BRR JUNIORS - News & Results 2019/20.

Prestwold Hall. Loughborough.
Saturday 31st October 2020.

Although the club has not trained since March several Bourton Roadrunners have kept up their training in hope that races may take place this season. On Saturday 31st October Lucy Hilary, Alfie Sansom and Freddy Sansom travelled all the way to Prestwold Hall near Loughborough to take part in a race hosted by the organisers of the Primary Schools Cross Country Nationals. Despite Lucy being placed last in one of the cages at the start of the race she did exremely well to finish over halfway up the field in 23rd place in the year 7 girls competition. Alfie Sansom has be raring to take part in a competitive race and finished in the top third of the field in an excellent 20th place in the year 6 boys competition. Freddy Sansom had to take part in the Senior/Inter/Junior combined race so being one of the younger Junior runners did extremely well to finish in 60th place. The organisers were hoping to run regular race's through the season but due to the new lockdown in November this has now been placed on hold for the time being.

Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.
Prestwold Hall. Loughborough.
Saturday 7th March 2020.

The CAU Inter Counties took place again at Prestwold Hall near Loughborough on Saturday 7th March. With the amount of rain over the winter the undulating course was extremely tough due to the extremely muddy conditions, becoming even more difficult after each race.

Several Bourton Roadrunner Juniors ran for Gloucestershire and in the U15 girls Kia Dee continued to show her superiority in this age group by winning the race by an impressive 10 seconds after finishing 4th last year. Sister Taya also impressed with an excellent 36th place moving up considerably from the year before where she finished 67th. Elsa Thwaites has only started training regularly since December and has shown huge potential with a superb 103rd in her first Inter Counties. If she continues to train regularly she is certainly going to move up greatly next year.

Kian Dee and George Swayne put in strong runs for 267th and 274th in the U13 boys race, Kian moved up a few places on last year and this was George’s first Inter Counties and did well, moving up 9 places through the second half of the race.

Gabby Jones who is now at Loughborough University and still trains with BRR Juniors when she comes home also did well for 114th in the U20 ladies, up from 139th the year before.

Gloucestershire Cross Country League - Round 4.
Old Down Country Park
Sunday 1st March 2020.

After being previously cancelled the re-arranged 4th round of the Gloucestershire Cross Country League took place at Old Down Country Park on Sunday 1st March 2020. This final round was also close to being cancelled due to Storm Jorge with its high winds and heavy rain, but the conditions eased on Sunday morning and the event went ahead. The course at Old Down is very demanding with steep climbs made even more difficult with many, very muddy sections, due to the recent heavy rain.

With several members being involved in the Gloucestershire Primary Schools Cross Country Championships the day before, they were in for another, tough, competitive race at Old Down. With the U11 boy’s and U13 boy’s in 2nd and 3rd place at the start of the day and several members with a chance of individual County Medals, they certainly needed to perform well on the day.

Unfortunately, the club has been unable to field its strongest team in the U11 girl’s competition, however after racing the day before, Lucy Hillary ran extremely well for 10th on the day and an impressive 6th overall. Imogen Long-Field and Eleanor Jones supported Lucy on the day finishing 41st and 42nd respectively.

With the U11 boys in 2nd place and Michael Astor in 3rd place, the boys needed to run well to hold onto these positions. Michael ran extremely well for 3rd place on the day and 3rd place overall. With Lucas Hartley, Alfie Sansom, Reuben Long-Field, Jimmy Hunt and William Chalmers, all running the day before, they were hoping to run well despite feeling tired from the tough race, the day before. This did not disappoint with Lucas and Alfie finishing 8th and 14th bringing the boys home in 2nd place on the day and 2nd team place overall. Lucas just missed out on an individual medal finishing 4th behind Michael and Alfie finished 15th overall. Reuben is gradually getting back to full fitness after a long-term chest infection for 19th. Jimmy is starting to pace his runs better with his best performance to date for 24th and William put in a very strong run for 29th.

The U13 boys also needed to perform well on the day to hold onto 3rd place, especially with Kian Dee missing. George Swayne led the boy’s home, putting in another fine run for 11th place on the day and 10th overall. Harry Bradley put in his best performance to date on a hilly course, for 20th and Jonathan Cook was close behind for 21st. They finished 4th on the day but this was enough to hold onto 3rd place overall. They were well supported by Edward Jones in 28th and Freddy Sansom in 29th. Impressively this was Edward’s 6th consecutive year in the Gloucestershire Cross Country League.

Despite missing the last round at Old Down and finishing 1st and 2nd respectively in the previous three round’s Kiya Dee and Taya Dee won individual Gold and Silver in the U15 girls. Emily Field ran strongly on the day for 4th in the U20 girl competition and this was enough to win an impressive Gold overall. Jake Astor put in another fine performance for 6th on the day and 4th overall in the U17 boys.

Gloucestershire Primary Schools Cross Country Championships.
Katherine Lady Berkeley’s School. Wotton-under-Edge.
Saturday 29th February 2020.

The Gloucestershire Primary School Cross Country Championships took place at Katherine Lady Berkeley’s School near Wotton-under-Edge on the 29th February. The course was relatively flat but with all the recent rain was extremely muddy, especially for those in the later races. There were separate races for Year 4/5 and Year 6, boys and girls, with the top ten runners in each race, qualifying to run for Gloucestershire in the Nationals at Loughborough in March.

On the day there were eight separate districts with several Bourton Roadrunner Juniors in the North Cotswold team, managed by Di Clarke and Chris Hartley.

In the Year 5 girls competition Olivia Roddick continued to show stunning form by winning the race in style, gradually working her way through the field and taking the lead in the final stages. Her sister who is a year younger also impressed with an excellent 14th place. Olivia Poole also ran well for 39th. The girls just missed out on a top three finish, finishing 4th.

There was also a strong showing of Bourton Roadrunners in the year 5 boys race with Lucas Hartley leading the North Cotswold boys with an excellent 5th place. Alfie Sansom has also been in impressive form of late and this again showed with first-class run in 11th place. Atticus Sinton has also been running well of late and did well for 23rd place helping the Year 5 boys to 2nd place,one of their best finishes in recent years.

Lucy Hillary is another BRR junior who is in great form and she put in a fine performance in the Year 6 girls race for 9th place. With the next two North Cotswold runners taking 24th and 38th place and the rest in the bottom half of the field the team came home in 7th place.

The Year 6 boys were hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Year 5 boys with a top three finish but with their first five runners all within the top twenty places, exceptionally finished first overall, their best finish ever. After a long spell of illness, Reuben Long-Field is certainly getting back to the form he showed earlier in the year with an excellent 14th place. Arthur Quli put in a strong run for 26th. After a 2nd place at the Districts Stuart Marais found the going tough but did well for 39th . Jimmy Hunt had to run almost half the course without a shoe after loosing it in the mud but still managed to finish in a creditable 40th place.

CLICK HERE to view results.

Gloucestershire Cross Country League - Round 3.
Pitville Park. Cheltenham.
Sunday 16th February 2020.

The 3rd round of the Gloucestershire Cross Country League took place at Pitville Park, Cheltenham on Sunday 16th February 2020. With storm Dennis forecasted there was a high probability the race was going to be cancelled due the high winds and heavy rain, but luckily this abated on Sunday morning and the race went ahead. The course however was sodden, making the going very tough and slippy in parts and they even by-passed the usual stream crossing with the stream too high.
Despite the conditions several Bourton Roadrunner junior’s braved the conditions and took part in the competition with quite a few recovering from the nasty cold virus that has been going around. The club needed strong performance’s in the U11 and U13 boys race’s to hold onto their current team places of 2nd and 3rd overall. The three highest placed boys for the club count.

