Gloucestershire Cross Country League, Tewkesbury - 8 December
Conditions at the 3rd Gloucestershire Cross Country League event at Tewkesbury in December could hardly have been any worse. With large stretches of the course having been recently been under water, the mud was extreme to say the least, making the course fiendishly difficult and treacherously slippery.
Bourton Roadrunners were unable to field a Ladies’ team; but (as always) the men rose admirably to the challenge. Since the men’s race was the final race of the day, the mud had by then been churned up by hundreds of pairs of spiked shoes, leaving the men to face over 10 kilometres of truly awful conditions.
Dennis Walmsley ran a composed race, to finish a superb 16th overall and 1st MV50. Next in for Bourton was a determined Tony Goodwill in 84th.
Ewen Smith chose the worst possible conditions to make his return to racing, finishing 95th. Norm Lane ran with his usual humour and enthusiasm, despite his shoes being literally sucked off his feet, and finished 3rd MV65 in 149th. David Pyne was close behind in 152nd. Up against dreadful conditions and an extremely competitive field, Bourton’s Veteran men finished a creditable 10th out of 19 teams.
Highlights
Bourton men battle through the mud at Tewkesbury cross-country race.
Dennis Walmsley finishes 1st MV50, 16th overall.
Norm Lane loses shoes in the mud, but battles on for 3rd MV65.
Other reports may be found on our recent race reports page.