News & Press Reports - 2022

The second Gloucestershire Cross-Country league meeting took place on Dec 10th  on a dairy farm near Arlingham.

 

Ruth Brook (19:20) took the U15 girls winner's title in her usual determined and fast style leading from start to finish pulling further away from the opposition over the fastest final part of the course alongside the River Severn. Boys and girls ran alongside each other in separate races and Barney Goleridge coped well with the rough terrain, moving through the field finishing 11th U15B in 20:34.

 

Lydia Wang was second scorer in the girls' team in 29th (23:48) and Tasha Scholfield in her first race for for the club for several years finished strongly in 32nd 26:55 as did Aliya Hankins 34th 29:08. The team was 4th only 5 points behind the second placed team.

 

Phoebe Goleridge was Gloucester AC's only girl in the U13 race – we would love to have more athletes of that age – completing the just under 3k race as 8th U13G in 15:23. Jacob Knowles ran steadily to finish 23rd U13B (18:25)

 

Johnnes Mundy was 30th 9:27 23rd in the U11 race over very hard ground.

 

Anthony Cruise and Charlie Coles ran and helped each other to a good pace over the first 5k of their 6.5k race then Cruise pulled away to finish 6th U17M in 24:07 with Coles just 10 seconds behind in 7th. Ben Griffiths running his second race for the club and learning from each race ran a well paced race for 14th U17M in 28:46. The team placed second.

 

Gloucester AC's women are making this the focus of their cross-country season so had two teams out. In her first race of the season Briony Bishop was 10th Senior Woman in 27:40 followed by young athletes' coach Emma Jeffery in 62 race place – U17 men and women ran alongside the seniors - and 4th W45 in 30:24. Daughter Lucy Jeffery was not far behind in 67th 30:45 and Grace Vido in her season's debut was second W50 (75th in the race ) in 31:27. Amber Spackman 81st in the race with 32:06 followed by Charlotte Hall 106th 34:36 to complete the B team with W60 Nicola Waters 113th in 35:15

 

The A team was 11th and B team 19th out of 34. The masters team was also 11th

 

U20 Man Finlay Hawkins, after slowing on the second of three laps but picking up to overtake on the third led the senior men's team home in 45th (36:12). Sam Crowther making his debut for the Gloucester AC team but suffering from a cold finished the first lap in from of Hawkins but then slowed on the softening surface to come in 64th with 38:03.

 

The A team was completed by James Walters 80th (39:25), then two more of the young athletes' coaches Peter Jeffery in 117th 43:02 and Martin Brook 129th in 44:14 with Lee Moore 145th (46:03). Neil Hobbs was 146th in 46:28. The men's team almost matched the senior women with the A team coming 12th and the masters team 11th.

 

Having been promoted to division 1 of the Birmingham Cross Country League, and held on to our place in division 1 in the last couple of seasons, we travelled to the first fixture on the 2022/23 season, knowing that it will be tough to stay in the premier league again.

 

The team was depleted slightly due to injuries, and some athletes being unavailable for different reasons. This said, a lot of the backbone of last season's team made the trip to Crewe, on an unseasonably warm, bright and dry day.

 

After a walk of the course, it was found that conditions were similar to the first race of last season, and if anything a little drier underfoot. The course remained the same, rolling countryside. No major climbs, but also not many flat sections.

 

A field of near 300 men toed the start line, and after the customary dash for position over the first 300m, things settled down, with a long line of runners snaking across the skyline.

 

With the university teams fielding what looked like coach loads of runners, it was difficult to work out how Gloucester were doing as a team during the race. However, what was clear to see was the commitment and hard work written across the faces as each white and red stripe vest raced passed.

 

With the pressure that comes with being the teams best XC runner, Richard de-Camps never fails to deliver, and let the team home in an excellent 26th place overall. Not far behind, and still coming back to fitness, was Harry Wells in 63rd. Next back and 3rd scorer for the A Team was Finlay Hawkins, a fantastic result in only his second season racing with the senior men. Not far behind Finlay, and in 124th was 4th team scorer Eugenio Diz, another excellent run to make the A scoring team. Great to have Eugenio as part of the team, now that his work is a bit more flexible. Completing the A team scoring, were training partners Andrew de-Camps and Marc Barnett. Finishing in 132nd and 140th positions, and completing a respectable A team overall finish of 11th out of 16 teams.

 

Backing up the A team, we’re the ever dependable trio of James Walters, Luke Hine, and Neil Hobbs, All three pushing back the competitors team finishers, meaning out A Team score was well outside of the relegation zone.

 

A fantastic result from all 9 athletes. A great start to the campaign to stay in division one.

Gloucester AC had a highly successful third fixture of the Midlands Track and Field League Division 1, held on Sunday in sweltering conditions at Rugby. Having won the previous two fixtures, victory on the day would all but guarantee the title with one more match to come in August. This follows on from successive promotions from the depths of Division 4 and would cement Gloucester's place at the top level of Midlands athletics.

 

Field event athletes were the backbone of a superb team performance, as Gloucester triumphed by 12 points on the day with 393, compared to Notts AC in second with 381.

 

There were double victories for Joel Townley in the long and triple jump, plus Gareth Winter in the shot put and discus, ably supported by a hammer win and a B string shot put win for Tim Williams. Elise Bue made a very welcome debut for the club in the discus, winning by 10 metres and gaining bonus points for achieving the IAAF standard. Beth Bird made a very welcome return to competition winning the B string discus and scoring valuable points in the javelin. Ellen Thrall and Christen Campion were second A string and first B string respectively in the hammer, with Campion also gaining a shot put second place.

 

Multi-eventers Kate Davies, Julia Johnson and Jacqui Holloway all had extremely busy afternoons and weighed in with a plethora of points in the jumps, throws and hurdles, despite the stifling conditions.

