Standfirst: Gemma Steel and Lee Gratton were crowned the first English Masters Cross Country champions at Betley Court Farm, with the North Staffs League fixture doubling as the trial for November's England and Ireland Masters International in Dublin.

On Saturday at Betley Court Farm, Gemma Steel and Lee Gratton won the masters titles in the two main races held within the North Staffs League. The pair therefore became the inaugural English Masters Cross Country champions, in an event that doubled as the trial for the England and Ireland Masters International in Dublin in November, with the first three in each age group guaranteed selection, Steve Smythe reports.

The W40 international winner Steel fought off the challenge of Katie Latham, who had beaten her at Leeds last year when Latham was still a W35, but here Latham took W40 silver, 19 seconds behind the former European senior champion.

Helen Haigh, who took the silver medal in this year's UK Hill and Fell Running Short-Course Championships, was third woman and took W50 gold, as pre-race favourites Alice Braham and Kirsty Longley didn't compete and will have to rely on a wild card to gain selection for Dublin. Longley set a British W50 10km record at Knutsford on Sunday of 34:58, while Braham set a W50 half-marathon best of 77:24 on the same day in Ealing.

Sharing the same time as Haigh, the W35 title went to Rachael Bourne (18:45) in fourth overall. Rachel Marshall won W45 gold in 19:38 by a single second, though Juliet Potter, who turns 45 before the international, was effectively the W45 trials winner despite finishing fourth W40 here in 18:50.

There was another gold for a Rachel in the W55s, as Rachel Cooke enjoyed a clear win in 19:53. Jacqueline Murdy (20:52) won the W60s and last year's international winner Monica Williamson (21:40) took the W65 title. Sue Clarke (23:47) was first W70 and Mary White (27:47) was the sole W75.

The older men (M65 and over) competed with the women, and Peter Knight (19:35) – new to the age group but an international regular – won by the large margin of 50 seconds from Dave Ogden. Other titles went to M70 Barry Greaves (21:19), M75 Arthur Daley (24:08) and M80 Richard Spendlove (24:41).

In the men's race, international winner Lee Gratton, new to the M40s, didn't have the quickest road times, but a top-10 finish at the Inter Counties and his cross-country pedigree ensured a comfortable win in 25:08. Ben Robinson (25:33) was a clear second and was the M35 gold medallist, while 2010 England Commonwealth Games 10,000m representative John Beattie (26:10) took M40 silver in third.

Jon Hart (26:26) was first M45, while other winners were outstanding M50 Jamie Arnold (26:57), international M55 winner Anthony O'Brien (28:23) and former international M60 winner Andrew Leach (29:44).

Results

Men (8km)
1 L Gratton (M40) 25:08
2 B Robinson (M35) 25:33
3 J Beattie (M40) 26:10
4 J Hart (M45) 26:26
5 S Jackson (M40) 26:47
6 I Fisher (M45) 26:51
7 A Gibson (M35) 26:53
8 J Arnold (M50) 26:57

M35: 3 R De-Camps 27:14
M40: 4 D Awde 27:01
M45: 3 D Blake 27:23
M50: 2 A Buckley 28:43; 3 J Mackie 29:24
M55: 1 A O'Brien 28:23; 2 M Waller 29:08; 3 T Booth (M60 in Nov) 29:56; 4 J Allan 30:20
M60: 1 A Leach 29:44; 2 R Johnson 31:34; 3 M Cursons 31:46

Women (4.8km)
1 G Steel (W40) 17:58
2 K Latham (W40) 18:17
3 H Haigh (W50) 18:37
4 R Bourne (W35) 18:37
5 R Luxton (W40) 18:45
6 T Rogers (W35) 18:45
7 Juliet Potter (W40 – W45 in Nov) 18:50
8 A Braithwaite (W35 – W40 in Nov) 19:17

W45: 1 R Marshall 19:38; 2 D Sherwin 19:39; 3 A O'Brien 19:42
W50: 2 M James 19:37; 3 C Martin 20:34
W55: 1 R Cooke 19:53; 2 T Entwistle 20:35; 3 J Stanfield 20:51
W60: 1 J Murdy 20:52; 2 K Oddy 22:11; 3 S Harrison 23:30
W65: 1 M Williamson 21:40; 2 C Page 22:35; 3 S Cordingley 23:01
W70: 1 S Clarke 23:47; 2 S Haslam 24:09; 3 D Kesterton 25:05
W75: 1 M White 27:47

M65: 1 P Knight 19:35; 2 D Ogden 20:25; 3 I Norman 20:31
M70: 1 B Greaves 21:19; 2 D Bedwell 21:56; 3 T Hutchison 22:31
M75: 1 A Daley 24:08; 2 R Cattle 24:35; 3 A Daglish 25:04
M80: 1 R Spendlove 24:41; 2 G Newton 27:37; 3 P Newby 32:02