Striding towards cross country success

On Sunday 5^th November at Trent Park, the women’s cross country team were victorious in this very muddy, hilly event which has resulted in them holding first place in the Sunday League. The men’s team came in second, placing St Albans Striders in second overall position against clubs from Hertfordshire and North London, only being pipped by Trent Park.

Across the two cross country leagues taking place weekly up until March, we have been showing up in our waves of yellow and blue to gain points for the club. As it currently stands, St Albans Striders are in sixth overall position for the Chiltern cross country league, and an impressive second for the Sunday cross country league.

The Chiltern league on Saturdays, which comprises of competing clubs from the northwest home counties, took place at Teardrop Lakes in Milton Keynes on Saturday 11^th November. Despite the brief palaver over the absence of toilets and the concern that the races would not be able to count because of this, toilets finally arrived. The women’s team are now in third place and the men’s in seventh.

The women’s senior team saw Christina Durbin be the first Strider across the line this week, closely followed by Lily Seach, Kate Dixon, Hollie Ryder and Louise Bentham. The men’s senior team saw Phil Evans be the first yellow and blue vest over the line followed by Jonny Pennell, Chris Dennell and Rob Smith.

Over in milder climes, Richard Hayes represented our club at the Athens Marathon, bringing up to three marathons completed this year and ten overall.