VENUE: St. Ouen’s Manor
DATE 17 November 2012
The third Advisa Group Cross Country race took place last Saturday at St Ouen’s Manor. The course was a distance of 1 kilometre and started by the car park in the manor grounds. The course took an anti clockwise loop through the woods before dropping down a steep slope to the ponds in the lower garden. It continued in the lower grounds before a steep climb up granite steps. The final part of the loop took the runners right on a gentle climb up the grass bank to the main gate before turning 180 degrees and returning down the main manor road with a gentle decline to the finish. Despite a damp and drizzly day there was still a fantastic turn out of ninety runners with 87 of them managing to complete the course.
In the 7-8 age group Oliver Rothwell, in the boys; race, made it three wins out of three beating Jakob Stanton whilst Jake Vieira headed of a posse of six boys for third place with just six seconds separating these boys. In the girls’ race Lucy Hunt kept up her winning ways of last month in pipping Katie Le Rougetel whilst Lily Scott just held off Clemmie Carnegi for third place. Only five seconds separated these four girls. In a mix up Katie Le Gros was awarded the bronze medal and very sportingly told the officials that she never finished third.
The second race was the 9/10 age group in which the runners completed two laps of the course.. Jack Kennedy won the boys’ 9-10 age group by a considerable distance and in doing so again made it three wins out of three and similarly triple winner Adele Maher won the girls’ race. Luke Killian held off William McGowan in the boys’ race for second place as did Rosie McManus beating Eliss Polak in the girl’s race.
The final race of the day was the eleven and over age groups in which the runners completed three laps of the course and this race saw good competition as over twenty runners started at the line. William Brown and Sam Maher raced the three laps sise by side and eventually they crossed the line together with William making in three wins out of three in the 11/12 age group and Sam winning the 13/14 age group/. In the girls’ race Florence Gothard beat Jennifer Cullen and Daisy McAllister in the 11/12 and Yasmine Lookess won the older age group.
After the race Advisa Group medals were given to the first three home in each age group and lucky race numbers were drawn for six pairs of cinema ticket spot prizes.