 

Team Manager Matt Holloway didn't want to miss out so managed third in the pole vault, in between cajoling Josh Robinson and Kyle Neal to strong performances across a broad range of events.

 

The weather didn't help the distance runners but Richard De Camps came up with his customary strong performance in the 1500m, just missing out on the win by two-tenths of a second. Oli Demain made a hugely impressive debut for the club in the 800m with a win and new personal best by over a second, ably supported by Ethan Hood who performed well over both 800m and 400m.

 

The sprint races were of a particularly high standard but Ben Reeves, Oli Mitchell, Ella Julin and debutant Lottie Sawi performed well to score good points. The relays completed the proceedings and Gloucester had lots of youngsters competing, with particularly strong runs coming from Mille Newell, Seren Jones and Catherine Thomas.

 

Team Manager Matt Holloway said afterwards "I'm so pleased that some very strong all-round performances resulted in another team first place, this sets us up nicely to win the title at the final fixture. We have developed a committed group of athletes who are driving up standards, but there are still gaps that need filling so we hope to have a huge turnout for Nottingham in August".

On Sunday the 3rd April Jeremy Mower travelled to North Inch Park in Perth, Scotland to compete in the Anglo-Celtic Plate 100km race where he made his 17th consecutive appearance for Wales: A record number of appearances for any athlete in this annual fixture. Over 70 athletes representing teams from England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales compete over the 100km course with Mower finishing 39th place out of 53 finishers in a time of 9 hours, 5 min, 45 seconds. After the race Mower said “I felt good for most of the race but was lacking strength in the second half of the race which was causing my stride length to shorten.” 

 

Young sprinters Amari Cambridge and Sienna Thomas travelled to Lee Valley to kick off their outdoor seasons at the Lee Valley April Open Meeting.

 

Amari, running in her first ever outdoor 100m and 200m events started with a personal best of 14.34s into a very strong -3.5k/s headwind to finish 5th in her heat. She then followed this up with a time of 29.91s in her 200m event to finish 6th in the race. setting two personal best times was and a great start for her first ever outdoor event, she rose to the occasion and performed admirably against girls a lot older than her.

 

Sienna also showed the benefits of her hard work over the winter months as she opened her season in style in both the 100m and 200m events. She ran a new PB of 13.89s in her heat and winning the race and followed this up with an awesome 200m race finishing in a time of 28.45s and 2nd in the race.

 

The Girl’s coach Justin said after the event “This was a great day for two young athletes who are just beginning their athletics career. They were even a bit starstruck watching Dina Asher-Smith competing in the 400m as part of her pre season preparation.”

The Gloucestershire AAA 2021 Road Race Series Award Evening on Friday 1st April offered an opportunity for a number of club athletes to celebrate their successful seasons. Jeremy Mower won two awards: A silver medal in the Open Men category with 31 points and a Gold in the M50 with a maximum possible score of 50 points.  M40 Simon Crilley also collected a silver in his age group with 20 points while M75 Dave Spackman won the gold for his age group with 46 points.

 

The Gloucester AC men dominated the team awards gaining the Men's Open team Gold with 51 points, a massive 90 points ahead of second placed Dursley RC.

 

The Men's masters team also won also gold, 137 points ahead of Almost Athletes masters.

 

On Sunday Neil Hobbs travelled to Manchester to compete in the Manchester Marathon. Following a consistent winter where Neil has featured regularly in the club cross country team he felt he was in good shape ready for the challenging 26.2 miles. Neal ran a consistent pace through the first 30K before tiring slightly over the final kilometres. Despite this he finished in a time of 3:29:18 and secured 117th position in the M55 category, his fastest time over the distance for 10 years. Afterwards Neil Said: “I enjoyed the race and it bought back some happy memories of my student days in the City.”

 

Meanwhile Alasdair Stewart took time out of his family holiday to represent Gloucester AC in the Disney 10K at Epcot, Florida as part of their “Springtime Surprise weekend”. Out of a field over 9500 athletes Alasdair finished in 2nd place in a time of 37:30. Afterwards Alasdair said “[The] time was a bit slower than I would have hoped but it was a 5am race and the humidity was still intense even at that time in the morning. [It was] still, a really fun experience all round.”

 

Ben Reeves kick-started his outdoor season with a 60m outdoor race at the Yate Open meeting on Sunday. Ben set a club age group best time of 7.90 seconds finishing 5th among a field of athletes with youth on their side. Ben's early season form augurs well with the summer season fast approaching.

 

In the "Over and Back Severn Bridge 5-mile race" on Friday evening the Jeffery family all finished in the top 10th of the field. Peter finished 28th in 34:22 - 2 minutes faster than he managed in the November race over the same course - and 2nd in the M55 category. Emma continued her season of prize-winning finishing 37th position overall with a time of 34:52 and taking first prise in the W45 category, another fastest race over the same course by 35 seconds. Their daughter Lucy was not far behind running a very even paced race for 40th place for first junior in a time of 35:16.

Midlands Men’s 12 Stage and Women’s 6 Stage Road Relays Report

 

After a gap of three years, the Midlands Men’s 12 Stage and Women’s 6 Stage Road Relays made a welcome return to the racing calendar over the weekend. Sunshine and blue skies welcomed the best athletes from across the midlands to Sutton Park in Birmingham. Not to miss out, Gloucester Athletic Club sent up 31 athletes to compete across four teams to fly the flag for the city. Men’s legs consisted of the first four athletes running 5.38 miles with the last eight legs being 3.16 miles. For the women, legs one and three were 5.38 miles with the remaining legs being 3.16 miles.

