Herefordshire's women take part for first time in UK Inter Counties Championship (From Hereford Times)
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Herefordshire's women take part for first time in UK Inter Counties Championship
2:00pm Wednesday 20th March 2013 in Sport
The Herefordshire Senior Women’s team line up (from left): Ruth Stafford, Naomi Prosser, Clara Evans, Jane Rowlands, Irina Dale, Gemma Mallett, Katherine King and Suzanne Turvey.
HEREFORDSHIRE’S women runners have established a county first.
An eight-strong women’s team headed to south Birmingham to take part in the annual UK Inter Counties Championships for the first time since women were admitted back in 1970.
The county runners were testing themselves against the best in the land with the event doubling as the selection races for the World Championships.
The first Herefordshire runner home in the women’s race, run over 8000 metres and the third on the day’s programme of 10 races, was county league champion Clara Evans.
Running for the first time in senior ranks, Evans finised in 162nd place, two places ahead of Suzanne Turvey. Also having her first taste of racing at this level, Katherine King finished in 199th place while Naomi Prosser and Jane Rowlands battled through to finish 261st and 265th respectively.
Croft Ambrey club mates Gemma Mallett and Irina Dale contested the final counting team place as they sprinted down the finishing straight, recording the same time, but Mallett was given the official verdict as they finished 269th and 270th.
Ruth Stafford completed the Herefordshire contingent in 288th place.
With the first six runners home counting, Herefordshire finished 33rd team just 29 points behind neighbours Worcestershire. Two senior Herefordshire men took part with Jon Barnes, again in his first such race in the senior ranks, finishing 204th while newcomer Mark Lamonby took 283rd place. Andrew Davies ran strongly to place 208th in the under-17 men’s race and Jasper Robinson, who will represent the West Midlands in the forthcoming London Mini-Marathon, ran valiantly to finish 289th in the under-13 boys’ race.
Herefordshire’s best individual performance came from Rhys Park in the under-20 men’s event.
Although now running for Cheltenham AC, Park still represents his home county and featured in the leading group for much of his race before finishing in 26th place.
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