Sunday 29th September saw the first race of the CC6 2024-25 season. The location? River Hamble Country Park, offering a delightful mix of stoney paths and dirt tracks, lightly speckled with isolated puddles. The route was twisty and winding – runners navigated a technical course, incorporating sharp turns, steps and narrow boardwalks within a beautiful forest setting.
The temperature was mild, the spirit of WRC was strong. A good turnout for both the women and men’s teams resulted in a dominant performance on both sides, boding well for future upcoming races. The men’s ‘A’ team stormed to a stunning victory, with Adrian Fautly, James Moore and Mags Gregory finishing 1st, 3rd and 4th place respectively. Special shout-out to James, who put in a gutsy performance to claw his way back through the field and steal the final podium spot. The scoring team was complete with V40 Pete Sansome, who finished 4th in his respective age category and 13th overall.
Elsewhere in the field, there were solid performances by coach Andy Parkinson, Rob Carter, Charles Carr, Stephen Lowy, Neal Coleman, Steve Oliver and Steve Goodwin. Big up to Martyn West who finished first male V70.
For the women, there were impressive performances all round starting with Helen Jones coming in as first WRC lady in 8th, closely followed by Ellie Swire in 9th. Alex Lane completed the scoring team in 11th place, leaving the team sitting comfortably second in the league behind Southampton Tri Club. Excellent performances also from Aimee Lister, Becky Hutton, Liz Marshall, Sophie Black, Lorraine Headworth and Gill Goodwin.
Joy Radford clinched the top spot in the V70 Women category (Congratulations Joy!)
A plentiful selection of cakes and treats at the end of the race were gratefully received by all finishers.
See y’all again on 13th October at Roundhill (New Forest) for race #2…
Written by Ellie Swire and Adrian Fautly