Athletics
Another county title for Harrison

SUE HARRISON returned to road racing in fine style in the annual Rugby AC 10 mile road race, which incoporated the Warwickshire AA 10 mile Championship and was also the final race of the Warwickshire Road Race League on Sunday.

The Leamington C & AC international, making her first appearance for three months due to injury, finished 8th overall in 60.26 to claim the Warwickshire Gold Medal and the race trophy she had last won in 2009.

Harrison is now unbeaten in any County Road Race Championship she has competed in for more than five years.

The ladies race quickly developed into a head-to-head battle between Nuneaton’s Eleanor Fowler, who had already won three county championships in 2012 including the Kenilworth Half Marathon, and Harrison.

At the four mile point Harrison edged in front of Fowler and steadily opened up a gap which by the finish line had grown to just over a minute and a half.

Zara Blower finished an excellent 5th in the ladies race and 34th overall in 68.50 for her second best 10 mile time ever and more than seven minutes faster than her 2011 time.

This run secured her 3rd place in the Warwickshire Road Race League for 2012.

Carol Blower completed the ladies team in 94th place in 88.19, again faster than her 2011 time.

Spa Striders took the team prize with C & AC runners-up.

Coventry Godiva’s Alistair Smith won the men’s race in 56.03 and Chris Hitchman, who had run both the Park Run on Saturday morning and in the National Road Relays on Saturday afternoon, was the first C & AC man home in 14th place in 63.10.

Team manager Alex Montgomery had worked hard to resurect the Leamington C & AC 10 mile Club Championship Cups and had negotiated for the Club Championship to also be imcorporated in this event.

Hitchman took the men’s title and the Jon Such Handicap Cup with Harrison taking the Ladies Club Trophy.

Steve Hundal was using the race as his last hard session before tackling the Frankfurt Marathon in two weeks time and was very happy with 23rd spot in 65.23 after taking the last four miles steady.

He was followed home in 24th place by Brian Miller in 65.40 whilst Steve Webb had set himself a 70 minute race target which he achieved by just seven seconds, finishing 38th in 69.53.

George Loveday was 45th in 72.41 and Alex Mawby, another who had been on National Road Relay duty the day before, crossed the line in 78.19.

Leamington C & AC men finished 3rd in the team event behind Kenilworth Runners and winners Knowle AC

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