First home in the U11 boy’s was Michael Astor, he was definitely in the mix for a top three position but just missed out in the final stages finishing 4th by just a just 6 seconds. Due to being unwell the night before, Lucas Hartley was considering pulling out but did not want to let the team down. He ran extremely well considering this, with his 3rd , 5th place in the competition. Alfie Sansom 10th, has been putting a great deal of effort into his training and was rewarded by his best position so far, this season, up from 19th. These results keep the boys A team in 2nd place overall.

Arthur Quli 17th and Reuben Long-Field have been struck down with illness and have missed a great deal of training recently, both boys did really well, considering this. Jimmy Hunt ran well for 26th , his best position by far, in this competition. He just needs to pace himself a little better and with regular training has the ability in the future to finish towards the top of the field. William Chalmers is another runner who has been training regularly recently, finishing 39th, moving up 6 places on his last race. The boys B team finished in a very respectable 8th place.

Unfortunately, the club could not field its strongest U11 girls team with the exception of one member, but was well supported by several of our younger members, some running for the first time. Lucy Hillary put in another strong run finishing 7th overall, the result confirming 1st place in the club Cross Country Competition. Sister’s Chloe and Pippa Krzywiec finished a very good 26th and 35th place in only their second Gloucestershire Cross Country League race. Imogen Long-Field finished a strong 39th place, moving up from 52nd in her last race and Francesca Bradley at did extremely well for 41st in her first ever race and has only been training for less than a month.

In the U13 boys competition, the team needed to do well to hold onto 3rd place and they did not disappoint. All paced themselves really well, with all members in the bottom half of the race at the beginning of the race, gradually moving up through the field. Kian Dee again showed what a strong runner he is moving through nearly half the field to finish 7th overall . George Swayne and Ned Harrison were another two runners who have suffered recently with the dreaded cold virus but both rose to the challenge with an excellent 13th and 18th position. Enough to keep the A team 3rd place with one more round to go.

Jonathan Cook put everything into the race for a very good 20th place, 9 places higher than his best so far this season and was followed close behind by Harry Bradley in a strong 24th.

In the U15 girls Kia and Taya Dee showed their class with another 1st and 2nd confirming individual Gold and Silver County Medals in the overall competition as they cannot be caught. Jake Astor also showed his class with an excellent 2nd place in the U17 boy’s competition. Jake needs a top finish in the final round for a top three finish. Emily Field also put in a strong run for 6th in the U19 girls, depending on other results she still has the slight chance of a top three finish overall.

North Cotswold Primary Schools Cross Country District Championships.
Moreton Fire College. Moreton-in-Marsh.
Thursday 13th February 2020.

The North Cotswold Primary Schools District Championships took place at Moreton Fire College as in previous years although the course had been modified slightly from previous years. Although the course is flat, it was very muddy in parts due to all the rain over recent months. This made going quite difficult, especially for those not wearing running spikes or football boots. There were race’s for Year’s 3, 5 and 6 with year 4’s running in the Year 5 race. The top ten finishing runners in the Year 5 and 6 age groups would be selected to run for the North Cotswold team, in the Gloucestershire County Championships at Wotton Under Edge. A further two in each age group would be selected as reserves.

Bourton Roadrunner Juniors performed extremely well with Olivia Roddick, Hannah Roddick and Olivia Poole taking the first three places in the girl’s year 5 race. Lucy Hillary won the Year 6 age group and Jemima Hall ran well just missing out on a reserve place at 13th.

Lucas Hartley also won the year 5’s race with ease and will be joined in the finals by Alfie Sansom 6th, Charlie Evans 7th and Atticus Sinton 8th. William Chalmers did really well finishing 14th, up 15 places from last year. George Gibson also put in a strong performance for 22nd.

Stuart Marais who only just recently joined the club did extremely well in the Year 6 boys race finishing 2nd and will be supported in the finals by Jimmy Hunt 7th, Arthur Quli 9th and Reuben Long-Field 10th. Jan Winkowski ran well for 20th.

In the Year 3 race Francesca Bradley and Isabel Sampson did well in the girls race for 14th and 16th and Daniel Bett 15th in the boys race.

Gloucestershire Cross Country Championships.
Rencomb School.
Saturday 4th January 2020.

The Gloucestershire Cross Country County Championship took place on 4th January 2020 at Rencomb School. This has was one of the toughest courses for many years, the race went straight into long step uphill for about 1 mile and then steadily went downhill through very muddy woods, not for the faint hearted. We were down in numbers today due to illness but this was made up with some excellent quality performances.

In the under 11 boys race Michael Astor dominated the race and took control from the gun as he steadily pulled away to become county champion, a very impressive run. Alfie Sansom had a storming run today to take 7 th spot, he gets better race by race. Charlie Evans is also working his way well up the field to take 13 th today. These three won the county silver team prize, just missing out on gold by a few points. They were very well backed up, by Reuben Longfield in 20th.

In the under 13 boys race Bourton had a very strong turnout in a very competitive race. Kian Dee was first home for the club, as ever he gave his all to take a very good 5th , he was pushed hard by Charlie Astor he came through the field well to finish 6th .George Swayne backed them up well in 7th as these boys took the county gold medal team prize, very impressive. George had a very good race with Ned Harrison who just lost out in the sprint for the line to take 7th . Harry Bradley really worked hard today to maintain his fine consistent form in 17th . Jonathan Cook had another fine strong run in 19th, the longer the race the better Jonathan is as he has so much strength and stamina. These boys took 4th team prize just missing out on bronze by a few points. Edward Jones and Freddy Sansom both had good runs on this tough terrain to finish 28th and 29th backing the teams up well.

In the under 11 girls race Olivia Roddick had a fantastic race by taking the silver medal in great style, a real star for the future. Her sister Hannah also produce the goods today to take 14th spot in a fine run. They were well backed up by Pippa Krzywiec who just keeping going on and on and flows over the mud,a fine 26th today. These three won the county bronze medal, well done. Just behind the up and coming stars of the future Imogen Longfield and Eleanor Jones were having a good race to finish 29th and 30th.

The ever improving Elsa Thwaites in the under 15 girls race had a fine run today, she is getting stronger every race to finish 8th today, one to watch for the rest of the season. Eva Scates could not have picked a tougher race to make her race debut for the club, she battled round well and showed real guts and determination to finish a good 19th.

Jake Astor put in a solid run today in a very close and hard fought race having to face the long hill twice,
he finished very strongly in 8th.

News for December 2019.

Charlotte Brooker completes her 50th Parkrun in under 39 minutes!

Gloucestershire Schools Cross Country Championships.
Newent Community School.
Sunday 8th December 2019.

The 3rd round of the Gloucestershire Cross Country League took place at Old Down Country Park near Thornbury on Saturday 14th December and was promoted by Stroud AC. A great venue with a very undulating course overlooking the Severn Bridge with hills, woods and after the recent heavy rains, quite a bit of mud. There are not many venues with animals including Llama’s, Temporary Ice rink and loads of play areas for the juniors.

