Congratulations to Noah Campion, who has been selected to run for the England Junior Men's team at the 61st Juan Muguerza Elgoibar Cross Country in Elgoibar, Spain at the weekend. This is Noah's second international vest of the season, after finishing second in the Cross Internacional de Itálica in Seville. Good luck for the race Noah!
The Bedfordshire Cross Country Championships take place on SUNDAY 7th January 2024 at Southill Park, near Biggleswade and are combined with Bucks as usual.
The closing date for entries is Friday 29th December.
For more information and to enter, see http://bedfordshireaaa.org.uk/Beds%20AAA%20Website/bedsaaa/XC/index.html
Congratulations to Jim McMahon (M60) who won the Pete Dancer Memorial Cup on Sunday 17th December at the Bedford and County Christmas Handicap. Jim ran an impressive 19:33 over the 2.97 mile course.
The fastest man was Ed Blythman in 13:55 and the fastest lady was Rebecca Murray in 16:35. Ed's time is 4th fastest ever run over the course (the course record is 13:46 set by Matt Bergin in 2019). Rebecca’s 16:35 is equal 5th fastest by a woman. Her best on this course is the 3rd fastest with 16:12. The Ladies' course record is 15:52, set by Sharon Morris in 2002.
For those interested in Christmas Handicap history, the winner, Jim McMahon, set the fastest lap on three occasions - in 1990, 1993, & 1996. His PB for this course is 14:37, although his 14:09 on the old course is the equivalent of a sub 14:20 on the current course.
The race raised over £500 for the Pancreatic Cancer UK charity in memory of Pete Dancer. Thank you to everybody who donated, well done to everybody who ran, and big thanks to Tony Forrest and all the organisers and volunteers who made it happen.
Congratulations to Jasmine Wilkins, who set a new Senior Women's and Under 20 Women's 60m Club Indoor Best of 7.65 seconds on 6th December at Cardiff!
Three Bedford and County athletes won awards at the Bedford Borough Sports Awards this week! Congratulations to:
and
A number of our other athletes were also nominated for awards.
Tia Wilson was 34th in the Euro U23 XC Championships in Brussels on Sunday. Although Tia was not one of the scoring members of the gold medal wining British team, it was nevertheless an outstanding performance. Tia completed the 7K course in 28:58. Well done to Tia on an excellent run!
We have just received our allocation of guaranteed places in the London Marathon. Bedford and County have been given 2 places this year, which is excellent as it’s only been one for the last five years or so.
If you are a member of Bedford and County AC and would like one of the two places, please apply as soon as possible, and no later than 16th December.
To apply, contact Tony Forrest:
Preference will be given to members who have already applied unsuccessfully to the London Marathon ballot, but others can also apply, and will be considered if fewer than 2 applicants satisfy the above criteria. The places will be allocated at the Christmas Handicap on 17th December. If there are more names than places then a ballot will be held at the Handicap.
The third round of this season's Chiltern League took place at Stopsley Common, Luton on Saturday 2nd December. Rebecca Murray chalked up her third win of the season in the Senior Women's Race, and Ed Blythman, Sam Winters, and Michael Harrison came 2nd, 4th, and 5th respectively in the Senior Men's race. There were also top-ten performances in their respective age categories for Charlie Palmer (M40), Euan Supple (M20), Stuart Sill (M50), Cameron Barnes (M17), Theo Beale (M17), Mackenzie Kotrys (M17), Harry Scott (M15), Sue Bosher (F35), Lily Farr (F17), Rosie Cusack (F11) and Amelia Dawson (F11).
We won the Overall Men's competition, the Under 17 men's competition, and the Veteran Men's competition at Stopsley. In addition, after round 3 we are:
Full Bedford and County Results:
Congratulations to Tia Wilson, who has been selected to run for the Great Britain Under 23 team in the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on the 10th December. Good luck for the race Tia!
