Gloucestershire XC League 19/20 Race 1

Race 1 - Wotton Under Edge

Great performances all round from Tewkesbury RC including a very impressive XC debut from Owen Grant. Despite taking part in his first XC race since school, Owen not only smashed the competition but smashed the muddy course with ease!

Finishing in the top 15 in a time of 33:57 was simply outstanding. That sort of time for a 9km road race would be amazing but to do it on a course strewn with mud and monster puddles was exceptional!

Welcome to cross country Owen!

Also making his debut was Spanish sensation Cristian Orea. I’m not sure if Cristian has ever experienced anything quite like a British Cross Country race but the Iberian took to the tough terrain with determination and finished well in 44:17.

Before him Matt Flynn had another great race making the muddy conditions look ridiculously easy and following Owen home in 34:51.

With 2 Tewkesbury runners finishing in the top 25 this promises to be a great season for the club!

As well as the new boys the old guns were still present and running well with Jon Mansfield and Mark Gardiner completing the Tewkesbury line up finishing in times of 38:31 and 40:31 respectively.

Not to be outdone the ladies were well represented by Elaine Vincent and Carol Cowley. As many of their counterparts floundered in the monster puddle, both girls stayed steady on their feet and pushed each other on to finish well.

Despite a few pre-race nerves, the ladies enjoyed their day as Elaine finished the 6.4km course in 29:55 and Carol in 30:59, missing out on the LV65 gold medal by only 7 seconds!

Well done ladies!!!

A fantastic turnout for the first race, thank you to you all for taking part. If only we had one more guy and one more girl then we would’ve had a men’s and a ladies team but hopefully we can get a team together for the next race in three weeks time at Charlton Park near Malmesbury.

Hope to see you there!

Wez

Results;

Senior Men’s

15 Owen Grant 33.57 mins 25 Matt Flynn 34.51 81 Jon Mansfield 38.31 111 Mark Gardiner 40.31 157 Cristian Orea 44.17