Relay men on top but women have to settle for third (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Relay men on top but women have to settle for third

TEWKESBURY Athletic Club recorded unprecedented success at the annual Gloucestershire Cross-Country Relays stage at Plock Court.

The men's squad raced to the prestigious county title, while the ladies finished third when their team points had been added together.

First to take on the fast, flat two-mile circuit was in-form Andy Hawkins (10.30) and talented Angie Sadler (11.38) and competition was immense with some of the South West region's leading athletes on show.

The pair kept their concentration well and tagged teammates Clive Sentence (10.27) and Lotty Mowbray (13.29). The former, renowned for his shorter distance speed, ran superbly to keep the men's team in contention, while Mowbray, a few days before her 17th birthday, ran superbly At halfway it was clear that both teams were running in bronze medal positions ahead of the third legs that saw Jon Mansfield (10.27) and Carol Cowley (13.27) set out.

Mansfield, having the benefit of the second-placed Gloucester rival just 50 yards ahead, just needed to keep the competition within distance. Cowley, however, found herself isolated and needed to run against herself which she did expertly.

For the final two miles, Simon Hall (10.17) was handed the task of running down the silver medal position and he timed his run perfectly to go on to record the fastest club time of the day of 41 minutes and 41 seconds.

It was a different story for the ladies as final leg runner Cathy Dudfield (13.07) was up against a healthy Bourton team but she raced well to claim third place in a total time of 51.41.