A busy weekend of cross-country league action with some quality masters events

For reports on the English Schools Cup in Leeds click here and the Varsity Match on Wimbledon Common click here.

BIRMINGHAM LEAGUE, Division 1, Aldersley, December 3

University students did not have things all their own way this time out and it was Joseph Tuppin from the Birmingham Running & Triathlon outfit who took the race, Martin Duff reports.

This was from Loughborough students Brett Rushman but it was Birmingham students who came out on top in the team standings but most of the top names gave the event a miss. This included many of the top Loughborough runners as their team slumped to 13th on the day.

Birchfields Ed Banks was again the top master in the leagues new recognition of veteran athletes.

1  31:18 Joseph Tuffin BRAT Club Senior 1
2 31:24 Brett Rushman University of Birmingham Junior 2 1
3 31:46 Vincenzo Pratley University of Warwick Senior 3
4 31:52 Jayme Rossiter Birchfield Harriers Senior 4
5 31:54 Isaac Hirshman Chandler University of Birmingham Junior 5 2
6 31:59 Adam Peacock BRAT Club Senior 6
7 32:12 Thomas Beasley Birchfield Harriers Senior 7
8 32:15 Thomas Jones University of Warwick Junior 8 3
9 32:17 Tommy Shaw University of Birmingham Junior 9 4
10 32:19 Luke Vine Tipton Harriers Senior 10

TEAM: 1 Birmingham U 66; 2 Birchfield 86; 3 Warwick U 103; 4 BRAT 148; 5 Tipton 229; 6 Rugby & N 266; 7 Coventry G 292; 8 Stoke 347; 9 Worcester 366; 10 Wolves 415

B TEAM: 1 Tipton 473; 2 Warwick U 483; 3 BRAT 487; 4 Worcester 763; 5 Cov G 787; 6 W&B 871

M40 TEAM: 1 Tipton 31; 2 Worcester 56; 3 BRAT 65; 4 R Sutton C 67; 5 Coventry G 120; 6 Halesowen 130

B TEAM: 1 Tipton 114; 2 RSC 155; 3 BRAT 176

Standings after 2 matches

TEAM: 1 Birm U 116; 2 Birchfield 232; 3 BRAT 282; 4 Warwick U 401; 5 Tipton 551; 6 Cov G 567; 7 Loughborough 673; 8 Stoke 751; 9 Worester 829; 10 R&N 943

B TEAM: 1 BRAT 1100; 2 Tipton 1188; 3 Warwick U 1287; 4 Cov G 1637; 5 Worcester 1776; 6 RSC 1806

M40 TEAM: 1 Tipton 52; 2 Worcester 140; 3 RSC 144; 4 BRAT 172; 5 Cov G 246; 6 Halesowen 267

B TEAM: 1 RSC 309; 2 Tipton 368; 3 Worcester 403

BIRMINGHAM LEAGUE Div 2, Cheltenham, December 3

Western Tempo continued their march to the top flight with another team win on their home patch of Pittville Park, Martin Duff reports.

They were led home by Dom James who had a comfortable victory over Solihulls Chris McLeod.

TEAM: 1 W Tempo 45; 2 Solihull &SH 175; 3 Leamington 209; 4 Telford 263; 35 Knowle & D 266; 6 Bromsgrove & R 287; 7 CLC300; 8 Aldridge 309; 9 Cheltenham 316; 10 Cannock & ST 373

B TEAM: 1 W Tempo 155; 2 CLC 623; 3 Leamington 664

M40 TEAM: 1 W Tempo 17; 2 Severn 65; 3 Knowle & D 94; 4 S&SH 105; 5 CLC 116; 6 B Pear 116

B TEAM: 1 W Tempo 91

Standings after 2 matches
TEAM: 1 W Tempo 94; 2 Leamington 302; 3 CLC 473; 4 S&SH 506; 5 Knowle & D 630; 6 B&R 636

B TEAM: 1 W Tempo 372; 2 Leamington 992; 3 CLC 1108

M40 TEAM: 1 W Tempo 31; 2 Severn 168; 3 CLC 206; 4 B Pear 223; 5 Knowle & D 226; 6 S&SH 269

B TEAM: 1 W Tempo 177; 2 Severn 426; 3 CLC 476

BIRMINGHAM LEAGUE Div 3, Stratford-upon-Avon, December 3

David Brewis of Sphinx had his second division three win of the winter in Clopton Park, with a narrow win over the hosts Rich Shepherd, Martin Duff reports.

Stratford comfortably took the team race over first match winners Nuneaton and now lead in the overall standings.

TEAM: 1 Stratford 53; 2 Nuneaton 116; 3 Dudley & S 127; 4 Sphinx 150; 5 Bourneville 213; 6 Massey Ferguson 326

B TEAM: 1 Stratford 231; 2 Nuneaton 386; 3 Bourneville 452

M40 TEAM: 1 Stratford 30; 2 Nuneaton 35; 3 Bourneville 92

B TEAM: 1 Nuneaton 88; 2 Stratford 91; 3 Bourneville 169

Standings after 2 matches
TEAM: 1 Nuneaton 207; 2 Stratford 173; 3 Sphinx 319

B TEAM: 1 Nuneaton 385

M40 TEAM: 1 Nuneaton 62

CHILTERN LEAGUE, Luton, Bedfordshire, December 3

Numbers were down in this third match of the winter, particularly in the younger age groups, that was held on the Stopsley course that had previously played host to the English National, Martin Duff reports.

Bedford & County took the senior mens team honours as their Harry Brodie won by more than 150 metres. The South of England under-20 champion had won the opening fixture and after also contesting the British Athletics Cross Challenge match at Teardrop Lakes last month, now easily leads in the overall standings.

Richard Slade then led a trio of Chiltern runners home, before Bedford began to pack in.

In the under-17 race, Watfords Archie Marshall had a narrow win from MK Distance Projects Nicholas Hammett with former English National under-15 winner Alden Collier back in third, but all were headed by Tommy Cropley. The Stevenage & North Herts runner had only competed in parkruns before a ninth spot in the Milton Keynes Cross Challenge race last month.

Harry Scott led for team winners Bedford & County in the under-15 group last time but here was headed by team-mate Oliver Wilson by just over 30 metres.

Milton Keynes Jacque Smith had won the opening under-13 league match at Oxford and then took third in the Cross Challenge match last month and here again dominated. This was from a quartet representing the rapidly improving Dacorum club from Hemel Hempstead, who now lead in the overall age group standings.

There was a repeat in the womens race as England Athletics 5000m bronze medallist Rebecca Murray again headed winner of the October fixture, Elle Roche.

The improving Dacorum club again had Grace Milnes lead them home and they built on their lead in the under-17/under-20 team standings. Behind Milnes, five more under-17s followed before the first junior runner.

Banburys Isla McGowan again dominated in the under-15 girls event and added to her third spot in the Teardrop Lakes Cross Challenge where she was easily the top league runner.

Also in top form in the Challenge was Chilterns Kara Gorman who won there overall and was at again here with a victory over Northamptons Imogen Bennetts.

Overall:
1 Harry Brodie 29:58 D1 Bedford and County AC MS 1 M
2 Richard Slade 30:33 D1 Chiltern Harriers MS 2 M
3 William Brown 30:38 D1 Chiltern Harriers MS 3 M
4 George Brown 30:44 D1 Chiltern Harriers MS 4 M
5 Craig Emmerson 30:54 D1 Bedford and County AC MS 5 M
6 Benjamin Davies 31:32 D1 Bedford and County AC MS 6 M
7 James Minter 31:44 D1 Bedford and County AC MS 7 M
8 David Clark 31:51 D1 Wycombe Phoenix MS 8 M
9 Jamie Seddon 31:56 D1 Marshall Milton Keynes AC MS 9 M
10 Noah Campion 32:19 D1 Bedford and County AC M20 1 M

Men Div 1
Senior TEAM: 1 Bedford & C 2114; 2 Milton Keynes 2064; 3 Chiltern 1931; 4 Wycombe P 1871; 5 Dacorum 1759; 6 Leighton Buzzard 1545

M40 TEAM: 1 Dacorum 672; 2 L Buzzard 643; 3 Headington RR 587

U20 TEAM: 1 Bed C 609; 2 Chiltern 417; Watford 205

Div 2

Senior TEAM: 1 QPH 596; 2 Silson 592; 3 Bucks & Stowe 580

M40 TEAM: 1 QPH 332; 2 Bucks & Stowe 328; 3 Silson 296

U20 TEAM: 1 Bracknell 206; 2 Silson 81

Standings after 3 matches (best 4 of 5)
Div 1 Senior TEAM: 1 Milton Keynes 6441; 2 Bed C 6423; 3 Chiltern 6323; 4 Wyc P 5980; 5 Dacorum 4863; 6 L Buzz 4826

M40 TEAM: 1 L Buzz 2076; 2 Dacorum 2031; 3 Chiltern 1987

U20 TEAM: 1 Chiltern 1736; 2 Mil K 886; 3 Bed C 609

Div 2 Senior TEAM: 1 Bucks & Stowe 1815; 2 QPH 1717; 3 Silson 1419

M40 TEAM: 1 Bucks & Stowe 953; 2 QPH 903; 3 Olney 739

U20 TEAM: 1 Bracknell 627; 2 Radley 208; 3 Silson 168

U17:
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Chiltern 53; 2 Mil K 52; 3 Northampton 42

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Stevenage & NH 44; 2 Banbury 20; 3 Luton 18

Standings after 3 matches (Best 3 of 4)
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Chiltern 231; 2 Northampton 163; 3 Mil K 144

Div 2 TEAM: 1 S&NH 104; 2 Luton 92; 3 Bracknell 90

U15
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Bed C 123; 2 Chiltern 75; 3 Dacorum 63

