Season 2017-18
Race 7: Shotton – 25th April 2018
A cool, breezy, sunlit evening by the Dee provided the backdrop for the final race of the season, hosted by Deestriders. 322 finishers ran a 4.6 mile course round the adjacent cycle paths.
The story of the season was reprised once more in the Mens race, with Ricky Challinor of Buckley RC holding off Gareth Williams of Deestriders by a margin of 9 seconds, and, as a result, regaining the individual title his rival won last year. Meanwhile, Prestatyn RC’s Amie Bagnall took a third consecutive victory in the Womens race, 43 seconds ahead of Ellesmere Port’s Sarah Roberts, and in so doing, clinched her first individual title.
So far as the team competitions were concerned, almost all of them saw the leading club confirm its superiority. Buckley RC brought home 9 counters in the first 24 finishers to emphasise their dominance of the Mens Team competition. Wallasey AC were a distant second on the night, which was nonetheless sufficient to confirm them as runners-up. This was the reverse of the situation in Womens Division 1 where Wallasey led Buckley coming into this race, and produced a strong performance on the night to beat their rivals into second place and take the team trophy.
Prestatyn RC led both Mens and Womens Division 2 team competitions prior to this race, and duly accomplished a double title success. Chester Tri‘s women just pipped them on the night – a performance which guaranteed them 2nd place in the division and therefore promotion.The men of Deestriders did enough on the night (3rd by a small margin behind Ellesmere Port RC) to finish 2nd in their division and be promoted.
Neither of Buckley RC‘s veteran teams – male or female – won on the night – but the leads held by each team in its respective category were sufficiently large that their titles were never really in doubt. Finally, the men of Deestriders and the women of Eryri Harriers were the respective winners of the two Improvers categories.
Finalised results can be accessed via the links below. Note that the Individual Standings only list runners who missed two races or fewer.
R7 Individual Results 2017-18 Individual Standings
R7 Team Results 2017-18 Team Standings
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Race 6: Mold – 8th April 2018
With the 5th race at Tattenhall wiped out by the freezing weather which has dominated the last few weeks, it was good to experience something more springlike for the 6th race – run on the familiar measured 5 mile course up to Nercwys and back down again, with 333 finishers.
Almost equally familiar was the 1-2 in the Mens race – won this time by Buckley RC’s Ricky Challinor from Deestrider Gareth Williams, with a margin of 18 seconds. The Womens race also saw recent form being maintained – a repeat of February’s result, with Amie Bagnall of Prestatyn RC holding off June Swift of Helsby RC by a margin of 8 seconds.
Buckley RC were able to bring all 10 of their counters home in the first 35 finishers of the Mens race, so ending up as winners of the Division 1 team competition on the day, adding another 100+ points to their lead over 2nd placed Wallasey AC, and bringing the League title within reach. Meanwhile, another strong performance from Wallasey AC in the Division 1 Womens team competition to take victory on the day over West Cheshire AC has suddenly made them hot favourites for the League title.
Prestatyn RC‘s Mens and Womens teams continued their dominance of their respective 2nd Division competitions with comfortable wins on the day. Ellesmere Port RC‘s men finished 2nd, so retaining faint chances of overhauling Deestriders for the 2nd promotion spot. In contrast, Chester Tri‘s 2nd place in Womens Div 2 more or less assured them of promotion.
Buckley RC‘s veterans still appear to be favourites to win both Mens and Womens competitions, with Deestriders in pole position for the Mens Improvers title, Eryri Harriers on course to take the Womens title.
Results have now been finalised following the notification of a couple of corrections
Note that the full individual standings are given – but those who miss 3 or more races in the season will not be eligible for awards at the Presentation Evening.
R6 Individual Results R6 Individual Standings
R6 Team Results R6 Team Standings
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Race 4: Caernarfon – 18th February 2018
Possibly because the date of this fixture had only been arranged at short notice, for the first time in nearly two years, the field was smaller than 300 in size – just. 298 finishers ran the anticlockwise measured 10K circuit, into a slight breeze over the flat first 4K along the Strait, then turning inland where it was a little less flat at times.
Gareth Williams of Deestriders made it a second consecutive win in the Mens race, having a convincing margin of more than 30 seconds over 2nd-placed Stephen Skates of Prestatyn. Meanwhile in the Womens race, there was more joy for Prestatyn as Amie Bagnall improved on last month’s 2nd place to record her first BL win, ahead of June Swift of Helsby.
In the team competitions, Mens Division 1 saw all clubs finish on the day in the same position as their League placing – so Buckley RC extended their lead over Wallasey at the top. Not so in Womens Division 1 however – an unexpected victory for Wirral AC on the day pulled them clear of the relegation places, while Wallasey AC and Buckley RC took advantage of a weak Ellesmere Port turnout to move up to 1st and 2nd respectively. In the 2nd Divisions, the Prestatyn RC Mens and Womens teams each failed to win on the day but nonetheless did well enough for each to maintain their respective League top spots. The men of Deestriders made up ground with a substantial victory on the day, while that of Chester Tri’s women also brought them a little closer into contention.
