Saturday 21 February, Parliament Hill, London
Seven men and five women took on the challenge presented by the 2009 National Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill in London on Saturday. The runners enjoyed a fine sunny day but the biggest test was the mud and hilly terrain presented by the spiritual home of cross country running.
In the 12 kilometre men’s race it was two athletes returning from injury that led the Brighton team home. Kev Mason overtook Matt Bristow on the first of the 6k laps and extended his lead to approximately 40 seconds until the final mile where Matt closed to within five seconds. The men’s team finished in 46th place overall. Final positions were, 227 Kev Mason 45:44; 232 Matt Bristow 45:49; 286 Josh Painter 46:51; 636 Shaun Billing 51:45; 858 Mike Bannister 55:07; 868 Dan Titheradge 55:17; 1245 Andy Mitchelson 62:15.
In the 8 kilometre women’s race the leading athlete was Fiona Powell running in her first Cross Country race. Fiona led the women’s team home to a creditable 55th place. Final positions were, 129 Fiona Powell 36:15; 414 Gill Cammack 45:16; 453 Isobel Muir 46:59; 483 Barbara Bassett 48:48; 521 Fiona Rowling 52:51