The Essex County Cross Country Relays, staged in late September, saw an unusual disappointing low turnout of CAC teams due to younger members committed to a clash with school fixtures. Medals did come however from the U17 Men via Greg Martin, William Sweeney and Archie Durham as they claimed second place. In the Senior mixed event Nick Hunter, Rachel Broome, Samuel Waite and Hannah Bolton placed third - a position also obtained by the U15 Boys, with Austin Kelly, Oliver Beck and Jacob Hurrell.
Although no medals came from the National Cross Country Relays, staged at the usual venue of Mansfield, there was a far improved turnout. Although there were no medals, there was an impressive performance by the U13 Girls as they finished two teams, in 4th and 5th places. The A team consisted of Amelie Shipton, Ava King and Ezrah Harrold, with the B team being Hetty Harrison, Erin Kelly and Frankie Phillips.
Also fielding two teams were the U15 Girls - Daisy Stollery, Lottie Wilkin and Sienna Shipton - in 6th spot, with the B team, via Harriet Matthews, Niamh Roberts and Rosie Hopper, in the top half of the result. The U17 Women placed 18th, with Amelia King, Holly Watson and Sophie McCallum, whilst the Junior Men also placed 18th, with Scott Thomas, Joseph Perry and William Nuttall.
Alas the U13 Boys team, with Oscar Stollery, the U15 Boys (Austin Kelly) and U20 Women (Megan Harris) could find athletes for only the opening lap. Megan claimed second place, with an outstanding performance.
The English Schools Regional Cross Country meetings were held on Saturday, thus clashing with the Essex League fixture, and hence the low numbers in the latter, as previously reported. Essex schools, together with Suffolk, contested their challenge at St Albans, and a number of our members were involved. The Junior Girls provided the only winner, as Ezrah Harrold took the honours, but others were well to the fore, with Ava King 3rd, Amelie Shipton 4th and Erin Kelly 6th.
The Senior Boys again had four members running, with William Nuttall taking second place ahead of Tom Wood 5th, Will Steadman 8th and Jacob Alexander 14th. The Junior Boys saw Zac Thomas 3rd and Casper Norris 8th, whilst at Senior Girls level, Lucy Nuttall placed 5th, Amelia King 9th and Gaby Bilbie 12th.
Last but by no means least, Rebecca Luxton (pictured) represented England on Saturday, at the Masters International XC in Dublin. Rebecca finished 9th in the V40 category, and 26th/112 overall - and winning an England V40 Team Gold medal.