 

The strength and depth of the men’s team has become more evident over the past couple of years and Saturday justified how far they have come. Firstly, the men’s A team had their best performance in over 10 years to finish 10th in 4 hours 16 minutes and 1 second. Led off by Road Race Captain James Denne, he set the team off to a strong start, finishing in 8th place in 27.25. On leg 2, James Chantler-Mayne, making his debut for the club ran a storming leg to move the team up to 3rd place with a time of 27.17. Richard De-Camps ran a solid third leg to finish in 6th place in 29.00. After battling Covid last week, Steve Kenyon ran a brilliant leg to finish in 7th place in 29.43.

 

Pete Haynes has made huge strides over the winter and fully justified his place in the team by finishing in 10th place in 18.06. Marc Barnett ran a good leg to finish 11th in 18.11 with Andrew De-Camps holding position well to finish 11th in a time of 17.04. Harry Wells continued his comeback from injury with a personal course record in moving the team up into the top 10 with a time of 16.28. On leg 9, Finlay Hawkins continued to show his development and form from the cross country season to maintain 10th place in 18.08. The ever reliable Jeremy Mower did a good job to finish in 10th place in 18.22. Eugenio Diz had one of the best runs of his life and looked like he thoroughly enjoyed the event in maintaining 10th on leg 11 in 17.43. With the pressure of Bristol and West B team behind, James Walters knew he has to work hard to maintain a top 10 placing, but he performed admirably in maintaining position to finish in 18.34.

 

A strong B team finished 44th in 5 hours 19 minutes and 16 seconds with many of the athletes knocking on the door of the A team. Dave Gresswell took on the mantle of leading the team off and finished 55th in 33.41. Luke Hine has developed really well over the last few months and his progress was clear to see by moving the team up six places to finish 49th in 33.21. Club veteran, Lee Smith maintained position to finish 49th in 35.18. Jason Tilley showed his work on hills has made a difference by picking off two place to finish 47th in 32.54.

 

Gray Davis, running his first road relays showed his marathon training is helping his form by maintaining 47th place in 20.15. On leg 6, after a very busy morning, Peter Jeffery rushed to get to Birmingham and placed well in picking off two athletes to finish 45th in 21.41. Lee Moore made a welcome return to racing for the club in finishing 46th in 22.27. On leg 8, Neil Hobbs, who loves a relay finished 47th in 22.15. Arthur Daley had the afternoon off officiating and volunteering, enabling him to run a good leg in picking of five people to finish 42nd in 23.31. On leg 10, Matt Singer ran well to maintain 42nd position in 21.40. Over the past month, it has been noticed how Will Singer has progressed and the training is paying off by finishing 40th in 20.25. Super vet, Chris O’Carroll had the glory leg and brought the team home in 44th in 31.48.

 

The women’s A team had been depleted by injury and unavailability, but the club were still able to put out a complete team and perform well by finishing 17th in a time of 2 hours 40 minutes and 24 seconds. Hayley Winters continued her good form from the Bourton 10K to finish 16th in 33.57. Grace Hinga stepped into the team at the last minute and ran well to finish 24th in 23.15. Tracy Hinxman made her relays debut for the club and showed her class on not her favourite type of course in picking off eight athletes to finish 16th in 33.38. Nicola Waters was another athlete who stepped into the team at the last minute and she stepped up to the mark well and did the club proud by finishing 18th in 25.20. Not to be outdone, Lucy Jeffery picked off one athlete to finish 17th in 22.23 with her mum Emma Jeffery maintaining her good recent form to finish 17th in 21.51.

 

The women’s B team unfortunately consisted of only one athlete, however Trudy Wells, making her racing return to the club after two years ran admirably in finishing 63rd in 47.19.

Seven Gloucester AC athletes were selected to represent Gloucestershire in the Inter-counties Cross Country Championships on Saturday. First to race over the undulating course was Finlay Hawkins in the U20 8k race. Finley had a strong race to finish 131st among a competitive field in a time of 33:56.

 

Emma Jeffery, gained her first senior representative honours to cap an impressive cross-country season for the W45 athlete. Emma finished 241st in the senior women’s 8k race in a time of 41:27.

Barney Golledge, in his first season with the club was the youngest athlete representing Gloucester on the day. Barney ran the 3k race for the U13 team and enjoyed coming 146th in 13:17.

 

Jess Hill U17W ran a well throughout the race and showed how she has overcome her recent injury troubles to move through the field over the closing stages; producing a very fast last 300m to take 82nd place in 23:03.

 

Ruth Brook despite having lost training due to an ankle problems was second scorer in the U15G 4k running relaxed but strongly for 198th in 18:46

 

Gloucester AC had two runners in the U20W race with Millie Porter powering through the  2-lap course to place of 28th in 28:20 and Amber Spackman coping well with the firm but clogging mud to finish 110th in 33:19.

 

James Denne travelled down to Tonbridge, Kent to compete at the British Masters Cross Country Championships. Set in the grounds of Somerhill School, the undulating course offered firmer racing than recent races. James set off fast and in the front group. As the race progressed James found himself in a battle for the silver medal with Ben Cole of Tonbridge throughout the 8k course. Denne’s strength came through in the closing stages as he ran clear of Cole to take second place in the male vet 35 category, taking his first British Masters medal.

 

On Sunday Oscar Wilson and Theo Miles travelled to Sheffield to compete in the England Athletics U17 & U15 Combined Events Indoor Championships. It was the first time either of them had competed in an indoor pentathlon. Oscar Wilson is in the 2nd year of the U15’s and has started the season well. Theo Myles is in his first year of the U15 age group and has only been competing in combined events for a year. Both had respectable times in the 60m hurdles with Oscar getting 10.22s and Theo 10.37s (a new PB). They then moved straight into the long jump. Oscar produced a first-round jump of 5.16m which he was unable to better in the subsequent rounds. Theo’s second round jump of 4.37m was his best on the day. Next event for the Gloucester duo was the high jump. Theo performed well jumping 1.41m which is only 2cm short on his PB. Oscar’s first height set a new PB of 1.39m and he went on from there to set a huge PB of 1.59m. After a brief break the pair moved on to the shot put. Having moved up an age group this year Theo was throwing the 4kg shot for the first time, a 1kg increase from last year. He was able to post a new PB of 6.56m. Oscar continued his impressive day throwing a new PB of 9.20m. After a break of only 30 minutes the final event of the day was the 800m. Both struggled with pacing their race over the 4 laps however they were able to record competitive times. Theo ran 2m 49s and Oscar 2m 31s. Theo’s overall score was 1471 to rank 13th and Oscar 2118 setting a new club record in the process of ranking 8th on the day. Combined events coach Matt Holloway said afterwards “Both [of the athletes] performed well and should be proud of themselves. There is definitely a lot more to come from them this season!”