The weather was horrendous on the way there, but the rain stopped before the races started, with sun, blue skies but unfortunately a very cold wind, to slightly spoil the conditions. Unfortunately, due to illness, holiday etc, the junior numbers supporting BRR were down, but the club still managed to field teams for several age groups.

In the U11 girls Lucy Hillary again did well with a very good 8th place, she has only been with the club a short time and will certainly move further up the field, if she continues to train regularly. This was Eleanor Jones second race at just 8 years old. She is certainly enjoying the competitive competition managing 39th place.

The U11 boys were down a few members but still managed to field three runners. Michael Astor was the first runner home in 3rd place, with a very strong performance. He was unlucky not to have managed a 1st or 2nd place, as the three leaders all fell within a few metres of the finish line. Lucas Hartley who is a year younger, and like Michael, has huge potential for the future, was close behind in 5th place. Alfie Sansom again put in a strong run, supporting Michael and Lucas for 19th, bringing the team home in 3rd place on the day.

The club was well supported in the U13 boys competition with eight members supporting. Charlie Astor who was the first member home in the first round was missing, so a 1st team place was always going to be difficult. All the boys ran superbly with the first three runners home, securing a third team place on the day. The first three runner’s home were Kian Dee 10th, George Swayne 12th and Ned Harrison who impressively moved up 10 places from the previous round in 15th place. They were well supported by Harry Bradley 27th, Jonathan Cook 33rd, Edward Jones 40th, Theo Birch 41st and Frddie Sansom 45th. A great, team spirit, really helped.

In the previous round Kiya Dee and Taya Dee both managed an impressive 1st and 2nd in the U15 girls but unfortunately did not have a 3rd BRR to support them. Kiya and Taya continued their impressive form with another 1st and 2nd but this time had Elsa Thwaites supporting. This was her first Gloucestershire League appearance and managed a very good 9th place, bringing the girls home in 1st place on the day.

Jake Astor was our sole runner in the U17 boys and is another runner, like his brothers, with huge potential. He missed the 1st round, but put in a very encouraging, strong, performance, for 5th place.

Gloucestershire Schools Cross Country Championships.
Newent Community School.
Sunday 8th December 2019.

The Gloucestershire Schools County Cross Country Championships took place at Newent Community School on Sunday 8th December. The weather was good, but the undulating course was quite slippy, in parts, due to the amount of rain that had fallen over the previous weeks.

Bourton Roadrunner’s had eight members involved who had qualified from the district rounds. The top 10 finishers in the Championships would qualify to run for Gloucestershire Schools in the South West Championships at Bournemouth and top 8 finishers in the Nationals at Liverpool. The top 10 year 7 finishers would qualify to run in the Year 7 Primary School Nationals at Loughborough in March.

The first race of the day was the Inter girls (Years 10 and 11). Elsa Thwaites, Kiya and Taya Dee, all year 10’s, so the youngest in the group did brilliantly on the day. Kiya Dee won the race with ease with sister Taya managing an excellent 3rd place. Elsa impressed with 9th despite only training once a week. Kiya and Taya, both qualify for the South West Champs and the Nationals.

Ned Harrison and Harry Bradley took part in the Minor boys Competition and both boys did extremely well with Ned finishing in 10th place, qualifying to run in the Year 7 Nationals and Harry in 25th.

Emily Field moved to Stratford AC in the Summer to concentrate on 800m/1500m in Athletics but still supports BRR Juniors in local XC Competitions as 2nd claim. She has certainly not lost any ability in Cross Country with a impressive 4th place in the Senior girls (Year 11 & 12) Competition, also qualifying for the South West Champs and Nationals.

Kian Dee despite being the youngest in the Junior Boys (Year 8 & 9) ran strongly as ever for a very respectable 22nd place. Despite missing a great deal of Winter Training through other commitments, Maite Capper did very well for 24th place in the Junior Girls Competition.

News for November 2019

Alfie Sansom took part in a local Primary Schools Cross Country Competition at Chipping Campden School and did extremely well managing 2nd place overall in the year 5/6 race despite still being a year 5.

Kiya, Taya and Kian Dee took part in rounds 2 and 3 of the Cross Challenge Series of races. Round 2 at Milton Keynes, on the 9th of November and round 3 at Sefton Park, Liverpool on the 23rd of November. Kiya came 1st in both races winning Gold, as she did at Cardiff, leading the U15 girls, competition. Taya managed 6th and 31st and Kian 23rd and 65th in the U13 boys, competition. Impressive results by all three.

Cheltenham District Schools Cross Country Championships.
St Edwards School. Charlton Kings.
Friday 8th November 2019.

On Friday 8th November, Bourton Roadrunners had members representing the Cotswold School and Chipping Campden School, in the Cheltenham District Schools Cross Country Championships, at St Edwards School in Charlton Kings. The venue has been used in previous years, and is known for its long hill, that the runners have to complete at least once. The top twelve finishers, qualify to run at the Gloucestershire Schools Cross Country Championship’s at Newent on the 8th December.

In the Year 7 boys Minor (Year 7) race, Ned Harrison and Harry Bradley impressively qualified for the finals, finishing in 5th and 9th. Theo Birch paced the course well, gradually moving up the field, to finally finish in 47th place. Zara Sampson ran strongly in the girls race for 21st and Bryony Keay-Bright also did well for 54th.

George Swayne and Jonathan Cook, despite being the youngest in the age group, impressed with 21st and 57th in the boys Junior (Year 8 & 9) race. As did Maite Capper (Year 9) 15th, and Ella Gray (Year 8) 16th both qualifying as reserves.

Ella Thwaites (Year 10) ran superbly in the Inter Girls (Year 10 & 11) for 3rd, qualifying for the finals and Danielle Hadad (Year 10) and Heidi Mundiñano (Year 11) did well for 15th and 22nd, with Danielle also qualifying as a reserve.

Kiya and Taya Dee impressed in the Cirencester and Stroud District Schools Champs with Kiya 1st and Taya 3rd in the Inter Girls competition and Kian 9th in the Junior boys. All three qualify for the finals at Newent.

News for October 2019

The first round of the British Athletics Cross Challenge took place in Cardiff on Saturday 12th October. Kiya Dee won the U15 girls competition winning a Gold Medal and sister Kiya also ran superbly for 10th overall out of 96 runners. Kian Dee also did well in the 13 boys managing 36th out of 121 runners.

Gloucestershire Cross Country League Round 1.
Katharine Lady Berkeley's School. Near Wotton-Under-Edge.
Sunday 13th October 2019.

The first round of the Gloucestershire Cross Country League took place in the grounds of Katharine Lady Berkeley's School near Wotton-Under-Edge. The course was quite flat with a few rises but was very waterlogged in parts due the high amount or rainfall over the past weeks. This was not helped by the heavy rain before and during the first few races, although it did dry up during the later races. The terrible conditions would have put many runners off, but a committed number of junior runners turned out, with all doing extremely well on the day.

The first race was the U11 boys and the club had a strong team with a great chance of a top three finish on the day. Michael Astor was the club’s first runner home in 2nd place, just loosing out to a Worcester runner. A very similar situation to the 1st round last season where he was 2nd but pretty sure he will be pushing in the coming races for first as he did last season, eventually winning the overall competition. Lucas Hartley has missed a little training due to illness over the past month, but this did not show on the day, with a superb 5th place moving up from 12th in the same round last season. Reuben Long-Field is a relatively new member but has trained extremely hard since he joined the club and was rewarded with an excellent 10th place after a very strong run. These three runners brought the 1st team in in first place which is a great start to the season after finishing third at the same time last season.

