Jacob Allen’s stunning personal best performance on Saturday saw him become the first ever Rugby & Northampton runner to take gold in Division One of the Birmingham & District Invitational Cross Country League.
The 19-year-old claimed the scalp of Olympian Weynay Ghebresilasie en route to recording a time of 32.53 at Abington Park, Northampton – enough to see him take the gold medal in the second round of the highly competitive competition.
Allen took a three-second victory after a commanding performance that saw him lead for the majority of the course – at one point a full 50-meters in front of his nearest rivals. Eliot Buckner of Loughborough closed on the youngster on the final lap, but Allen judged his race tactics to perfection to seal victory.
Robert Male (65th, 36.55) and Iain Botheroyd (93rd, 38.17) also achieved personal best finishes to help R&N’s A team – completed by Robert Gardner (64th, 36.48), Luke Robinson (85th, 38.01) and Brendan Moen (96th, 38.21) – to 10th position on the day, while they hold ninth overall.
Debutants Iain Gillam (119th, 39.24) and Daniel Mould (165th, 41.02), helped the B team move up to fourth overall with a fifth-place finish. Paul Birch (115th, 39.18), Terry Egan (159th, 40.47), Nigel Roberts (163rd, 40.59) and Vince Carroll (140th, 40.05), making his 80th league appearance, also aided the B team’s effort.
Other notable performances included personal best finishes from Aaron Lincoln (197th, 43.56), Colin Durrant (205th, 44.51), Richard Franklin (217th, 47.50) and Adrian Hodson (221st, 48.18). Jonathan Sarkies (184th 42.08), Scott Andrew (188th, 42.42), Joe Lantsbery (222nd, 48.22) and Paul Baxter (231st, 63.59) all performed well on their debuts, while Pete Thomas (193rd, 43.11), Max Chippington (196th, 43.53), Neil Wilsher (201st, 44.20), Bernie Myers (214st, 46.02) and John Saw (230th, 57.07) had solid showings.
R&N now lead the West Midlands Young Athletes Cross Country League by a massive 1,869 points after another superb display, this time on the ground of main rivals Halesowen.
Talented youngster Molly Williams made it three wins from three as she again scooped the under 11 girls race, while wins in the under 17 girls from Kirsty Goddard and under 13 boys from Adam Searle meant the pair have both picked up two golds and a silver from the first three legs. Joe Musgrove (second) and Rhys James (third) ensured R&N took the top three positions in the under 13 boys.
After round three of the competition, the club lead the way in the team standings for both genders of the under 11s and under 13s, while the under 17 girls also sit top of the pile.
In the under 15 boys, R&N sit second to Wolverhampton & Bilston by just 29 points, with their female counterparts currently just outside the medals in fourth place. The under 17 men are just 25 points off second place, lying third.
Georgia Willix took a morale victory in the under 15 girls as she completed the course while wearing just one shoe after losing the other in the mud on the first lap of the course.
Mike Aldridge took the honour of running the UK’s leading time for any male over 40 years of age this year as he put in an incredible performance.
Aldridge’s time of 52.33 to win the Nene Valley 10-mile road race was the country’s leading showing in 2013, and understandably delighted both athlete and club officials.
A fantastic time of 24.15 saw Emily Waugh continue her fine form and finish inside the top 20 in the Midland Women’s Cross Country League at Aldersley Stadium, Wolverhampton last weekend.
Competing on one of the toughest courses around, featuring plenty of steep hills on a muddy black country day, Kate Williams (111th, 29.05) and Tilly Lea (118th, 29.20) completed the women’s team that finished 16th.
