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Cross Country News

Goose acquits himself well on World stage

30 March 2008

CoNAC’s Mitch Goose made his debut on the World stage at the weekend. Despite flying out from the troubled new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, Goose made it on time to compete in the 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships staged in Edinburgh.

Holyrood Park with its landmark backdrop of Arthur’s Seat provided the athletes with a superb and demanding course, true to the traditions of British cross-country running. However, this did not deter the athletes from the African nations displaying their outstanding talents when filling the first nineteen places in the Junior Men’s 8km race.

First Brit home was David Forrester in very respectable 24th place. Goose, despite taking a tumble at the frenetic start, didn’t panic and picked himself up to work his way back up the field. In the last of the four-lap race he displayed great determination to cross the line in a pleasing 55th position just ahead of team-mate Ross Murray.

It was only two weeks ago in Nottingham that Goose gave family and coaches a few jitters when only qualifying for the Worlds in the last of the six available places for selection to the GB team. So, to close in as second Brit and sixth European athlete to finish the race it was a very happy Mitch Goose who attended Sunday’s post race banquet.

The Kenyans, Ethiopians and Ugandans dominated the team race but the GB team can draw solace from the fact that there were the first European team to close in when finishing 9th overall.

Over the past winter Goose has picked up a team silver in the European Cross Country Championships, represented Great Britain on three occasions and also helped his club to take team gold in the National Cross Country Relay Championships. Not a bad record for the youngster who is confident that there is more in the tank for the future.

After a short rest to recharge the batteries, Goose will concentrate on the summer track season where he will look to greatly improve his 1,500m and 5,000m times.

CoNAC retains the Ryston Runners Cross Country Grand Prix Visitors Cup yet again!

17 March 2008

The curtain came down on the 2007-08 Ryston Cross Country Grand Prix Series at the weekend and as is now the norm the club came away with the Visitors Trophy for the best overall performance over the six race series.

It was one of those rare occasions at Shouldham Warren when the weather was unkind to the organisers and athletes as a strong wind and more than a spot of rain prevailed throughout the morning. However, this did not deter those club’s athletes in attendance who - as expected - produced some good performances. Megan Bird competing in the Under 11 Girls race came home in an admirable 4th place while in the Under 13 Girls race Emily Hoogkamer, after competing in the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships held in Nottingham the previous day, finished on top of the podium following an impressive run.

Ollie Maskell - also stretching his legs after competing in the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships - finished runner up in the Under 17 Boys event. In the Senior Men’s race Mark Collinson, Andrew Bunn and Mark Gotts came home in crocodile style when finishing in 6th, 7th and 8th places respectively. For the Veteran Men Peter Tuttle grabbed third place in the Over 40 division while Emily’s father Rini Hoogkamer finished ahead of the rest in the Over 45 category.

The club’s trio of ladies had a good day. Dani Nimmock, yet another taking the opportunity to ease away the stresses and strains of competing in the Inter Counties, scored a comfortable win in the Senior Ladies race. Rachel Stringer - building on her stamina base for the summer track season - came home in second place. And Claire Forbes, competing in the Over 35 Veteran Ladies division, left the competition trailing when winning with over four minutes to spare over her nearest rival.

The Ryston Runners Grand Prix Series has been on the cross-country calendar for twenty-two years now and provides the club’s athletes of all ages with the opportunity to benefit and compete at various cross-country distances on a regular basis throughout the winter months.

Mitch Goose to take on the world

16 March 2008

The club’s endurance athletes were out in numbers on Saturday when representing Norfolk in the UK Inter Counties Cross Country Championships & World Trials staged in Woolaton Park, Nottingham.

Plaudits on the day must go to Mitch Goose who has gained selection to run for Great Britain Juniors in the forthcoming World Championships that are being held in Edinburgh on Sunday 30th March. TV pundits were confident that Mitch would qualify with ease and expectations were high. At the end of a tense and demanding 8km race Mitch held onto his sixth position, the final qualifying place but at the same time giving his parents some very anxious moments. In the same race Rick Ward came home on 36th place with Luke Allen crossing the line in 46th position. Ashley Harrell started the race with high hopes but due to a chest infection failed to stay the course and had to drop out.

