British Sprint & Middle Distance Championships, 9/10 April 2011
A few ESOC members made the long journey to Sussex for these major events, with some excellent results including an impressive win for Claire Ward on W21 at the British Middle Championships.
The British Sprint Championships on Saturday 9 April were at the neighbouring campuses of the Universities of Sussex and Brighton. There were complex buildings on sloping ground, with multiple levels and staircases, a mixture of tarmac and grass underfoot, and some open woodland. It was warm and sunny.
Nearly all classes had 3 parallel heats, with limited numbers from each heat qualifying for the A final: Men’s Elite – 6 per heat, out of 93 competitors in total; M16 – 6 per heat, out of 31 in total; M35 – 3 per heat, out of 17 in total; M60 – 6 per heat, out of 38 in total; Women’s Elite – 6 per heat, out of 75 in total.
Claire Ward and Helen Bridle both won their heats.
ESOC results from the final were:
Men’s Elite B final – Andrew Lindsay 33rd=; Alastair Hindle 37th.
M16 A final – Craig Nolan 10th
M35 A final – Ray Ward 1st
M60 A final – Roger Scrutton 13th
M60 B final – Bill Stevenson 14th
Women’s Elite A final – Claire Ward 8th; Helen Bridle 10th
Women’s Elite B final – Rona Lindsay 11th
The British Middle Distance Championships were on Sunday 10 April at Worth Lodge, near Crawley. The terrain was quite hilly, and mostly wooded, with many streams, ditches, paths and changes in vegetation. The warm sunny weather continued.
There were some very fast runs, including Claire Ward’s fantastic sub-30 minute victory on W21.
ESOC results were as follows:
M16 (33 competitors) – Craig Nolan 15th
M18 (23) – Andrew Lindsay 15th
M21 (59) – Alastair Hindle 49th
M35 (18) – Ray Ward 3rd
M60 (44) – Roger Scrutton 18th, Bill Stevenson 28th
M65 (27) – Brian Yates 25th
W18 (21) – Rona Lindsay 7th
W21 (46) – Claire Ward 1st, Helen Bridle 5th
Full results and more details from both events, including photos and Routegadget, are on the event website.