THERE was a medal for Woodford in the mud of the Hadleigh Country Park course at the Essex Cross Country Championships, last weekend.

The men's team of Woodford Green with Essex Ladies won silver, with the women's squad only one point away from a set of bronze medals, on what was a “very good day for the club”.

Kevin Murphy and Mark Burgess, and Kat Gundersen and new signing Evie Serventi all recorded top ten finishes.

It also saw the long-awaited return of 22-year old Mark Burgess, who won this race four years ago as an 18-year old but had not raced since the summer of 2007.

The club had eight men vying for the six scoring places in the men's 12K event, which was good internal competition.

On the course, Murphy and Burgess ran in the 8th to12th range range. Darren Southcott opened ambitiously before drifting back and then settling down nicely.

Tom Phillips and Angus Holford both paced themselves well and edged through the field as the race progressed.

Jim Roche and Harold Wyber were always in the thick of the action in around 20th place.

Ed Messer was another potential scorer but never looked fit enough to fulfil that potential.

Woodford scorers were Murphy in 8th, Burgess in 9th, Phillips in 16th, Southcott in 18th, Roche in 19th and Holford in 21st, for a combined total of 91 points.

The women's race saw Evie Serventi turn in a strong display on her debut in UK cross country.