Presteigne Cross Country – Ladies Race Report

Race Reports

Yet again we managed to have two ladies teams for the final race of the winter cross country league at Presteinge. The ladies have done Croft proud this season and we have managed 2 teams at all of the races except for Ufton Court where we were only one short.
It was great to see a bit of sun and blue sky on Sunday morning after the horrible weather of the day before. Normally all that rain would have made me a bit wary of the muddy conditions to come but having faced the mud of Monkhall, I knew this was going to be a pleasure to run.
We had pole position at the start as the ladies start fifteen minutes earlier than the men which makes for a less cramped start and also means you do get more of an idea of whereabouts you are in the race as there are only other ladies ahead. It also meant that some of the muddy stretches were not too badly churned up.
The uphill start is a bit tough, but I was able to keep a good pace and realised I could see both Steph and Sue up ahead so tried my best to keep them in sight. I did manage to pull ahead of Steph on one of the uphill climbs in the middle of the race, but I knew she was running well and she raced past me when we got back on to a wider path and I couldn’t keep up with her. I decided instead to try and keep as close to her as possible so the three of us could finish in a row without my letting anyone else past. This I managed and Sue, Steph and I managed to come in 9th, 10th and 11th which saw us in take second place for the teams which I was pretty pleased with.
Carol continues to improve and was next croft lady home in 46.24, followed by Sue Powell in 47.01. It was great to have Rachel back now recovering from injury which has seen her not racing for the last eight months. She finished in 52.42, with a sprint and a smile.
It was great to be able to have a hot shower to wash away the mud and Presteigne Pacers put on a good spread of refreshments for the presentation afterwards.
It was fantastic for Croft to receive some medals:
Steph, Carol and myself got the silver medal for the Vet Ladies County Championship race at Monkhall.
Sue won the V50 gold medal, I got second V40 and Steph got 3rd V40.
We also came home with the trophy for third place team, which given how strong Wye Valley Runners are is pretty good going.
Well done to all the Coft ladies who competed in this years Winter league, we have had a great turn out and great runs from everyone.

1 thought on “Presteigne Cross Country – Ladies Race Report

  1. A great race report Sam. Thanks for getting us all organised and keeping the ladies team motivated….a good team captain!

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