Alfie Sansom was not far behind in a very good 19th, he has also trained hard over the year this has showed with a massive improvement over last season where he finished 37th. William Chalmers also ran well on the day for 45th, again an improvement over last season moving up 5 places. Jimmy Hunt is another new member but unfortunately is still struggling with an injury that did reoccur during the race but still held on for 54th place overall.

The club was always going to struggle to put a team together for the U11 girl’s race, but new member Lucy Hillary is certainly an athlete to watch out for. She joined the club shortly after winning the North Cotswold Schools District Champs at Moreton in Marsh at the beginning of the year. Lucy lead for over half the race but just lacked a little stamina over the closing stages where she dropped back to 7th place. There is no doubt over the coming months and more speed stamina training, a top three finish is not far off. She was supported by two of our younger runners who were taking part in the league for the first time. Both ran extremely well with Imogen Long-Field finishing 52nd and Eleanor Jones finishing 53rd bringing the team home in 10th place.

As with the U11 boys we had a strong team in the U13 boys which certainly had potential for a top three finish which would be a massive improvement on the same race last season where they finished 9th. With a number of runners moving up from the U11’s last year the team was certainly stronger. Charlie Astor was one of these runners who ran superbly on the day for 4th place overall. Kian Dee just keeps on improving and after racing the day before at the Cross Challenge in Cardiff put in another strong performance, pacing the race perfectly, moving through the field to finally finish 5th. George Swayne is another relatively new member with huge potential who has worked hard since joining and this showed with a very strong performance for 10th place. These three results bought the first team home in 1st place a fantastic result.

These boys were strongly supported by Harry Bradley 23rd, Ned Harrison 24th, Jonathan Cook 29th, Freddy Sansom 35th, Theo Birch 36th, Edward Jones 38th ( Up from 56th last season) and finally Arlen Hartley 40th who like his brother has missed a great deal of training over the past month through illness. Harry, Ned and Theo have moved up from the U11’s and ran extremely well and will almost certainly move up the field as they get more experience over the longer distance. Jonathan looked good throughout the race with the bags of stamina he has gained by regularly running the 5k Park Run’s most weekends through the summer. By adding more speed/interval training during the winter will move him even further up the field. Freddy has improved beyond recognition over the past year through sheer hard work and commitment and this showed and should be great inspiration to all runners.

Abigail Barnett has missed a great deal of training through the summer months but as in previous years has come and supported the club but despite being our sole under 13 girls still ran strongly for 36th and with more regular training will certainly move up.

After winning the Cross Challenge at Cardiff the day before, Kiya Dee again put in a great performance by winning the U15 girls race with ease. Sister Taya Dee who also ran the day before managing 9th at the Cross Challenge put in one of her best performances to date in the Gloucestershire League for 2nd overall. I was just a shame that we did not have another U15 girl supporting as would have almost been guaranteed another 1st place team finish. Fingers crossed the girls have support in the next round.

Isobel Barnett like sister Abigail has for years supported the club in the league and this year moved up to the U17 age group and despite missing a great deal of summer training ran well for 13th overall. Emily Field is now concentrating on 800 metres with Stratford AC but has still come back to support Bourton Roadrunners in Cross Country. She did really well over this much longer distance managing 4th place in the U20’s after moving up from the U17’s last season. There is no doubt a top three finish is not far off.

Overall a superb set of results for a small club like ourselves. Please come and support the club at the next round at Charlton Park near Chippenham on Saturday 2nd November.

Kian Dee led the county boys race from the start and also just outside the top 30 in the whole race against the adults. He put everything in as always to claim the county title in 5mins 45secs. He had to keep the gas on the peddle because he was pushed very hard by the ever improving Peter Fletcher who is having a wonderful season to finish second and take the county silver medal in 5mins 53secs.To finish the clean sweep for the club Jonathan Cook had a fine run to finish 3rd in 5mins 57secs and the county bronze, again tremendous improvement this year, a fine example of what you can achieve with hard training. Lucas Harley is still an under 11 but he finished 6th in the boys race in 6mins 18secs what a prospect for the future, the same for Reuben Longfield in 7th in 6mins 22secs. Closely followed by a group of very strong runners competing against boys much older than them, we have a great team for the future, 8th Wilf Harrison in 6mins 27secs, 9th Jimmy Hunt 6mins 28secs, 11th Alfie Samson in6mins 34secs, 12th Arthur Fletcher in 6mins 38secs, 13th Ned Harrison in 6mins 41secs, 14th Theo Birch 6mins 44secs, 17thFreddie Samson in 6mins 59secs. All these boys were all well up the main field as well, a great performance.

News for September 2019

The Chedworth Fun Run and 5km Trial Run on the 22nd September was cancelled due to bad weather but a parent mentioned that a another race at Charlbury, the Cornbury Classic was still taking place over 1 mile or 5K. Kiya, Taya and Kian Dee who rarely miss out on a race took part with Kiya winning the the 5k and Taya winning 2nd lady and Kian winning the boys U16 race. Impressive results.

Bourton One Mile County Champs & Fun Run.
Saturday 13th July 2019.

On the 13th July 2019 the annual 1 mile race took part in Bourton on the Water, this also incorporated the Gloucestershire 1 mile county championships.

Held perfect conditions the championship got underway at 630pm, followed by the fun run a few minutes after. This has now become a very popular race with approx. 180 athletes taking part. The juniors love running in this race as they all run with the adults, this very rarely happens and they beat most of them as well.

There were some outstanding performances once again.

Very good to see Gaby Jones racing well again, winning the under 20 ladies race in an excellent 6mins 5secs and a Gold County medal.

In the girls race Annabella Williams showed what a natural talent she is with a very good 2nd today in 6mins 16secs and the county silver medal. Just behind there was a real battle going on between Helena West and Maite Capper ,they were both given the same time of 6mins 16ses but Helena just won by a vest to claim 3rd and the county bronze medal but what a fine race by both of them

The Fun Run started 3 minutes after the championship race. There were some fine runs with Edward Jones making the podium with a good 3rd place in 6mins 40secs, only a few seconds behind the winner. David Hanson had a solid run in 5th in 7mins and 4secs with Arlen Hartley pushing him well in 6th in 7mins 8secs. He in turn had to fight off a very determined William Chalmers in 7th in 7mins 10secs. Daniel Bett is getting stronger with every race to take12th spot in 8mins 8secs a very good time for someone so young. Felix Thompson cut short his holiday to make the race and despite a broken arm as well had a fine race in 16th.

Chloe Krzywiec ran superbly in the Fun Run for 10th overall and first first girl in 7 mins 16 secs closely followed by her sister Pippa for 14th in 7 minutes 47 seconds and third girl. Imogen Long-Field has only just started racing and is improving with each race with 19th and 6th girl overall. Eleanor Jones put in yet another fine race performance and she powered down the finishing straight to take 22nd overall in 9mins 10 secs and 8th girl.

CLICK HERE to view Bourton One Mile Championship Results

CLICK HERE to view the Bourton One Mile Fun Run Results

Fairford Fun Run & 10k..
Sunday 9th June 2019.

The Fairford 3km Fun Run and 10k was again part of the Bourton Roadrunner’s Race Champ Competition and was well supported with many runners filling the top half of the field. A total of 168 runners took part in the Fun Run which was a record turnout.

