BAC Juniors shine in the sun at UK Inter-Counties XC Championships
The six BAC Juniors selected to run for Bedfordshire teams in this year’s UK Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships on Saturday March 8 put in some notable performances, with two being first home for their team and two others finishing in scoring positions.
Conditions at the picturesque venue, Wollaton Park, Nottingham, were perfect for running − blue skies, sunny, warm and firm underfoot – in sharp contrast to the chilly, wet and muddy cross country events through most of the winter. In the words of one parent afterwards, “I have far less muddy running gear to wash this time than I've had previously this season!”.
The standard of competition was very high, with leading runners from all over the UK, including Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as nearly every county in England, taking part. With well over 300 runners in each race and firm ground conditions, the pace in every event was very fast.
First up for BAC were two members of the Bedfordshire team in the U-15B race, Oliver Weddell and Sidney Hammond. Both put in great performances, with Ollie coming 60th and Sid 130th. They were also 1st and 2nd of their team’s four scorers, helping Bedfordshire to finish 28th of the 42 teams competing in that category. “That’s a real credit to BAC and the club coaches,” commented another of the parents.
BAC had a three-strong presence in the U-13B team. Theo Milner finished 281st in that race to be the fourth scorer for Bedfordshire; Ross Bone was 293rd; and Austin Milner 304th (a different type of notable performance as he had been unwell in the days leading up to the race but was determined to run).
BAC’s 6th runner at Wollaton Park was Lauren Bone who maintained her consistent cross-country form of the past winter with a fine run in the U-15G race to finish 179th overall and 1st of the Bedfordshire team’s four scorers in that event.
PHOTOS: Thanks to Doug Hammond and Helen Milner for the photos.
RESULTS: https://results.sporthive.com/events/7304099165435330560
●The entire event is available to watch on British Athletics TV (YouTube):