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Bracknell 26; 2 S&NH 18; 3 Radley 12

Standings after 3 matches
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Bed C 414; 2 Chiltern 322; 3 Northampton 296

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Oxf C 119; 2 S&NH 100; 3 Bracknell 87

U13 TEAM
Div 1: 1 Dacorum 162; 2 Mil K 121; 3 St Albans 108

Div 2: 1 Bracknell 21; 2 Radley 7; 3 Luton 7

Standings after 3 matches
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Dacorum 386; 2 Chiltern 377; 3 Mil K 365

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Bracknell 88; 2 Radley 64; 3 Oxf C 48

Men Overall
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Bed C 2359; 2 Mil K 2268; 3 Chiltern 2131; 4 Wyc P 2017; 5 Dacorum 1984; 6 L Buzz 1629

Div 2 TEAM: 1 QPH 596; 2 Silson 592; 3 Bucks & Stowe 564

Men Standings after 3 matches
Div 1: 1 Chiltern 7253; 2 Bed C 7158; 3 Mil K 7146; 4 Wyc P 46533; 5 Dacorum 5517; 6 L Buzz 5110

Div 2: 1 Bucks & Stowe 1825; 2 QPH 1717; 3 Bracknell 1474

Women

1 Rebecca Murray 19:08 D1 Bedford and County AC FS 1 F
2 Elle Roche 19:41 D1 Marshall Milton Keynes AC FS 2 F
3 Alice Seddon 19:59 D1 Marshall Milton Keynes AC FS 3 F
4 Emma Mears 20:59 D1 MK Distance Project FS 4 F
5 Kate Rennie 21:06 D1 Dacorum AC F45 1 F
6 Hannah Wardley 21:09 D1 Chiltern Harriers FS 5 F
7 Alex Cook 21:22 D1 Wycombe Phoenix F35 1 F
8 Abby Roskilly 21:26 D1 Marshall Milton Keynes AC FS 6 F
9 Emily Strathdee 21:30 D1 Headington Road Runners FS 7 F
10 Lara Bromilow 21:31 D1 Marshall Milton Keynes AC F35 2 F

Div 1
Senior TEAM: 1 Mil K 886; 2 Chiltern 832; 3 Dacorum 809; 4 St Albans 779; 5 Head RR 758; 6 Wycombe P 747

W35 TEAM: 1 Dacorum 554; 2 Wyc P25; 3 Chiltern 474; 4 St Albans 472; 5 Tring 443; 6 L Buzz 408

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Wellingborough 210; 2 Bucks & Stowe 193; 3 Silson 191

W35 TEAM: 1 Silson 163; 2 Bucks & Stowe 116; 3 On Run Aylesbury 104

Standings after 3 matches)
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Chiltern 2293; 2 Mil K 2259; 3 Dacorum 2222; 4 St Albans 2152; 5 Head RR 2136; 6 Wyc P 2076

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Bucks & Stowe 771; 2 Wbor 704; 3 Thame 588

W35 Div 1 TEAM: 1 Dacorum 1454; 2 Wyc P 81337; 3 Chiltern 1283; 4 Tring 1248; 5 L Buzz 1202; 6 Gade 1086

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Bucks & St 587; 2 Silson 477; 3 Hazlemere 390

U20/U17
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Dacorum 80; 2 Mil K 70; 3 St Albans 69; 4 Wyc P 57; 5 Bed C 51; 6 Northampton 40

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Bracknell 23; 2 S&NH 12; 3 Bicester 7

Standings after 3 matches
Div 1 U20 TEAM: 1 Dacorum 260; 2 Mil K 243; 3 St Albans 204

Div 2 U20 TEAM: 1 Bracknell 92; 2 S&NH 44; 3 Oxford C 32

U15
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Chiltern 149; 2 Mil K 142; 3 St Albans 96; 4 Dacorum 90; 5 Bed C 56; 6 Vale of Aylesbury 51

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Bracknell 7; 2 Banbury 6; 3 Daventry 4

Standings after 3 matches
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Mil K 509; 2 Chiltern 507; 3 Bed C 311

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Bracknell 88; 2 Banbury 74; 3 Oxf C 58

U13
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Mil K 104; 2 St Albans 67; 3 Chiltern 62; 4 Bed C 57; 5 Northampton 55; 6 VoA 41

Div 2 TEAM: 1 S&NH 28; 2 Bracknell 10; 3 Luton 10

Standings after 3 matches
Div 1 TEAM: 1 St Albans 357; 2 Mil K 341; 3 Chiltern 308

Div 2 TEAM: 1 S&NH 126; 2 Oxf C 89; 3 Bracknell 45

Overall Women
Div 1 TEAM: 1 Mil K 1202; 2 Chiltern 1062; 3 Dacorum 1012; 4 St Albans 1011; 5 Wycombe P 815; 6 Bed C 773

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Wellingborough 210; 2 Bucks & Stowe 194; 3 Silson 191

Overall (M&W combined)
Div 1: 1 Milton K 3470; 2 Chiltern 3193; 3 Bed C 132; 4 Dacorum 2996; 5 Wyc P 2832; 6 St Albans 2418

Div 2: 1 Silson 703; 2 Bucks & Stowe 758; 3 QPH 710

Standings after 3 matches
Overall Women
Div 1: 1 Mil K 3352; 2 Chiltern 3279; 3 St Albans 2975; 4 Dacorum 2814; 5 Bed C 2389; 6 Wyc P 2272

Div 2: 1 Bucks & Stowe 774; 2 Wboro 713; 3 Thame 588

Overall Combined (M&W)
Div 1: 1 Chiltern 10,532; 2 Mil K 10.498; 3 Bed C 9547; 4 Wyc P 8805; 5 Dacorum 8831; 6 L Buzz 7062

Div 2: 1 Bucks & Stowe 2599; 2 QPH 2113; 3 Silson 1995

U11 Combined D1 & 2
Boys TEAM: 1 St Albans 125; 2 Chiltern 119; 3 VoA 102

Girls TEAM: 1 Milton K 85; 2 Chiltern 85; 3 Luton 59

Standings after 3 matches

Boys TEAM: 1 St Albans 429; 2 Chiltern 390; 3 VoA 333

Girls TEAM: 1 Milton K 292; 2 Chiltern 25; 3 Oxford C 210

ESSEX VETERANS CHAMPIONSHIP, Writtle University, December 3

The same near five-mile lap was used for all three races and it was the mens over-50 event that produced the fastest time as Adrian Mussett ran out quicker than any in the later younger age race, Martin Duff reports.

The 50-year-old had placed fourth in the 2003 English senior National championships, at Parliament Hill and then won the Essex veterans M40 title back in 2013 but this was his first county vets outing since then.

His time here of 29:04 saw an M50 victory by more than two minutes over Mark Waine. Further back, Colin Ridley was 16th in 34:03 to take M60 gold.

New M40 Chelmsfords David Fewell later ran Mussetts time close with a 29:14 clocking in the M40-49 race but it was Orion who took team honours, just as they had in the over-50 outing.

Sandwiched between the two mens events, the Essex female masters were led home by Southends Lindsey Coleman, with Chelmsfords Rebecca Luxton some 50 metres down. Back in fourth, Zoe Oldfield took both the W45 gold and led Loughton to a team win, but just three clubs completed a scoring quartet.

M40:
1 D Fewell 29:14
2 R Warner 29:53
3 B Jenkins 30:12
4 L Taylor M45 30:19
5 T Grimes 30:35
6 M McTernan 30:42
7 C Burgoyne 30:55
8 C Bloomfield M45 31:00
9 A Manton 31:13
10 M Randall M45 31:23

M40 TEAM: 1 Orion 29; 2 Springfield 65; 3 Havering 82; 4 Billericay 87; 5 Orion B 101; 6 Leigh-on-Sea 158

M50:
1 A Mussett 29:04
2 M Waine 31:36
3 A Brown 32:14
4 C Dyce M45 32:37
5 A Smith 32:40
6 T Draper 32:47
7 C Read M45 32:54
8 S Welch 32:56
9 L Martin 33:03
10 R Brown 33:18
M60: 1 C Ridley 34:03

M65: 1 M Austin 37:58

M70: 1 P Binns 42:23

M50 TEAM: 1 Orion 40; 2 Springfield 61; 3 Billericay 99; 4 Havering 110; 5 Colchester H 159; 6 Ilford 167

Women:
1 L Colman W40 33:20
2 R Luxton W40 33:34
3 R White W40 36:00
4 Z Oldfield W45 36:02
5 M Knapman W40 36:09
6 W King W50 36:13
7 S Jordan W40 37:19
8 M Deasy W55 37:21
9 B Aldridge W45 37:53
10 D Morley W50 38:01

W60: 1 C Deacon 43:12

W65: 1 S Clarke 42:49

W70: 1 L Tanner 48:37

Women TEAM:1 Loughton 76; 2 Orion 147; 3 Tiptree 154; 4 Springfield 165

HAMPSHIRE LEAGUE, Bournemouth, December 3

After dominating the opening fixture of the league, Aldershots men generally gave this event a miss throughout the age groups, Martin Duff reports.

It was therefore left to Basingstoke & Mid Hants Thomas Syckelmoore to take his first ever league win and do so comfortably from Winchesters Will Boultwood.

His club mate Will Atkins, the overall under-15 winner last winter, moved up from second in the November fixture to lead his club to an under-17 team win over Aldershot, who had taken the first match,

Jon Pepin again took the under-15 boys race comfortably, this time from the Isle of Wights Archie Pearson.

It was also a second win for Aldershots Daniel Orbell in the under-13 race, as Bournemouths Connor Grocott ran him close, but his club failed to field a third scorer, so this let in Portsmouth.

Although it was Winchesters Helen Hall who won the senior womens race, Aldershot again came out on top in the team stakes. There, Kate Estlea was second again as Pippa Roessler, in third, led them home.

