This past weekend saw Biggleswade AC take on two key events in the Club's race calendar - the Fen 10 and the first fixture of the Three Counties Cross Country league.
The Fen 10 returned as the designated Club Championship 10 mile race this year after previously switching to the Leighton 10 for a couple of years. Being in the Fens the course is, as one would expect, pretty flat but exposed which can make for tough running if there are windy conditions. This was definitely the case on Sunday as eight blue and yellows braved the elements to run the country roads in and around Wisbech. After her PB run at the recent Standalone 10k in Letchworth, Rosanna Bartlett put in another brilliant run to cross the line first for Biggleswade in 1:09:07, achieving 6th female overall and 4th placing in her age category. Ian Grimwood also had a successful race, coming away with the prize for first place in the Male V70 category with a time of 1:24:41. And other top ten age category placings were attained by Paul Swinburne (6th) and Shani James (8th). Based on age-graded performance, the 10 Mile Male and Female Club Championship winners will be announced and trophies awarded at the Club's annual presentation evening in Spring next year. Next up is the Half Marathon Club Championship race in St. Neots on 16th November.
For full race results visit Fen 10 2025 Results
Ian Grimwood receiving his prize for his age category win
Elsewhere across the border in Northamptonshire, Biggleswade AC was also being represented in the first race of the Three Counties Cross Country league. Due to the unforeseen clash with the Fen 10 plus other commitments, the BAC team was somewhat depleted. This didn't deter those present from giving it their all in tackling the hilly course at Irchester Park in Wellingborough. For the men's team, Nicholas Sinclair was first home for BAC coming in 36th position followed by Martin Rutherford in 50th. Also scoring for the men were Jake Genever (in his first cross country outing for BAC), Andrew Hedley and Simon Strong. For the women, Nicky Upperton made a welcome return to the team achieving 5th position and first place in her age category - a fantastic start to the season. Natalie Morgan, Jackie Warren and Magdelena Hartley made up the remaining scoring positions. After many years doing a superb job carrying out administrative duties for Biggleswade AC XC team, Bev Strong was finally tempted to don the trail shoes too. We hope you enjoyed the experience, Bev! Thank you also to Amy Genever who took on results recording for the team, freeing Bev up to run. In terms of team results, Biggleswade did not fair well unfortunately by not having a full contingent for the men's team (8 runners required) and thus had to forfeit. This meant attributing a score plus one from the last position in the overall results for each of the missing three in the team. As a result, the BAC men came 14th and the women 9th, with a combined BAC team position of 14th. Despite the next League race also clashing with the next Club Championship, BAC hope to field a full team on 16th November when running Delapre Park, Wootton.
Full league results are published on the Three Counties Cross Country League website.
The Three Counties Cross Country league runs from October to February, comprising of five races each month. All races are off-road and routes are typically along trails and footpaths through woodland, parkland or around farmland. It's a fun, social league solely based on finishing position rather than time. And as a reward, refreshments (including cake) are served afterwards for all runners. If you'd like to know more and are interested in taking part - it's not too late! Please contact
(Photo credits: Bev Strong, Lynn Hill, Maria Merridan)