And who said there weren’t mountains in Northamptonshire? Weedon is far more than an undulating course. The pre-race chat revealed that some of the 14 Harriers on the evening were new to the event. Faces at the end showed those individuals had gained a good understanding of the toughest 10K of the series. It is not easy to compare times with previous meetings due to the challenging route transforming the rural 10k into an endurance run.
Well done to the ladies for scraping a team together that was depleted by injury and illness. Kerry Munn (47:22) winning the F55 again to become series champion with two scoring races to go. Congratulations Kerry, you can relax now! Natasha Martin (45:14 and 5th FS) and Babs Poncia (going well with a 3rd place finish in the F50s in 52:12) completed the senior women’s team who were 6th on the night.
The vet men finished 2nd to Rugby and Northampton and it looks like those two teams will be vying for the title. We need to take strong teams to the next two races. The senior men came fourth. Phil West (37:14 and 1st M45) overturned the form book in his category by out pacing his rivals on the final downhill. Matt Fowler (2nd M40 and 36:42) made it 5 out of 5 as first Harrier. Can anyone beat him? The ever-improving William Howells was a close third harrier and 15th SM, finishing in 37:22; an amazing time for Weedon. Rafal Buzuk (39:37 and 13th M40) was closely followed by Ady King (39:58 and 5th M50). Raf and Ady making up the vets’ team. The returning Jason English (42:36 and 8th M50) gained another top ten in his group. Bill Robinson (43:27 and 7th M55) shared a fierce battle with Steve Chester (43:44 and 11th M50); both finishing strongly. Sean Gallagher (46:33) with 100% attendance this year, finished 57th SM and the largest category. Ant Poncia (34th M40) was comfortably inside the 50-minute mark in 49:45. Weedon is hardly “a jog” but that was Paul Marlow’s intention in his 61:18 and 30th M50. Nice to see you returning from your injury Paul.
Next stop is Harborough 5, starting at the idyllic Foxton Locks on Tuesday 25th June. We really need to support the teams in the last two scoring races. Others are breathing down our necks.
See you next week!