Pooles Erin Wells moved up from second in the previous match to win the under-17 womens race where numbers were down and just two teams, led by Poole AC, had the required three finishers in the team race.

Florence East was again a comfortable winner of the under-15 girls event from Jerseys Isla Hall, with local runner Isabel Garrett third.

Aldershots under-13 girls also just scraped a team win in their event, as their Katie McBride who narrowly won the previous fixture had a more comfortable outing and win over Bournemouths Seni Purnell.

As is often the case, numbers for this December fixture were below average, especially in the younger age groups.

Men:
1 T Syckelmoore B&MH 29:34
2 W Boutwood Win 30:04
3 F Siemeck Win 30:11
4 J Domoney Salis 30:16
5 R Wood B&MH 30:25
6 R James Soton 30:31
7 M Revier Soton 30:32
8 M Ruby Poole U20 30:48
9 G Stevens B&MH U20 31:13
10 L Jolly Read M40 31:14

Men Div 1 TEAM: 1 Basingstoke & Mid Hants 48; 2 Winchester 76; 3 Southampton 92; 4 AFD 105; 5 Soton U 182; 6 Reading 188; 7 Poole 197; 8 Salisbury 207; 9 Bournemouth 301; 10 Reading RR 594

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Portsmouth 352; 2 Wimborne 467; 3 Hart 544; 4 Andover 574; 5 Littledown 602; 6 Overton 728

Div 3 TEAM: 1 Fleet & Crookham 296; 2 Havant 322; 3 Romsey 337

M40 TEAM: 1 AFD 29; 2 Winchester 48; 3 BMH 57; 4 Bournemouth 64; 5 Reading 75; 6 Andover 86

Standings after 2 matches
Div 1 TEAM (best 3 of 4): 1 BMH 3; 2 AFD 5 (122); 3 Winchester 5 (183); 4 Soton 9; 5 Reading 11; 6 Salisbury 12

Div 2 TEAM: 1 Portsmouth 2; 2 Hart 5; 3 Wimborne 6

Div 3 TEAM: 1 Havant 3; 2 Fleet 4; 3 Poole R 6

M40 TEAM: 1 AFD 6 (62); 2 Winchester 66; 3 BMH 7; 4 Andover 11; 5 Bournemouth 14; 6 Reading RR 15

U17
TEAM: 1 Winchester 12; 2 AFD 35; 3 Havant 49; 4 BMH 52; 5 Portsmouth 57; 6 Soton 70

Standings after 2 matches
TEAM (best 2 to count): 1 AFD 3; 2 Winchester 4; 3 Havant 9 (123); 4 Portsmouth 9 (142); 5 BMH 12

U15
TEAM: 1 Soton 21; 2 Winchester 26; 3 Reading 30; 4 Bournemouth 63; 5 BMH 71

Standings after 2 matches
TEAM (best 2 to count): 1 Soton 3; 2 Winchester 5; 3 Reading 7; 4 BMH 10

U13
TEAM: 1 Portsmouth 23; 2 Winchester 43; 3 Reading 70; 4 Soton 92; 5 N Forest J 93; 6 BMH 99

Standings after 2 matches
TEAM (best 2 to count): 1 Portsmouth 3; 2 Winchester 8; 3 BMH 9 (155); 4 N Forest J 9 (163); 5 Soton 12; 6 Salisbury 16

Women:
1 H Hall Win 20:19
2 K Estlea AFD 20:26
3 P Roessler AFD U20 20:44
4 S Winstone Soton 20:52
5 M Waldmann Read U20 20:57
6 N Lee Read U20 21:13
7 M Jordan-Lee AFD 21:27
8 R Sleap B&MH 21:28
9 E McErlean Win U20 21:33
10 E Howsham Read 21:43

Women TEAM: 1 AFD 12; 2 Reading 21; 3 Winchester 38; 4 BMH 41; Soton U 44; 6 Soton 47; 7 Portsmouth 93; 8 Bournemouth 110; 9 Poole 134; 10 Read RR 184

W35 TEAM: 1 Winchester 15; 2 Reading 30; 3 Overton 57 4 Totton 71; 5 Littledown 71; 6 Bournemouth 90

U20 TEAM: 1 AFD 18; 2 Reading 22; 3 Soton U 26; 4 Portsmouth 31

Standings after 2 matches

TEAM: 1 AFD 2; 2 Reading 4; 3eq BMH/Winchster 7; 5 Portsmouth 12; 6 Soton 13

W35 TEAM: 1 Winchester 2; 2 Reading 7; 3 Salisbury 14; 5 Totton 15; 6 Read RR 18

TEAM: no competition

U17 TEAM: 1 Poole 19; 2 Portsmouth 31

Standings after 2 matches
TEAM: 1eq Poole/Portsmouth 3

U15 TEAM: 1 Portsmouth 19; 2 Winchester 29; 3 Reading 49; 4 Bournemouth 63; 5 Soton 63

Standings after 2 matches
TEAM: 1 Portsmouth 2; 2 Winchester 4; 3 Reading 7

U13 TEAM: 1 AFD 20; 2 Portsmouth 21; 3 N Forest J 36; 4 BMH 44; 5 Soton 66; 6 Winchester 73

Standings after 2 matches
TEAM: 1 AFD 2; 2 Portsmouth 4; 3eq BMH/N Forest J 7; 5 Winchester 12

KENT MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS, Dartford, December 3

The week after dominating the South of Thames races, Kent AC came out on top with five out of eight individual victories plus two team wins.

M40+
Ben Hope, third in his last appearance in this race in 2017, won the M40 plus race with a strong finish to go away from clubmate Jonathan Tipper as Kent AC won easily.

Nick Collins, like Hope a M45, took the bronze medal as four of the top five places went to the older age group.

M40 start with eventual winner Ben Hope (359) third

1 B Hope Kent M45 27:55
2 J Tipper Kent 28:04
3 N Collins Ash&FD M45 28:20
4 W Levett TWH M45 28:27
5 A Webb TWH M45 28:29
6 M Evans B&B 28:34
7 P Lighting Kent 29:17
8 A Pickett Dart 29:34
9 J OMahony Camb H M45 29:36
10 J Rendall Ton M45 29:38
11 C Compton Kent M45 29:59
12 N Wright M&M M45 30:23
13 T Sloan Kent M45 30:46
14 B Rew Camb H 30:57
15 D Longhurst Ton 31:00

TEAM: 1 Kent 21; 2 Ton 66; 3 M&M 77

M50+
Last year Ben Reynolds beat William Pitt by a single second but Reynolds, who had also won every M50 title from 2014 to 2019 with 2020 not run due to Covid and also won the M40 race, was this time out-sprinted himself by the younger Pitt who won his first major title.

Stephen Male took bronze and led Folkestone to team gold.

Ben Reynolds leads with M50 winner William Pitt in third

1 W Pitt Kent 30:18
2 B Reynolds Ton M55 30:22
3 S Male Folk M55 30:30
4 R Tomlinson M&M 30:33
5 L McMeekin M&M 31:21
6 K Klidzia Folk M55 31:24
7 G Kitchingham ORR M55 31:43
8 J Addison Beck 31:52
9 R Burford Dart 31:57
10 O Van Zyl Sev 32:05
11 A Featherstone M&M 32:09
12 K Howarth PWR 32:17
M55: 5 P Moses A&D 33:14; 6 C Poulton Camb H 33:25
TEAM: 1 Folk 39; 2 M&M 46; 3 Ton 69

M60+:
Age group debutante Roger Beswick, who is second-ranked M60 at the 10,000m in the UK this year from a 10,000m at the Dartford track a few hundred metres from the start here, won as expected and led Blackheath and Bromley to a clear win as he finished third in the mixed race behind the W45 and W55 winners.

Steven Moss took second ahead of yet another M60 newcomer this year Tony Tuohy, who had previously been second in the M50s.

Fourth was also a new M60 and sixth was a previous runner-up and the first M65 Paul McCauliffe.

Julian Spencer-Wood retained his Kent M70 title but only after former masters track star Ken Daniel in his first race for over a year had built up a big lead but slowed over the second half in his first cross-country race in a decade.

M60:
1 R Beswick B&B 20:18
2 S Moss Beck 20:32
3 T Tuohy Dul 20:56
4 C Lydon Kent 21:16
5 G Norman Cant 21:47
6 P McCauliffe M&M M65 21:59
7 I Stokes Cant 22:12
8 G Turner TWH 22:26
9 S Pairman B&B 22:52
10 D Poland PWR 23:36
M65:2 A Newman Ton 23:48; 3 J Barron Kent 23:54; 4 L Arcuri B&B 24:23; 5 N Webb Dulw 24:54
TEAM:1 B&B 25; 2 Cant H 34; 3 Dulw 39

M70:
1 J Spencer-Wood Kent 23:30
2 K Daniel B&B 24:26
3 C Dellow DRR 24:38
4 J McGlashan Vets 25:17
5 M Ellsmore Camb H 25:37
6 C Read Brom V 26:58
M75: 1 P Hadley Camb H 30:03; 2 V Thomas G Tri 33:46

Overall womens race
Kent ACs Caoimhe Nic Fhogartaigh and Clare Elms had only been separated by a second at the previous weeks South of Thames race and they again were close and each won titles though there was some confusion as both were entered for two age groups and wore two numbers but eventually were moved into their own age age groups.

Defending overall champion Hannah Roberts took an initial lead over the first small lap but she was then caught and Fhogartaigh, a 2:48 marathoner pushed on over the second and built a good lead.

Elms, who first won this race overall back in 2007, was trying to hold some energy back for the following days British Masters 5km, did close on the last big lap but settled for second.