 

Ethan Hood travelled to Manchester to compete in the Manchester Indoor Open Meeting on Sunday. Ethan set a new PB finishing second in the 300m race with a time of 38.62. In his 600m race Ethan demonstrated his tactical awareness to dominate the field and win the race in a time of 1.28.86.

At the British Masters Indoor track and field championships at Lee Valley, Jo Willoughby was the sole club representative in the women’s vet 55 long jump and triple jump. Jo added more medals to her ever impressive medal hall in winning both events with a distance of 10.19 metres in the triple jump and 4.64 metres in the long jump.

 

In Manchester, three members of the combined events group took part in another Manchester Open. Josh Robinson competed in the pole vault clearing 3.20 metres for a new club record and then stopping as a precaution due to his shoulder hurting. He vaulted very well and would have gone higher. Josh also competed in the 200 metres and ran a new PB of 24.76. Kyle Neal cleared 2.70 metres in the pole vault and is technically getting better, he then ran 27.15 in the 200 metres. Bailey Ward competed in the long jump with 3.15 metres, the 60 metres with a new PB of 10.39 and shot put with a good 6.23 metres which is a PB with a new weight. Oli Mitchell who trains with the middle distance and combined events group competed in his first ever hurdles race starting from blocks for the first time too. He ran a very respectable 10.35. He then competed in the 600 metres running 1.34.55 improving his PB and club record by 2.5 seconds. He finished with the 200 metres running a new PB of 26.36.

 

Meanwhile, back in Gloucestershire, the final Gloucestershire Cross Country League fixture of the season saw a condensed programme of races, that seemed to be well received by most competitors, and certainly meant a shorter day for the marshals and officials who without these events could not take place. It was also a nice bright, sunny day, with a chilly breeze but once warmed up, not a bad day for racing. Despite a week of rain, the ground was actually fairly dry, and not a lot of mud.

 

The racing started with the under 11 boys racing over 2km with Gloucester’s Jacob Knowles clocking 9.26, in 28th place. Followed by the under 13 boys over 3.2km with Beau Gwilliam finishing 21st. The under 15 girls and boys combined race was over 4.8km. Anthony Cruise finished a creditable 6th in 19.45, with Alice Stalberg 7th under 15 girl in 22.55.

 

There was a big field of runners for the combined under 20, senior, and masters ladies, which also included the under 17 men. In fact it was a close race near the front by two Gloucester athletes, in different categories. Charlie Coles just pipped a fast finishing Millie Porter by just 1 second. Millie was awarded a Silver Medal in the race series. Charlie finished 3rd in the under 17 men’s, and Millie finishing 3rd in the under 20 ladies, in a time of 29.03, over the 6.4km course. Only a couple of minutes further back was Emma Jeffery who had a fantastic run to easily win the ladies vet 45 race, and a gold medal in the race series. Keira Barry finished 2nd in the under 17 ladies race in 32.53 and picked up a bronze medal in the race series. Lucy Jeffery was 6th in the under20 ladies, with Amber Spackman picking up 7th in the same category.

 

Final race of the day was four full laps of the course, a distance of 8.6km. Featuring under 20 men, senior men, and masters men, Gloucester AC had a team of four with covered all bases. First back for the club, in 14th place overall, and second in his age group was under 20 Finlay Hawkins. A strong season for Finlay who won a bronze medal in the race series. Next two back for the club, and on their 4th consecutive weekend of cross country races was James Walters in 25th, and 14th Senior Man, followed in 3rd vet 55, and 46th overall in the race, Dave Gresswell. 11th in the vet 55 category, finishing 65th overall, with a storming sprint finish was Peter Jeffery.

 

Club Committee Cross Country Representative, Dave Gresswell, said it was generally a great day out, with some good runs, and nice to see some individual race series medals. That said, would be nice to see a few more club members do this league next season, because as a club we do have the potential to win more in the league. In addition, the Glos AAA League, which is led by our own Arthur Daley, worked hard this post Covid season to get the races on. The league certainly provided some testing courses, in Cirencester, short course in Stroud, the classic Cheltenham course, and a sunny but hilly Old Down.

 

Finally, down in Seaton, Devon, Steve Kenyon and Jason Tilley took part in The Grizzly, a multi-terrain race across the glorious East Devon coastline and countryside. With support from friends, family and fellow club members, both Steve and Jason ran well over a challenging terrain. Steve finished 14th in 2 hours 36 minutes and 14 seconds with Jason 79th in 3 hours 5 minutes and 45 seconds. Jason described the race afterward as 15 miles of very tough cross country, followed by 5 miles of pebbles, knees deep mud, river crossing and cliff climbs. A great event though and very well organised with a fire engine hose down at the end.

After the recent storms and heavy rain, it was a welcome relief on Saturday, and sunshine and blue sky welcomed thousands of athletes to Parliament Hill in London, to take part in the annual English National Cross Country Championships. This prestigious event sees runners from athletic clubs from across the country take part in one of the toughest races of the season.

 

Not to miss out, Gloucester AC sent up a small, select, group of runners to fly the flag for the city.

