THERE was another opportunity for athletes from Dudley Kingswinford Running Club to mix it with the region’s elite on Saturday in the Midland Counties Cross Country Championships at Wollaton Park in Nottingham.

On a full day of racing starting at 11.30, with the under 13 boys, and going through both age groups and genders before the final race, the senior men at 3pm, this was a massive event with clubs from as far apart as Bristol, Banbury, Kettering, Kenilworth, Leicester, Leamington, Wellingborough and Wolverhampton all congregating in the East Midlands for the regional competition.

The blue hoops were able to field teams in both the women’s and men’s races. The ladies race over 8k covering three laps and the men’s race over 12k and four large laps of a difficult, undulating course.

Helen Troman’s was first back for the club in the women’s race coming home in 112th in 36.45, Carol Fisher was 156th in 39.50, Lynn Sprague finished in 41.49 in 183rd place, Sally McConville was 220th in 44.31 and Charlotte Tonks was 250th in 49.25. In the team event, won by Bristol & West from Charnwood AC and Birchfield Harriers, DK finished in 24th place of the 30th clubs able to field a team.

In the men’s event, Ben Foster brought the club home in 75th place in 42.11 from Andy Sprague in 218th in 48.22, James Wright in 231st in 48.55, Mark Gatenby in 252nd in 49.38, Daren Thompson in 271st in 50.30 and Dave Norman in 273rd in 50.35 to make up the scoring team. Kieran Pitt was 307th in 52.06, Pete Hood was 322nd in 52.54, Steve Wood was 333rd in 53.28, Graham Wildgoose was 360th in 55.00, Mark Homer was 370th in 55.32 and Mark Judge was 384th in 57.05. In the team event won by Notts AC on home turf, from Tipton Harriers and Wolverhampton & Bilston, DK placed 23rd of the 38 clubs able to field six or more runners.