The second round of the Westward League Cross Country series took place on Sunday. The race was held in Newquay, where last year runners had very wet and slippery going to deal with, but this year, despite the recent rain, the ground was still exceptionally dry with runners finishing without a trace of mud on them. For the first time since taking part in the league, ORC was represented by both senior men and senior women teams! The ladies race, over 5k, went first with the very talented Molly Marvin being the first ORC home to come in 63rd in an excellent 21.50 just two seconds ahead of her mum Sarah, who she out- sprinted in the finishing straight. This is Molly’s first venture in senior races and she did very well to cope with nerves and a cold. Jane Jackson was the third lady runner in the team and finished in 27.15.
There were six ORC men with the five best places to count for the team in the 8k men’s race. Pete Devenport put in a superb run to come home first for ORC in a very good time of 29.21, boosting the points for the men’s team with a great 17th place. Second was Andy Vallance finishing 49th in 31.45, overtaking Matt Pitson near the end, who came 50th in 31.48. Paul Crease was next in 32.14 (59th) with Stuart May in 35.01 (103rd) and George Haskell finishing his first Cross Country in a good 36.34 (116th).
The next round is in Exeter on 4th December. That’s two days before the Xmas meal so a good reason to run! Another is that this event is FREE for ORC members to take part – just let Andy Vallance know you would like to go and then turn up on the day with either your ORC vest or t-shirt. If you haven’t got any club gear, please get in touch with Jane Jackson and see what’s currently in stock!
Many thanks to Jane for the run report
