THE muddy grasslands of Hylands Park played host to the third round of the Essex Cross Country League on Saturday.
Thurrock’s senior men were again out in force, 14 of them finishing the race. The six in the scoring team were led in again by Alex Houghton, although troubled by a sore achilles tendon finishing in 17th place.
Scott Rice produced a great run to finish 32nd and 3rd in the V40 section. It keeps him strongly in contention for a medal at the end of the series. Dennis Cross took a break from his studies at UEA to finish 37th, a big improvement on his performance in race 1.
Mr Consistency, Alec Finch, battled through to 53rd. Don Lawless showed good form to finish 64th and the team was
closed in by 18 year old Adam Dowman who was 71st. The team’s total of 274 points earned them 5th position on the day and kept them in 4th place for the season. 24 teams contest the league.
There were some other good performances Jon Metcalf 72nd position earned him 4th place in the 50+ section and keeps him in the hunt for medals at the end of the season. Mick Bumstead gained another victory in the 60+ section and he looks a hot tip to take the gold for the series. Anthony Tobin continued his improvement in 80th spot.
Thurrock’s other finishers were David Johnson 74th, Nigel Instance 97th, Bernie Johnson 131st, Gary Rowlett 139th and returning to racing Steve Martindale 154th. 190 started the race.
Sarah Driver made her first appearance over the country for the season and ran steadily to finish 42nd.
This week many club athletes are tackling the ultra fast Chelmsford 10K which includes the County Championships. The Club have strong mens and womens teams in the frame.