First onto the extremely muddy, and hilly course, in the Senior Ladies race was Briony Bishop, who raced well over the 8km course to finish a very respectable 259th out of 1,010 finishers, in 37mins 57secs.

 

Next up, and also from the Paul de-Camps coached group, was Marc Barnett, who from a slightly smaller field of runners, managed 128th place in a. Time of 39mins 25seconds.

 

 The final race of the day, saw over 2,000 Senior men, line up for 3 laps round the Parliament Hill course, a total of 12km of mud, hills and sweat.

 

As with all the other races the first 300m is uphill, and the sight of that many men charging up the hill, to try and negotiate the first course pinch point is a sight to behold, and slightly scary if you are part of it!

 

The Gloucester AC charge was led by Andrew de-Camps who has enjoyed a resurgence this season with some consistent training bearing fruit. Andre finishes in 467th place in a time of 52 mins 16 seconds. In a field of the best runners in the country a top 500 is an impressive achievement.

Next back was James Walters in 878th place in a time of 57 mins 48 seconds. James said he found the course tough, and the thick mud particularly heavy going. But this was Walters third cross country race in as many weeks, and to get round this course in under the hour shows his strength in this discipline.

 

Missing out on the hour mark, in a time of 1 hr 3 mins and 43 seconds, was Dave Gresswell. Again, this was also three in a row for Gresswell, who also always finds the deep mud hard going. That said there were a few drier sections, which Gresswell said he enjoyed and could make some time and places back. He finished in 1,296th place.

 

Meanwhile. Neil Hobbs was taking part in his first ‘National’, and although finding it tough, also enjoying it. Hobbs has been a regular member of the club’s cross country team this season, and did not want to miss out on this one. Finishing 1,862nd in a time of 1 hr 14 mins 45 secs.

 

At the other end of the experience scale is veteran club athlete Chris O’Carroll, taking part in what we believe was around his 53rd English National event!

 

After a fall halfway, which he blames on the leaders lapping him, and throwing him head first into the mud and bramble bush, he defiantly battled on and was not the last finisher. He finished 2,084th out of 2,087 finishers in a time of 1 hr 47 mins.

 

Sunday saw the annual Highbridge Jewellers’ Bourton-on-the-Water 10k. The race has a reputation for being a fast course and the addition of its status as a qualification race for the English master’s international selection attracted a strong field. Conditions on the morning were pleasant and clear. The wind over the first half of the course made it difficult to secure the fastest times however the city athletes were not deterred. The race was won by Gloucester AC’s James Denne who, having already secured his selection for the England team could really enjoy his recent form and set out to make the race difficult for his peers right from the gun. James led the whole course to take the win in a time of 31:14, just 2 seconds short of his pb and an impressive 17 seconds clear of his nearest rival. James said afterwards that he really enjoyed the atmosphere and although it was windy and tough going over the first part the support at the end of the course inspired him to drive himself on and take the win.

 

Next home for Gloucester was Steve Kenyon in 8th place with a time of 33:11, Kenyon ran a smart race adopting a position in the second group on the road through the windy first half before pressing the pace in the latter stages to place 8th and secure his fastest finish over the distance. Steve Millward followed closely on Kenyon’s heels in a time of 33:29, Millward said afterwards that he hadn’t felt at his usual best so was happy to take 15th position and more importantly 2nd in his age group with England selection in mind. 

 

Eugenio Diz was the next club athlete in an impressive 36:32 running his first 10k in club colours having first cycled the 25 miles to Bourton-on-the-water!

 

Next home was the ever-reliable Jeremy Mower in a new age group club record of 37:07 and 2nd place in the M55 category. Jason Tilley ran a solid race spurred on by the footsteps of his Partner Tracy Hinxman who worked hard to catch him with 2k to go. Tilley’s strength showed in the closing km as he pulled away to finishing 32:43 with Hinxman finishing 1st in the L45 category and finishing 4th woman overall in 37:53. Haley winters had an encouraging run in her first race of the year to finish 9th woman and 4th in the L40 category in a time of 38.48. Simon Meadows managed an impressive 40:00 finish showing the benefit of some consistent training through the winter months. Simon was closely followed by a rejuvenated Matt Powell finishing in 40:12. Evergreen Arthur Daley showed many a younger athlete his heels as he finished in 44:15 to win the M70 category. Chris Davis ran hard to finish in 45:05. Anna Midgeley struggled on the day but battled on to finish in 46:44 and Emma Stalberg in only her 3rd race in club colours managed an impressive 56:33. Gloucester AC success throughout the race was shown as club athletes won the overall and men’s and women’s team prizes as well as two age category wins pointing towards an exciting spring for the city club.

Gloucester AC Senior Men’s Cross Country team travelled to Leamington on Saturday knowing that another strong performance was needed, to secure a division one place in next seasons Birmingham League. After a season long fight with Leamington AC to stay out of the relegation zone, the Gloucester men also knew that despite a 50 point cushion, it was still all to play for, with Leamington having home advantage on a new look Newbold Comyn course.

Despite Storm Eunice the day before, and dreadful weather on the morning of the race, the event still went ahead, the very inclement weather just adding something a little extra, to an already testing course. Deep mud, very slippery steep descent, tough uphill climb, several ditch jumps, all to be navigated 3 times, on a 10km long course. It was a day for long spikes, and a positive attitude!

In his final fixture as Club XC Captain, Steve Millward managed to pull together an A & B team, with the qualities needed to take on the task. This despite some quality athletes, that for various reasons (injury etc) not available for selection. And after managing to secure (just!) the club tent is storm force winds, the team stripped down to racing kit, and made for the start line, just as a chink in the clouds allowed sunbeams to light the opening leg of the course for all the runners. The assembled spiked clad warriors, hoped that maybe mother nature would at least be a little kinder to them for the next 50 mins. They were wrong of course!

