HomeEnduros At Elgin - Victory For Hanna
Added on 15 November 2010
The 3rd meeting of the Speyside Runner North District Cross Country League, was held at Spynie Wood, Elgin, on Saturday 13th November 2010, hosted by Moray Road Runners. In beautiful surroundings, on a dry and windless autumnal day, the “Enduros” of Ross County AC were out in relative force, with club runners competing in all but 2 age groups (U17 & Senior Women.) The course itself, was ideal for cross-country, a mixture of uphill and downhill sections, some lengthy and some steep, with sharp turns and fast straights, on firm forest trails, interspersed with muddy sections and slippery tree roots to avoid. Capped off with a real sting in the tale, the final stretch was a truly gruelling uphill slog, that tested the legs to extreme and made for a real thigh-burning finish.
The first race, the Under 11 Girls, saw our young trio of Meg Crockett, Alice Kerr and Erin Robinson run well to finish in a very close 3rd place. In the Under 11 Boys race, a bit of start-line bustling resulted in our solitary U11 competitor, Finlay Clarke, slipping at the off. Undeterred he made up lost ground and, in the sprint for the finish line, shrugged off an extremely unsportsmanlike grab on his shoulder to finish in 7th place, just a second behind 6th place.
In the U13 Girls race, we had six Enduros: Corrin Blake, Catriona Holland, Abby Macgregor, Mhairi MacPhail, Molly Todd and Sativa Alexander, pulling on the black 'n' red vests and racing around this tough 3.5km course. The U13 Boys trio of Finlay Todd, Hamish Kerr and Logan Mathieson, in their first season in this age group, and competing against much larger squads, made it a remarkable 3rd place finish.
In the U15 Girls race, Hanna Cleghorn, came back from injury at Keith 2 weeks ago, to romp home in 1st place, her 2nd win of the season. Finishing well ahead of the U15 field, and a large number of U17 Women, Hanna looked remarkably fresh as she crossed the finish line. Aimee Coulshed, a sprinter by trade, took her first venture into cross-country and was well-placed at the end, coming home ahead of quite a few more-experienced runners. Our solitary U15 Boy, Paul Holden, who missed the last event at Keith due to illness, bounced back to put in a fine performance, finishing the tough course in under 22 minutes.
In the U17 Mens category, Ryan Moodie strode out in only his 3rd event in this age group,
to finish a close 4th, keeping up his challenge for an end of season podium finish. The solo Senior Male, Auld Sairlegs himself, made it round the 3 lap course without being lapped and with a number of other runners finishing behind him, “...fair chuffed with the result...”