Young Tom Hook over the winter season has improved in leaps and bounds. Competing in the Under 13 Boys 3km race he finished in a very creditable 32nd position. Scott Greeves homed in at 97th while Sean Watson crossed the line in 131st position. Another name for the future is young Mimi Barr. Her 33rd finishing position in the Under 13 Girls 3km was a pleasing performance. Teammates Emily Hoogkamer and Kiera Mooney finished in 103rd and 124th respectively. For the under 15 Boys racing over 4.5km Callum McLaren was best placed at 87th. Esme Salmon (90th) Juliet Broster (118th) and Hazel Wilson helped make up the Under 15 Girls team that raced over 4km.

What can be said about James Senior?! Competing in the Under 17 Boys 6km championships race Sky Sports viewers were treated to the spectacle of seeing him open up a 30m gap over the field in the first 300m. However, he did finish the race albeit well down the field. It was good to see Ollie Maskell running into better form when finishing in 74th position. Joel Taylor (114th) and Tom Crawshaw (134th) made up the County’s scoring four. Sam Cheverton competing for Suffolk crossed the line in 68th place.

In the Junior Ladies 6km race Dani Nimmock arguably ran the hardest race of her short career to finish in a pleasing 16th position. Hollie Rowland, racing under IAAF rules as a senior athlete gave a very good account of herself in the 8km race. She completed in a high 27th position. Olivia Walwyn now competing in the black and gold of Cheshire finished not far adrift of Hollie in 30th place. Exile Ruth Proctor, who now resides in Sheffield, as always worked hard to finish in 74th position while Claire Forbes, new to the club’s ranks, just missed out on making the top 100 when placed 102nd. Stuart Huntington was not enamoured with racing over 10km in the Senior Men’s race but can be reasonably satisfied with his finishing spot of 117th.

An added bonus for Dani Nimmock and Mitch Goose is that they both finished as runners-up in their category of the UK Cross Challenge to pick up monetary awards to help offset their training expenses.

Team silver for Junior Men in National Cross Country Championships

24 February 2008

Alton Towers took on as new persona on Saturday when the famous theme park hosted the Saucony sponsored English National Cross Country Championships, the UK’s biggest event of its type with a cast of many thousands.

We were well represented at the event in which all the best teams in the country were competing for honours. Our best chance of success was with the Junior Men’s team headed by international Mitch Goose. Racing over a 9.6km three-lap course, with each lap including a very steep 150m hill made it a very tough call. With four to score Goose, despite going down with a chesty cold on the day of the race, gamely stuck to his task to finish in a high 6th position. City club’s newest international Ashley Harrell produced a super run to finish in 13th place. Third scorer Stuart Huntington came home in 38th position, for him a disappointing run and with Steve Cannell just returning to some degree of fitness closing in the scoring four in 82nd place the chance of gold was lost. Rivals Aldershot Farnham & District AC proved too strong on the day but such is the spirit with the junior squad they will be looking to wrench the trophy away from them next time around.

The Under 13 Boys team competing over 3.2km will surely benefit from the experience of competing in the National and can be pleased with their team placing of 10th. Tom Hook (41st), Scott Greeves (71st), Sean Watson (73rd) and Darryl Broughton (143rd) made up the scoring four. For the Under 15 Boys Callum Mclaren and Jack Harrison were the club’s only representatives. Sticking to their guns they finished in 128th and 300th positions respectively. Competing over 4km the Under 15 Girls team finished in 13th place overall the scorers being Juliette Brewster (85th), Esme Salmon (114th), Iona Lake (148th) and Hazel Wilson (161st) while in the Under17 Girls race Claire Pring ploughed a lonely furrow for her club when finishing very highly placed in 16th.

The Under 17 Boys squad competing over 5.8km produced a sound team result when finishing in 11th overall. James Jackson produced a very capable performance when placed 35th. Tom Crawshaw displayed fine fighting spirit to finish 86th with James Senior hot on his tail in 88th place while Ollie Maskell, on the comeback trail from injury finished 136th. It is pleasing to note that all four boys will compete in the same age group next year and will for sure produce a much-improved result.