Barney Hall had one of his best races to date winning the overall race for 1st place as did Jonathan Cook for 3rd well up on his 19th place last year. Emily Field was first lady home in 4th place. Young Lucas Hartley moved up three places from last year for 5th overall and 3rd U13 boy. George Quli did well equalling his 7th place from last year despite missing a great deal of training over the past few months. Brother’s Arthur and Peter Fletcher ran well with Arthur just pipping Peter at the finish for 8th and 9th respectively. Ned Harrison also moved up two places for 11th.

Rueben Long-Field, Theo Birch, Alfie Sansom, Maite Capper and Freddy Sansom all put in very good performances finishing in the top twenty in 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th and 20th respectively with Maite 3rd U13 girl. Heidi Mundinano put in a strong run for 22nd and 3rd 13 years and over girl.

Edward Jones 26th, Wilf Harrison 27th , William Chalmers 33rd, Eva Scates 34, Arlen Hartley 40th and Bella Harrison 45th all finished in the top 50 with Bella improving from 59th last year.

Our youngest runners did extremely well finishing in the top 100 with Pippa Krzywiec putting in a great performance for 52nd, up from 76th last year, Imogen Long-Field 74th, Eleanor Jones 79th, Chloe Krzywiec 88th and Daniel Bett 96th.
Jake Astor has just recently moved up to 10k and did extremely well for 23rd overall, breaking 40 minutes for this first time in 39:22.

CLICK HERE for Fairford Fun Run Results 2019

Northleach Fun Run & 10k.
Monday 6th May 2019.

The Northleach 3K Fun Run was again well supported by Bourton Roadrunner Juniors and for the first time, one of our older junior runners competed in the 10k. The event took place on Sunday 19th May in good, dry conditions and the undulating, multi-terrain course was very demanding with some tough hilly sections, one in particular, for the 3k course, although the course finishes with a long downhill section.

Kiya Dee was our first runner home in 1st place moving up from 2nd last year, 14 seconds quicker than last year. Sister Taya Dee also had an excellent run for 3rd also moving up one place and taking off over 25 seconds from the previous year. Not to be outdone by his older sisters Kian moved up two places for 5th but more impressively took nearly a minute of his time the year below.

Kian was closely followed by Jonathan Cook, Peter Fletcher, Lucas Hartley and Arthur Fletcher in 6, 7th, 8th and 9th place respectively with impressive performances in 13:04, 13:14, 13:22 and 13:41 Lucas improved his time by 9 seconds.
Reuben Long-Field who has only recently joined the club did really well for 12th place in 13:56 and Alfie Sanson has made huge strides since he joined the club for 13th in 14:01. Maite Capper has just recently returned from injury and did extremely well taking off almost a minute from the previous year in 14:21 for 14th overall.

Edward Jones ran strongly for 17th in 14:52 and Freddy Sanson, like his brother has really impressed over recent months with an excellent 20th place for 15:01. William Chalmers was another runner making huge improvements from the previous year, taking 50 seconds off his time the year before in 15:13 for 21st place.

Eva Scates has only just started competing in races and again did well for 26th overall in 16:08. Emilia Poole has certainly benefited by joining BRR Juniors as her time from last year has improved by an extremely impressive time of over 4 minutes. Arlen Hartley and Charlie Gauld both put in strong runs for 29th and 31st in 16:21 and 16:32. Emilia’s sister Olivia also had a super run compared to the previous year for 17:03 nearly 3 minutes quicker.

George Gibson was competing in his first race after only just recently joining the club and did well for 43rd over halfway up the field in 17:48. Several of our youngest runners also competed and did extremely well, with Chloe Krzywiec 46th in 18:13, Lucinda Hobbs 48th in 18:14 and Pippa Krzywiec 52nd 18:59, impressive for a year 3.

Eleanor Jones who is also a year 3 improved her time by nearly 5 minutes for 54th and 19:46. A massive improvement. Daniel Bett and Imogen Long-Field have also just started competing in races and Imogen has only just started training with the club so 64th (20:35) and 80th (23:03) place were very respectable and pretty sure to see even greater times if they compete next year. 94 runners completed the Race.

Jake Astor took part as a BRR in his first 10k race and did extremely well on such a tough course as it was very hilly with several off-road sections. He finished in an excellent 5th place in 43:48, a very respectable time on this challenging course.

Gloucestershire Track & Field Champs.
Prince of Wales Stadium. Cheltenham.
Sunday 12th May 2019.

The Gloucestershire Athletics County Champs took part on the 12th May 2019 at the Prince of Wales Stadium, Cheltenham. The weather was certainly warmer than the week before at the Brewers Games and again was supported by several BRR Juniors competing.

Lucas Hartley was our sole runner in the 600m and finished 5th in a personal best of 2:03. Kian Dee, Jonathan Cook and Arlen Hartley all competed in the U13 boys, 1500m race with Kian and Jonathan both running personal bests of 5:30 and 5:36 for 2nd and 3rd respectively. Arlen also did well for 4th overall in 7:04.

Emily Field competed in the ladies 15+ 800m race managing 3rd in 2:27 and Kiya and Taya Dee competed in the U15, 1500m race with Kiya 1st in 4:47 and Taya 3rd in 5:09. All three ran personal bests.

Kiya and Taya also ran the day before in the U15+ 3000m with again Kiya 1st in 10:19 just 2 seconds off her personal best and Taya 2nd in 11:17.

Brewers Games.
Prince of Wales Stadium. Cheltenham.
Monday 6th May 2019.

Bourton Roadrunner Juniors took part in the Brewers Games at the Prince of Wales Stadium at Cheltenham on the 6th May 2019. Conditions were dry but cold and all who took part enjoyed the occasion. The U11’s and the U13’s took part in the Quadkids event which consisted of an 75m (100m U13) sprint, 600m (800m U13) race, Long Jump and a throwing event called the Vortex.
In the U11 Competition Lucas Hartley finished 6th overall with 185 points. 0:13 in the sprint, 2:10 in the 600m, 3.15m in the Long Jump and 22.4m in the Vortex. Alfie Sanson also did well for 130 points with 0:13.8, 2:14, 2.32m and 14.6m respectively in each event.

Charlie Astor, Arlen Hartley and Freddy Sansom took part in the U13 Competition with Charlie running 2:53, Arlen 3:17 and Freddy 3:17 in the 800m. Charlie had to pull out due to an injury after the 800m but Arlen and Freddie finished the competition with Arlen 20th with 145 points and Freddie 22nd with 103 points. Arlen also managed 0:17.4 in the 100m sprint, 3.11m in the Long Jump and 23.7m in the Vortex. Freddie managed 0:18.0 in the sprint, 2.1m in the Long jump and 12.3M in the Vortex.
Emily Field competed in the 800m, U15’s and older race finishing 2nd with a personal best of 2:28.

Other News for March 2019.

After great results the week before at Pendock Alfie and Freddy Sanson both recorded personal bests at the Evesham Junior 2K Park Run on Saturday 27th March with Alfie finishing 5th overall and 1st U11 boy in 8:28 and Freddy 8th overall in 8:45 with over 50 runners taking part.

Emily Field, Beth Allen Peter and Arthur Fletcher all ran PB's Jonathan Cook equalled his at the Moreton Fire College 5KM Park Run on

On Saturday 2nd March Kiya Dee became the first ever winner of the Witney Park Run. Emily Field, Beth Allen, Peter and Arthur Fletcher all ran PB's and Jonathan Cook equalled his at the Moreton Fire College Park Run on the same day.

