Another outstanding run by Mel James and lots of promise shown by the BvH Ladies under the stewardship of Helen Foot… plus Marianne announces “We all love cross country”
Mel James was awarded 2nd place overall in the Ladies Masters’ category and the BvH Ladies finished 7th team overall thanks to the great work by team captain, Helen Foot in building a team spirit.
Marianne Hensman reports: The last race of the season – and on Valentine’s day weekend, hooray! Helen’s usual meticulous preparation nearly fell flat as when we met at the club to travel together to Aston recreation ground she mislaid her car keys. “Oh no – what about the goody bags?” we all cried, and spent several minutes frantically searching. Fortunately the keys were found (in Helen’s back pocket after all) and we were soon on our way. Twelve of us were out – myself, Helen, Linda, Mel, Nicola, Laura, Caroline, Lesley, Tanya, Emily, Sally and Becky . The course consisted of two laps involving several playing fields, a little hill, and some woods.
We warmed up, and then warmed up a bit more as the start was delayed for 10 minutes (more time to wait for tea and cake). Then we were off. What I like about two lap courses is that an enthusiastic shout is never far away. Our faithful support team of Steve, Christopher and Mark James, Stuart Leslie (with Kelly the dog) and Ed, were on just about every corner with a cheer for us all, which really helped especially on that last hill. Just as we were finishing the rain started and we retreated inside.
We finished the season 7th ladies team (the top two being Loughborough and Birmingham Uni) with strong runs by everyone. It’s been a great season with lots of new ladies taking part, and a really good turnout at all the races. Many congratulations to Mel who took the trophy for second individual Masters lady. Cups of tea and goody bags were very welcome indeed (and included chocolate hearts ) – what a disaster it could have been if those keys hadn’t turned up!
Marianne Hensman