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Prospect Park
in Reading was the location for the 4th in the series of five
races that comprises the Hampshire Cross Country League which pits the
athletes from neighbouring counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and
Dorset against each other in a winter endurance league. The athletes were
greeted with very cold icy but beautifully sunny weather and unusually for
this location - which is normally known for its mud – very hard icy uneven
ground.
Despite the
conditions the show always goes on and the brilliant sunshine and some very
notable performances helped to make it a very enjoyable event. As is their
trademark – the under 15 boys team consolidated their reputation by taking
first team place on the day moving them up the overall rankings to second
place. They now have a real chance of taking the title in the final match
which will be held in Salisbury in February. This magnificent team performance saw all
four athletes cross the line in the top 10 – the best performance by a
country mile by a young Andover distance team in many decades.
Alex Rudge was
first man home in second place in a time of 12:41 for the 4k course,
followed by: Dan Grinham in 6th (13:07), Tom Bennett, who is slowly
returning to form following a shoulder injury in 8th place
(13:29) and Chris Neil in 10th place (13:44). All four boys also
feature in the individual league rankings where four of the five races must
have been completed to qualify. Alex holds 2nd place, with Dan Grinham
secure in 5th, Tom Bennett 7th and Chris Neil 8th.
Christie
Woodford and Chris Berntsen also had great races in their respective under
17 age groups. Both attacked the race from the start. Christie finished the
4k course in 5th place her highest finish ever in 15:31 and
Chris in 6th place in a time of 17.49 for the 5.6k race. Also
competing on the day were: Ellora Milsom, Vick Grinham, Charlotte Brown,
Natalie Thomas, Margaret Smith, Caroline Bennett, Soloman Lane, Sam
Winchcombe, Chris Adams, Matt Lane, Tim Bennett and Gordon Smith.
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Victory 5
A cold day
awaited the many runners from around the county and yet again Andover AC
was very well supported with 15th athletes running in what was the 5th in
the series of the Hampshire Road Race League – Portsmouth’s Victory 5. The
mens race was fast with the overall winner coming home in just 22:54. Some
way behind in 81st place Matt Lane brought the A team home with a stunning
Sub 30 minute 5 mile race, a new personal best (PB) for Matt by nearly 2
minutes and only 2 minutes behind him was Rob Cliff in 142nd (31:51) place
also setting a new PB. Ade Sinclair ran extremely well to get 3rd place for
the club in an excellent time of 32:14 with David Cleghorn completing the A
team with a time of 33:02. These results meant that the A team achieved 4th
place in (A) Division 2 maintaining there overall position of 4th in the
Hampshire Road Race League. The B team also came 4th in their division (B)
Division 2 but move to 3rd place overall, with good solid runs from Martin
Welsh (206th PB) Kelvin Mason(237th), Ian  Oldacre(280th) and John Goulding
(309th).
The ladies
were also out in force with 2 full Andover AC teams competing, a first for
the club – well done ladies. Emma Dunham was first back for the A team in
34th place in the ladies race in a time of 33:49. Emma was followed home by
Jo Samways in 40:08 in 106th place and Sandra Blowers in 120th place in a
time of 41:14 (a new PB). The A team came 3rd on the day and stayed in 4th
overall. The B team was lead home by Sheila Oldacre in 156th place, with
Katy Karas 12 places further back, with Sandra Horner and Sally Vant
bringing the team home in 210th and 220th places respectfully. Following
this fine set of results the B team now lies in 3rd place in the (B) league
Division 2. A Big well done to all Andover AC road runners – and a reminder
to all that if you have set yourself a New Years resolution to get fitter
in 2009 Andover AC is a great place to make a real start towards that goal.
Overall results
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Place
|
WOMEN
|
Team
|
Team
Points
|
Indv
Score
|
Age
Cat
|
|
|
|
|
|
34
|
Emma Dunham
|
Andover AC
|
260
|
88.6
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Snr
|
19
|
0:33:49
|
06:46
|
04:12
|
|
106
|
Jo Samways
|
Andover AC
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|
63.7
|
Snr
|
47
|
0:40:08
|
08:02
|
04:59
|
|
120
|
Sandra Blowers
|
Andover AC
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|
58.8
|
W50
|
13
|
0:41:14
|
08:15
|
05:07
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|
156
|
Sheila Oldacre
|
Andover AC
|
534
|
46.4
|
W50
|
18
|
0:43:37
|
08:43
|
05:25
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|
168
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Katy Karas
|
Andover AC
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|
42.2
|
Snr
|
78
|
0:44:14
|
08:51
|
05:30
|
|
210
|
Sandra Horner
|
Andover AC
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|
27.7
|
W40
|
50
|
0:47:08
|
09:26
|
05:51
|
|
220
|
Sally Vant
|
Andover AC
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24.2
|
Snr
|
91
|
0:47:44
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09:33
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05:56
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MEN
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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81
|
Matt Lane
|
Andover AC
|
566
|
83.2
|
M40
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7
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0:29:43
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05:57
|
03:42
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|
142
|
Robert Cliffe
|
Andover AC
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70.3
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M40
|
15
|
0:31:51
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06:22
|
03:57
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|
159
|
Ade Sinclair
|
Andover AC
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66.7
|
M40
|
18
|
0:32:14
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06:27
|
04:00
|
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184
|
David Cleghorn
|
Andover AC
|
|
61.5
|
M45
|
35
|
0:33:02
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06:36
|
04:06
|
|
206
|
Martin Welsh
|
Andover AC
|
1032
|
56.8
|
Snr
|
100
|
0:33:48
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06:46
|
04:12
|
|
237
|
Kelvin Mason
|
Andover AC
|
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50.3
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M55
|
14
|
0:34:37
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06:55
|
04:18
|
|
280
|
Ian Oldacre
|
Andover AC
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41.3
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M55
|
16
|
0:36:05
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07:13
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04:29
|
|
309
|
John Goulding
|
Andover AC
|
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35.2
|
M70
|
3
|
0:37:12
|
07:26
|
04:37
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