Two of the best individual performances on the day came in the Junior Ladies race over 5km in which Hollie Rowland finished in 11th place closely followed by Dani Nimmock in 16th position. Both young ladies had higher expectations of themselves but can draw some satisfaction from their efforts on the day. Satisfaction can also be drawn from the performance of the Senior Ladies team that finished 9th overall in their race over 8km. Fell racing international Olivia Walwyn although not overly pleased with her 33rd finishing position led the team home. Ruth Proctor crossed the line in 58th place and was followed home by Claire Forbes in 73rd spot. Nicky Alford made up the scoring four with a finishing position of 110th. Racing over 12km 800metre specialist Carl Goose proved that his stamina base is in place when finishing in 160th in the Senior Men’s race. 1244 competitors completed the race.

Ashley Harrell makes successful international debut in Belgium

10 February 2008

Ashley Harrell has had a hectic time of late. Consecutive weekends have seen Harrell travel to Dusseldorf to represent the South of England while on Sunday he found himself in Dour in Belgium. On this occasion he was representing England for the first time in a junior international cross country fixture and was delighted to finish in a creditable 8th place, a position that helped England to a comfortable team victory.

Club’s continuing success at Ryston Runners Grand Prix

10 February 2008

There was a springtime feel in the air for Sunday’s Ryston Runners Grand Prix that made ideal racing conditions for the competitors. The club’s athletes were out in numbers and as expected produced some excellent performances with Emily Hoogkamer setting the standard with a fine win in the Under 13 Girls 3km race. Keira Mooney worked hard for her third position while Anna Hoogkamer crossed the in fifth position. In the Under 13 Boys 3km race Tom Hook after a stirring battle had to settle for the runners up position by the small margin of two seconds. Juliet Broster was pleased to pick up the bronze award in the Under 15 Girls 3km race.

Claire Pring proved to be an emphatic winner of the Under 17 Ladies 4.5km while in the Under 17 Men’s 4.5km race the club’s trio of James Jackson, Damien Rogers and Micah Rogers had to give way to West Norfolk’s James Robinson. Jackson finished runner up with Damien and Micah finishing in 3rd and 4th respectively.

At senior level and racing over 9km, Dani Nimmock - despite a heavy cold - still managed to claim victory over club mate Nicky Alford while Louise Wilkinson competing in the Over 45 Division proved that age is not a barrier to success when securing a very comfortable victory. Rini Hoogkamer finished a pleasing second in the Over 45 Men’s division and is proving to be a very able training partner for daughters Emily and Anna.

CoNAC-ers in cross country battles home & away

3 February 2008

Swansea staged the British Universities Cross Country Championships in which CoNAC athlete Mitch Goose represented St. Mary’s University College. In his first year at St Mary’s, Goose has developed a habit of winning medals at cross-country. Already he has won a team silver at the European championships and individual silver & team gold representing Great Britain in Portugal. At the weekend he added to his impressive collection when finishing in a high 15th position. He was the first Under 20 athlete to finish and his impressive effort helped St Mary’s to their first ever team gold ahead of the mighty Loughborough and Birmingham University teams. Club newcomer Hollie Rowland was representing the UEA and expressed her disappointed at her finishing position of 18th, feeling she was capable of securing a place in the top ten. With two more years at the UEA she will have the opportunity to make amends.

CoNAC athletes Dani Nimmock, Ashley Harrell and Stuart Huntington travelled to Dusseldorf to represent the South of England in an international Under 23 cross-country race. 17- year-old Nimmock can be very pleased with her performance when finishing in 7th place against older opposition and putting to rest her perceived disappointing run in the Southern championships the previous weekend. Ashley Harrell followed up his 5th place in the Southern championships with a solid run when placed 14th, a position he was not entirely happy with. However, on his return home he was delighted to learn that he has been selected to compete for England Juniors in Belgium this coming weekend. Harrell has worked very hard in training and has earned his selection, his first international vest. Sadly for Stuart Huntington he had to drop out in the latter part of the race with severe stomach cramp.

In the Norfolk County senior cross-country championships held at Houghton Hall on Sunday, Ruth Proctor returned to the winners rostrum when taking the ladies title while Mickey Beamish was a surprised a delighted winner of the men’s title. Neil Davison took the honours in the veteran men’s category.

