Ross Tennant and Victoria Kenny were crowned senior county champions at the annual Suffolk County Cross Country Championships, staged at Heveningham Hall, near Halesworth, on Sunday.
Former Ipswich Harrier Tennant, who now runs for Cambridge & Coleridge AC, enjoyed a massive margin of victory in the senior men’s race. He was almost three minutes clear of runner-up Michael Bartram, of West Suffolk AC, who was the defending champion.
Denys Olefir, of Newmarket Joggers, took third spot, followed by the Ipswich JAFFA duo of Danny Rock and Craig Fiddaman in fourth and fifth respectively.
The senior ladies’ race was much closer, although Kenny had still opened up a 12-second gap by the end of the race. Kenny, of Hadleigh Hares, clocked 30mins 38secs, pursued by Saint Edmund Pacers’ over-45 veteran, Odette Robson, who registered 30:50 in second. Robson was also second last year.
Ipswich JAFFA’s Sara Bird was third (31:15), and there was then a break of more than a minute before Hadleigh Hares’ Davina Greenwell and Pacers’ Angela Joiner-Handy arrived in fourth and fifth positions.
Ipswich Harriers had a very successful day in the younger age groups, with Ryan Grady and Max Fisher securing a one-two in the under-11 boys’ race, and George Wharam leading home the Harriers to the top six places in the under-13 age group.
Nathan Goddard was 11 seconds ahead of his Harriers’ team-mate Tai Elvin-Andrews in the under-15 race, and the Ipswich club also had the top four runners in the under-17 section, spearheaded by winner Thomas Adams. Alex Lawrence triumphed in the under-20 age category.
In the girls’ half, Ipswich JAFFA’s Ruby Vinton won the under-11 title, ahead of club-mate Freya Wilcox, but the Harriers were strong elsewhere with Tilly Aldis (under-13) and Holly Fisher (under-15) winning their races.
West Suffolk AC, though, did have two individual gold medallists. Defending champion Megan Newton was a commanding winner of the under-17 event, and Holly Davies was away and clear in the under-20s.
JAFFA scooped both the senior men’s and women’s team titles.
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