1 C N Fhogartaigh Kent W45 20:10
2 C Elms Kent W55 20:15
3 R Beswick B&B M65
4 H Roberts Dart W35 20:38
5 K Sheedy Dul W35 20:44
6 M Heslop Ton W55 21:03

Early on in the womens race won by Caoimhe Fhogartaigh (252) (Mark Hookway)

W35-40:
Roberts retained the title from 2021 W35 runner-up Kay Sheedy. Ashley Pearson, who would have gained a W45 medal too had she been declared in her own W45 category instead moved down an age group to potentially help the Blackheath team, and took W35 bronze instead. Tonbridge won the team event.
1 H Roberts Dart W40 20:38
2 K Sheedy Dulw 20:44
3 A Pearson B&B W45 21:20
4 N Sabanci Kent 21:26
5 C Warren Ton 21:32
6 C Hammond M&M W40 21:47
7 L Bestow Sev 22:09
8 E Owen Ton W45 22:24
9 E Brookes CPA W40 22:29
10 N Susans Lark W40 22:50
TEAM: 1 Ton 24; 2 Central Park 41; 3 Ashford & D 48

W45-50:
Behind Fhogartaigh, who led Kent AC to a narrow win in this category, came Julie Backley, the sister of UK javelin record-holder Steve while former overall winner Hazel Behagg was third.
1 C Fhogartaigh Kent 20:10
2 J Backley Camb H W50 21:15
3 H Behagg DRR 21:40
4 A Osborne Beck 21:48
5 N Gaudillat Beck 21:52
6 V Buck Kent 21:58
7 A Farrall TWH W50 22:06
8 R Fagg Ton 22:23
9 R Pickard Sev 22:53
10 J Holford TWH W50 23:06
W50: 4 L Knight Ton 23:27; 5 T Taylor TWH W55 23:29
TEAM: 1 Kent 27; 2 Tunbridge Wells H 31; 3 Ton 45

W55-W60:
Elms won her 13th Kent masters cross-country title ahead of 2017 overall winner Maria Heslop and the 2006 overall winner Tina Oldershaw and the pair led Tonbridge to a clear victory ahead of Elms Kent. Ange Norris, a former London Marathon age group winner, was first W60.
1 C Elms Kent 20:16
2 M Heslop Ton 21:03
3 T Oldershaw Ton 22:21
4 K Marchant Beck 22:38
5 N Leatherbarrow Cant 23:38
6 A Norris Dulw W60 23:39
7 L Pitcairn-Knowles Ton 24:30
8 R Baker Camb H 24:50
9 C Bond Camb H 25:00
10 K Williams Kent 26:00
TEAM: 1 Ton 12; 2 Kent 24; 3 Camb H 38

W65+
Liz Batty was a clear winner of the oldest womens age group contested.
1 L Batty Cant 27:45
2 L Johannes TWH 28:34
3 C London ORR 28:38
4 M MacDonald Camb H W70 28:40
5 B Ockendon I&I 29:59
W70: 2 S James Ton 34:52

START FITNESS METROPOLITAN LEAGUE, Race 3, Uxbridge, Middx, December 3

Alex Lepretre followed up his win at the previous Met League and Fraternity Cup race with a victory at Hillingdon House Farm in cold conditions, Alastair Aitken reports.

Despite the recent rains it was surprisingly dry for the grassland course, except for the brook to negotiate on each of the two large laps.

At the brook on the first lap Lepretre led from Sam Hart with a gap to Oscar Bell but, at the half way point Lepretre and Bell were running out ahead together.

Alex Lepretre (Mark Easton)

On the hill, before going down into the woods Lepretre took the initiative and was not troubled again. Lepretre, who had run two very good half marathons this year, said: Next year I hope to do the marathon.

Bell, who is 23 and coached by Andy Hobdale, is a Hertfordshire track and cross country champion, with a time of 14:25 for 5km.

Highgate Harriers still top the league with their 12 to score but at Hillingdon, they had to go further down to 107 to bring all their scorers home.

TVHs Verity Hopkins won the womens race but London Heathside are still leading the womens league from Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets, who are in a in a good second position.

Hopkins went into the lead on the hill in the second of the two laps but she said she found the last 200m hard work. Hopkins ran 33:57 for 10km in October in Leeds.

It was interesting to see Sabina Russell as a first W55 because she was the mother of Lauren Russell the winner of the under-17 race. The oldest was Pauline Fischer who was 109th of the 161 runners in 40:55.

The younger Russell, in her race, started right at the back of the field in her race but worked through to win well and she won at London the week before and is coached by Highgates Hannah Viner.

In the junior leagues Shaftesbury and Woodford Green teams were the most prolific and there were a lot of good winners.

In the under-11 girls Violet Muraidhr, who is 10 and goes to Notting Hill & Ealing High School and the under-11 boys race saw guest Ted Bambridge come in first.

In the under-13 boys race Aneirin Lessard won and declared: I love cross-country and courses like this with a hill in it. I also like swimming but athletics is my best.

In the under-13 girls race Joajia March, who had won the previous Met League she did, looked back to her best result when she won the English schools Cup race.

The U15-17 boys race was won by Henry Johnston (a guest from Windsor).

Men:
1 Alexander Lepretre High 24:41
2 Oscar Bell Herts P 24:55
3 Sam Hart NEB 25:12
4 Seyfu Jamaal Lon H 25:20
5 Luca Minale VPH&TH 25:47
6 James Stockings WG&EL 25:49
7 Michael Cameron TVH 25:52
8 Thomas Butler SBH 25:58
9 Peter Chambers High 26:00
10 Alexander Lawrence VPH&TH 26:02
11 Robel Bahelbi High 26:04
12 George Gurney Lon H 26:05
13 Hugo Cayssials TVH 26:10
14 Harry Lupton Harrow 26:16
15 Joseph Young Lon H 26:22
16 Robert Wilson High 26:33
17 Taite Wallis NEB M 26:39
18 James Hotham VPH&TH 26:47
19 Conor Kissane-Wood TVH 26:50
20 Adam Millbery VPH&TH 26:52

TEAM
D1:1 Highgate 1353; 2 TVH 1265; 3 VP&TH 1230; 4 London H 1229; 5 Harrow 1041; 6 WG&EL 784; 7 Ealing S&M 681; 8 Hillingdon 543; 9 Highgate B 536; 10 Serpentine 474

D2: 1 Trent P 1124; 2 L Front 938; 3 Shaftesbury 898; 4 Ealing E 867; 5 Lon H B 726; 6 Eton M 714

D3: 1 TVH B 601; 2 L Front B 541; 3 Hillingdon B 440

M40
D1: 1 Trent P 368; 2 Lon H 343; 3 Harrow 294; 4 Serpentine 276; 5 Hillingdon 273; 6 VP&TH 247

D2: 1 Eton M 249; 2 Ealing E 219; 3 Barnet 198; 4 Hillingdon B 167; 5 Shaftesbury 52; 6 Herts P 151

D3: 1 Met P 117; 2 Barnet B 94; 3 HIllingdon C 80

Standings after 3 matches:

TEAM
D1: 1 Highgate 4286; 2 VP&TH 4004; 3 Lon H 3407; 4 TVH 3171; 5 Harrow 3026; 6 Highgate B 12302

D2: 1 Trent P 3458; 2 L Front 3027; 3 Shaftesbury 2923; 4 Ealing E 2917; 5 Eton M 2542; 6 Lon H C 2189

D3: 1 TVH 1925; 2 L Front B 1889; 3 Highgate C 1812

M40
D1: 1 Trent P 1066; 2 Lon H 1049; 3 VP&TH 1019; 4 Serpentine 868; 5 Harrow 832; 6 Lon H B 675

D2: 1 Eton M 712; 2 Ealing E 677; 3 Barnet 555; 4 VP&TH B 469

D3: 1 Barnet 305; 2 Met P 294; 3 VP&TH C 275

U17/U15 TEAM: 1 Herts P 255; 2 Shaftesbury 243; 3 WG&EL 233; 4 Shaftesbury B 200; 5 Barnet 192; 6 Trent P 185

Standings after 3 matches:
TEAM: 1 Shaftesbury 716; 2 WG&EL 673; 3 Herts P 666; 4 St Marys 637; 5 Lon H 627; 6 Barnet 619

U13 TEAM: 1 Shaftesbury 133; 2 Hillingdon 122; 3 WG&EL 101; 4 VP&TH 87; 5 Trent P 86; 6 ESM 74

Standings after 3 matches:
TEAM: 1 Shaftesbury 487; 2 WG&EL 419; 3 Hillingdon 376; 4 VP&TH 347; 5 Herts P 309; 6eq ESM/Trent P 308

U11 TEAM: 1 Shaftesbury 146; 2 VP&TH 133; 3 WG&EL 93

Standings after 3 matches:
TEAM: 1 Shaftesbury 506; 2 VP&TH 417; 3 WG&EL 311

Women:
1 Verity Hopkins TVH 30:21
2 Stephanie Ainley TVH 30:45
3 Sofia Latham Harrow U20 31:08
4 Rebecca Piggott Lon H 31:15
5 Olivia Desborough Lon H 31:17
6 Josie Hinton Lon H 31:19
7 Natasha Sheel Serp 31:25
8 Charlotte Firth Guest 31:33
9 Katy Casterton Serp 31:35
10 Lisa Da Silva TVH 31:43
11 Suzanne Phillips WG&EL 31:57
12 Katie Simister TVH 32:11
13 Kelly Clark VPHTH W40 32:12
14 Kat Alpe Met P 32:23
15 Nicola Graham Lon H 32:38
16 Laura Thompson VPH&TH 32:49
17 Catriona Paterson Hill 32:57
18 Sophie Allen VPH&TH 32:59
19 Genevieve Weston Lon H 33:04
20 Hannah Wells Hill 33:05

Verity Hopkins (Mark Easton)

