A great day at the Scrubs
Four complete teams and gold for the A team: a very successful and enjoyable day for the Belles at the South of England 3-Stage Cross Country Relays.
The three-stage cross country relay at Wormwood Scrubs has long been a popular event with the Belles, its mainly flat, grassy 3km course suiting middle-distance and endurance runners alike. Although they have medalled many times recently, it was way back in 2012 that the team last came away as winners. That team included longtime Belles member and supporter Samantha Amend (Samantha Hudson dos Santos Figueira).
This year the four teams were treated to a warm, sunny day with little breeze: ideal conditions. Of the 25 teams who completed the course, the Belles finished 1st, 10th, 12th and 14th, highlighting yet again the tremendous strength in depth of this team.
Lara Mangan brought the A team home in an excellent 3rd place on the first leg. She handed over to Juliet Hodder, who soon took the lead on leg two. Kitty Shepherd-Cross brought the team home with much to spare despite a fast-finishing Reading team, who took second place, just pipping Thames Valley at the finish.
Incredibly, the B team of Orla Walsh, Emma Rowland and Holly Nixon all ran within two seconds of each other to finish a fine 10th.
Just two places further back, the C team of Claudia Carter, Gemma Newport and Emily Barrett finished 12th, and the D team of Sara Ridmy, Bethan Goddard and Melanie Ullmo were 14th.
RESULTS.