Hinckley Hammered Home

Sunday morning saw the latest fixture in the cross country season get underway at Bosworth Country Park. 27 runners from Hermitage Harriers took on the challenge of mud, hills and ditches full of mucky water.

19 Harriers took part in the men’s race which got underway at 10.55am. The Hermitage men continued their 2015 XC success, with the team collecting 245 points and finishing in 2nd place. First Harrier home was Jason Williams who finished 2nd overall and claimed first place in the vet40 category. Ryan Twigg was second over the line for the club in 22nd position overall. He was quickly followed by Kristian Bravin who finished his first ever XC race in a very respectable 23rd place. Darren Weston’s crossed the line in 27th and gave the Harriers four finishers in the top 30. Next was Shaun Coulton, who romped home in 40th place. Coulton was quickly joined by the remaining three runners to complete the team: Dan Booth, in 41st position, Craig Hinds in 43rd and Matt Adcock in 47th.

In the ladies’ race, 8 Hermitage runners took on the challenging 5.7 mile course. The team finished with 147 points in 3rd place. Mia Weston was the first Harrier home in 15th position just before team-mate Zoe Sewter in 16th place, her first time placing in the top 20. Third for the team was Katie Wright who flew home in 19th place, climbing 9 places from her previous best placing of 28th at Mount Sinai XC. The final team place went to veteran Carla Johnson who ran her first ever XC race and finished in a fantastic 99th position.

Further impressive performances came in the shape of significant personal improvements and achievements. Bobby Wisehall moved up 79 places from his previous best placing of 192nd at Mount Sinai XC to finish in 113th position on Sunday. Dawn Gregory also knocked an impressive chunk off her placement of 189th at Markfield XC to finish in 112th place at Bosworth. Finally, a delighted Tony Jeffery finished inside the top 100 for the first time after holding off a sprint effort by Rob Lennox of Team Derby Runner, as they headed towards the finishing line.

The result from the race puts the combined team in 2nd place and in an excellent position going into the final XC fixture. The event is Hermitage’s own XC and will take place in Holly Hayes Wood on Sunday 1st March.