TEAM:
D1: 1 Lon H 341; 2 TVH 306; 3 VP&TH 293; 4 Hillingdon 203; 5 Highgate 186; 6 Lon H B 173; 7 Serpentine 173; 8 WG&EL 133; 9 VP&TH 131; 10 ESM 129

D2: 1 Harrow 227; 2 Barnet 181; 3 VP&TH 140; 4 Hillingdon B 127; 5 Highgate B 120; 6 Lon H C 111

D3: 1 Mornington 110; 2 TVH B 110; 3 Hillingdon C 70

W35 TEAM
D1: 1 VP&TH 133; 2 Highgate 117; 3 Hillingdon 96; 4 Barnet 79; 5 ESM 66; 6 VP&TH 66

D2: 1 Mornington 46; 2 TVH 42; 3 Hillingdon C 35

D3: 1 Harrow 15

Standings after 3 matches
TEAM
D1: 1 Lon H 1007; 2 VP&TH 909; 3 TVH 771; 4 Serpentine 638; 4 TVH 465; 5 VP&TH B 541; 6 Hillingdon 500

D2: 1 Harrow 695; 2 Barnet 539; 3 VP&TH C 468; 4 Herts P 436; 5 Eton M 406; 6 Hillingdon B 274

D3: 1 Mornington 366; 2 Harrow B 344; 3 TVH C 319

W35
D1: 1 VP&TH 429; 2 Highgate 306; 3 Barnet 264; 4 Hillingdon 260; 5 Ealing E 245; 6 ESM 205

D2: 1 Mornington 46; 2 TVH 42; 3 Hillingdon C 35

D3: 1 Harrow 53

U17/U15 TEAM: 1 WG&EL 141; 2 Lon H 136; 3 Highgate 132; 4 Barnet 127; 5 TVH 115; 6 St Marys 108

Standings after 3 matches:
TEAM: 1 Lon H 515; 2 WG&EL 507; 3 TVH 437; 4 Highgate 429; 5 Barnet 405; 6 Herts P 399

U13 TEAM: 1 ESM 94; 2 Lon H 87; 3 WG&EL 85; 4 Trent P 71; 5 St Marys 65; 6 Barnet 54

Standings after 3 matches:
TEAM: 1 WG&EL 346; 3 Lon H 2344; 3 Trent P 343; 4 Shaftesbury 287; 5 St Marys 256; 6 ESM 255

U11 TEAM: 1 WG&EL 165 2 Shaftesbury 62; 3 Harrow 47

Standings after 3 matches:
TEAM: 1 WG&EL 279; 2 Shaftesbury 256; 3 ESM 224

Howard Williams Trophy
Seniors: 1 Lon H 44 (2 wins); 2 VP&TH 44 (0 wins); 3 Highgate 41 (2 wins)

Juniors: 1 WG&EL 103; 2 Shaftesbury 96; 3 Lon H 86

MIDLAND WOMENS LEAGUE, Div 1, Stratford-upon-Avon, December 3

Once again it was the students of the students of Birmingham and Loughborough Universities come out on top in this match which was held alongside the Birmingham Mens League Division 3 match, Martin Duff reports.

However, it was Birchfields Hannah Robinson who had a narrow win over Birminghams Hanna Seager whose team only just scraped a win over their Loughborough rivals.

Third placed Kelly Edwards was top veteran 100 metres down.

TEAM Div 1 (4 to score): 1 Birmingham U 46; 2 Loughborough U 48; 3 Leamington 56; 4 Birchfield 69; 5 Nuneaton 102; 6 Stratford 151; 7 BRAT 173; 8 Bromsgrove & R 185; 9 Wolverhampton & B 213; 10 Tipton 215

W35 TEAM: 1 Leamington 32; 2 Knowle & D 40; 3 Spa 44; 4 Kenilworth 58; 5 Stoke 63; 6 Bourneville 67

Standings after 2 matches (best 3 of 4):

TEAM: 1 Birm U 59; 2 Loughborough 109; 3 Birchfield 128; 4 Leamington 274; 5 BRAT 293; 6 Wolves 299

W35: TEAM: 1 Stoke 77; 2 Leamington 88; 3 Knowle & D 96; 4 Spa 154

DIVISION 2, Cheltenham, December 3

In a complete change from the opening fixture, it was Coventry Godiva who provided the first runners home, Martin Duff reports.

Julie Emmeson, who was seventh in the Inter-Counties championships back in March, took the win from Alice Flint by well over a minute

TEAM Div 2: 1 Coventry G 17; 2 CLC 54; 3 Cheltenham 58; 4 Worcester 82; 5 Warwick U 108; 6 B Pear 130

W35 TEAM: 1 CLC 12; 2 Cheltenham 27; 3 B Pear 54; 4 Worcester 73; 5 Aldridge 82; 6 Massey Ferguson 88

Standings after 2 matches (Best 3 of 4):

TEAM: 1 Cheltenham 80; 2 Cov G 131; 3 Worcester 155; 4 CLC 170; 5 Warwick U 222; 6 B Pear 347

W35 TEAM: 1 CLC 37; 2 Cheltenham 60; 3 Aldridge 144

LINDSAYS SCOTTISH EAST DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS, Stirling. December 3

Kristian Jones was a clear senior mens winner ahead of Hamish Hickey and Ben MacMillan though Central took the team honours.

Over the same 8.6km course, Holly Page won the womens race easily from Constance Nakivell who led Edinburgh University to team success.

Senior men (8.6km):
1 K Jones Dund 26:54
2 H Hickey Centr 27:24
3 B MacMillan Cent 27:26
4 T Graham-Marr Cent 27:29
5 A Chepelin Carn 27:30
6 C Philip Cent 27:32
7 S Stirling Falk V 27:41
8 M Ferguson Aber 27:47
9 L Rodgers Fife 28:38
10 L Fanottoli Cent 28:50

TEAM:
1 Centr 41
2 Cthy 154
3 Cors 156
4 Adeen 193
5 Edin 252
6 Edin U 254
7 Metro 274
8 Dund H 453
9 Fife 473
10 Gala 487

M40+ TEAM:
1 PHRC 21
2 Cthy 33
3 Cors 37

U20 TEAM:
1 Edin U 7
2 Fife 23
3 Centr 57

U17 TEAM:
1 E Loth 16
2 Adeen 25
3 Lass 50
4 Moorf 61
5 Centr 74
6 Dunfer 93

U15 TEAM:
1 Falk V 16
2 Harm 19
3 E Loth 26
4 Adeen 47
5 Gala 85
6 Edin 90

U13 TEAM:
1 Centr 11
2 Edin 20
3 Falk V 24
4 Harm 42
5 Adeen 66
6 Moorf 71

Women (8.6km):
1 H Page Carn 31:55
2 C Nankivell Ed U 32:32
3 Z Pflug Ed U 32:52
4 S Tait Lass 32:58
5 S Green Gala 33:00
6 G Pow Ed U 33:52
7 K Dickson Carn 33:56
8 N Lang Carn 34:09
9 M Crawford Fife 34:24
10 F Davies Edin 35:03

TEAM:
1 Edin U 30
2 Cthy 49
3 Edin 66
4 Cors 73
5 Gala 86
6 Fife 103
7 Lass 131
8 Perth R 198
9 Pbello 212
10 Cgie 250

W40+ TEAM:
1 Gala 10
2 Edin 16
3 Fife 19

U20 TEAM: Edin U 11

U17 TEAM:
1 Edin 24
2 E Loth 37
3 Centr 47
4 Corst 48

U15 TEAM:
1 Falk V 18
2 Edin 31
3 Harm 42
4 Gala 47
Field (30)

U13 TEAM:
1 E Loth 19
2 Adeen 39
3 Falk V 40
4 Harm 67
5 Dund H 70
6 Muss 71

LINDSAYS SCOTTISH WEST DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS, Kilmarnock, December 3

Men:
1 Duncan ROBINSON SM 1 GIFFN 26:57
2 Seyd TAHA GHAFARI SM 2 SHETT 27:01
3 Jamie BURNS SM 3 GUNIH 27:09
4 Callum THARME SM 4 USTRA 27:19
5 Gavin SMITH SM 5 CAMBL 27:28
6 Lachlan OATES SM 6 SHETT 27:37
7 Jonathan GLEN SM 7 INVCL 27:39
8 Fraser STEWART M35 1 CAMBL 27:50
9 John BELL SM 8 INVCL 27:57
10 Ross GOOD SM 9 GIFFN 28:06
TEAM:
1 Iclyde 109
2 Shett 113
3 Cambus 128
4 Giff N 183
5 E Kilb 280
6 Bella H 376
7 Glas U 404
8 Wlands CC 451
9 Garsc 525
10 Bella R 528

M40+ TEAM:
1 Cambus 12
2 Shett 28
3 Garsc 30

U20 TEAM:
1 Giff N 6
2 Glas U 20

U17 TEAM:
1 Giff N 13
2 E Kilb 31
3 Cambus 35
4 Kilk 37
5 Garsc 51
6 Ayr S 88

U15 TEAM:
1 Giff N 10
2 Springb 31
3 Garsc 31
4 Kilb 44
5 Cambus 58
6 Ayr S 77

U13 TEAM:
1 Giff N 10
2 Springb 46
3 Garsc 63
4 Kilb 73
5 Kilk 115

Women:
1 Catriona MACDONALD SW 1 BRR 31:58
2 Nynke MULHOLLAND SW 2 INVCL 32:11
3 Clare STEWART SW 3 GUNIH 32:23
4 Sophie CHISHOLM SW 4 GUNIH 32:30
5 Lesley BELL W45 1 GARS 32:37
6 Eve MACKINNON SW 5 CAMBL 32:41
7 Emily MCNICOL SW 6 GUNIH 32:58
8 Kirstin OAKLEY SW 7 AYRS 33:14
9 Michelle SANDISON W40 1 SPRBH 33:20
10 Yvonne MCNAIRN W35 1 GIFFN 33:26

