Ryan Cronin
Saturday 12th November marked the second Gwent League Cross Country fixture of the season, as UWE Athletics and Cross Country Club made the journey through the beacons to Brecon Athletics Club.
A tricky 10K, three-lapped course was the challenge for the men’s race whilst a slightly shorter, but equally hilly 6.4K was the battle for the female runners. Following on from a successful 100% finish at the first fixture, the club matched and improved on the previous race, with average positions coming down.
After winning the prestigious Most Improved Club award in the summer, UWE ACCC are still on the rise with the club managing to more than double its number of finishers compared to the corresponding fixture this time last year.
Gwent League fixtures award points to every athlete who manages to cross the finish line, and with a number of drop-outs from other clubs, UWE’s habit of getting round in one piece has earned the club a respectable points tally in the league table.
For the first event in a while, the women’s race featured only one UWE runner, Lucy Fraser, who managed to come home in a decent in 151st.
In the men’s race, Cross country newcomer Gavin Way was on the end of a respectable 334th in his first ever event while Brett Parfitt succeeded in beating his previous result finishing with PB of 357th. Club veterans Ryan Cronin and Simmo Pitman managed to keep their finishing streak alive, coming in a respectable 252nd and 187th respectively.
Moving closer to the head of the field came seasoned cross country runner Nick Jones finishing 103rd while our best placed athlete of the day, Kichwen Tim Kim Paul, on only his second cross country event, single-handily earned the club 18 league points through coming 43rd.
Following such a great team performance, UWE ACCC have closed the gap with the University of Bristol Athletics Club, which is now down to only 11 points.
UOB We’re Coming For You!