Simon Pitman (UWE Athletics and Cross Country Club President)
UWE Athletics Cross Country team took on the third fixture of the season on home turf; the venue? Blaise Castle. It's known for its difficult rocky terrain that would challenge the most seasoned athlete plus the challenge of completing a 6k and 10k course. It was extremely cold but thankfully we had incredible banter to warm us up.
In the ladies race we had 5 amazing runners who somehow managed to keep smiling in the -357 degree weather. Elin Davies bettered her awesome performance at Bridgend coming in at 69th and our first runner home. Emma Gardner added another race to her delightful season finishing in 150th and continuing her impressive form. Closely following Emma was Megan Hurley who battled right to the end and secured a 152nd place finish after struggling with shin splints since Bridgend. Molly Roberts made her UWE cross country debut today capped off with a heroic 223rd place finish. And following on, Maria Normington who only joined UWE athletics midweek, highlighted incredible commitment showing up and also making her UWE debut and coming in around 250th. All 5 of you did yourselves proud and the support for the men’s race was very much appreciated!
In the mens race no prizes for guessing who came home first from UWE, Timothy Kichwen finished 52nd and again showed what an awesome athlete he is. Next with possibly my standout performance of the day was Will Robinson coming in at 84th maybe some credit due to his training partner Stefan Biesheuvel. Nick Jones (Cross country Capt) followed in 115th, doing the Welsh nation proud. Next came an intra-uni battle between Simmo Pitman, Seb and Findlay Fuller with Seb coming out on top in 199, Fin with 201 and Simmo at 205, with Simmo constantly reminding everyone he was on a night shift that night. And Gavin found his Way around the terrain, still adjusting to cross country on grass and continuing to do well, showing his commitment to the club coming home in around 280th.
It was a great day, with each athlete showing their commitment not just to themselves but to the squad in general.