T
his small group of crosscountry
aficionados showed
what could be done with a
mixture of sound preparation
in a variety of conditions,
bloody-mindedness and good
humour.
Charlie MacLean was undoubtedly the star of
the show, combining his consdierable talent
with year-round preparation and conditioning.
He won all his school races, at the Area
Championships, King's Cup, Quantock Relays
and Clatworthy Reservoir - the latter in a new
record on a cool, windy but sunny day. He also
came second in the county championships,
third in the South West, and ninth, again, in the
English Schools event, despite being badly
hemmed in for the first half of the race.
The team also won the King's
Cup, Clatworthy and on the
Quantocks, with fantastic
contributions from team
captain Matt Peek, who also
travelled to the English
Schools. In all the King's
races, he never finished out of
the top four.
It was good to see Tom
Lawson returning to the
scene after so much injury
and illness, and he too
qualified easily for the
English Schools at Liverpool,
doing very well at the King's
Cup in Neroche. Harry
Hudson came to King's with
the reputation of being a
strong runner in tough
conditions, and developed
still farther as the secondranked
junior in Somerset.
The boys were joined at Liverpool by Mhairi
Hall and Olivia Taylor. Mhairi's determination
to do well shone through at the South West
Schools when she only lost her fourth place in
the county team right on the line - and then
came away promising to seek revenge in the
English Schools. She ran well in the
Quantocks Relay and was part of the winning
girls' team which also included Olivia Taylor,
who quietly improved throughout the season,
but could give yet more with a little more
confidence to go with a quicker pace: she
finishes races with a lengthy sprint.
Alice Round enjoyed the training regime,
missing out on the English Schools by only one
place, but her dry humour reflected the
character and enjoyment within the team. She
somehow managed to keep up a conversation
throughout training runs with Charlie Wilson,
who also helped in the staging of events.
Jack Lawson originally tagged along to keep his
brother company once a week, but his strength
in training indicated considerable potential.
Lloyd Griffiths and George Chapman originally
joined in to develop their fitness for rugby, but
it was interesting to see them carrying their
fitness forward into athletics in the Summer
term. Lloyd surprised himself with a fine run in
the five-mile circular tour of Clatworthy
Reservoir. The junior boys showed the value of
cross-training, and this should encourage
others to follow in their footsteps rather than
just settle for the gym.
After all their exertions through woods and over
hill and dale, the final session was a wonderful
three-mile run on Burnham beach, followed by
circuits on sand dunes though the howling gale
of a headwind. The reward? An ice-cream in
cold weather, followed by a pizza-eating
competition the following day, during which the
slimly built team ate more pizza than the
powerhouses of the Millfield rugby team.
Thanks as usual go to Messrs Round and Lee,
and to Mrs Wrobel and Miss Fagan for all their
support and assistance.
Aluredian
78
Cross-Country
by Richard Llewellyn-Eaton
Tom Lawson at the county
championships