What many would consider to be the climax of the cross-country season took place on Saturday when the English National cross-country championship was held at the iconic venue of Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath against the magnificent backdrop of the London skyline. Over the last few weeks the country had been hit with a number of storms, but the gods were smiling on athletes and spectators alike with blue skies and bright sunshine more than making up for the wet and sticky conditions underfoot. Mud and hills are synonymous with this course which gives it a reputation as being one of the toughest, thereby providing a real sense of achievement for those who successfully make the distance. A field of over 1,000 in the women’s race and 2,000 in the men’s race makes the start one of the most colourful and exciting sights in sport. The Striders were out in full force, with over 40 athletes competing and a large support group cheering them on. The women’s team finished a very respectable 34th out of 180 teams represented. Hannah Burkhardt led the team home in 233rd, closely followed by Hannah Rayden (237th), Kate Dixon (348th) and Lucy Jones (390th). The men’s team also performed well finishing 61st out of 220 teams represented with the team made up of Adam Yorwerth (478th), Tony Brady-Locke (586th), Michael Ah-Chung (710th), Doug Hobson (726th), Jordan Lister (820th) and Adam Webster (948th).

On Sunday there was good turnout of Striders at both the Welwyn and Wokingham half marathons. Notable performances at Welwyn were from Barnaby Walker who was the second male home in a time of 1.17.25, Megan Wilson who was first female (1.25.34) and Stacy Harris and Rose McGinness who were 1st and 3rd respectively in their age category. At Wokingham, where there was a significantly larger field of almost 3,000 runners, Jim King was the first male Strider home in a personal best time of 1.17.11 and Nicky Laitner was the first female Strider home, also in a personal best time of 1.36.22.

Other achievements over the weekend included John Cooper finishing 3rd in his age category at the Bourton-on-Water 10k earning him qualification for the English Masters event and Clair Drage and Andrew John Maher who both achieved the significant milestone of running their 50th marathon.