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February 2005

Super Showing at Nationals	Monday, February 28 2005
In sunny but bitingly cold conditions, 25 athletes represented Tamworth Athletics Club in the National Cross Country Championships at Cofton Park, Birmingham last weekend. Tamworth finished 37th in the under-15s age group. Simon King was the first runner home for the club in 98th place. Steve Deeley, Joe Saddington and Alex Elson all ran bravely in their first attempt at a national competition and came home in 216th, 300th and 306th respectively. The under-17s and under-20s ladies' events were combined. Kat Snowden finished in 166th in the under-17s section and Gemma Moore was 110th in the under-20s. The under-13s boys finished in 36th. Stephen Parkes is improving with every race and he completed the course in 148th place with Tom Challis not far behind in 159th. Mathew Wood, in 248th, and Adam McGee, in 295th, were the other two members of the group. The under-13s girls finished in 38th position with Elyse Jinks enjoying a superb run in 129th. She was ably supported by Laura Lewis in 250th, Amy Williams - who was nursing an injury - finished in 296th and Rebecca Pate was 313th. Adam Bache, who continues his gradual improvement, and John Jenkins ran together neck and neck in the under-17s men's age group until Adam pulled away to finish in 157th with John close behind him in 182nd. Michael Pierrepoint is gradually returning to form after a long lay-off through injury and completed the course in 232nd. Tamworth had two representatives in the girls' under-15s race, run over one large lap. Megan Jacobs was 168th place and Jenna Passey was 272nd. Martin Naunton produced the best Tamworth result of the day when he was the club's highest placed athlete in 30th in the under-20s men's race, which was all the more remarkable as he has two more years left in the age group. For the first time in many years, Tamworth ran with a full team in the enormous senior men's race over a very testing 7.5 miles. Tom Orton was 249th, Paul Tasker 436th, Richard Peel 449th, Howard Bush 470th, Mark Wapplington 712th, Steve Deegan 945th and Brian Moran 1063rd. The team finished in 52nd position overall. For more details about cross country, call John on 01827 260897.
Posted by:chris

Men's Team Just fall Short After Solid Run	Saturday, February 26 2005
Tamworth Athletic club men’s team just missed out on a second promotion in the Birmingham cross Country league, despite a brave effort in the final race of the season. took part in the final league race of the season. The me'ns team were in 6^th place and needed to perform way above expectations to improve to 3^rd and clinch promotion. Despite all of the athletes pushing themselves to the limit, the team just failed to make it but still finished fourth for the season. Phil Clamp finished third but more importantly finished in 1^st place overall when all 4 races were taken into account. Phil received a trophy for his achievement and this will undoubtedly act as a spur to the younger athletes who are entering this age group next year. Phil had superb support from all athletes but Martin Naunton in 9^th and team manager Tom Orton in 11^th were closest to him. Howard Bush completed the 10k course in 32^nd and Mark Wapplington improved to 51^st. Steve Deegan is still struggling with a knee injury and he found the muddy course extremely testing but he still placed 93^rd with Mark Trigger, in heavy training for the Paris marathon, in 103^rd. Evergreen John Culshaw Snr took his usual sweepers position in the field in coming 141^st. The club would like to thank John especially for his efforts this year as he has always been there to ensure that the club finishes with the regulation 6 runners. The cross country team is not just built on the ‘stars’ at the front but also on the runners towards the rear of the field. It is a true team sport. For more details on cross country, endurance and road running contact John at the club on 01827 260897.
Posted by:chris

Staffordshire Cross Country Championships	Thursday, February 3 2005
Tamworth AC athletes again acquitted themselves well in the county cross country championships. In the Under 13 girls event, Elyse Jinks ran an excellent race to finish 20^th with Amy Williams in close attendance in 22^nd. Hollie Smith is in her first year in this age group and she did remarkably well to finish in 28^th, only losing out to Elyse and Amy in the last quarter of the race. Mathew Wood was our only representative in the Under 13 Boys race and he had his best race since joining the club when he completed the course in 13^th. Megan Jacobs was 10^th in the Under 15 girls and was named as reserve for the Staffordshire team in the inter-counties competition later in the year. The club had a full team in the Under 15 boy’s age group and Simon King performed magnificently to finish in 4^th place. He was backed up well by Alex Elson in 21^st and Joe Saddington in 22^nd. The team were placed 5^th. Tom Adams was still carrying the effects of a bad cold and his 9^th place was exceptional in the circumstances. Adam Bache ran his usual solid race for 13^th. Tom was also named as reserve for the inter-counties. Martin Naunton came 5^th in the Junior Men section and also gained selection to represent Staffordshire. In the senior Men’s race Phil Clamp was 10th and Tom Orton provided excellent support with a position of 27^th. Craig Farrell is recovering from injury and wasn’t able to race but he has been selected for Staffordshire based on his previous races this year. Laura Lewis was the club’s only representative in the Warwickshire Championships where she finished 24^th in the Under 13 girls race. With three athletes selected for Staffordshire and two named as reserve, this was Tamworth’s best performance for many years.
Posted by:chris