 

So after a few words from the race referee, and fist bumps with fellow competitors on the start line, they were off.

 

After the opening leg, that led to the start of the first full leg, which is always a fight for initial position, things settled down a little, with Richard de-Camps, as expected leading the charge for the Gloucester A team. Richard had been one of the leading scorers at all of the previous fixtures, and as always, put in a strong gutsy performance to finish 20th overall in a time of 37mins 26secs

Just over a minute behind in 38mins 37secs, was club captain, Steve Millward. Steve who had been suffering with a cold during the week, was determined to put in a strong personal performance, and said afterwards that despite the tough conditions, he loved the course. With a 39th position placing, against some very good athletes, he clearly did love it.

 

Next back, just outside the top 50, in 55th position, was the ever improving Junior Male, Marc Barnett in a time of 39mins 10secs. In his first full season of XC with Gloucester, and in the Paul de-Camps coached group, Marc has made significant progress over the winter months, and been a key part in the clubs cross country campaign.

 

Next back, and not to be outdone by his brother, and coach dad, was Andrew de-Camps in 39mins 54secs in 72nd place, and 4th scorer for the A team. As ever, great to see Andrew running so well again in recent times, after several years with injuries.

 

Speaking of injuries, Harry Wells, who has also been plagued of late with problems, made a very welcome, and timely return to the team on Saturday. Having failed to get out of London village to the city lights of Gloucester on Friday, due to the storm, Harry made a great effort to get a train direct to Leamington, and his mum sweet talked the coach driver to pick him up at the station on our way to the course. Good ‘Team Wells’ work! And although not at his best, Harry still put in a cracking effort to finish 5th scorer for the team in 86th place (40mins 39secs), even though the last lap must have been a struggle as lack of training started to catch up with him.

Final A-team scorer, and nipping into the top 100, in 97th place, was James Walters. Again, James has run all four fixtures and been either leading B team, or knocking on the A team door at every fixture. What’s more, Mr Reliable, seems to be getting ever more reliable, as he seems to be getting stronger and faster every fixture. This could be down to his amazing baking skills, as demonstrated with track night savouries, and post race cake on the coach.

 

And so to the B-team, with first back in 112th another Junior man, Finlay Hawkins, from the Arthur Daley coached group. Arthur travelled up to Leamington to support, and see is young charge, put in an other great performance, finishing in 41mins 56secs, which was less than 45 seconds behind James Walters, and an A-team scoring position. Like Marc, Finlay is definitely key to the future of Gloucester AC cross country team success. Finlay said afterwards that he also enjoyed the course, and after some adjustments to his pre-race routine felt strong.

 

Next two back were Jason Tilley and Luke Hine, in 140th & 141st. A cracking run by both, with Tilley just pipping Hine to the line by 9 seconds. Again, both Jason and Luke has been key to the clubs league campaign this season, providing valuable back up to the A-team, and helping push our competitors placings further down the table.

 

4th B-team scorer was Lee Smith, who was back after missing the previous fixture, but it transpired in sparkling form. Lee enjoyed a race long battle with a Cheltenham Harriers athlete, which certainly helped push him around to a great time of 46mins 44secs and a 168th finish position.

Less than a minute behind Smith, but never quite able to close the gap, mainly because he struggled to stay upright on the terrifying slippery downhill section, was club committee cross country representative, V55, stalwart, Dave Gresswell. Finishing in 174th position, Gresswell enjoyed the tough course, but conditions were not those in which he naturally thrives, so he was slightly disappointed that he could not at least stay with the pace of Smith in front.

 

Completing the B-team scoring was Neil Hobbs. Neil only started XC racing this season, so it has been a journey of discovery for him, taking him to muddy fields, hills, ditches and wasteland, that he had never before experienced. Always enthusiastic, and wanting to try his best for the club, it is only fitting that Neil with his trademark last 400m sprint, made the B-team scoring in this final fixture, finishing 207th in a time of 53mins 56secs.

 

And last, but by no means least, the final club finisher, not far behind Hobbs, in 209th position was Martin Brook in a time of 54mins 17secs. Within the last few days, Martin had heard the rallying cry from captain Millward, of all hands to the pump, and made the effort to turn out for the club, and put his heart and sole into racing in the tough conditions. That’s said, I understand, he actually really enjoyed it.

 

So, after such a hard season, and four tough fixtures, did the club survive in Division One. Hell Yeah! Of course they did! With an increased points margin over the relegation zone.

They also finished 6th overall in the B-team competition.

After several promotions, and then relegation straight back to division 2 in recent years, the delight on Capt. Millwards face, and our club Chairman (and chief tent carrier), Aaron Bennett was clear to see.

Fantastic result, which means that next season, Gloucester AC will be the only Gloucestershire club to be competing in the top tier of this prestigious league.

 

There will be work now to build on this success, and push towards a mid-table finish in the seasons to come, but for now, we celebrate a fantastic result.

 

Well done to all those that raced in one or all of the fixtures, the coaches, helpers, and supporters.

Last weekend saw Gloucester Athletic Club athletes spread across the country competing in various competitions on the track, road and cross country.

 

James Denne and Gemma Collier travelled to South West London to compete in the Valentine’s 10K which also incorporated England Masters qualification). The course contained a lot of undulations especially in the second half. James led the field of 550 away in windy conditions and soon formed a gap with the help of eventual winner Tom Austin from Poole AC. James managed to maintain second place through to the finish and also first vet 35 athlete in 31.18. Gemma ran a strong race to finish first female vet 35 and fourth overall in 37.14.

 

Two young athletes, Ella Edwards and Oscar Wilson competed at the England Athletics U20/U17/U15 Indoor Championships at the EIS in Sheffield on Saturday. For Ella, it was first National Indoor Championships and she started the day by coming third in the 60m heats with a time of 7.89, which was enough to take her into the semi finals. In the semi finals she handled herself well by coming fourth with a time of 7.84. This puts her overall 12th out of 34 other athletes who competed on the day.

