ATHLETICS: Rugby & Northampton runners do their county proud

Rugby & Northampton AC had 29 athletes taking part at the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships held at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough last weekend.
Andy Pacey was the first Silson AC runner home in the Adidas Silverstone Half MarathonAndy Pacey was the first Silson AC runner home in the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon
Andy Pacey was the first Silson AC runner home in the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon

All seven members of the Northamptonshire team in the Under-15 Girls squad consisted of R&N athletes, with Molly Williams leading them home over the four-kilometre course in 17:55, taking 165th place.

Just 12 seconds behind was Abigail Pearce in 185th spot, while Holly Walker was next across the line in 217th, recording a time of 18:28. The rest of the team consisted of Isabelle Rippon (222nd – 18:30), Amelia McMurtrie (242nd – 18:51), India Phipps (284th – 20:01) and Emma Barker (285th – 20:02).

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The club also had the first four athletes across the line in the U13 Boys Northants team with Aidan O’Brien finishing in 97th after covering the 3k distance in 13:03.

He held off club-mate Louis Buttrick, who finished 101st, by two seconds, while Noah Bennett arrived next in 192nd (13:33) with Michael Corbett recording 13:52 for 236th. The fifth R&N member was Jake Hope (267th – 14:09).

Matthew Chronicle was the top athlete for Northants in the U17 Mens 6k event, finishing 79th on 21:50. Two of his R&N team-mates, Joe Musgrove (119th – 22:25) and James Wizard (184th – 23:12), were next in the squad, before William McMurtrie (248th – 25:14) got in on the act.

There was a real battle for top honours in the Senior Men’s 12k race, where R&N pairing Dominic Jones and William Gardner both made the top 100. Jones just got the better of the club champion by 10 seconds, leading home the Northants team in 91st spot courtesy of 42:04, with Gardner 97th. Robert Male was the fourth county man over the line (238th – 46:06).

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The highest placing by any R&N athlete came from Ben Musgrove in the U20 Men’s 8k, producing an excellent run of 30:04 to secure 61st position, making him the fifth athlete from the club to lead home a Northants team.

Ben Hope, running for Northants, finished in a time of 17:45 to cover the U15 Boys 4.5k course in 151st, while Cian Hutton – representing Warwickshire in the same race – was 218th in 18:26. Also, running for Northants were Tobias Heayns (252nd – 19:00), Matthew Blomley (276th – 19:52) and Joe Baker (294th – 22:02).

After getting knocked down at the first corner, all three R&N girls in the U13 3k event got up and battled to the finish. They were Claudia Searle (129th – 14:27 ), Olivia Williams (148th – 14:33) and Alice Bates (210th – 15:00).

Last but not least, representing Buckinghamshire was 19-year-old Rebecca Leadbeater, who competed in the Senior Womens 8k race, delivering a superb run to finish 220th in 38:37.

Parkrun PBs for Probert and Douglas

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SILSON AC’s Cez Probert gained a personal best at the Buckingham parkrun on Saturday, and Alex Douglas did the same at the Daventry parkrun.

Team Rose, who are Paul Rose, his wife Carol, and his daughters Chelsey and Amber, all took part in the Stanwick Lakes running event on Sunday.

Paul and his daughters completed the half Marathon whilst Carol completed the 10K distance. They were all a little soaked when they finished but Chelsey was made up with her time of 1:59.

Bob Kellam will be busy cleaning his trainers this week after completing the Ridge Off Roader event on Sunday.

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He said that it was very wet, very muddy, dangerously slippery, but probably the most fun half Marathon he has ever done.

The Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon took place on Sunday afternoon.

After it had rained most of the morning, the conditions were looking bleak.

However, it brightened up as the race started and thankfully stayed dry for the duration.

Silson’s Andy Pacey (1:23), Ann Williams (2:17), Kevin Reboul-Caroll (1:36), Nick Pacey (1:34), Stewart Shears (1:37) and Steve Lincoln (1:24) all completed the distance.