Louth AC had five athletes representing Lincolnshire at the CAU Inter Counties Cross Country Championships which took place at Loughborough on Saturday 10th March.

This competition brings together the top cross country athletes in the UK, with teams travelling from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to compete against all the English Counties. With only eight athletes from every county invited to compete in each race, the club are very proud to have five of their young athletes compete in this prestigious competition. They are rewarded with County badges to recognise their achievements.

Although the weather was fine, conditions underfoot were appalling. The recent snow and rain had reduced the course to a sea of deep mud, which resulted in slower than normal times, a number of retirements and numerous lost shoes !!.

All five of our athletes battled through the mud to complete the course which was a real credit to their strength and determination. In the U15 boy’s race, there were 303 finishers over the gruelling 4.5K course. Lucas George-Jones came home in 261st place followed by Caleb Stephenson in 280th and Matthew Spendlove in 285th position.

In the U15 Girl’s competition run over 4K, the leg sapping mud forced a number of retirals, however 304 girls completed the course. Both of our girls performed strongly, with Hannah Reid finishing in 232nd and Issy Dhami coming home in 248th.

The final race of the season will see a number of the club juniors capping a highly successful winter by competing at the English Schools Cross Country Championships on the 17th March.