 

Oscar Wilson who trains in combined events has had some good performances indoors with PB’s in every event so far this season. In Sheffield he ran only his second ever 60m race and finished 6th in his heat with a new personal best of 8.01. Although he didn’t qualify for the semi-finals, Oscar was really pleased with his time and looking forward to returning to Sheffield in March for the Combined Events Indoor Championships. Oscar’s coach, Matt Holloway was quoted saying “It’s going to be a good season for Oscar and I’m excited to see how he continues to progress”.

 

Amari Cambridge headed to London to compete in the Sutcliffe Indoor 60s. This was her first ever indoor event for the club and she went on to take the under 13 club record (set back in 2000) with a time of 8.59s in her first race and finishing first. She had another race on the day and went into a mixture age group due to the times she ran and it was a huge challenge for her. She took it head on and came through with a time of 8.66 and coming third in the final race of the day.

 

Meanwhile, Gloucester AC endurance athletes lived up to their name on Sunday racing the second Gloucestershire CC League in diving rain and gusting gale force wind in Pitville Park Cheltenham.

With the young athletes squad growing almost every week many athletes ran their first or second cross country race with U11 girls first timers Phoebe Golleridge coming 11th in 11:19 and Eve Millward 30th in 13:58 for the 2.2k course. New runners are welcome to join.

 

Barney Golleridge ran a well paced race to move through the U13 Boys field to finish in 7th in 11:14 followed by first timer Logan Griffths with 23rd in 15:09. Ruth Brook, just recovered from Covid ran a good first lap but tired over the last 2k with 9th in 25:20. Lydia Wang finished very strongly in 15th place with 26:36. Anthony Cruise - in his second race- showed good pacing and again moved though the field in the U15 Boys 4.8k race to finish in 20:33 for 10th place.

 

The next race held a range of Gloucester AC runners with U17, Senior women and older men competing over 6.4k alongside each other. Charlie Coles was the first Gloucester finisher in 15th place with 29:29 for 7th U17M, Millie Porter was 3rd U20W in 30:16 (28th) Millie Newell ran fluently alongside Seren Jones despite the cold temperature to finish 28th in 31:24 for 3rd U17W just ahead of team mate Seren in 31:29. Rowan Sheard  (U17M) in his first cross country race ran strongly for 36th place in 37:24.

 

Kim Millward (W40) returned after a two year absence to lead the senior womens and veterans team home in 32:43 for 42 place. The most improved athlete of the season, Emma Jeffery finished strongly in 32:48 for 44th place and just in front of U17 Keira Barry; the two had been passing each other throughout the race. Lucy Jeffery, U20 W and Amber Spackman completed the U20W winning team in 45th and 46th places in 34:32 and 34:47.

 

Next to finish was the oldest Gloucester competitor in the meeting and coach for many of the athletes Arthur Daley for 2nd M70 in 81st place with 38:08 nearly being caught by Charlotte Hall in 38:16 for 82nd. Emma Stalberg in her first race and using this as race preparation for the Cardiff Half Marathon finished, pleased with her pace in 97th with 41:40.

 

With most of the senior and veteran men planning on preparing for next week’s Birmingham Cross Country League promotion battle Gloucester did not finish a team in its local league. James Walters was first back over the 3 lap course in 28th with 40:50. Finlay Hawkins was second home in 43rd (42:14) and cross country rep and prolific racer Dave Gresswell 75th (45:47). Coach Martin Brook finished 112th in 53:20 and Chris Davies racing cross country for the first time finished in 116th (54:19).

Last weekend saw several Gloucester Athletic Club members competitions in London, Sale and Staverton.

 

On Saturday, Ella Grace Edwards raced in London at Lee Valley as part of the London Indoor Games. She competed in the 60 metres in the u17 age group and opened up her first race of the day with 7.84 and finishing 4th out of 7 which improves her personal best from 7.87. This time also took the under 17 60m club record from Catherine Hardy of 7.85. This also qualified her for a second race 60m race of the day where she stormed to another personal best and beating her newly set record. She finished 5th her race with a time of 7.79.

 

On Sunday, three members of the combined events group and one member of the middle distance group went to Manchester to compete in the Sale Indoor Meet. Josh Robinson competed in the 60 metres hurdles with a time of 9.19, marginally down on his recent personal best. He then achieved a personal best of 5.70m in the long jump and 7.72 in the 60 metres. Kyle Neal competed in his first indoor hurdles race and achieved a personal best of 10.57, he jumped 4.94m in the long jump and ran a personal best of 1.34 in the 600 metres. Oscar Wilson ran his first indoor 60 metres hurdles and got a personal best and an under 15 club record of 10.17, he then achieved personal bests in both the shot put with 8.27 metres and 600 metres with 1.41. Oli Mitchell ran the 600 metres with a personal best and under 17 club record of 1.37.

 

Meanwhile over at Staverton, it was another cold but bright morning for this years CLC Striders Staverton 10 mile race. A two loop course starting and finishing at the airport Aviator Pub. An undulating route road race, with a small section each loop on a farm track, which this year due to the cold night, was nicely firm underfoot.

 

Despite the cold conditions, the pace at the front of the race was hot enough, but Steve Kenyon, still managed to turn in a 3rd place finish in 54.39, only a week after his 2nd place at the Linda Franks 5 mile. Next home, and again still feeling the effects of racing a 10k the previous Sunday was Dave Gresswell. Finishing first vet 50 in 1.03.05, and also in a time that gives him another club vet 55 record.

 

Simon Meadows ran a solid race, and continues to improve his form in finishing 38th in 1.06.34. Anna Midgley, struggling with hamstring problems, still managed to turn in a personal best in 1.11.21 and 2ndvet 35, on very limited training. That said she knows there is more to come, and just needs to get back to some regular training again.

