Hat Trick for Austin in the Mud at Glasgow November 2011
Last Saturday (26th November) saw the 24th staging of the British and Irish Masters Cross Country International Championships at BellahoustonPark, Glasgow. This venue has a long and distinguished history of staging top flight cross country, with the World Championships having been staged there in 1978. On this occasion however, recent rainfall had left the course with a considerable amount of surface water, and this, combined with storm force winds proved a stern challenge to all the athletes.
The stand out individual performance for Wales was once again provided by Austin Davies (Brecon AC). Having won the M45 title in 2009 in Birmingham, and successfully defending it in Dublin 12 months ago, Austin was bidding for a remarkable hat-trick. This he achieved by the impressive margin of 44 seconds, and actually finished runner-up in the race which incorporated athletes between the ages 35 to 64, thereby racing against runners up to 12 years his junior. Whether the ground is firm or soft, Austin is a formidable competitor, and he was unquestionably the toast of the Welsh team at the evening banquet.
The only other individual Welsh medallist was Brian Gough (Pontypridd Roadents) who took an excellent bronze in the M70 event.
A number of late withdrawals meant that the Welsh team were somewhat weaker than in recent years, with just 3 sets of team medals. The best of these were the M70 team with silver. Led home by Brian Gough, Ken Buckle and brothers Ron and Roger Harrison-Jones provided excellent support. One remarkable statistic is that Ron and Roger first represented Welsh athletics in 1959!
There were two team bronzes for the Welsh male and female age 60-64 teams. The M60 quartet were spearheaded by Griff Owens (Prestatyn), who ran in the very first masters international fixture at Wrexham in 1988, and was the individual M60 gold medallist in 2009. Just behind Griff were Paul Ross Davies, Tony Davies and Richard Marks.
The highest individual placing for the ladies was provided by Ann James (Les Croupiers), who finished 6th in the F60 category and led the Welsh ladies to the bronze medals. Hers is another amazing story of service to Welsh athletics. Like Griff, a competitor in the first masters international in 1988, Ann is also a 4 time Welsh representative in the World Cross Country Championships at senior level, starting at Rabat, Morocco in 1975. Backing Ann up were Christine Birch, Margaret Docking and Maggie Oliver.
This left the overall combined scores for each nation as follows:
1.England 72; 2. Republic of Ireland 50; 3. Scotland 44; 4. Wales 30; 5. Northern Ireland 25.
The Welsh team would also like to thank team managers Bernie Jones and Ali Whitelaw for all their preparatory work for the weekend.
Next year’s 25th event sees Northern Ireland as hosts, with the venue being Stormont Estate, Belfast on Saturday 10 November, 2012. Wales Age Group Team Positions, together with the individual athletes’ age group positions and times:
F35-39: FIFTH: 11. Joanne Donnelly 23:54; 17. Alyson Hayes 26:19; 18. Nicola Gething 26:36; 20. Helen MacArthur 27:02.
F40-44: FIFTH: 7. Satu Haikala 24:21; 13. Jane Horler 25:11; 19. Julia Harris 27:15; 20. Margaret Monk 32:46.
F45-49: FOURTH: 11. Celia White 25:19; 14. Emma Collins 25:44; 15. Susan Davies 25:52; 18. Jenny Phillips 27:42.
F50-54: FIFTH: 10. Annie Williams 25:55; 14. Lyndy Eynon 28:07; 17. Rosemary Wilson 28:57; 18. Edwina Turner 29:45.
F55-59: FOURTH: 7. Dawn Kenwright 27:14; 8. Ann Saxena 27:15; 12. Fiona Davies 28:15; 16. Caroline Dallimore 29:48.
F60-64: THIRD: 6. Ann James 28:42; 9. Christine Birch 28:59; 11. Margaret Docking 31:45; 13. Maggie Oliver 32:28.
F65-69: FOURTH: 12. Brenda Jones 35:15; 13. Pauline Thomas 36:16; 14. Clare Johnson 39:08.