Excellent CoNAC showing at Southern XC Champs

26 January 2008

Nearly 50 athletes from City of Norwich AC travelled to the infamous Parliament Hills course in London to compete in the Southern Cross Country Championships on Saturday. It was particularly pleasing to see so many younger athletes running and enjoying the experience, especially in the under 13 boys and under 15 girls age categories.

The under 13 boys team were lead from the front by Tom Hook who finished in a high 22nd place, followed by Scott Greeves (40th), Sean Watson (49th) and completing the team Darryl Broughton (83rd), helping the team to a very creditable 5th place overall. Other finishing positions: Alex Lubbock (108th), Arthur Chapman (109th), Charlie Clarke (129th) and Magnus Chapman (159th) bringing the B team home in 22nd place.

The under 15 girls team consisting of Iona Lake (32nd), Esme Salmon (77th), Juliet Broster (78th) and Hazel Wilson (95th) performed very well to finish in 9th position.

There were a number of exceptionally good individual performances, notably James Jackson in the under 17 men’s race who ran strongly to finish 12th, supported by James Senior (22nd), Sam Cheverton (28th) and Connor Darby (56th) - however, disappointingly, the team missed winning bronze medals by just 18 points.

Hollie Rowland, a new recruit to the City of Norwich ranks late last year, continues to be in great form by winning a bronze individual medal in the junior ladies race.

This race was swiftly followed by the junior men (pictured right) who were hoping to emulate their team win from last year and retain the trophy that they had just returned on the day, but this time they were without the help of Mitch Goose who was on international duty in Portugal. Ashley Harrell had a storming run to place a high 5th followed closely by Stuart Huntington in 7th, splitting a pair of Aldershot and Farnham District AC athletes. Indoor and outdoor track specialist Rick Ward ran to his best ability in 20th place with Luke Allen closing the team in 38th, earning the team silver medals.

The picture looks very rosy for the forthcoming National Championships next month when Mitch Goose will be with the team seeking to add gold medals to their already formidable collection from past seasons as a squad.

Six senior ladies competed over the 8km course. Olivia Walwyn, GB international fell runner, ran very strongly to place 11th, with Emma Coombs (30th), Ruth Proctor (37th), Nicola Alford (60th) closing the team to finish in a very high 4th position.

The senior men eventually finished in 30th place with individual positions as follows: Wayne Lincoln (123rd), Jon Quint (144th), Mikey Beamish (180th), Andy Walpole (240th), Stu Roger (317th), Mark Gotts (584th) and veteran athlete Paul Woodyatt (721st).

Meanwhile, Mitch Goose - representing GB for the second time this season - had an exceptional run in Lisbon in the tripartite match between GB, Spain and Portugal. Mitch eventually finished second, just five seconds behind David Forrester, fellow GB athlete and the highest placed finisher in the European Championships in Toro, Spain, last December. Mitch now aims to add another GB vest to his growing collection at the World Trials race at Nottingham in mid March, hoping to become a member of the junior men’s squad at the World Championships in Edinburgh on 30 March.

Gold medals galore at Norfolk County AAA Cross Country Championships

13 January 2008

The club’s junior athletes had a field day at the Norfolk County Cross Country Championships staged in conjunction with the Ryston Runners Grand Prix Series at Shouldham Warren.

In the Under 11 Girls race Megan Bird found herself in a tough battle with Norwich Road Runners Sophie Alden who on the day prevailed. Megan on this occasion had to be content with silver. The diminutive Ashleigh Bunn took individual bronze and with Megan Wilson crossing the line in fourth place the team gold award came the way of the girls. In the Under 11 Boys race Toby Price was a convincing gold medal winner by almost a minute but as none of the clubs could fulfil the criteria of three competing athletes team medals were not awarded.

It was a different story in the Under 13 Girls race in which the club’s athletes filled the first three places. Mimi Barr took gold and proved to be a comfortable victor while Keira Mooney and Emily Hoogkamer battled for silver and bronze. Keira just got to the line ahead of Emily to take the silver, however both were credited with the same finishing time. With the minimum score of just 6 points the team gold award was clear-cut in favour of the club’s girls.

