English Schools Cross Country Championships 2018

The final and most prestigous junior cross country race of the season was held in the magnificent setting of Temple Newsam Park in Leeds on 17th March 2018.

Each year, approximately 8,000 young people acrosss England in each race category commence the journey of qualifying for this race by competing at District level. From there, through County Championships and then Regional Championships, the top 350, the cream of England’s young athletes have the privelage of competing at this event in eight man county teams.

Louth AC were very proud to have five of their juniors selected to represent Lincolnshire for the 2018 event. For all five, this was the first time they had made it all the way through the selection process.

In the Junior Boys race (Years 8 & 9) Matthew Spendlove ran a spirited race completing the course in 17min 17 sec finishing in 327 place from 347 finishers. In the Junior girls race, Evie Brooks completed a strong winter season with another determined run against older girls crossing the line in 241 place out of a field of 342 finishers in a time of 13min 19 secs

The Intermediate boys race (Years 10 & 11) included the inexperienced Lloyd Buck, a magnificent achievement to reach this level in his first full athletics season. Lloyd came home in 306th from 339 finishers in a time of 21min 29secs.

In the Intermediate Girls race, the Lincolnshire team had two Louth AC members. Both Hannah Reid and Issy Dhami have had outstanding winters and thoroughly deserved their places in the team, running as fourth and fifth points counters.  Both girls got off to very strong starts, however disaster struck when Hannah was tripped and spiked on the first corner and fell to the ground, as she tried to rise she was spiked for a second time and pushed to the ground once again.  When she did scramble back to her feet, she had lost over 100 places as the incident was so close to the start and the field of over 350 were tightly packed.  Hannah however battled her way through the field to eventually finish in 234th place, the highest position achieved by the Louth athletes.  She was closely followed by Issy in 264th place from 339 finishers. The girls times were 16min 32 secs and 16min 49secs respectively. Both of the girls are year 10, so will still be competing in this age group next year when they will be stronger and faster and will be hoping to move up the rankings.

If the exploits of our juniors have inspired you and you are interested in finding out more about athletics, whether it be cross country, road running or track and field and you are aged 8 or older, please visit our website at www.louth-ac.org.uk to find out more. Our club caters for all ages and abilities, from youngsters who want to give it a try, to adults who want to get fit and enjoy the benefits which regular exercise brings.  We are a small friendly club and welcome new members.  Come along and enjoy a free trial period and find out how much fun it is.