Stratford's Alex Adams wins national schools cross country title - The Stratford Observer

Stratford's Alex Adams wins national schools cross country title

Stratford Editorial 4th Apr, 2018 Updated: 4th Apr, 2018   0

STRATFORD Athletic Club’s Alex Adams rounded off his winter season in exemplary style by winning the year seven race at the National Primary Schools Cross Country Championships at Prestwold Hall in Leicestershire.

In a line-up which included 168 of the country’s leading year seven cross country runners, Adams completed the 2.7km course in just 10:01. He said he found the course tough and that it was really muddy in parts, whilst the slopes tended to be gentle rather than the steep climbs he much prefers.

The eventual second-placed runner – Buckinghamshire’s Thomas Redmond – led during the early stages before Adams took the lead as he entered the first loop of the muddy field.

His opponents pushed him hard right until the end, but he held on to win by two seconds, punching the air as he crossed the finish line.




Stratford were well represented in both the boys’ and girls’ races. In the boys’ race, Spencer Corder finished 39th in 11:06, while Theo Skirvin was 136th in 12:06.

In the girls’ race, a quartet of Stratford runners were led home by Tulah Searle who finished 43rd in 12:00. Leah Bowen twisted her ankle on the undulating course, but finished the race in 89th place in a time of 12:33.


Holly Newton placed 134th (13:05) and triathlete specialist Molly Bullock finished 151st (13:14). The race was won by Olivia Breed in a time of 10:45.

Lammas makes podium at Cleevewold 14

STRATFORD AC’s Sheila Lammas was the second woman finisher at the Cleevewold 14 – a tough and hilly 14-mile multi-terrain race in Winchcombe.

The race starts at the medieval Postlip tithe barn and covers the highest points of the Cotswold hills on Cleeve Common, before heading into the countryside and returning to Postlip via the Belas Knap Neolithic burial mound.

Lammas continued her outstanding 2018 form by clocking 2:05:38 to finish the race as the second woman, just three minutes behind first-placed woman Helen Brown (2:02:20). Richard Purkis won the race in 1:38.28.

Calf troubles thwart Cox’s sub-40 target

MASSEY Ferguson’s Easter Tractor 10K at the NAEC in Stoneleigh proved to be a rewarding day for Stratford AC runners as the club’s first three finishers claimed personal bests.

Andy Cox had been on course for a finishing time in the region of 40 minutes, but he pulled up with a tight calf with two kilometres to go. He got back into the race and still ended as the club’s top finisher in 82nd place, clocking a personal best of 41:48.

Club-mate Jon Mulkeen was just a few seconds behind in 83rd, setting a PB of 41:51, while Pete Sugden also set a lifetime best, recording 42:11 in 91st place.

Lynne Hinson was Stratford’s highest-placed woman, clocking 45:31 to finish as the 27th woman overall and fifth in the W45 age category.

Jan McLure was the second Stratford woman to cross the finish line, setting a PB of 52:57, while Ruth Calderbank followed less than a minute later. Her time of 53:55 made her the second-placed woman in the W65 age category.

In a race which boasted nearly 400 finishers, Leamington duo Callum Hanlon and Natalie Bhangal were the top performers. Hanlon clocked 32:28 to win the race while Bhangal was the top-placed woman in 38:46 – PBs for both.

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