M35-39: FOURTH: 6. Paul Halford 26:27; 11. James Bleakley 26:54; 18. Nick Dukes 27:58; 19. David Rees 28:03; 23. Jerome Edwards 28:15; 29. Chris Fulcher 30:13.
M40-44: FIFTH: 15. Chris Williams 27:48; 20. Gary Norgrove 28:03; 21. Lee Jones 28:15; 24. Paul Talbot 28:57; 26. Paul Griffiths 29:18.
M45-49: FOURTH: 1. Austin Davies 25:24; 19. Peter Coles 29:14;25. Stuart Penny 31:19; 27. Royston Whitehouse 30:30; 28. Peter Crane 30:36; 30. Arwel Lewis 31:17.
M50-54: FOURTH: 7. Ifan Lloyd 28:15; 14. Rob Sheen 29:02; 16. Russell Owen 29:14; 22. Nick Frost 30:04; 24. Phil Kendrick 30:28; 28. Steve Davies 31:33.
M55-59: FOURTH: 7. David Davies 29:05; 11. Kevin Hesketh 30:50; 18. Elio Lepore 32:04; 20. Mick McGeoch 34:13.
M60-64: THIRD: 7. Griff Owens 31:54; 8. Paul Ross Davies 32:02; 9. Tony Davies 32:09; 13. Richard Marks 33:04.
M65-69: FOURTH: 7. John Llewellyn 25:22; 9 Dic Evans 26:10; 12. Peter Roberts 26:51; 18. Peter Moody 28:32.
M70-74: SECOND: 3. Brian Gough 27:18; 5. Ken Buckle 28:04; 9. Ron Harrison-Jones 29:19; 12. Roger Harrison-Jones 30:29.
Mick McGeoch (Nov 2011)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cross Country
Austin the Hero Again in Dublin
Last Saturday (13th November) saw the 23rd staging of the British and Irish Masters Cross Country International Championships at Santry Demesne, Dublin. The vagaries of the weather meant that the course had to absorb a huge amount of rainfall recently, though the very windy conditions of the preceding days did help to dry the ground out to some extent. This left the parkland in reasonable shape for fast running, though there were a couple of significant soft stretches for the mudlarks. The multi-lap design proved popular, particularly with spectators who were able to see the athletes speed past on at least a couple of occasions per lap.
From a Welsh point of view, the best was left to the final race, and what a titanic battle it proved to be. On the first circuit of five, it was great to see two red vests at the head of proceedings, with a leap group of six breaking away, comprising four green vests of the host nation, plus Huw Evans and Austin Davies. It should be remembered that this race was being contested by three age categories, namely 35-39, 40-44 and 45-49, so that at 46 years of age Davies was conceding up to 11 years to some of the athletes. You would never have known. Whilst most of the proceedings had been held in the dry, the rain was now beginning to fall, and the ground was beginning to cut up. Davies, a farmer, revels in such conditions, and began to make his presence felt. At one stage he managed to open up a twenty metre lead, but it never looked quite decisive enough. Going into the final circuit Austin still had a ten metre advantage, and the excitement amongst the spectators was reaching fever pitch, as there were still 5 athletes in with a shout.
Running can be a cruel game, and in the final 200 metres Austin was passed by two Irish athletes, though to his eternal credit he kept fighting to the end, and in a thrilling sprint finish clawed his way back to second, just 3 seconds behind the Republic’s Peter Matthews. This at least ensured that he took the gold medal in the 45-49 age category, thereby successfully defending the title he won twelve months ago at Perry Park, Birmingham. Huw Evans also held on well for sixth place overall, which secured him an individual bronze in the 35-39 age group.
Wales’ only other individual success came from the remarkable Pat Gallagher, who took silver in the 65-69 ladies age group. Pat competed in the very first Masters International at Moss Valley Park, Wrexham in 1988, where she won the 40+ race, and with five individual age category wins, she remains Wales’ most successful athlete in the history of these championships.