Pendock Spring Chicken 1K Fun Run & 5K Multi Terrain.
Pendock. Near Tewkesbury.
Sunday 24th March 2019.

The Pendock Spring Chicken Run was one again part of the Bourton Roadrunner Junior Race Champ Series for 2019. Members had a choice of competing in the 1k Fun Run which suited our younger members and a 5k multi terrain course for the rest. Due to the Primary Schools Nationals the day before, numbers were a little lower than the year before however a couple of runners opted to do both. As in previous years the weather was glorious for the time of year.

In the 1k race Eleanor Jones ran extremely well for 19th place and Daniel Bett opted to run with a friend and enjoyed the race finishing 49th out of 83 runners. Both runners are only 7 years old, Eleanor had taken part last year and this was Daniel’s first ever fun run and both enjoyed the race especially receiving the finishing Medals at the end.

A mixed age group of Bourton Roadrunner Juniors did extremely well in the 5K race. Emily Field again was first lady as the previous year finishing 5th overall. She was closely followed by Jonathan Cook just two seconds behind for his best result to date in 6th and was 2nd U13 boy. Gabby Jones is now showing her true potential after years of suffering from stitch in races with a very good run for 10th and 2nd lady.

After running the day before at the Nationals, Edward Jones did extremely well for 12th beating his time from the previous year by over a minute where he finished 28th. Alfie Sansom who is only eight years old and had also taken part in the Nationals the day before, put in a storming performance for 15th and 1st U9 boy, extremely impressive.

Dominic Luff ran well and was just behind Alfie for 16th . Alfie’s brother Freddy in his first race for the club put in a great performance for 22nd Only a few months ago he was in one of the lower training groups but has really worked hard at his training and is now reaping the rewards.

Overall a great set of results for Bourton Roadrunner Juniors especially when you consider there were 150 runners who took part.

Year 7 & Primary Schools Nationals.
Prestwold Hall. Loughborough.
Saturday 23rd March 2019.

The Year 7 and Primary Schools Cross Country National’s took place at Prestwold Hall near Loughborough on Saturday 23rd March 2019 for the second year. The conditions were very good this year, unlike last year when the course had to be changed due to the bad weather. Several Bourton Roadrunner’s took part for their Schools County and as last year we also took a small club team for our juniors to gain experience in such a big race.

The first race was for the Year 5 girls over a distance of 2.2km. Bella Harrison who finished 4th at the Primary School’s Cross Country Champs was unable to compete in the Gloucestershire Finals due to her only being in Year 3. Due to her impressive times in training the decision to take her to the Nationals was justified with an excellent 226th out of 342 runners. With another two years in this age group she is going to certainly move up.

Michael Astor changed schools from last year and this year qualified to run for Oxfordshire Schools in the Year 5 boys race. He has certainly trained extremely well over the year and this showed with a great performance to finish 14th, up from 44th last year. Lucas Hartley who is still just a year 4 qualified to run for Gloucestershire and ran extremely well, finishing in 94th place, up from 161st last year. Jimmy Hunt and Alfie Sansom who both qualified to run in the Gloucestershire Championships ran for Bourton Roadrunner’s after missing out on qualification. Jimmy was unwell on the day so was unable to run and Alfie who is a year 4 just missed out on qualification. Both boys put in strong run’s for 186th and 243rd out of over 300 runners.

New member Zara Sampson decided she would like to experience the atmosphere of a big race. She finished a very good 8th position in the Gloucestershire District Cross Country Champs at Moreton but just missed out for qualification in the finals. On the day she thoroughly enjoyed the occasion running a well-paced race finishing 270th out of 344 runners in the year 6 girls competition.

In the year 6 boys race, Charlie Astor ran extremely well for 57th. He also qualified to run for Oxfordshire School’s and if he could train more regularly with the club would certainly finish even higher. Ned Harrison put in a very good performance despite being very unwell the week before, finishing 123rd competing for Gloucestershire Schools. Impressive as he finished 201st last year. Despite only joining the club the month before William Hobby and Theo Birch wanted to experience the occasion as both are really enjoying the sport. William finished 192nd and Theo 206th out of over 300 runners. William actually competed for Worcestershire, last year where he finished 230th, up 38 places. Harry Bradley has been running extremely well in training but he was slightly overcome by the occasion finishing 219th. With more experience in races he is certainly going to finish much higher up.

The year 7 competition is much tougher than the 5 and 6 competitions especially as there are not so many competitors and the quality is higher in the lower positions as this age group does not include Leicestershire and Rutland Championships. Kian Dee qualified to run for Gloucestershire Schools and has worked extremely hard over the past year and he was rewarded with a very good 108th place up from 131st last year. Wilf Harrison and Edward Jones both ran for Bourton Roadrunners to gain. experience and did well for 170th and 182nd respectively despite Wilf also taking a fall.

This is a fantastic event that we certainly intend to compete in again next year and a big thank you to John Skevington and his team for putting on such a great event.

CLICK HERE to view Year 5 Girls Race ------------------ CLICK HERE to view Year 5 Boys Race

CLICK HERE to view Year 6 Girls Race ------------------ CLICK HERE to view Year 6 Boys Race

CLICK HERE to view Year 7 Girls Race ------------------ CLICK HERE to view Year 7 Boys Race

SIAB Cross Country International.
Santry Demesne, Dublin.
Saturday 23rd March 2019.

Kiya Dee from Bourton Roadrunner Juniors qualified to run for England in the SIAB International’s on Saturday 23rd March at Santry Demesne, Dublin in Ireland. The top runners from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland compete against each other for their countries. Last year Kiya Dee finished 7th but this year ran superbly for 2nd just missing out on first by two seconds, helping England to 1st place in the competition.

CLICK HERE to view a short clip at the finish.

English Schools Cross Country Nationals.
Temple Newsam Park. Leeds.
Saturday 16th March 2019.

The English Schools Cross Country Nationals took place at Temple Newsam Park, Leeds on Saturday 16th March 2019 for the second year. Emily Field, Kiya Dee and Taya Dee from Bourton Road Runner Juniors all qualified from the Gloucestershire Cross Country Championships in January.

Last year Kia Dee finished a superb 6th place overall in the Junior Girl Competition which was a fantastic result but this year she ran a superb paced race, to eventually win the race by just over ten seconds. During the early stages of the race she was approximately a quarter of the way down the field, but ran a her own pace, showing great maturity for her age to take the lead in the later stages and eventually win by over ten seconds. A very exciting prospect for the future.

Kia’s sister also did extremely well moving up one place from the previous year for an excellent 35th place, running a similar race to her sister. Both girls took nearly a minute off their time, from the year before which was equally impressive.

Despite moving up an age group from the year before Emily Field put in a very strong performance for 188th, a few places down from the previous year, which was expected. If Emily trains well over the next twelve months she certainly has the ability to finish much higher next year if she qualifies especially as again she will be the oldest.

Kiya now qualifies to run for England, as she did last year in the SIAB Cross Country International’s in Dublin where she will compete for England against Wales, Scotland and a combined Irish Team. Last year she finished 7th,, helping England to win the Competition.

CLICK HERE to view Junior Girls Race with Kiya and Taya.

CLICK HERE to view Senior Girls Race with Emily.

Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.
Prestwold Hall. Loughborough.
Saturday 9th March 2019.

The Inter Counties Cross Country Championships again took place at Prestwold Hall near Loughborough on Saturday 9th March 2019 for the second year. The conditions were certainly not as muddy as the previous year but all runners had to contend with extremely windy conditions that certainly made it tough going at times. Several members of Bourton Roadrunners qualified through the Gloucestershire County Championships in January with several running for the first time.

For Kian Dee, George Quli and Maite Capper, this was their first Inter Counties and they certainly did well when racing against the best runners in England, Scotland and Wales. Kian Dee and George Quli managed 269th and 289th respectively in the U13 boys competition and Maite Capper 294th in the Girls U13 girls competition.

After coming 4th the previous year in the U13 girls race, Kiya Dee moved up an age group and put in another impressive performance for 4th again. If Kiya had not been held up in the first 800 metres where she was around 50th place, she would definitely have had a top three finish. Sister Taya also did extremely well to finish in the top 100 with 67th place on the day.

In the U17’s race both Emily Field in the ladies race and Jake Astor in the men’s race, both ran well with Emily 139th moving up 3 places from last year and Jake 184th after moving up from the U15’s the year before. Gabby Jones also put in a very good performance in the U20 women’s race where she came 139th. Great result as she also,has only just moved up to this age group.

Gloucestershire Primary Cross Country Schools Nationals.
St Edwards Primary School. Cheltenham.
Saturday 2nd March 2019.

The Gloucestershire Primary School Cross Country Champs took place at St Edwards Primary School in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham for the second year. The course is particulary know for its steep climb that is extremely demanding for most runners, especially for those not used to running up hills, and a course you certainly needed to get your pace right. Otherwise you would end up walking most of the hill.

Several Bourton Roadrunners had taken the offer of extra sessions on Maugersbury hill which certainly helped and at the North Cotswold warm up session, at Stow Primary School, a little hill running advise had also been given.

On the day most North Cotswold runners had listened to the advice and ran a well paced race that led to many over taking quite a few other runners on the hill and finishing with a strong finish.

There was a strong contingent of Bourton Roadrunner Juniors who did well.

In the year 5 race Lucas Hartley had a steady start but worked his way through most of the field for an excellent 6th place, a great result for a Year 4. Arthur Quli showed his experience for 27th , Alfie Sansom another year 4 a strong 42nd and new recruit Reuben Long-Field a very good 45th. In the girls race Isabel Phipp ran well for 57th.

Ned Harrison has been running extremely well and this showed with a superb 6th place in the Year 6 boys race and Harry Bradley did well for 15th. New recruits William Hobby 30th and Theo Birch 41st ran extremely well and will get even quicker with regular training. Hattie Phipp put in a strong performance in the girls race for 50th and new member Zara Sampson was not far behind for a very good 59th.

The top 12 finishers in each race are selected to run for Gloucestershire Schools in March in the Primary Schools Nationals at Loughborough. Well done to Lucas and Ned who have been selected.

As last year Bourton Roadrunners will again be taking a team to the Primary School Nationals for its members to take in the atmosphere and gain experience in a prestigious Race. All members who took part thoroughly enjoyed the experience including Lucas and Ned who will now be competing for the County.

CLICK HERE to view results for the Warm Up at Stow.

CLICK HEREto view the finishing positions for the North Cotswold Team.

Other News for February 2019

Kiya was runner up in the ECCA Nationals u15 girls !!!

Gloucestershire Nort Park Run

Gloucestershire Cross Country League Round 4.
Pitville Park. Cheltenham.
Wednesday 6th February 2019.

The final round of the Gloucestershire Cross Country League took place at Pitville Park, Cheltenham on the Sunday 17th February. This is a regular venue for the Cross Country League and is known for its undulating course and its crossing through a stream. This was an important meeting for Bourton Roadrunner Juniors as there were several members with chances of individual and team County medals.

The first race was for the U11 boys and they needed a good performance from Michael Astor who at the start of the race was in 1st place overall and from the team who were, at the time in 3rd place overall. Michael was up against a very good runner from Cotswold Allrunners, with one win a piece, however Michael had an advantage of two places from a previous round. Michael put in a very strong run on the day for 2nd, which was enough for him to take 1st place overall, and Gold Medal. Impressive as he still has another year in this age group.

The team needed another two runners to finish in high positions to secure at least 3rd place overall. With Charlie Astor and Lucas Hartley both having excellent runs for 4th and 11th respectively, this was enough to finish the A team in 2nd place on the day and more importantly, 2nd place overall and Silver County Medals for all members who had finished in the top three for the club, in any of the four rounds.

The next three runner’s home were Harry Bradley 14th, Ned Harrison 19th and after only just recently joining the club, in his first race, Reuben Long-Field 36th. All three put in excellent performances bringing the B team in a very respectable 6th place on the day.

Several of our younger runners also ran with Alfie Sanson 37th, Arthur Quli 49th, William Chalmers 51st and Toby Luff 63rd. Alfie, William and Toby are still only eight years old and will only move further up the field in future competitions and with Michael and Lucas still in the same age group next year, the prospect of another high finish looks likely.

In the U11 girls race both Grace Barrington-Cramp and Bella Harrison both put in strong runs for 36th and 42nd but unfortunately, they were again the only two club members taking part, so no team finish. Grace has another year in this age group and Bella three so hopefully next year we can make a team.

The club had a strong showing in the U13 boys with Kian Dee 11th, Jonathan Cook 24th and Wilf Harrison 30th bringing the team in in 7th place on the day. They were well supported by George Swayne 32nd, Edward Jones 39th, Dominic Luff 42nd and Arlen Hartley 43rd. Overall the A team finished 6th overall and Kian Dee was the highest individual finisher in 6th place. All these boys have another year in this age group so expect a much higher finish next season enhanced by some very promising U11’s also moving up.

Abigail Barnet was our sole runner in the U13 girls race but again put in a strong performance for 21st on the day and impressively finished 15th overall. With another year in the age group expect a much higher finish next season.

On the day the club had no runners in the U15 boys competition but there was a much stronger showing in the U15 girls. Kiya Dee is again excelling this season and won the race with ease, deservedly taking 1st place overall. Sister Taya Dee was not to far behind in 5th place with another strong run and Heidi Mundinano had her highest finish of the series in 12th place with her best run to date. The team finished 1st on the day and 2nd place in the Competition overall with Silver Medals for the A team including Helena West and Isobel Barnett who were unable to run on the day. With Kiya, Taya and Isobel again in the same age group, next season and with some promising new runners recently joining the club, there is a great possibility of team Gold next season.

Emily Field, Gabby Jones and Jake Astor were all in Individual medal positions coming into the race and they all needed a good performance on the day, for a top three finish in the competition. Emily and Gabby both ran well with Emily finishing 3rd only 2 seconds behind the 2nd placed runner in the U17 girls and Gabby 4th in the U20 girls. Emily finished the competition in 2nd place overall and Gabby 3rd overall, superb results. Jake only needed to beat a Worcester runner to take Gold overall and made his move about half way round, opening a 20 second gap that he was able to hold onto until the end, holding onto 1st place overall and a Gold medal, impressive as he a has another year in the same age group.

Another fine set of results for our small friendly club in the North Cotswolds.

Primary Schools North Cotswold District Championships.
Moreton Fire College.
Wednesday 6th February 2019.