Whatever the girls can do the boys can match! Scott Greeves, Tom Hook and Sean Watson, in that order, filled the first three medal places in the Under 13 Boys race to ensure that the club secured another team victory with a minimum points score.

West Norfolk’s Rebecca Daines continued in her winning ways when taking the Under 15 Girls title but she could not prevent the club from securing another team title. Juliette Knights displayed better form to take silver and was backed up by Iona Lake in bronze position with Esme Salmon coming home in 5th position. For the Under 15 Boys Callum McLaren took silver and with Martin Ramsey and Jack Harrison finishing in 4th and 5th places respectively yet another team gold was secured for the club.

It was disappointing that not one County club were able to field a full team in the Under 17 Girls race in which Claire Pring proved to be a convincing winner. It was a different story in the Under 17 Boys race in which the club filled the first five places adding to the tally of team victories. James Jackson, displaying improving form took gold with Tom Crawshaw and Joel Taylor taking silver and bronze awards. For good measure twins Damian and Micah Rogers crossed the line in 4th and 5th places.

Dani Nimmock, Hollie Rowland and 800m specialist Rachel Stringer combined well in the Under 20 Ladies race to fill the first three places that ensured team gold for the trio. Rick Ward, Ashley Harrell and Luke Allen mirrored the ladies finishing positions in the Under 20 Men’s race taking the total of team gold medals to a superb eight. This added to the seven individual gold medal won made the day a particularly pleasing one for the club’s young athletes.

Belfast International

7 January 2008

Club’s cross country runners make their mark in Belfast International

It required an early morning flight on Saturday for the small party of City of Norwich AC athletes to get themselves across to Northern Ireland in time to compete in the Belfast International Cross Country fixture that incorporated the UK Cross Challenge.

Competing in the wonderful grounds of the Stormont Estate from the outset the athletes had to contend with a six inch covering of snow which as the twelve race programme rolled-out became a quagmire and a genuine test of cross country running.

Dani Nimmock (below, left) competing over 3600m in the Junior Ladies race, felt that despite finishing a praiseworthy second, she had sold herself short. Finishing only five seconds behind winner Heather Timmins representing the North of England, Nimmock’s post race comment was to say she had too much left in her legs at the end of the race and should have challenged for the victors laurels. An opportunity missed but nevertheless all part of the learning curve!

The City club’s latest international Mitch Goose (above, right) was in the leading breakaway trio in a classy Junior Men’s 5600m race but mid-race failed to cover a move by fellow international David Forrester and James Wilkinson and sadly dropped off the pace. Despite his best efforts he was not able to regain contact and on this occasion had to settle for a third placed finishing, a position below his own expectations.

In the Under 17 Boys 5600m race James Jackson displayed improving form. A fast early pace saw Jackson up with the leading pack, a position he valiantly maintained throughout the race so it was pleasing for him that his sterling efforts were rewarded with a pleasing eighth place finish. Tom Crawshaw, currently struggling to find his best form found the underfoot conditions not to his liking and has to settle for twenty-eighth position.

At the younger end of the age scale Tom Hook (see photo, left panel) is thoroughly enjoying this winter’s cross-country experiences. Competing in the Under 13 Boys race over 1800m he proved what a very capable athlete he is when crossing the line in a creditable tenth place. Kiera Mooney again racing over 1800m also made her mark in the Under 13 Girls competition when mirroring Hook’s position of tenth. It was a long round trip for the youngsters but both benefited from competing in top-flight cross-country races.

Sunday will see the City club’s junior athletes taking part in the Norfolk County Country Cross Country Championships that will be held in conjunction with the Ryston Grand Prix Series and will be staged at Shouldham Warren, Downham Market.

UK Cross Challenge

10 November 2007

Newcomer to the CoNAC ranks, Hollie Rowland, who finished an impressive fourth in the Junior Ladies race in the UK Cross Challenge staged in Gateshead on the 10 November. See photo, left  

National Cross-Country Relays

3 November 2007

CoNAC Under 20 team L - R Rick Ward, Mitch Goose, Ashley Harrell

Winners at the National Cross-Country Relays, Mansfield, 3 November 2007