The 4th fixture of the East Sussex Sunday Cross Country League took place yesterday (15th) at Warren Hill.
In December, it looked doubtful if there would be a January fixture, as the original venue in Heathfield was unable to host a race due to works on the course.
Eastbourne Rovers stepped in with the help of Hailsham Harriers with a last minute offer to host a fixture at Warren Hill instead.
Many thanks go to chairman Mike, for getting this fixture secured and doing a significant amount of preparation work in such a short time.
Hosting the fixture meant Rover’s would have to provide many volunteers, which made it difficult to fill the point scoring slots. The volunteers arrived early on Sunday morning to find a strong howling wind on the exposed headland, which made it impossible to set up any kind of infrastructure such as a tent or gazebo, so were operating out of cars! A lot of thanks are due to the volunteers, not only did they endure the cold winds, but there were hail showers too, just to keep things interesting.
Juniors
As ever the juniors set off first, heading straight into the wind, but fortunately with a nice downhill. Of course, this meant that once they had turned there was a bit of assistance coming back up, though it never feels like it!
In the under 11 boys race, Fox Andrews claimed 2nd place, with Charlie Davey finishing 4th. In the under 11 girls, Grace Luford-Brown took 2nd, just ahead of Georgia Lennard in 3rd.
The story of the day goes to the under 13s though, where the boys took a 123 with Jonah Messah 1st, Joshua Webster 2nd, and Byron Roberts 3rd. Evie Lennard comfortably won the girls race making it 4 wins from 4!
Finally, Dermot O’Rourke won the under 17s boys race.
Evie Lennard, Jonah Messah and Dermot O’Rourke are leading their categories in the series.
Seniors Rover’s seniors were still able to field 30 runners in the adult race, despite having a few regulars in volunteer roles for the day. The wind persisted, but it didn’t hold back first Rover home, Stuart Pelling in a fantastic 4th place, and 1st in the M35 category. Natalie Dawson was 1st in the F50 category. Alan Rolfe was 3rd in the M55 category.
The much-appreciated team effort meant Rovers were able to finish in 5th place overall, and hang on to 2nd place in the series, though this is once again joint 2nd!
Alison Moore remains top of the senior female category, with Laura Seaman 3rd. Heather Jenner is second in the F35 category. Natalie Dawson tops the F50 category.
Richard Davis moves into second in the M35 category, Mike Thompson is 3rd in the M65 category.
Next up is Whitbread Hollow hosted by Run Wednesdays, another Eastbourne based club. This means we can enjoy a local fixture without the pressures of hosting.
