by Ken Bray
AN EXCELLENT day's racing in the Essex Veterans Cross Country Championships at Hainault Forest saw Alan Rugg and Bernie Pritchett win individual bronze medals, while a very strong men's M50 squad won both team gold and team bronze.
The two races (first the M50, M60 & M70 along with W35, W45 and W55; then M40) were run on a course most of which was new even to local runners of many years' experience, and which most judged to have been very enjoyable - being run almost entirely in the forest - and an excellent test.
Four of Woodford’s M50s put themselves in the first 10 from the gun and there was a fierce contest with Chelmsford AC, who had the runaway leader Mike Bridgeland plus 3 other well-placed men in the field of 94 finishers.
The revelation of the day was Alan Rugg, a man who has never won any worthwhile running honour, but who has been training terrifically well and ran an inspired race amongst quality rivals many of whom are well-versed in the art of winning. He, Dave Cox and Richard Holland ran most of the race in third, fourth and fifth, and Rugg did marvellously to hold off England Masters international Cox and finish around 10 seconds behind silver medal winner Butler of Billericay, with Holland not far back.
Paul Chase returned strongly after being injured since mid-summer to snatch the final place in the scoring quartet, in 11th place. Woodford’s men took the gold with 23 points compared to Chelmsford's 26.
The B team took bronze medals with 88 points to Springfield's 93.
The women's race was very competitive and four women entered the final straight very closely together, with Bernie Pritchett passing one athlete to move from 4th to the bronze medal position. At 42, she was up against younger women, but has recently recovered much of the excellent form for which she is well-known and which has led to her being invited to spend 3 nights in New York running a Masters' Mile in January. She will then go to Canada for the World Masters Indoor Champs.
Andrea Possee was Woodford’s second woman home, in a satisfactory 17th place. Alex Wardle had a very good run for 26th and Jenny Thomas closed the scoring team in 27th. The team finished fourth.
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