On the team front, Wales won 7 bronze team medals from the 15 age categories contested; the overall contest being dominated by England (with 9 wins) and the Republic of Ireland (6 wins). This left the overall combined scores for each nation as follows:
1.England 69; 2. Republic of Ireland 63; 3. Wales 34; 4. Scotland 27; 5. Northern Ireland 26.
Next year’s event sees Scotland as hosts, with the venue being Bellahouston Park, Glasgow on Saturday 26 November, 2011.
Wales Age Group Team Positions, together with the individual athletes age positions and times:
F60-64: FOURTH: 11. Ann James 30:24; 12. Maggie Oliver 32:11; 14. Shelagh Adkins 34:13; 15. Sue Graves 35:11.
F65-69: THIRD: 2. Pat Gallagher 28:41; 7. Brenda Jones 33:11; 10. Carol Farrington 34:49; 12. Clare Johnson 36:01.
M35-39: THIRD: 3. Huw Evans 27:23; 9. Paul Halford 28:04; 13. Desi Damiani 29:05; 17. Iwan Jones 30:01; 26. Paul Coker 32:54.
M40-44: FIFTH: 15. Darren Rowlands 29:17; 18. Lee Jones 29:29; 20. Phil Cook 29:44; 23. Paul Griffiths 30:05; 25. Matt Ward 30:30; 29. Arwel Lewis 32:51.
M45-49: THIRD: 1. Austin Davies 27:00; 16. Peter Coles 30:04; 22. Mike Robbins 30:53; 24. Stuart Penny 31:19; 26. Peter Crane 31:59; 30. Mike Davies 38:01.
M50-54: FOURTH: 11. Ifan Lloyd 29:42; 18. David Davies 31:11; 19. Steve Davies 31:26; 21. Adrian Woods 31:31; 24. Simon Osbourne 31:44; 28. Scott Howell 31:53.
M60-64: FOURTH: 11. Sandy Johnston 34:15; 13. Dic Evans 34:32; 14. David Smout 34:44; 17. Eric Davey 37:46.
M65-69: THIRD: 4. Dickie Bowen 24:49; 10 Peter Moody 26:34; 12. Don Williams 27:11; 18. Ken Buckle 28:06.
M70-74: THIRD: 8. David Hughes 30:06; 12 Peter Norman 32:01: 13 Mark Tattersall 32:57; 14 Brain Blandford 33:07.
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
Teams selected to compete for the Welsh Masters.
Men 35 M40 M45 M50 M55 M60 M65 M70+
Desi Damiani Phil Cook Peter Coles David Davies Kevin Hesketh Eric Davey Richard Bowen David Hughes Huw Evans Paul Griffiths Peter Crane Steve Davies Elio Lapore Dic Evans Ken Buckle Mark Tattersall Paul Halford Lee Jones Austin Davies Scott Howell Mick McGeoch Sandy Johnstone Peter Moody Peter Norman Iwan Jones Arwel Lewis Stuart Penny Ifan Lloyd Mick Tabor David Smout Don Williamas Errol Alexis ???????? Andy Walling ??? Darren Rowlands Mike Robbins Simon Osborne Matt Ward ??? Rob Sheen Adrian Woods Reserve Reserve Mike Davies Brian Blandford
W35 W40 W45 W50 W55 W60 W65+
Nicola Lowe Ann Thomas Sandra Pinkham Cath Wheeler Dawn Kenwright Ann James Pat Gallagher Jo Donnelly Sharon Leech Sue Davies Annie Williams Fiona Davies Shelagh Adkins Brenda Jones Kirsty Murray Maria Zubrietta Jane Coker Alison Whitelaw Edwina Turner Maggie Oliver Claire Johnson Satu Haikala Jenny Phillips Mary Bowen-Rees Caroline Jones Caroline Dallimore Sue Graves Carol Farrington
Reserve Reserve Reserve Reserve Deborah Reed ??? Wendy Boon Ann rowell Annie Conroy Mrgaret Monk Pauline Thomas
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.
