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Ben finds stamina at Stanmer

Monday 26th January 2015

Ben finds stamina at Stanmer

Saturday 24th January and Stanmer Park was alive with thousands of runners and their supporters who descended for the SEAA South of England Cross Country Championships.

In what turned out to be beautiful conditions, this stunning course hides a challenging number of hills with some slippery and muddy areas (thanks to the previous evening's downpour). The tip of the day being ‘pace yourself'!

Well done to both our U13 Teams who, for many, ran in their biggest race to date both in status and number of competitors - a huge field of 227. The U13 girls team finished 29th and the Boys 10th out of 34 teams, and second only to Lewes out of the Sussex teams, finally beating our big rivals (and friends) Brighton and Hove. All the young athletes put in 100% effort & all the Parents who came to support. It's worth noting how close the field was with the Phoenix boys finishing within a minute or 2 of the winner.

Further congratulations goes to Almi Nerurkar for finishing a storming 6th in the U15 girls. A fantastic result in a competitive field, placing the U15 girls team 25th.

Also running for Phoenix were U17 Girls, U20 Girls & Boys & the senior women's team (who finished 25th out of 51 teams).

The senior men's race was always going to be a hotly contested race with Phoenix athletes Jon Pepper and Ben Tickner up against each other again. Jon Pepper led for most of the 15km race but it was Ben's sprint finish, and no doubt determination to not be pipped at the post again, that catapulted him over the line in first position with Jon finishing third. With only 4 seconds between winner and fourth place and Ugandan Olympian Paskar Owor also in the mix, the race was riveting stuff to watch unfold.

Finally, a big THANK YOU to Bruce Warren and his team of Phoenix marshals who helped the race run smoothly & safely. Bruce has been liaising with SEAA and was at Stanmer from 8.45 to 5pm - thank you!!

Photographers: Lance Bellers, Stephen Hardman, David Brothwell, Gareth Wellings