Police Sport UK Cross Country Championships
Perranporth, Cornwall - Wednesday 22nd March 2006

The prizes were shared among a wide range of forces at the Police Sport UK Cross Country Championships hosted by the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary.

This was the Athletics section’s first ever visit to Cornwall and the Perranporth beach course helped make the event a memorable one.

The course for both men and women comprised of a long, flat stretch of beach, a very demanding climb up into the dunes and then trails over rugged ground before descending back to the beach.

From that point, the women headed back along the beach to the finish, but the men had to repeat the dunes loop a second time. Both courses were long, rather than short measures, the women’s at 5 miles and the men’s at 7 miles.

The women’s race saw Christine Howard (Derbyshire) and Sarah Simmons (Metropolitan) side by side, establishing a commanding lead over the rest of the field, with Simmons pushing the pace and taking advantage of her track speed over the firm sand.

However, Howard was not going to be beaten and on the demanding climb she established a gap which grew as she ran over the undulating dunes and grassland before powering on along the beach to win by well over a minute in 34.58. Simmons was unchallenged in second place, finishing in 35.42.

There was a real battle going on for the 3rd medal spot between Diane Lauder (Lothian and Borders), Amanda McManus (Staffs) and Jessica Turnbull (Gloucerstershire), with Lauder finishing the stronger to claim her medal in 37.52.

The Met women had an outstanding day, taking the team championship with 17 points, one of the lowest aggregates in recent years. Derbyshire were second with 43 points and the hosts, Devon and Cornwall, really turned up trumps to take a team prize with 44 points.

In the men’s race, Martin Williams (West Midlands) set off in much the same style as Simmons had in the women’s event, but had no close opposition. His basic track speed served him well over the sand and his strength carried him almost effortlessly over the 2 loops in the dunes, and he won very impressively in 46.06, over a minute ahead of his nearest rival.

In the race behind him, Matthew Tomlinson (Northumbria) also ran impressively and was able to improve throughout the race to widen the gap between him and Iain Campbell (Metropolitan) who, in his second veteran age category was having an outstanding run. Tomlinson finished second in 47.15 and Campbell third in 47.45. Campbell’s run contributed to a significant overall performance by the Met who won the team championship and the veteran’s championship.

The performances were all the more creditable given that the race day was very cold with a stiff breeze coming in off the sea, but hearts were warmed later at the presentation which included a specially brewed local beer and acknowledged Cornwall’s surfing reputation with an Hawaiian themed evening.

Over 1000 images of the competitors can be found at the Official Photographers website: www.kasstzam.com
 

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