Kate Axford wins Cardiff Cross Challenge
Belgrave’s Kate Axford opened her cross country season with victory at Llandaff Fields, holding off Amelia Quirk in a ferocious sprint finish to win the senior women's race at the first fixture of the British Athletics Cross Challenge series.
Third in Cardiff two years ago, Kate Axford went two places better today. She won the 6.4km race in 20:37, holding off Bracknell's Amelia Quirk in a ferocious sprint finish. Quirk was given the same time, and Bingley's Rebecca Flaherty finished three seconds back in third.
"The last time I raced this race was two years ago, and since then I've had all sorts of setbacks and injuries," said Kate. "I didn't know how I'd fare over six and a bit kilometres, which is quite long for me these days, so it was nice to use some of that 1500m speed in the last 30 seconds to take the win."
Fifth was Laura Muir, Kate's current training partner in Leeds. Muir is the Olympic 1500m silver medallist from Tokyo and a former Commonwealth and European champion. "I train with Laura in Leeds now, and that's been really helpful for both of us," said Kate.
Next up for Kate is the Liverpool Cross Challenge at Sefton Park on 28 November. That race is the GB trial for the European Cross Country Championships in Serbia in December, and it is where Kate won her first GB vest in 2024. "I'm not sure I'll win it, but I'll give it a good go," she said.
Abbey Brooke also ran strongly for Belgrave, finishing 14th in 21:31.
Kate already holds three Belgrave club records: 5,000m on the track (15:19.40, set at the 2024 UK Championships in Manchester), the road mile (4:24, set at the Vitality Westminster Mile in September) and road 5k (15:34).
Results
Full results are on OpenTrack.