North Wales ‘Bobbies’ beat the course at Gwrych Castle National XC championships.

*Pictured above - athletes are pictured at the impressive start of the races.

North Wales ‘Bobbies’ beat the course at Gwrych Castle National XC championships...

Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of Gwrych Castle.

https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

 

More than 300 police officers, backed by a host of supporters, volunteers and marshals, enjoyed a spectacular running event last Wednesday during the PSUK National Cross-Country Championships held at Gwrych Castle, near Abergele.

Officers past and present representing about 19 male and female athletic teams from counties as far apart as Devon & Cornwall, Humberside, Wiltshire, Cheshire, South Wales, and Warwickshire, plus representatives from the Metropolitan Police and the National Crime Agency, all competed to deliver an exciting series of races.

*A tough climb (*above) for competitors along several laps of the Castle.

The men ran four challenging laps around the Castle and the surrounding woodland area, whilst the ladies ran three laps along the same course on a near perfect day.

Event MC and joint promoter John Hatton was thrilled by the action and later confirmed: “The Police cross-country event was fantastic.”

North Wales Police entered forty-three athletes including twenty-six men and seventeen women and collected a generous collection of prestigious medals for some excellent individual and team performances.

The first NW police members home included: Drew Darlington, who was 12th overall out of 197 entries with a chip time of 39.23, followed by Gutun Morgan Lake, 35th in 45.34, and James Jones 37th in 46.27. 

Veteran Nick Jones also claimed 4th place in his M45 age cat in 44.21, as did Craig Jones in his M55 cat, whilst master veteran Bob Hind finished 2nd in his M70 plus cat in 56.04. The male team also competed well in the team events with a very good 2nd placing in the Minor Team races, 5th place in the overall team event, and 4th spot in the M40 age section cats.

The NW ladies police team also celebrated some outstanding successes, and the first three finishers were Eleanor Ashcroft who was 4th overall with a tremendous run in 34.29, with Clare Foreman 20th in 39.35, and Michelle Farrell 22nd in 40.35.

Eleanor Ashcroft finished 3rd in her F-Open age cat, and Clare Forman also finished 3rd in her F45 cat, whilst Michelle Farrell was 4th in her F40 cat, and Hayley Parkes claimed the 5th spot in her F45 cat. 

In the team events, the ladies ensured there was no PC plodding, and they enjoyed a field day with numerous honours including winning the top team prize in the F40 plus age category against nine other talented teams, 2nd place in the Minor Team results, and they were the 3rd female police team overall.

*The first three male finishers overall were: 1st Daniel Shaw (City of London) in 36 minutes and 23 seconds, with Jason Bennett (West Midlands), 2nd in 36.28, and Robert Sparkes (Humberside), 3rd in 36.36. There were 197 male finishers overall.

*The first three female finishers were: 1st Nicola Jackson (Cumbria), in 32.16, and Natalie Farrow(Lincolnshire), was 2nd in 33.16, with Lucy Niemz (Staffordshire), 3rd in 33.30. And it was good to see that Eleanor Ashcroft (North Wales), finished 4th overall in 34.29. There were 114 female athletes.

*Runners relax (*above) near the start area at Gwrych Castle.

Men’s team results:

*The North Wales men’s team of Drew Darlington, Nick Jones, Gutun Morgan Lake, and James Jones finished 2nd out of six entries in the Minor Team placings category behind the City of London Police, and the same quartet were 5th in the overall race team placings, which included a total of 20 teams.

*The North Wales (Jones’ boys) team of Nick Jones, Gareth Jones and Craig Jones finished 4th in the M40 Plus section out of 19 police teams.

*A great performance and a hat-trick of medals for Michelle Farrell.

Women’s team results:

*North Wales Ladies finished as the top team in the F40 plus section out of 10 UK police teams, and were well represented by Clare Foreman, Michelle Farrell and Hayley Parkes. This team finished ahead of Police Scotland and the Metropolitan Police.

*The North Wales ladies team of Eleanor Ashcroft, Clare Foreman and Michelle Farrell, claimed 2nd place from 6 teams in the Female Minor Team results behind Staffordshire, and the exact same trio of female athletes, were 3rd in the overall race team placings from18 teams, and finished behind Staffordshire and the Metropolitan Police.

 

*This is the provisional results list supplied by TDL Event services:

https://www.tdleventservices.co.uk/en/results-embed.php?event=4096