Cross Country News

Odiham’s 22/23 Cross Country season started with a home fixture where eight stations from around the south of the UK were invited to race around Odiham Common.

The start line included 35 runners, lower than previous years but not a bad start to the league. The course was running fast and very dry for Odiham, Max Hazel (Benson) took the male win, while Catherine Pollit (Northolt) to the ladies win. Team Odiham had good numbers but unfortunately lacked a few of their top runners and managed to finish in 3rd place, Halton took second, while Benson claimed the top spot.

The second fixture was hosted by Brize Norton, traditionally known as the turkey trot and mince pies were provided for all! Freezing conditions and a river crossing added to the excitement of this race. Alex Gibb (Brize Norton) took the individual male honours and Phillipa Baxter won the Ladies’ race. Odiham’s managed to finish second on the day just behind Brize Norton, while Halton took the 3rd spot.

Halton hosted the third league fixture which consisted of a joint match between the RAF, Civil Service, Police and Fire Service. The led to a very high-quality field and higher numbers than the usual league events. Unfortunately, Odiham only managed to field one runner to this event. Max Hazel (Benson) was the highest place RAF runner finishing in 4th Place while Helena Schofield (Waddington) took the win. The Civil Service male team claimed victory on the day with the RAF team finishing in 2nd, while the RAF Ladies’ team took the top spot and beat out the other services.

A few weeks later it the team travelled to Halton once again for the RAF Championships. The familiar fields and woodland trails had the team hopeful of challenging for the podium. Rob Wood was just outside the top in 4th Place, Phil Dennis 26th, Jack Savage 40th and Jonathan Richards completing the team in 43rd. This event also served as the main selection for the upcoming Inter Service XC Championships.

Next up was High Wycombe and their brutally hilly course around the local woodland. Kyle Hurst (Halton) was first male and Kim Adams (Brize) first lady. Odiham’s runners secured a joint 2nd place on the day leaving them sitting in 4th place in the league overall.

Selections were made to represent the RAF against the Navy and Army at the upcoming Interservice championships. The Army hosted event took place at Tidworth Garrison on a fast and relatively flat course. The Ladies were first up, the field was quickly strung out and a pack of 4 runners broke away from the main group. The Army took the team win on the day with the RAF in second place. Next up the men took to the course, a more cautious start saw a big group looking at each other before the race started to split up on the 2nd lap. By the 3rd lap, three runners were clear with Rob Wood (Odiham) making a break up the final hill to take the individual win closely followed by Max Hazel (Benson) in 4th. Luke Williams (Odiham) managed to hold on for 3rd place in the U23 competition. The RAF Senior and Vet men retained the team titles while unfortunately the Juniors finished a very close 2nd to the Navy being tied on points and having to go to count back!

With just a few fixtures left of the XC season the team is looking forward to some warmer weather and moving on to the road and track season over the next few months.