October 26th 2024
Long Eaton
Some fine work by our team captains saw five Striders teams make the short trip down the M1 to Long Eaton for the British Masters cross country relay championships. It was good to see the event back on the calendar after Storm Babette left the course underwater in 2023. Local building work had forced a few changes to the start and finish area and the course was run in the opposite direction, so times are not directly comparable with previous years, but the legs were just slightly short of the advertised 3 kilometres.
The Striders stars of the day were undoubtedly our women’s teams, so we’ll get the men out of the way first. The M35 team finished 10th out of seventeen teams, with a fine effort from Steve Cahill to move up 3 places on the last leg.
(Ben Baxendale, Steve Cahill, Malcolm Baggeley, Michael Campbell, Ian Stinson)
For the M55’s it was great to have new member Lawrence Bate joining relay regulars Mark Baines, Jed Turner and myself to finish 6th – not too shabby as at least two of us will be eligible for the M65 team next year.
(Jed Turmer, Mark Baines, Chris Ireland, Lawrence Bate)
The women then showed us how it should be done. Caroline Brock blasted out a speedy 11.29 opening leg for the F35 team, which was to be the 5th fastest time of the day in her age group. Hannah Burton and Kathryn Liddiard provided great support to bring the team home in 6th. Up ahead a star-studded team from Charnwood won the event by over 3 minutes.
(Hannah Burton, Kathryn Liddiard, Caroline Brock)
The F55 competition proved to be the closest competition of the day. A strong opening leg from Fiona Jeffries – also 5th fastest of the day in her age category – put Striders in 4th place. Karen Clark then moved the team up to second, but with a narrow 14 second lead over Holme Pierrepont in third. Their final leg runner caught up with Kate Scott but Kate was determined not to let her past, and the two runners entered the final 400 metres virtually stride for stride. Kate then deployed her killer kick as the finish line approached, pulling away and winning the silver medals by seven seconds.
(Fiona Jeffries, Karen Clark and Kate Scott who get extra points for standing in race order for the post-race photo)
And then to the F65’s, who, as always, were simply sensational. A fine first leg tussle saw Yate’s Marian Grace lead home our very own Dot Kesterton by a single second in what turned out to be the two fastest times of the day. Carol Beattie kept Striders in a clear second place before Katheryn Reece secured the silver medals with the third quickest time of the day. By this point third place were some six minutes behind. It’s worth noting that all the Striders team are now in the F70 age category so a very fine achievement.
(Katheryn Reece, Dot Kesterton, Carol Beattie)
A great event to compete in, and to watch – and thanks again to the team captains for all their organisation.
Striders Results
M35 race – winners: Sale Harriers – 47.43
| Position | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Total time |
| 10th | Malcolm Baggaley – 11.16 (15) | Ben Baxendale – 12.02 (12) | Ian Stinson – 12.59 (13) | Michael Campbell – 12.05 (13) | Steve Cahill – 10.44 (10) | 59.06 |
M55 race – winners: Leeds City 42.59
| Position | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Total time |
| 6th | Mark Baines – 12.20 (8) | Lawrence Bate – 12.09 (10) | Chris Ireland – 11.44 (6) | Jed Turner – 11.41 (6) | 47.54 |
F35 race – winners: Charnwood – 32.42
| Position | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Total time |
| 6th | Caroline Brock – 11.29 (3) | Hannah Murton – 14.16 (5) | Kathryn Liddiard – 12.21 (6) | 38.06 |
F55 race – winners: Bristol & West – 38.25
| Position | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Total time |
| 2nd | Fiona Jeffries – 13.19 (4) | Karen Clark – 14.29 (2) | Kate Scott – 13.48 (2) | 41.36 |
F65 race – winners: Yate & Sodbury – 43.48
| Position | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Total time |
| 2nd | Dot Kesterton – 13.56 (2) | Carol Beattie – 15.46 (2) | Katheryn Reece – 14.17 (2) | 44.59 |
Full results below: