Over a dozen members of Kettering Town Harriers took part in the prestigious Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships. Broadcast live on Sky Television, the event moved this year to Birmingham’s Cofton Park where the fast, firm course was a stark contrast to the conditions our athletes have faced throughout the winter.
In order to qualify for the Inter-Counties, athletes have to be highly-placed at the County Championships, so the fields of around 300 contain the top performers from across the UK.
Running in the Under 13 boys race, Josh Cara rounded off a successful season with a fine run for 41st place. In an almost exact repeat of the County Championships, he was pipped on the line by Northampton’s Jack Murphy. Unlike Murphy, however, Josh has another year in this age group.
Next highest KTH finisher was Jonathan Goringe, who was 72nd in the Under 20 mens, his best-ever position in the Inter-Counties but below what he might have hoped for, as a result of a frustrating winter dogged by illness and injury.
In the highly-competitive women’s senior race, Sian Edwards and Helen Rollins (running for Leicestershire), both made it into the top 100, with Rebecca Hall finishing in 186th place.
Jake Waples (150th) and David Edwards (226th, his best Inter-Counties result) took part in the Under 17 race whilst for many of the club’s younger athletes, this was the first experience of the “big-time.” All will have benefitted from the experience of running in a large high-quality race, in front of big crowds.
Gemma Vaughan made an encouraging debut (169th ) in the Under 13 girls, as did Jack Hope (182nd) and Ben Tierney (270th) in the equivalent boys race. At Under 15 level, Liam Kirk came 275th whilst for the girls, Gina Diaz-Santana was 229th and Lucy Tolton 276th. Well done to all.