Women TEAM:
1 Glas U 30
2 Shett 63
3 Garsc 77
4 Cambus 107
5 Giff N 108
6 VPCG 118
7 W End RR 206
8 Bella H 208
9 Law 213
10 Bella R 224

W40+ TEAM:
1 Garsc 10
2 Giff N 30
3 Springb 38

U20 TEAM:
1 Giff N 11
2 Ayr S 32
3 Composite 42

U17 TEAM:
1 Giff N 16
2 E Kilb 44
3 Law 55
4 Kilk 64

U15 TEAM:
1 Giff N 9
2 Kilb 28
3 Aird 38
4 E Kilb 60
5 Garsc 67
6 VPCG 83

U13 TEAM:
1 Giff N 9
2 VPCG 46
3 Garsc 64
4 N Ayrs 75
5 Kilk 95
6 Kilb 100

LINDSAYS SCOTTISH NORTH DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS, Elgin, December 3

Men: TEAM:
1 Moray 42
2 HHR 91
3 E Suth 95
4 Lber 150
5 Storn 184
6 JSK 289

M40+ TEAM:
1 Moray 9
2 HHR 15
3 JSK 35

U20 TEAM: Gordstn Sc 26

U17 TEAM:
1 Iness 17
2 Storn 32
3 Gordstn Sc 48

U15 TEAM:
1 Ross C 7
2 Iness 31
3 Storn 39
4 Gordstn Sc 85

U13 TEAM:
1 Ross C 11
2 Storn 23
3 Gordstn Sc 43

Women:

TEAM:
1 HHR 19
2 Moray 65
3 Lber 70
4 Iness 86
5 JSK 99
6 Forres 109

W40+ TEAM:
1 Iness 28
2 Moray 36
3 JSK 40

U17 TEAM:
1 Storn 16
2 Iness 17

U15 TEAM:
1 Iness 16
2 Storn 25
3 Ross C 30
4 Gordstn Sc 47

U13 TEAM:
1 Iness 6
2 Ross C 28
3 Storn 29

SUSSEX LEAGUE, Brighton, East Sussex, December 3

Brighton & Hove AC have won this league many times over the years and here they reversed a defeat from the November match, by local rivals Phoenix, to post a senior mens team victory in their home fixture, Martin Duff reports.

It was at Stanmer Park, a recent home for the South of England Championships, that saw Brightons James Turner take his first individual victory and he did so over Crawleys Josh Hobbs.

Wallek won the under-15 county championships last January and then the overall league title but here took the under-17 race.

This was after having to make do with two fifth placings in the opening two fixtures. Here, the Phoenix runner came good here on the hills of Stanmer Park.

Finlay Goodman, the English Schools 10th placer, notched up his third successive under-15 win of the winter to help Brighton to a comfortable team win.

Finn Lumber-Fry placed a high up fifth in the British Athletics Cross challenge in Milton Keynes last month when he missed the Sussex League race but here added to his October fixture win with another under-13 top placing.

For the women Amelia Cox, the English Schools steeplechase eighth-placer, was back to winning ways after being headed by Amy Harris in the November fixture. The Crawley runner enjoyed a 30 second margin over her Phoenix rival.

Men:
1 James Turner Brighton & Hove AC Senior Men 28:30
2 Joshua Hobbs Crawley AC Senior Men 28:46
3 Oliver Prichard Team Bodyworks Senior Men 29:01
4 Matt Geddes Brighton Phoenix U20 Men 29:27
5 Alexander Sproston Crawley AC U20 Men 29:34
6 Henry Yelling Brighton & Hove AC U20 Men 29:56
7 Matthew Grindrod Brighton & Hove AC U20 Men 30:10
8 Bradley Burke Horsham Blue Star Harriers Senior Men 30:12
9 Sam Wilkinson Brighton & Hove AC Senior Men 30:15
10 Cameron Dunn Brighton & Hove AC Senior Men 30:18

Men
TEAM
Div 1 (6 to score): 1 Brighton & H 47; 2 Lewes 128; 3 Phoenix 130; 4 Haywards H 289; 5 Crawley 330; 6 Hy TR 392; 7 Arena 80 406; 8 Hastings 816

Div 2 (4 to score): 1 Lewes B 143; 2 Worthing 160; 3 Phoenix B 164; 4 Horsham BS 175; 5 B&H B 189; 6 Lewes C 190

M40 TEAM: 1 Lewes 13; 2 Hay H 39; 3 Phoenix 48; 4 Arena 50; 5 B&H 60; 6 Saints & S 91

U17
TEAM: 1 B&H 11; 2 Crawley 28; 3 Phoenix 32; 4 Worthing 33; 5 B&H 55; 6 Eastbourne 61

U15
TEAM: 1 B&H 9; 2 Bodyworks 19; 3 B&H B 24; 4 Lewes 60; 5 Crawley 65; 6 Horsham BS 68

U13
TEAM: 1 Eastbourne 8; 2 B&H 15; 3 B&H B 34; 4 Lewes 41; 5 Bodyworks 46; 6 Eastbourne 64

Women

1 Amelia Cox Crawley AC U20 Women 20:33
2 Amy Harris Brighton Phoenix Senior Women 21:03
3 Isabel Guirdham Lewes AC U20 Women 21:12
4 Rae LeFay Hastings AC U17 Women 21:25
5 Darja Knotkova-Hanley Lewes AC Senior Women 21:35
6 Stephanie Shaw Crawley AC U17 Women 21:51
7 Kathleen Law Brighton & Hove AC Senior Women 21:53
8 Dulcie Yelling Brighton & Hove AC U17 Women 21:55
9 Rachel Hillman Lewes AC V35 Women 21:56
10 Bethan Male Arena 80 AC Senior Women 22:03

Women
TEAM
Div 1 (4 to score): 1 Lewes 30; 2 B&H 42; 3 Phoenix 75; 4 Eastbourne 90 5 Arena 90; 6B&H B 143; 7 Crawley 161;8 Chich R 318

Div 2 (3 to score): 1 Lewes B 59; 2 Worthing 90; 3 Hastings 125; 4 Lewes C 130; 5 Hy R 149; 6 Phoenix B 154

W35 TEAM (3 to score): 1 Lewes 9; 2 Arena 22; 3 Hy R 65; 4 Worthing 67; 5 Lewes B 70; 6 Worthing Run Ac 80

U17 TEAM: 1 B&H 20; 2 Lewes 35; 3 Eastbourne 41; 4 Hastings 47; 5 Phoenix 49; 5 Worthing 50; 6 Phoenix 53

U15 TEAM: 1 Crawley 15; 2 Lewes 17; 3 Eastbourne 33; 4 Chich R 34; 5 B&H 46; 6 Lewes B 52

U13 TEAM: 1 Hy R 24; 2 Crawley 30; 3 B&H 33; 4 Chich R 48; 5 Eastbourne 51; 6 B&H B 66

LINCOLNSHIRE RUNNER LEAGUE, Louth, December 4

Leigh James Marshall made it a clean sweep of four wins in the senior mens race and now looks forward to next months county championships, Martin Duff reports.

The Newark veteran was pushed harder in this final fixture of the truncated winter campaign, as Adam Dalton was a close second. Both will look forward to making a county team that took the bronze medals in the Inter-County championships earlier this year.

Tricia Jackman Made it three wins on the trot in the womens race as Paula Downing added to her string of W55 age group wins this year, in second spot.

Men:

1 L Marshall (Newark, M40) 25:06; 2 A Dalton (Clee) 25:10; 3 C Ely (Clee) 25:23; 4 R Page (Linc W) 26:27; 5 T Hanson (Linc &D, M35) 25:26; 6 T Bell (Caistor) 27:34

M45: 1 R Clayton (Linc W) 28:50

M50: 1 S Spencer (Linc &D) 28:17

M55: 1 M Waite (With) 30:06

TEAM: 1 Lincoln & D 21; 2 Lincoln W 32; 3 Boston Tri 48; 4 Boston 48; 5 Caistor 53; 6 Grantham RC 94

U17: 1 D Backhouse (Linc W) 19:38

U15:

1 W Harris (Pboro &NV) 15:44; 2 J Thorpe (Sleaf) 18:53; 3 A Holt (Granth) 19:01

U13:

1 P OConnor (Linc W) 12;15; 2 A Cotton (Slea) 12:24; 3 D Henry (Linc W) 12:26; 4 N Harrison (Linc W) 12:47; 5 O Lindell (Linc W) 13:28; 6 E Hunter (Linc W) 13:30

TEAM: 1 Lincoln W 8

U11:

1 C Johnson (Linc W) 7:11

 Women:

1 P Jackman (Linc &D) 19:56; 2 P Downing (Mable, W55) 22;18; 3 F Usher (Linc W_) 22:31; 4 S Dowling (Skeg, W50) 22:56; 5 R Hodgson (Clee, W40) 22:35; 6 R Burgess (Louth Tri, W35) 23:47

TEAM: 1 Linc & D 11; 2 Boston Tri 46; 3 Sleaford 48

U17:

1 J Guy (Linc W) 17:23; 2 H Mather (Linc W) 21;16; 3 P Liddell (Linc W) 22:32

TEAM: 1 Lincoln W 6:12

U15:

1 E Worthington (Linc W) 15:44; 2 I Porter (Linc W) 16:43; 3 M Carrotte (Clee) 17:31

TEAM: 1 Lincoln W 6

U13:

1 F Lily (Linc W) 12:47; 2 H Jackson (Granth) 13:43; 3 K Swan (Clee) 13:58; 4I Hurn (Pboro&NV) 14:05; 5 A Norris (Linc W) 14:11; 6 E douce (Pboro &NV) 14:14