Buckley RC‘s veteran teams both finished second on the day to remain at the head of their respective competitions.
The finalised results are attached. Also included by request are the individual standings:
R4 Individual Results R4 Individual Standings
R4 Team Results R4 Team Standings
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Race 3: Pensarn, Abergele – 14th January 2018
“Only” 375 finishers made it round the new “Abergele 5” course on a bright, breezy and chilly Sunday morning on the seafront at Pensarn. Which made this the lowest attended race of the season so far – still the 4th highest ever.
The blustery conditions did not deter Gareth Williams of Deestriders, who recorded his 4th BL win by a margin of 13 seconds over Ricky Challinor (Buckley RC) – the latter defeated for the first time in 7 Borders outings. The Womens race saw a first-ever BL win for June Swift of Helsby RC, over 20 seconds ahead of Prestatyn RC’s Amie Bagnall.
Excellent packing behind Challinor ensured that Buckley RC got 9 of their counters home in the first 30 finishers (and all 10 in 40) to ensure a substantial victory in the Mens team competition, increasing their lead over 2nd placed Wallasey AC. In the Womens team competition, a number of weakened teams fielded by several clubs resulted in Wallasey AC being narrow winners on the day, ahead of Buckley RC. As a result, these two clubs, along with West Cheshire AC, were able to gain ground on the hitherto runaway leaders Ellesmere Port RC.
Prestatyn RC repeated their 2nd Division team competition “double” from race 2 – winning both Mens and Womens races on the day. In so doing, the Womens team took the lead at the top of their Division from Chester Tri (2nd on the day), while the Mens team increased theirs (over Deestriders, likewise 2nd on the day).
Buckley RC now lead both Veterans categories after displacing a weakened Ellesmere Port RC Womens team from the top of the table.
Results (below) have now been finalised.
R3 Individual Results R3 Team Results R3 Team Standings
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Race 2: Birkenhead Park – 3rd December 2017
The now almost customary course record was set in the Upper Park, as nigh on 400 athletes toed the start line on a bright, mild winter’s morning for the second race in the series, ready to undertake the familiar 5.5 mile, 4 lap circuit of the park and lake.
Buckley RC’s Ricky Challinor was the comfortable winner of the Mens race (for the 14th time), with a margin of 48 seconds over Prestatyn RC’s Steven Skates. The margin of victory in the Womens race was closer – but still a clear 20 seconds – as Wrexham AC’s Emma Crowe recorded her 10th BL win, in her first appearance since 2012, ahead of Ellesmere Port RC’s Liz Renondeau.
The Mens team competition in Division 1 was once more dominated by Buckley RC and Wallasey AC, with pretty much the repeat of the the result from race 1. In Womens Division 1, the formidable Ellesmere Port RC team likewise repeated their race 1 victory, this time over West Cheshire AC.
The Division 2 team competitions brought victories for Prestatyn RC‘s Men and Women. The former extended their lead at the top of the division, with Ellesmere Port RC‘s second place on the day closing the gap slightly on the other promotion hopefuls Deestriders. The Women just edged out Chester TC on the day, reversing the result from race 1.
The dominance of Buckley RC‘s Men, and Ellesmere Port RC‘s Women, was also reflected in the Veteran’s team results – both teams having now established commanding competition leads.
Just a couple of individual corrections were reported, so the results below are now finalised:
Individual Results Team Results Team Standings
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Race 1: Capenhurst – 1st October 2017
New season, new records. Notwithstanding the alternative racing attractions offered by the Sandstone Trail and BTR, a course record 386 athletes assembled at the end of the Ledsham road to start the 2017-18 Borders League campaign.
Despite one or two soft muddy patches on the short A540 stretch, the new, measured 5 mile, 2 lap course offered definite PB potential.
The Mens race saw Ricky Challinor – now of Buckley RC – continue where he left off at the end of last season with his 13th League win. 17 seconds further back was last season’s Mens champion, Gareth Williams of Deestriders. Meanwhile the Womens race saw a familiar winner in the form of Chester Tri’s Gill Mead (her 6th League win), who had a 10 second margin of victory over a young newcomer, Mia Roberts of Deeside.
With both Buckley RC and Wallasey AC‘s Mens teams significantly strengthened this year, it was no surprise to see them dominate the team event, with the Welsh club taking an early lead in Division One. The Womens Division One team event was won by the newly promoted Ellesmere Port RC from Buckley RC. The former’s strength in depth appears to make them title favourites.
Both the Division Two competitions saw last season’s relegated teams make strong starts in their bids to return to the top flight. A strong Prestatyn RC Mens team had a sizeable margin over Deestriders, while Chester Tri‘s and Prestatyn RC‘s women took a huge lead over the rest of their field.
Results have now been finalised. Changes include corrections to incorporate the correct penalty scores (as agreed at the AGM) for incomplete male teams.
Individual Results Team Results
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You can find results of previous years’ races in our Results Archive.