British and Irish Masters Cross Country International
Dublin - 13th November 2010
This year’s British and International Masters Cross Country International, which will be held on Saturday 13th November 2010, is being hosted by Ireland at Sentry Park, Dublin. Bernie Jones (Men) and Ali Whitelaw (Women) have again been appointed Welsh Masters Team Managers for the event and along with the Selectors need your help in ensuring Wales gets it strongest possible teams out.
As usual the Welsh Team Selectors will meet in the middle of October but with only one North Wales League (Colwyn Bay 9/10) and one Gwent League (Bridgend 10/10) to review cross country performances the Selectors will have to take into consideration other relevant performances including results from the British Masters 10k Champs (Wolverhampton 12/9), Cardiff 10k – Welsh Champs (12/9) and the Swansea 10k (26/9).
However, not all eligible athletes compete in the above races, so if you believe your performances may warrant consideration for a place in the Welsh Team please contact either Bernie or Ali with details. Their contact details are as follows:
As usual we are also keen to know about any new Welsh Masters. If you believe you are eligible to run for Welsh Masters and you believe your performances are good enough contact either Bernie or Ali.
Only paid up members of the Welsh Masters Athletic Association will be eligible for selection
British & Irish Masters Cross Country International
Perry Park, Birmingham
Saturday 14th November, 2009
The 22nd annual British & Irish Masters Cross Country International was held in wild weather last weekend, but the wind and torrential rain did not detract from some magnificent performances from the Welsh Team. Pride of place must go to Austin Davies (M45) and Griff Owens (M60) on their magnificent individual victories. To anyone who has seen Austin perform on the country recently, this should come as no surprise – a magnificent sixth place the previous week in the Gwent League was a sure sign of things to come. Given that he was competing in the combined Age 35-49 race, to place 4th amongst an international field up to ten years his junior was a sensational achievement, and his margin of victory over runner-up Ben Reynolds (England) was a comfortable 28 seconds. If Austin’s gold was predictable, Griff Owen’s win in the M60s was a revelation. Griff has been away from the international scene for many years now, but a recent age group win in the North Wales CC League and a very quick 37:39 in the Birchwood 10km showed that Griff’s old form was returning. What many people didn’t realise was that Griff finished 6th in the inaugural Masters CC International, held in Moss Valley Park, Wrexham, way back in 1988 – some pedigree indeed, given that Griff’s team mates in that all-star gold medal winning Welsh M40 quartet were Tony Simmons, Alun Roper and Dic Evans.
To give an indication of just how difficult individual male gold medals have been to come by – Wales has 18 individual titles in 22 years, and this was the first time since Wales hosted the event in 1993 that more than a single gold has been achieved in the Men’s events.
However, there were three individual bronze medals to celebrate also, thanks to tremendous performances by three super-consistent athletes who have been on the international scene for many years – Marilyn Kitching (W40), Sandy Johnston (M60) and Emyr Davies (M65).
The achievements of the Welsh teams are, if anything, even more noteworthy, as history has shown that team golds have been a very rare commodity – particularly as the strength and depth of the event has grown dramatically. The previous 21 editions have seen just 3 Welsh Male and 4 Female Team titles, yet here Wales won the ultra competitive W40 title by a single point from the Republic of Ireland, with England five points adrift in third. No praise can be high enough for the magnificent quartet of Marilyn Kitching (3rd), Ann Thomas (4th), Libby O’Duffy (7th) and Denise Sanders (9th).
But more was to follow as the Welsh M60 squad decimated the opposition through Griff Owens (1st), Sandy Johnston (3rd), Dic Evans (8th) and Dickie Bowen (10th). This gave Wales 12 points and a decisive ten point margin over the English. There were more causes for celebration as the M35 team took silver, and there were a haul of 6 team bronzes through the F45, F55, F60, F65, M45 and M65 squads. However, it wasn’t just the medallists who were heroes – so too were those who backed the scorers up and took decisive points from the opposition, and also vital were the reserves who travelled to support the team in case of any last minute withdrawals and who contested the Open Race. Thanks also to family members and supporters who all rallied to help the Welsh cause. Finally, a huge vote of thanks to two inspirational Team Managers Ali Whitelaw and Bernie Jones who masterminded the whole operation. It was an occasion to be proud to say you were Welsh and you were there – but then again – it always is.