U11:

1 H Norris (Linc W) 7:21; 2 E Goulsbra (Linc W) 7:25; 3 M Porter (Linc W) 8:08

TEAM: Lincoln W 6; 2 Linc W 24

RED ROSE LEAGUE, Rossendale, December 3

Final team standings (best 3 races to count):
Men:
1 Ross 133
2 Bburn 372
3 Bury 396
4 Clay 842
5 Acc RR 913
6 Leigh 944
7 Chorley 1104
8 Horw 1201

M40+:
1 Ross 152
2 Tod 170
3 Acc RR 274

U15:
1 Chorley 44
2 Bolt 92
3 Ross 100

U13:
1 Ross 74
2 Leigh 109

U11:
1 Ross 36
2 Traw 75
3 Chorley 96

Women:
1 Bury 59
2 Tod 157
3 Clay 195
4 Ross 331
5 Barl 390
6 Acc RR 420
7 Bden RR 449
8 Roch 562

W35+:
1 Tod 40
2 Acc RR 117
3 Clay 123

U15:
1 Leigh 34
2 Barl 95

U13:
1 Chorley 48
2 Bury 61
3 Clay 102
4 Ross 127
5 Bolt 221

U11:
1 Leigh 44
2 Bury 98
3 Chorley 105

Olympic and world 3000m steeplechase champion focusing on breaking 18-year-old world record

At the age of 26, Soufiane El Bakkali has become Olympic and world 3000m steeplechase champion, turned into a hometown hero in Morocco and aims to create more history in 2023 by breaking the world record.

The mark of 7:53.63, set by Kenyan-born Qatari Saif Saaeed Shaheen, has survived since 2004. El Bakkalis personal best of 7:58.15 sees him 10th on the all-time list. Given he went through 2022 unbeaten, and won two major gold medals in as many years, the Moroccan will be buoyed by his form.

El Bakkali is focusing on improving his speed work across 1500m his personal best is an impressive 3:31.95 to finish steeplechase races even more strongly.

I entered 2022 with pressure as I didnt yet win a world title but I am used to pressure as I have a lot of goals, El Bakkali told AW at the 2022 World Athletics Awards.

My childhood dream was being an Olympic champion. Outside of Morocco I felt like a big star, especially in the 3000m steeplechase, an event dominated by the Kenyans for a long time. 

Every year the goals have changed and now the focus is breaking the world record.

Soufiane El Bakkali (Getty)

El Bakkali is not wrong. Since the first World Championships in 1983, a Kenyan has claimed the gold medal in all but five of the editions.

With 269,000 followers on Instagram, he has now elevated his status to that of a household name across Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakesh.

The best example of this was when he competed on home soil at this years Rabat Diamond League in front of a partisan home crowd. It was the first time the Diamond League had been in Morocco, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in three years. Combined with the fact that the 3000m steeplechase was the last event, and El Bakkali hadnt competed in front of the Moroccan crowd since his Olympic gold medal, the atmosphere was electric.

It was a football game, El Bakkali says. Especially that the event was the last one. It was the first time Id competed on home soil since winning gold at the Olympics. The people went down to the track afterwards and celebrated with me. It was a special moment.

Soufiane El Bakkali (Getty)

With the last race that El Bakkali lost being the Zurich Diamond League final last year, expectations will be high ahead of 2023.

The prospect of a clean sweep of a major medal haul over a five-year period [Tokyo 2020, Eugene 2022, Budapest 2023, Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2025] is still on and you wouldnt bet against it.

El Bakkali is now the one being chased down and expectations have changed since his Olympic gold in Tokyo.

You get the feeling this may just be the beginning.

Middle-distance runners used British Milers Club events in lead up to winning major medals this year

It has been a memorable year for British middle-distance runners and as 2022 draws to a close the British Milers Club has given Laura Muir and Jake Wightman as its main senior athlete awards.

Muir, who won European and Commonwealth 1500m titles in addition to world 1500m bronze, finished ahead of Calli Thackery, while world 1500m champion Jake Wightman took the mens prize from runner-up Ben Pattison.

Muir used the BMC circuit to post an early-season 800m time of 1:57.23 a BMC womens record in a mixed race at Trafford, whereas Wightman raced at the BMC Indoor Grand Prix in Sheffield last winter over 3000m where he finished a close second to Ossama Meslek in 7:50.97.

Elsewhere on the BMC circuit in 2022, Pattison set a BMC mens 800m record of 1:44.60 at Trafford in July, while Elliot Giles ran a BMC mens record of 3:36.26 at the BMC Gold Standard meeting in Watford in August.

Abigail Ives and Ethan Hussey, who both reached world under-20 finals in Cali, took the junior awards ahead of Irish Downes and Osian Perrin respectively.

Geoff Wightman was named coach of the year for guiding Jake to not only global gold ahead of Jakob Ingebrigtsen in Eugene but also European 800m silver and Commonwealth 1500m bronze.

Andy Young, coach to Muir among others, was runner-up with Rod Lock earning a lifetime coaching achievement honour and Neville Taylor being awarded the Frank Horwill Award for Services to the BMC.

The awards follow the news that all five of the Saucony BMC Grand Prix events in 2023 will be part of the World Continental Tour as Challenger meetings.

The fixtures are:
May 27 Manchester, Sportcity
June 10 Loughborough
July 1 Watford
July 29 Birmingham University
August 12 Manchester, Trafford

Tim Brennan from the BMC said: We are really pleased to be included in the World Tour it enable us to offer a great domestic opportunity to our members and will attract a strong overseas entry to enhance the quality of the races.

Entries are also open for the BMC Indoor Grand Prix on January 8 in Sheffield. See britishmilersclub.com for more.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Karoline Grøvdal, Charles Hicks and host nation hope Nadia Battocletti are among those defending their titles in Turin on Sunday

Turin hosted the World Cross Country Championships in 1997 and now, a quarter of a century later, the city is poised to stage the European Cross Country Championships. Back in 97 the global event was held in the citys Parco del Valentino whereas this weekends Euro clash will be in La Mandria Park to the north-west of the city.

Unlike this months FIFA World Cup venue of Qatar, which has drawn criticism for having scant sporting history and tradition, the Euro Cross host nation of Italy is steeped in cross-country heritage. Since the 1997 World Cross, the country has held the Euro Cross three times in Ferrara 98, San Giorgio su Legnano in 2006 and Chia in 2016 which demonstrates an appetite to showcase what is often described as the purest form of running.

Italy has also produced its fair share of cross-country runners over the years such as former world champion Paolo Pigni, Franco Fava and Alberto Cova, among others. Championships aside, the country is also home to the historic Cinque Mulini, which started in 1933 and sees athletes running through buildings.

The competitors this Sunday (Dec 11) will experience this in La Mandria Park, too, due to part of the course passing through the Galleria delle Carrozze of the Borgo Castello. No doubt they will emerge from the building to huge roars of noise from spectators, all of whom can attend for free on the day. But who will be in pole position?

Jakob Ingebrigtsen leads in Lisbon 2019 (Mark Shearman)

Senior men

Every individual gold medallist from the 2021 event in Dublin is set to defend their title in Turin on Sunday. These include Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who will be looking for his second senior crown after winning four under-20 titles the first one of which came in Italy in 2016.

The presence of the Olympic 1500m and world 5000m champion, together with his brothers Filip and Henrik, will add some zest and glamour to the event. But the 22-year-old from Norway will not have it all his own way.

Yeman Crippa, the European 10,000m champion, will be buoyed by home support and is joined in the Italian team by Italian cross country champion Iliass Aouani who recently won the test event in La Mandria Park.

Yeman Crippa (Getty)

Mo Katir is a likely challenger too. The Spaniard won world 1500m bronze and European 5000m silver behind Ingebrigtsen this year and will be keen to test his mid-winter form.

Morhad Amdouni, the 2018 European 10,000m champion, leads the French team in the absence of Jimmy Gressier. Belgium boast Michael Somers and former silver medallist Isaac Kimeli and will be keen to put up a good performance as they are set to host the event in 2023 in Brussels.

Emile Cairess leads the British challenge and he is keen to put behind him the modest 60th place he achieved at his last Euro Cross in 2019. After equalling Mo Farahs UK 10km record earlier this year, he won the GB trials convincingly in Liverpool ahead of triathlon specialist Hugo Milner and Marc Scott. Expect the latter to improve in Italy, though, if the course is firmer than it was at the trials in Sefton Park.

Mens leaders in Liverpool (Mark Shearman)

Senior women

Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal is another Norwegian with a title to defend and she also faces tough opposition in Italy.

Yasemin Can of Turkey will be keen to retain her title. She won four golds from 2016-19 but finished 14th last year in Dublin. However she bounced back this summer to win the European 10,000m title in Munich.

Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Alina Reh form a particularly strong German team. Klosterhalfen won the European 5000m title in the summer and has since impressed with a 65:41 half-marathon debut, while Reh is a former under-23 winner, finished third in the senior race in Dublin last year and won the German trials in style.

Karoline Grovdal (Mark Shearman)

Jess Warner-Judd finished fourth last year and led the GB team to gold and she will hope to end a superb year by making the podium in Italy.

The Swedish team will be a factor too as their squad includes last years silver medallist Meraf Bahta, the 2019 bronze medallist Samrawit Mengsteab plus Sarah Lahti.

Under-23 men

Charles Hicks beat Darragh McElhinney of Ireland and Ruben Querinjean of Luxembourg to gold 12 months ago and the 21-year-old US-based Briton looks in great form ahead of the defence of his title.

At the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma last month he took gold ahead of Nico Young. Not surprisingly the Stanford University student then sat out the GB trials but was a shoo-in to be picked for this weekend.

McElhinney and Querinjean are set to race again in this age group and are likely to be Hicks biggest rivals as the London-born athlete aims to become only the second athlete (after Jimmy Gressier) to successfully defend this title.

