News

27th November 2024

Liverpool Cross Challenge

Three Burton Athletes travelled to Liverpool to face storm Bert and the best of the British cross country runners.

Liverpool was the second race of the cross challenge and Ewan Withnall after winning in Cardiff the Under 15 race was looking for a double.

 Joining him was Lewis Boyce who has been running well and was looking for tougher competition. He would find it here with 7 of the England team from the Dublin schools international in March and 3 of the Scottish boys who had been in the top 6 that day running. 

While Bert had bought lots of rain overnight, it was good conditions for the their 3 Killometre race, it was the seventh of the day, so the course was now very muddy.

Withnall started well and was well placed after the start, with Boyce in the top third of the field. Withnall stayed positioned in the top two, marking any attack but ensuring a steady pace. It was still a group of 12 with one killometre to go when Withnall accelerated to try and get a clean run through a tricky woody section. Only one runner could go with him Yaried Alem, who had won the English Schools cross country in March. He had been second in the England Cross Country championship at Weston Park in September only losing to someone a year older. Alem had been the only under 15 who had beaten Withnall on the track in the summer in an 800 metre inter county race and he had been disqualified when the pair had clashed in the England Schools 1500 metres final. The last 800 metres saw them match each others pace and surges all the way to the line. Withnall thought he had the victory and raised him arms to celebrate while Alem made one last dive for the line. With their chip times the same, no one was sure who had won and it went to photo finish and Withnall got the win. 

Boyce meanwhile was having a steady race and came home in 46th to finish in the top third of the race and he should be pleased with a strong run in the tough conditions.

Maise Trueman was taking part in the combined under 17 and under 20 women’s race with places at stake for the European Cross Country championships it was a strong field with 200 racing. Innes Fitzgerald, the very talented runners for Exeter set off with her customary fast pace, which was always going to stretch the field. Trueman had struggled with her form in the second part of her previous race at Rugby and had been disappointed in her performance. Although in hindsight, illness a few days after the race may have been a contributing factor. Taking no chances she started slower and was in 60th after the first kilometre of the 4.4K race. As the others slowed, in the muddy conditions, she moved through the field into the top 30. The last killometre saw her pick up a few more places for 21st in the under 20s and 27th in the overall combined race. Last year she had finished in 75th, so this was a strong improvement and will help her chances of selection for the midlands team at the cross challenge at Leeds. A great run in the conditions and she beat many athletes she has been finishing behind previously. 

Attention now switches to the last North Midlands League race of the year at Shipley Park on the 7th December. With this also being the venue for the Derbyshire county championships it should be good practice for the new year selection races. 

The liverpool races are on live stream with Ewan and Lewis’s run starting at 1.14.45 and Maisie’s run at 1.44.50 https://www.youtube.com/live/AerpHKYLoNM