The Primary School District Championships took place as in previous years at Moreton in Marsh Fire College on Wednesday 6th February. There were separate races for Year 6 and Year 5 and below, for both girls and boys, with the top ten runners in each race, qualifying to run for the North Cotswolds region in the Gloucestershire Primary Schools finals at Cheltenham in March. Unfortunately in the finals, only years 4 or 5 who qualified, can run in the year 5 races, so any years 3 or below who finished in the top ten, are not allowed to not run in the finals. A shame but this is the rule, but without doubt, once in year 4 they will almost definitely qualify in the future. Bourton Roadrunners Juniors who took part, all did extremely well.

The first race was the year 6 boys with Harry Bradley running his best race so far, leading the race from almost the start to the finish for his first win. He has certainly shown great potential in training, but this by far his his best performance in a competitive race, so far. Ned Harrison has also impressed in training and was always towards the front of the field, but once he worked his way into 2nd place easily held on to the end.

Hattie Phipps has recently started training again with the club, after previously being a member and did very well in the year 6 girls race for 6th overall and new member Zara Sampson did very well for 8th.

There has never been any doubt in Lucas Hartley’s ability and this certainly showed in the Year 5’s boys race, yet he is only a year 4. After a steady start, he worked his way through to 1st place over approximately 400 metres and eventually won the race with nearly 100 metres to spare, very impressive, especially as the race was only approximately 1800 metres in length. Arthur Quli despite missing a great deal of training through other commitments, ran his best race of the season, for an excellent 6th place. Alfie Sansom has impressed so much in training and was rewarded with a fantastic 9th place, despite still being a year 4 and after finishing 68th the year before. A massive improvement. New member Reuben Long-Field also impressed with 10th overall and will certainly move up the field with regular training. There were also impressive performances from George Duckett 15th, Thomas Cassidy 21st, William Chalmers 29th. and Will Preston 32nd this year and 74th last year. Despite feeling very unwell Angus Graham bravely decided to run and did well for 69th and young Tommy Smith ran strongly for 87th.

Despite only being a year 3 Bella Harrison, certainly knows how to race and pace herself at such a tender age. In the year 5 girls race she gradually worked her way through the field to finish a superb 4th place overall out of 100 runners, certainly a name to watch for the future and such a shame she cannot run in the finals. There were equally impressive performances from Jemima Hall in 14th and Izzy Lawrence in 24th.

All Year’s 4, 5 and 6 who finished in a top 10 position’s have qualified for the finals at Cheltenham on the 2nd March with the 11th and 12th runners qualifying as reserves. There will be a team pre-race training session at Stow on Wednesday 27th February.

CLICK HERE to view results.

Gloucestershire Cross Country County Championships.
Rencomb College. Near Cirencester.
Saturday 9th January 2019.

The Gloucestershire Cross Country Championships took place for the first time at Rendcomb College near Cirencester and was hosted by Cirencester AC. With the exception of the U11 age group, this is the race that selects a team of eight, in each age group, to represent Gloucestershire, in the Inter Counties Championships in March. Usually the top six who finish on the day are automatically selected, but the next four to six runners may be picked to run, or to be held as reserve’s if other runners have to pull out.

On the day the weather was good and the conditions dry. The course however was quite demanding with a very steep hill to contend with, and for the under 15 age group and older, at least two river crossing’s with the water over thirty centimetres deep and cold. Care certainly had to be taken when crossing with several runners actually falling.

Bourton Roadrunner Junior’s were again well supported with over twenty runners taking part and producing the club’s best results at a County Championship in recent years.

The first race was the U11 girls and unfortunately this year we have not been able to assemble a team of three, but Grace Barrington Cramp again ran well for 14th and was closely followed at the end by a young Bella Harrison 15th who again started at the back and made her way up through the field is certainly somebody to watch for in the future.

This year the under 11 boys have been getting better with every race. Michael Astor who has another year in this age group, has made massive strides this year, regularly finishing in the top three in the Gloucestershire Cross Country League. He finished 2nd on the day with another strong performance closely followed by his older brother Charlie in 3rd. Due to other commitments Charlie does not run and train that regularly which is a shame as he also has massive potential. Ned Harrison was the clubs 3rd runner home in an excellent 7th place and has been getting better with each race. These three boys bought the 1 st team home in a fantastic 1st place and County Gold Medals for all three.

Alfie Sansom who has not been training at the club long and is still only just nine years old, has trained hard since he joined and this showed with a superb 8th place just behind Ned. Certainly another to watch for the future. Harry Bradley 11th has not raced many times this year but with each race is getting better and starting to show his potential that he has shown in training, With more experience he will certainly move up the field. Arthur Quli is another member who has not trained regularly due to other commitments but put in a strong run for 21st and will certainly move up, if he can train regularly. A third place overall and County Bronze Medals for all, was a well-deserved reward, and the first time in many years that the club has had a 1st and 3rd in the same race.

In the U13 girl’s race, a team medal was not expected but the girls rose to the occasion finishing third team overall and County Bronze Medals for all three. Maite Capper has always trained hard and ran well in training but often during races, her nerves get the better of her. Not today with an excellent 6th place and a place in the County team. Ella Gray is another with massive potential but does not race often due to other commitments and although she found it tough on the day put in a strong team performance for 12th. Abigail Barnett was close behind again running well for 14th.

The U13 boys were strong medal contenders at the start of the race, but a 1st team place overall was a massive surprise on the day but again very well deserved. Kian Dee has been putting in a great deal of hard work over the year and is now reaping the rewards with a well deserved 6th place and a place in the County team. George Quli has also been working hard to get back to full fitness and put in one of his best performances to date for 9th place. Wilf Harrison is another with massive potential but often struggles slightly in races but not today with an excellent 15 th place which also should give him more confidence for future races.

George Swayne 17th, Jonathan Cook 18th and Edward Jones 26th all ran well but just missed out on 3rd team place, finishing 4th. George only joined the club recently so this was an excellent result and with regular training, certainly has the potential to move much further up. Jonathan always puts in a strong performance as he did today and Edward Jones also did well.

Kiya Dee has only just moved up from the U13 girls but easily won the U15 girl’s race with ease which was extremely impressive and shows her immense potential for the future. Twin sister Taya has also been on the up recently and ran extremely well for 4th just six seconds behind 3rd place. Helena West was the clubs third runner home in 12th which was a good result as she had to pull out of training a few days before feeling unwell. They still managed to hold onto a well deserved 2nd place and Silver Medals for all three. They were well supported by Heidi Mundinano and Isobel Barnett in 13th and 14th place respectively. Both girls have suffered from the winter colds recently but both are on the up again with strong performances and will only get better.

Barney Hall was the clubs only runner in the U15 boys and ran well for 11th overall. He missed a great deal of summer training due to other commitments but has been training well recently but was hampered due to running in trainers rather than spikes especially as there were several muddy sections. With a pair of spikes and regular training he will only get better.

Emily Field is another runner with massive potential and ran one of her best races to date with a fantastic 1st place, individual County Gold Medal and a place in the County Team in the U17 girl’s Competition. Jake Astor has worked extremely hard over the past year and this is showing in his results. Having just moved up to the U17 age group he managed an excellent 5th place and a place in the County team on the day. Our final runner was Gabby Jones who again ran well with a very good 6th place in the U20 girls and again a place in the County team.

Overall a great set of results for Bourton Roadrunners Juniors and one of the best results in recent times.