THE third round of the Gloucestershire Cross Country League took place at Old Down Country Park near Thornbury and was promoted by Stroud AC.

A great venue with a very undulating course overlooking the Severn Bridge with hills, woods and after the recent heavy rains, quite a bit of mud. There are not many venues with animals including Llama’s, temporary ice rink and loads of play areas for the juniors.

In the U11 girls Lucy Hillary again did well with a very good 8th place, she has only been with the club a short time and will certainly move further up the field, if she continues to train regularly. This was Eleanor Jones second race at just 8 years old. She is certainly enjoying the competitive competition managing 39th place.

The U11 boys were down a few members but still managed to field three runners. Michael Astor was the first runner home in 3rd place, with a very strong performance. He was unlucky not to have managed a 1st or 2nd place, as the three leaders all fell within a few metres of the finish line. Lucas Hartley who is a year younger, and like Michael, has huge potential for the future, was close behind in 5th place. Alfie Sansom again put in a strong run, supporting Michael and Lucas for 19th, bringing the team home in 3rd place on the day.

The club was well supported in the U13 boys competition with eight members supporting. Charlie Astor who was the first member home in the first round was missing, so a 1st team place was always going to be difficult. All the boys ran superbly with the first three runners home, securing a third team place on the day. The first three runner’s home were Kian Dee 10th, George Swayne 12th and Ned Harrison who impressively moved up 10 places from the previous round in 15th place. They were well supported by Harry Bradley 27th, Jonathan Cook 33rd, Edward Jones 40th, Theo Birch 41st and Frddie Sansom 45th. A great, team spirit, really helped.

In the previous round Kiya Dee and Taya Dee both managed an impressive 1st and 2nd in the U15 girls but unfortunately did not have a 3rd BRR to support them. Kiya and Taya continued their impressive form with another 1st and 2nd but this time had Elsa Thwaites supporting. This was her first Gloucestershire League appearance and managed a very good 9th place, bringing the girls home in 1st place on the day.

Jake Astor was our sole runner in the U17 boys and is another runner, like his brothers, with huge potential. He missed the 1st round, but put in a very encouraging, strong, performance, for 5th place.