McElhinney led Ireland to team gold last year and he is again supported by Keelan Kilrehill, who was sixth last year, plus Efrem Gidey, an Eritrean refugee who won under-20 bronze for Ireland 12 months ago.

Look out too for Etson Barros of Portugal, Magnus Tuv Myhre of Norway and French duo Antoine Senard and Valentin Godouin.

Megan Keith and Jess Warner-Judd (Mark Shearman)

Under-23 women

Expect this to be the noisiest event of the day as reigning champion Nadia Battocletti defends her crown. Last year the 22-year-old also led Italy to team gold in this age group. The event is part of her family history as well as her father, Giuliano Battocletti, was the first Italian home, in seventh place, at the 1998 Euro Cross in Ferrara.

Battocletti, who also won under-20 European titles in 2018 and 2019, has not enjoyed a smooth build-up to the race, though, as she has suffered injury and a bout of mononucleosis. She will need to be at her best, too, because potential rivals include Megan Keith, the 2021 under-20 winner, who moves into the under-23 age group.

Mariano Machado of Portugal, the bronze medallist 12 months ago, is another contender, along with Irish champion Sarah Healy and Nordic champion Nathalie Blomqvist of Finland.

Look out for Emma Heckal as well, who took under-20 bronze last year and led Germany to the team title.

Innes Fitzgerald (Mark Shearman)

Under-20 women

British athletes traditionally excel in this age group but were beaten into third place in the team stakes 12 months ago despite having individual champion Megan Keith. Before Dublin, the British team won 10 of the previous 11 team titles and will aim to get back on the top of the podium on Sunday.

In the individual stakes there will be much anticipation to see how Innes Fitzgerald fares at the tender age of 16. The Devon athlete does not turn 17 until April but won the GB trials in Liverpool in style with an impressive display of front running.

She has blown her domestic rivals away in similar fashion at the Cardiff Cross Challenge and Mini London Marathon this winter as well, whereas in the summer she set a UK under-17 womens 3000m record of 8:59.67 breaking Jess Judds record by nine seconds. Amazingly she has only been training seriously for less than a year, too, but is astutely guided by Gavin Pavey, the husband-coach of distance running legend Jo.

Rivals on Sunday include Sofia Thøgersen, the European under-18 3000m champion from Denmark.

Ingeborg Østgard of Norway finished runner-up to Megan Keith 12 months ago in this race and will be keen to upgrade to gold. She is also the reigning European under-20 1500m champion but was beaten narrowly by Thøgersen at the Nordic Championships last month.

Watch out too for Finlands Ilona Mononen, the European under-20 3000m champion who was fifth in this event last year, plus Turkeys Ayca Fidanoglu, the European under-18 1500m silver medallist.

Axel Vang Christensen (Mark Shearman)

Under-20 men

The four-year stranglehold that Jakob Ingebrigtsen had on this title from 2016-2019 ended last year when Axel Vang Christensen won the title by 25 seconds.

The 18-year-old from Denmark has since started a sports scholarship at the University of Birmingham and consequently raced in the GB trials senior mens race as a guest last month. He finished seventh 40 seconds behind winner Emile Cairess but this came after a mid-race fall.

On Sunday he faces Norways Abdullahi Dahir Rabi and Danish team-mate Joel Ibler Lillesø, the silver and bronze medallists from last year.

British hopes, meanwhile, will be led by Will Barnicoat. An emphatic winner of the GB trials, he finished ninth in Dublin last year but led the GB team to gold. Like Christensen he is also a Birmingham student.

Ireland will also be in the mix with Dean Casey and European under-20 3000m champion Nick Griggs likely to be prominent.

Sadly, though, Niels Laros, has withdrawn. The 17-year-old Dutch runner won 1500m and 3000m golds in impressive style at the European Under-18 Championships this year but has pulled out with illness.

Mixed relay

Britain has won the last two mixed relay titles and they field a strong team in Turin in the quest of defending their crown.

They include the fast-improving Callum Elson, trials winner James Heneghan, the talented Khahisa Mhlanga and Olympic 1500m runner Revee Walcott-Nolan.

Walcott-Nolan won the womens trial in Liverpool after a frustrating 2022 that saw her miss most of the summer with a stress reaction to her shin.

Look out for Italy to challenge as the host nation team is boosted by European 1500m fourth-placer Pietro Arese and reigning European under-23 1500m champion Gaia Sabbatini.

The 2018 champions, Spain, will be keen to retain their title, too, whereas Finland is likely to field European 3000m steeplechase champion Topi Raitanen.

Revee Walcott-Nolan (Mark Shearman)

Timetable
9:35am U20 men (6000m)
10:03am U20 women (4000m)
10:30am Mixed relay (4x1500m)
11:30am U23 men (8000m)
12:03pm U23 women (6000m)
12:33pm Senior women (8000m)
1:10pm Senior men (10.000m)
(Italy is one hour ahead of the UK)

READ MORE: GB team for Turin

The event is streamed on the European Athletics website but for viewers in the UK the championship is also on BBC red button, iPlayer and online from 8.30am-12.45pm with highlights on BBC2 from 4-5pm on Sunday December 11.

AW promotion

Enhancing athletic performance is now easier than ever. Today, athletes perform in ways that were never believed possible, thanks to advancing training approaches and technology. For instance, a TED talk compared Usain Bolts performance to Jesse Owens 1936 performance. But should the latter compete simultaneously with the Jamaican, he might finish 14 feet behind. If you are or want to be an athlete, below are 10 effective ways to triple-boost your performance. 

Ensure proper hydration 

Staying hydrated seems obvious, but it should be your primary concern during training since its not difficult to become dehydrated. Sweating is a natural way for your body to eliminate fluids, whether youre on the pitch or in a cold gym. Your muscles generate heat as you exercise, significantly raising your core body temperature and sweating is your bodys attempt to keep you cool. During strenuous activity, your body may drop up to 45 ounces of water each hour. You must have some water nearby for your fuel intake. Theres nothing wrong with eating a small amount of solid food as a nice reprieve from the monotony of liquid fuel consumption, especially during lengthy activities. However, make the right choices and make solid food intake an exception rather than the rule.

Monitor and track performance during training 

There is an abundance of monitoring equipment available. Keeping track of your performance throughout a workout is a terrific way to push your body farther, whether you prefer the most technological wearable or scribble down notes using a pen and paper. Hard data is a fantastic motivator since it shows you how far youve come. You can monitor your progress for every activity or training and set realistic performance goals based on the data. Todays technology has made it quite simple to assess your performance. There are fitness watches you can use as an information centre by continuously capturing various movement parameters. They can track running distance, heart rate, training repetitions, and more. 

Vary your training 

Functional exercises are the game name for many athletes. There is more to improving athletic performance than losing weight or building your physique. Its about increasing your muscular strength, reaction time, and mental toughness on the field. Functional exercises are an excellent starting point and should always be included in your routines. The purpose of these activities is to maintain your performance level throughout a game. It prepares your body to adapt to diverse situations while helping you avoid injuries. You can also invest in training devices to boost your performance. For instance, devices like Visio Putting aids can improve your short game if you are a golfer. 

Dont skip recovery time

The recovery period is just as vital as the training, and this is due to several factors. For starters, proper recovery can aid in injury prevention. Your muscles require time to recover. Small microscopic rips form in your muscle tissue every time you work out, and its an important aspect of becoming stronger and bulkier. However, working through the discomfort and not allowing your body adequate time to recuperate is a recipe for injury. Insufficient recovery is one of the most prevalent causes of muscle rips and major injuries. So add a recovery period in your training. 

Include conditioning in your routine 

Athletes work hard to improve and fine-tune their techniques. Basketball players, for example, practice shooting for hours, whereas footballers repeatedly kick the same ball. Instead of focusing just on technique, players should also concentrate on conditioning. Including such workouts in your regimens teaches your body to perform well even when you are exhausted. According to the UKs Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH), a sports performance conditioning programme is intended to improve fundamental physical capacities while lowering the chance of injury.

Mental training 

Training your brain and, by extension, your mind is one of the most efficient ways to increase physical performance and gain an advantage over competitors. Sporting activities engage more than just your muscles. Most sports place a high value on your cerebral ability as well. According to Believe Perform, Mental Toughness sets good and great athletes apart when physical, technical and tactical skills are equal. Football and hockey players, for example, must make hundreds of split-second judgments, each of which might significantly influence the game results. And this requires excellent cognitive ability.

Fuel the right way 

Youre indeed what you eat. Improving athletic performance might be as easy as eating the appropriate nutrients for some people. On the other hand, peak athletes follow considerably tighter diets than the ordinary Joe. It would help if you ate nutritious meals at the appropriate times to stretch your body as far as it goes. Everything begins in the morning. So instead of having unhealthy fast meals and sugary cereals for breakfast, you should consider a balanced diet of carbs, proteins, and healthy fats. A full meal in the morning provides ample fuel for your muscles while still providing you with the energy to begin your day. Its critical to avoid sweets and carbohydrates while preparing your meals. Instead, choose healthy options such as complex carbs.

Replenish with carbs and protein after each training session 

What you do immediately after your workout is just as crucial as your workout. If you dont replenish the tank, youll not likely reap the full benefit of your efforts, so keep this in mind. Performance boost doesnt happen, at least not effectively or efficiently, if you disregard your bodys fuel replenishment and recovery needs. Therefore, give your body what it needs after exercise, and it will respond magnificently. Replenishing immediately with the right carbs and protein after each training session can ensure quicker recovery and efficient body response to stress while also providing your body with the energy it needs to grow muscle.

Boosting athletic performance does not need to be difficult. The most successful strategies are really simple. So whether you are a coach or athlete, you will find the approaches discussed useful for achieving big results.

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