The North of England Cross Country Championships took place on 27th January at Harewood House in Leeds. The course was a true test of endurance with plenty of hills, mud and a tough crosswind to make things even harder!
The first race of the day started at 11 am with the under 17 women over a distance of 5.5K. We had one ECH representative with Abby O’Neil having a strong run to finish in 50th place overall with a time of 24.49. The junior women’s race was next over a 6K distance, again we had one representative in Lily McGuinness who had a good run to finish in 33rd place in 27.20. The under 13 girls were next with five ECH athletes taking part over the 3K distance. The team finished 22nd overall with great performances from Libby Kilbourne 42nd (12.39), Matilda Byrnes 60th (12.49), Imogen Gush 190th (14.46), Leigha Manser 218th (15.32) and Ellen Lees-Hill 227th (16.08). East Cheshire’s highest place finish of the day came in the under 17 men’s race with Keenan Owen having a fantastic run to finish in 13th place overall completing the 6K distance in 21.23. The under 13 boys raced over 3K and were our highest team place of the day in 17th overall with good performances from Luke Carrington 85th (12.20), James Harney 97th (12.30), James McGraw 120th (12.48), Patrick Lee 146th (13.03), Kane Grant 152nd (13.06) and Zach Conboy 217th (14.48).
The under 15 girls race was next over a distance of 4K. We had two representatives with Megan Lewis 93rd in 18.40 and Darcy Winrow 142nd in 20.10 both having good runs. The under 15 boys race was next over the same distance as the girls with Patrick McGuinness working hard to come home in a solid 186th place in 19.07. The junior men were next on over 8K with Luke Piper our only ECH athlete having a great run to come home in 35th place with a time of 30.44. The senior women’s event was the penultimate race of the day again over 8K with two ECH athletes taking to the tough course with Hayley Simpson first back in 87th in 37.21 closely followed by Bethany McManus in 123rd with a time of 38.59. The senior men’s race over 12k (2 extra large laps!) was the final race of the day at 3.05pm. The team finished a creditable 27th overall with seven ECH runners taking to the course. First home having a great run was Tom McGuinness making the top 50 in 49th place in 43.09. Other good performances came from Joe Hudak 160th (47.24), Gavin Browne 188th (47.57), Tim Greenald 277th (50.41), Gary Matthews 420th (54.19), Martin Lewis 733rd (1.11.23) and Anthony McGuinness 735th (1.11.29).
A big well done to all who took part in tough conditions! Follow the link below for full results, see picture inset – having fun putting the tent away and more pictures below of ECH athletes.