 

Clive Poole ran a personal best by over 6 minutes in finishing 68th in 1.12.26. Clive, has certainly been training and racing hard over the last 12 months, and is now putting in some very respectable times from 10k to the marathon. Nick Bishop had a strong run as well in finishing 70th in 1.12.49, although he did admit that road races were not his favourite, and would have preferred it being twice as long and off road. Katie Davenport back in a Gloucester AC vest which was great to see, finished 5th senior lady in 1.15.23.

Last weekend saw Gloucester Athletic Club athletes spread across the country competing in various competitions on the track and on road with lots of personal bests and club records set.

 

Sunday saw 11 members of the club compete at the Linda Franks 5 Mile Road Race. Set on a fast two-loop circuit on largely quiet residential roads and hosted by Almost Athletes, the race commemorates the memory of a popular (and one of the original) members of the club who passed away suddenly many years ago. The highlight of the event was seeing three new club records set, the women winning the team prize and lots of personal bests. In the ladies competition, Gemma Collier won in a new club vet 35 record and personal best time of 29.12. Tracy Hinxman continued her comeback from injury with a sub 30 minute clocking to finish second in 29.54 and broke the club vet 45 record. Emma Jeffery completed the team with a personal best to finish second vet 45 in 33.56.

 

In the men’s competition, James Denne was first across the line in a new personal best time of 24.59 and a club vet 35 record. Steve Kenyon tracked James for the first couple of miles which helped him break his personal best, finishing second in 26.30 with Eugenio Diz also beating his personal best to finish 10th in 28.34. Jason Tilley won the vet 50 category finishing 15th in 29.29, Simon Meadows finished 27th in 31.03 and Gray Davis was 41st in 32.37. Peter Jeffery broke his personal best to finish 51st in 33.56 with Chris Davis 71st in 35.11.

 

 Jeremy Mower competed at the Flitchway 12 hour race which he was using to try and achieve a qualification standard for Spartathlon or the Gloucester Elite 24 Hour Track Race. To achieve this standard, runners had to complete 120 kilometres within the 12 hours. Jeremy placed 6th out of the 19 athletes and was 7 minutes within the standard.

 

Meanwhile two club members, Josh Collenette and Dave Gresswell competed at the Speedway 10K in Chepstow. The event is known for its fast course and at this weekend’s event there was no wind, but it was chilly. Josh last did a 10k two years ago but at this race he improved his time by over 3 minutes to finish in 166th place in 35.43. Josh was a bit isolated during the race, but ran very strongly which looks very promising with more to come. Dave recorded his fastest time since 2015, and a new club vet 55 record to finish in 200th place in 37.23.

 

Four athletes travelled down to Cardiff to compete at the Cardiff Met GP 2 New Year Non-Thomas Open. In the 60 metres for women, Ella Julin equalled her personal best finishing eighth in the second heat in a time of 8.27. Kirstie and Kelly Constable competed in the third heat with Kirstie finishing second with a time of 8.39 and Kelly fourth in 8.57. In the men’s 60 meters, Ben Reeves ran a new personal best of 7.81and club vet 40 record to finish fifth in his heat. Meanwhile Tina Wickens travelled to Lee Valley in London to compete at the London Indoor Games. Competing over 400 metres, Tina finished third in her heat with a time of 1.10.29.

Gloucester Athletic Club enjoyed a successful day out at the Gloucestershire Cross-Country Championships at the Cotswold Farm Park on Saturday, winning individual and team medals across a wide range of age groups.

 

The course was already soft and wet underfoot and the heavy rain on the morning of the event made conditions particularly challenging for all competitors, but Ben Robinson made light of these as he raced to a convincing win in the senior men’s race. The reigning Bristol-bound British, European and World Cani-Cross champion was rarely challenged as he stormed to victory by nearly 30 seconds to claim his first senior county cross-country title and lead his team to the bronze medal in the team competition.

 

Finlay Hawkins has made a big breakthrough this winter and in this, his first senior championship, he ran strongly to place 20th overall and second in the MU20 category. James Walters was next home, just holding off Jeremy Mower by four seconds as the two placed 35th and 36th respectively.

Mower was further rewarded when he also took first place in the M55 age group. Dave Gresswell was another runner to claim two medals as he also took the bronze medal in the M55 age group, placing 54th overall. Clive Poole completed the team, placing 72nd overall. Behind the scoring six, Peter Jeffery placed 74th and Neil Hobbs 76th.

 

The ladies race also brought success for the city club. Millie Porter led the senior team to the silver medal as she held off team-mate Tilly Ashley as the two placed 22nd and 23rd overall, and 4th and 5th in the LU20 category. Millie Newell placed 25th overall and fourth in the LU17 age group. Seren Jones placed 33rd just ahead of Emma Jeffery who completed the senior team when placing 34th and first LV45. Amber Spackman completed the victorious U20 team, placing 51st overall. Charlotte Hall placed 68th overall.

 

In the MU17 race, Charles Worsfold placed 5th and Charlie Coles 6th.

 

Further medals came Gloucester’s way in the U15 Girls race where Ruth Brook took an excellent individual silver medal. Lydia Wang placed 17th and Aliya Hankins 20th overall.

 

The U13 Boys race saw Barney Golledge storm to victory for his first County title, with Beau Gwilliam and Oliver Hart coming home in 16th and 18th places to complete an encouraging start to the new year for the Club.

 

Next Saturday sees the Club’s senior men in action in round three of this season’s Birmingham Cross-Country League at Warley Woods. The team currently lies in 14th place of the 16 teams but with the Leamington team just five points ahead of them, captain Steve Millward will be hoping for a strong performance from his team in their effort to haul themselves out of the relegation zone.