Men next with the A team securing 7th team place in the Mid Lancs League secured by some determined running by Jenson Warren finishing in 31st, Billy Reid 35th, Luke Suffolk 38th, Simon Collins 39th, Peter Gibson 77th and Steve Hallas 103rd. In addition the Harriers B team finished in 21st with robust running from Robert Worsey 105th, Christopher McCarthy 114th, David Lea 115th, Stephen Mort 153rd, Steven Boardman 181st and Steve Townhill in 183rd. The Senior Men were also supported by Chris Wales, Joseph Sharples and Michael Brown.
Given the conditions on the day it would be fair to say that everyone who ran took away great memories of the day, if not just a little bit of Liverpool mud.
Cathy Flitcroft