Leighton Buzzard Athletic Club

Last Saturday saw the third fixture of the Chiltern League Cross-country season take place at Stowe School near Buckingham in cold snowy conditions.

Some of the club's junior representatives were possibly put off by the freezing weather and so numbers were a little reduced after the excellent turn-out at Watford, but eight U16's still made a great effort to score valuable points for LBAC. First out on the course was Mathilde Sammons, who has run all three U11 races this year and clearly (judging the photo's) had a whole range of experiences during her run! read more

Three LBAC athletes took to the redways around Willen Lake on Saturday afternoon for the somewhat chilly running of the Wolverton 5. Whilst the race has not been run in Wolverton for many years, as a long standing fixture on the calendar, it attracts a great many runners of all abilities to what can be a very fast course.

On a day when conditions barely crept above a couple of degrees centrigrade, the top three runners all ducked under 25 minutes on the traffic free course around the Milton Keynes' lake. The standard was highlighted by our own Simon Coombes who ran an excellent 26:53 by only just made the top twenty. Having returned from International duty, Gail Duckworth finished 73^rd in 31:26 while Theresa Keefe completed the course in 52:17. read more

Last Saturday, while most of us were trooping around Watford, Gail Duckworth was over in Dublin waving the English flag in the British & Irish Masters International Cross-country.

The women's event is run all together with the F35's running alongside all the others up to F65 on a 6K course around Santry Park. Each of the home nations selects a team of four in each age group and then there are both individual and team awards presentedin five year age categories.

These days Gail competes in the F55 and seems to be jetting all round Europe representing the country. On this occasion she arrived to find a twisty and muddy course set-up in Santry Park with four 1500m laps to take on! Early in the race Gail was lying in 5^th, out of the sixteen F55's taking part, but by the end of the first lap had managed to work her way through into 2^nd place. From there on, despite the sapping conditions she managed to retain her silver medal position and was over a minute in front of third. read more

The second league fixture of the season took place at Cassiobury Park in Watford this weekend with 34 runners from the club taking part in the age groups ranging from U11 to V60.

The mission for the season is to establish the club in division one of the Chiltern League, having been something of a "yo-yo" club for a number of years. Following the first fixture at Oxford, the club lay in 12^th place out of 14 and one above the relegation zone, but only 43 points behind 11^th.

At Watford, there were 16 junior athletes representing LBAC which is the best turn-out in many years and huge credit goes to all the juniors and their coaches and parents for bringing them along on a chilly Saturday afternoon. The points scored by the junior runners makes a huge difference to the overall scores and the more that run the better, so long may it continue. The U11 girls were first off the blocks, and two out of three were making their debuts. Mathilde Sammons was first home, just one second ahead of Jade Landers in 64^th and 65^th respectively. Sadie Towell was grateful for the morning off school to come home 73^rd in her first ever event and contributed really well to the team. read more

Last Saturday seven club members made the trip up to Berry Hill Park in Mansfield for the English National Cross-Country Relays. Having taken part for the first time last year in the mens race, three of that team made the return trip and took a team of three ladies with them for the first time ever.

The event is extremely well organised and offers athletes of all ages and abilities the opportunity to race against some of the top runners in the country over relatively short distances. From the U13's upwards, the event attracts clubs from all over to compete in teams of three and four. read more