Dominant Harriers Secure League Titles in Burton Finale
Hermitage Harriers Running Club scaled new heights of success this Sunday with a dominant performance in the final Derby Runner Cross Country League Race at Mount Sinai Park in Burton upon Trent. Alastair Watson took his road running form into the country and secured the Hermitage Harriers' first male victory in a major event with a 45 second victory over a testing 5 mile course. Watson led from gun to tape, quickly establishing a 20 metre lead as a grueling hill to commence the race took its toll. From then on there was only going to be one winner, as Watson who only returned to competitive running 8 months ago ran away from the field.
Veteran performer Ashley Long looked to be back towards his best as he secured 8th place with Jason Lavine making it 3 Harriers in the top 10, storming through to finish 9th. John Terry was next home for the Harriers with a season's best 15th, closely followed by Lee Tomlinson, still recovering from injury, who finished 19th. Darren Wilson returned to the Harriers side in 21st place, narrowly losing out to Tomlinson in the final straight. Another vet runner Shaun Coulton was next home for the Harriers in 26th place, with Eddie Myatt completing the team in 46th place.
The mens total of 146 was the best score of any club this season, as the Harriers beat their nearest rivals by over 100 points, securing the Division 2 title in the process.
These weren't the only men to compete for the Harriers, as Mark Bradford, who once again improved on his previous showings finished in 60th just ahead of Nigel Stock, making his competitive XC debut in 73rd place, Mark Perry improved his previous best showing by 24 places in 79th and one of the clubs youngest runners, Matt Jakubecz finished in 84th, with his brother Jon in 123rd position.
In the Ladies race Gemma Steel made it a clean sweep of 5 victories from 5 races but she was made to work hard by her Harriers team mate Claire Wilson who pushed her all the way to complete a 1-2 for Hermitage. Steel and Wilson were only beaten by 20 men in the event, as both demonstrated their undoubted talent ahead of the Inter Counties championships in 2 weeks time.
Julie Grewcock had a storming run to finish in 37th, by far her best finish of the season with Sarah Maynard completing the team in 48th place, another strong showing as she continues her spring marathon preparations. Only 2 places behind was Suzy Perry, for whom 50th place represented another big improvement. Diane Myatt completed the Harriers race party with a fine 60th place. The ladies team finished 4th overall with 88 points, but this was enough to secure the runners up spot in Division 2.
In the combined event where the top 7 men and top 3 women count, the Harriers had a combined total of 139 points, this secured them the Division 2 title in only their second competitive season. This dominant performance secures the Harriers a place in the National team finals, to be held at Ampthill in Bedfordshire on April 6th.