Week Ending - 2020/01/26

BENNETT STEPS INTO THE CAPTAIN’S SHOES AT GRACE DIEU XC

The fourth instalment of the season’s cross-country league took place on Sunday with Badgers men’s side locked in a tight three-way battle at the top of division one as they aim to become three-time champions in the Derby Runner League. Simon Currier’s brave charges were without some of their usual front-liners with Danny Warren, Aaron Chetwynd and Sam Starkey all missing and speedster Chris Baxter having moved clubs to be closer to home. Things nearly took another turn for the worst when the talismanic Ryan Bennett arrived at the venue minus his trainers! Thankfully, skipper Currier selflessly lent his pair to the 27-year-old numbskull, effectively sacrificing his own chances of race success for the greater good of the team as Bennett flew round, even establishing a lead of the race at the halfway point. With a big lead assumed, the front two duked it out over the second lap of the 5-mile course and pushed each other almost too much as third placed Chris Nicoll nearly joined the party towards the end. As it materialised, Shelton Striders Kenny Malton took the win by a margin of around 15 seconds with brave Bennett bagging a superb second place overall on a damp and grisly morning.

Dave McGowan quietly battled hard and took a fantastic 7th spot overall with another quality run, setting the team up nicely for a good result. When it comes to key men, few are more key than Neil Russell. The Bulkington-based Badger bombed round in energetic fashion helping himself to a classy 12th spot in a strong field. Steady veterans Chris Horton and Gordy Smith finished together in 20th and 21st place as they both look to regain their best form after enforced absences. Former skipper Adi Payne has been running some of his best races of late and he continued his good form with a 27th place showing here. The hard-hitting Mark Cox, buoyed by the super work of his daughter Mia in the preceding juniors race, took a magnificent 39th place and when Neil Clemons crossed in 49th place, the top eight scorers had all made the top 50, a terrific effort. Vice-captain Mark Repton put in a heroic shift to finish in 52nd spot while Cameron Barnes and key man Glyn Broadhurst also smashed their way into the top 100.

It didn’t end there though as Badgers poured through the line as the heavens opened. Veterans Stefan Martin and Dave Jenkinson put in strong performances with young Matt Jackson bravely soldiering on despite battling his asthma halfway round. Rob Boland has made race podiums before in his esteemed running career, despite it being his fourth sport. Today he was helping usher his team-mates through like a Carlton Palmer style midfield general. Skipper Currier is known by his teammates as Captain Courage and today he was the very epitome of the noun. Running in effectively a pair of slippers, the 40-year-old Hartshill man led by example as he put the team’s needs above his own yet still put in a stunning run of real grit. Father and son duo Jack & Mark Reynolds, the dependable Rob Crow, pacy Paul Grubb and Eamon Thawley all gave their best, especially at the tricky finish while birthday boy Stu Walton got back in time to celebrate his children’s excellent efforts in the juniors race as both Merryn and Dexter fared well in their categories.

The ladies side were also missing some of their speedsters as Steph Norman, Esther Holyoak and Anna Dawe were all absent amongst others. However, the club’s strength in depth paid dividends as there was no shortage of willing women wanting to step up to the plate. The ever-reliable Cheryl Dewis survived a nasty fall on one of the four stream crossings but gathered herself to get back in a gutsy team-leading 30th place. Sharon Jackson continues her current purple patch with yet another outstanding run. The Nuneaton based star took 72nd place with the up and coming Lil Souter and a resurgent Nicki Bowman following through a few places behind. Newcomer Hannah Craig is running really well right now and she was rewarded with a place just outside the top 100 here today ahead of the experienced Pip Weston who continues to run superbly despite being one of the more senior members of the side. Mandi Stain put in a tremendous effort in testing conditions while fellow veterans, Gail Gunn, Lisa Barnes and Teresa Satchell all would have shown a clean pair of heels were it not so horrifically muddy underfoot!

Parkrun saw the usual plethora of Badgers out in action on Saturday morn, no more so than at Kingsbury Water Park where Esther Holyoak enjoyed the highest positional finish as she romped home as 5th female (24:00). Mark Repton was 6th male in a hotly contested event which saw the fleet-footed Tim Gould, Matt Green, Lee Millership and Carl Holyoak all going well. Wayne Repton fared well as did ladies duo Rachael Shelton and Lil Souter. Other runners included Mark Reynolds, Paul Wallace, Amanda Gould, Matt Heap, brainbox Liz Peel, Debbie Wilson, Jill Miller and Teresa Satchell.

Over at Conkers, Graham Engley broke 20 minutes by a couple of seconds but only managed to finish 22nd due to a stellar cast of local racing royalty all appearing at the South Derbyshire venue. Alex & Dug Ladkin were also in action alongside Jason Husselbee-Orwin, Karen Missen, Alan Argyle and Paul Restall. Bedworth saw Gav and Sav leading the way as Carl Savage and Gavin Crockwell both enjoyed the three lapper round the Miners Welfare Park as did Richard Hamblett and Vicki Fowler. Glyn Broadhurst was in good form over at Oaklands as the veteran star took 7th place in a rapid 18:58, despite moaning about how tired his legs were after another 90+ mile week. David Craig, Nicki Bowman, Helena Rean, Dave Bailey and Yvonne Faulkner were also racing round. Babbs Mill saw an influx of Badgers this week as Bill Gutheridge, Colin Lees, Dean Bowd, Andy Smith, Dave Earp, Holly McClay and Anne-Marie Matthews all turned out while the spritely Jenna Davies flew the flag singlehandedly at Dishley parkrun.

Sam Starkey was the highest placed finisher of the week as he took third at a demanding Fell Foot parkrun in the Lake District in a quality time of 19:20. Sarah Lea made a welcome return to action at Brueton Park with Darryl Johnson (Rosliston), Charlotte Phillips (Leamington) and the trio of Jared Karim, John Hanson and Richard Hill (Boston) all getting about on a busy Saturday morning for the club. Finally, Chasewater parkrun welcomed a number of Badgers led by the pretty princess of pace Karen Thompson, who charged round in good time yet again. John Devenney, Merv Jones and Leesa Dennis enjoyed another good outing as did Chris Upton. Andi Venney was also back in the thick of things as her journey back to form continues to make good progress.