Clare Elms, 62, outpaces every M65 man at the British Masters Cross Country Relays in Oxford while Birmingham University dominates in Manchester.

Two named storms in as many days disrupted the UK last weekend. Storm Austen, the first of the season, brought strong winds to southern England and Wales on Friday, with an amber warning in place for Cornwall and Devon, while Storm Boelo followed on Saturday.

The Sussex League and North Eastern Harrier League fixtures were postponed, but plenty of other cross-country races went ahead in wet and windy conditions.

BRITISH MASTERS CROSS COUNTRY RELAYS, Oxford, October 24

On Saturday afternoon honours were shared at a wet and windy Oxford, with nine different clubs winning the nine titles on offer as the Horspath venue hosted the British Masters’ Athletic Federation (BMAF) cross-country relays for the first time, Steve Smythe reports.

The women were first off as Storm Boelo took hold and a competitive W35 race was won by Woking, who only took the lead on the last leg through Kylara Harris’s 12:21.

The gap was only five seconds at the finish, though, as Lucy Wright brought Aldershot close with the day’s fastest leg of 11:41.

Newbury, who had led for three legs after an 11:51 opener from BMAF W45 1500m and 3000m champion Jessica Franklin, ended up outside the medals. Franklin’s time was only bettered by Wright.

Third across the line after four legs were W45 champions Kent AC, who also provided the third-fastest woman overall through Clare Elms, who turns 63 later this year. Her time was 45 seconds faster than any of the M65 men achieved in the same race.

Moving up the age groups, the multiple W60 record-setter made a cautious start but a fast last kilometre, and her 12:01 gave Kent a 93-second lead on leg one. Kent continued to battle with the leading W35 teams throughout.

Victoria Buck, Teresa Murphy and BMAF W50 1500m champion Lin Skinner stretched the margin by a further minute as Skinner finished with a 12:49, the third-quickest time in the age group.

The final leg, though, saw W45 Victoria Gill, a former 32:41.17 10,000m performer and NCAA medallist, move Winchester closer with a 12:27, the second-best time in the category after Elms.

Reading dominated the W55 race, with Susan Francis fastest in 13:27.

The W65 race was much closer, with the only two teams separated by just 26 seconds. Winners Yate & Sodbury had European masters medallist Marian Grace fastest on 16:27.

Warrington comfortably won a poorly supported M65 event run alongside the women’s race, with David Norman (12:58) building a good lead. Hosts Oxford City went ahead on leg three but Colin Bishop’s fastest leg of 12:46 put Warrington back in front.

Warrington had well over five minutes’ difference between the times of their quartet, but consistent Oxford’s variation was only 30 seconds.

The turnout was probably not helped by the requirement of four legs, and there were as many teams in the M75-plus event, won impressively by Basingstoke & Mid Hants. They won by six minutes, with Don Powell easily fastest on 14:57.

The younger men’s events were better supported in the second race of the afternoon.

Western Tempo impressively led all the way in the M35 race. Richard De-Camps took honours on leg one (9:58) and similar legs followed from Charlie Jones (10:00), Phil Wylie (9:53) and Adam Baker (10:07).

Running solo, Ben Robinson, who was fourth in last year’s masters international, sped to the day’s fastest of 9:28. Salford was a clear second with masters international M40 winner Karl Darcy their quickest with a 9:52 on leg two, which was fastest until Robinson went quicker on leg five.

Tonbridge was similarly dominant in the M45 event. Kent Masters 1500m M50 champion Mathew Smith got them off to a good start with the fastest leg of 10:37 and it was only a strong final leg from Aldershot’s Howard Calvin (10:40) that reduced the margin to under a minute. Aldershot had M55 world champion Mark Symes running out of his age group in their silver-medal-winning team.

Brighton Phoenix dominated the M55 race. Steve Atkinson gained them a narrow lead with an 11:06 fastest leg and at the finish they had stretched the margin to more than four minutes.

World M60 800m record-holder Andrew Ridley ran a fast 11:25 for them on leg four and multiple track medallist Adrian Haines anchored them well clear of Headington.

The organisers are hopeful of returning to this venue next year and, by giving earlier notice, hope to attract more masters cross-country runners and clubs.

Women:

W35 (4x3km): 1 Woking 50:53 (G Furze 12:13, K Taylor 12:51, L Tregellis 13:27, K Hassall 12:21); 2 AFD (R Wallace 12:17, A Curtis 14:01, K Andrews 12:57, L Wright 11:41); 3 Reading 51:44 (H Wood 12:17, S Holmes 13:21, L James 13:08, S Dix 12:57)
Fastest: Wright 11:41; J Franklin (Newb, W45) 11:51; F Hannon (Oxford C) 12:09

W45 (4x3km): 1 Kent AC 51:31 (C Elms 12:01, V Buck 13:23, T Murphy 13:17, E Skinner 12:49); 2 Winchester 54:00 (C Hoskins 13:34, E Carter 14:11, S Dickinson 13:48, V Gill 12:27); 3 Reading 58:42
Fastest: Elms (W60) 12:01; Gill 12:27; Skinner (W50) 12:49

W55 (4x3km): 1 Reading 60:07 (S Francis 13:27, K Tolson 15:41, H Antram 14:36, J Rayfield 16:22); 2 Westbury 61:55; 3 Oxford C 65:39
Fastest: Francis 13:27; M Warnock (West) 14:18; Antram 14:36

W65+ (3x3km): 1 Yate & Sodb 53:05 (M Grace 16:27, L Massey 18:27, C Lavis 18:10); 2 West 53:31
Fastest: Grace 16:27

Men:

M35 (5x3km): 1 Western Tempo 49:29 (R De Camps 9:58, C Jones 10:00, P Wylie 9:53, A Baker 10:07, B Robinson 9:28); 2 Salford 51:18 (B Lima 10:09, K Darcy 9:52, M Mannings 10:25, T Hodgson 9:56, G Priestly 10:54); 3 Birmingham RATC 53:94 (D Robinson 11:03, D Bissuel 10:38, M Pollard 10:47, R Vaughan 10:37, H Brocklehurst 9:57)
Fastest: B Robinson 9:28; Darcy (M40) 9:52; Wylie 9:53

M45 (5x3km): 1 Tonbridge 55:34 (M Smith 10:37, A Whitwam 10:57, J Rendall 11:30, E Fraser 10:58, D Horsman 11:30); 2 AFD 56:10 (O Stevenson 11:11, M Symes 11:29, R Smith 11:47, S Cooper 11:01, H Calvert 10:40); 3 Salford 57:21 (M McCartney 11:20, L Loughran 11:18, M Sennett 11:12, M Russell 11:46, M Collier 11:42)
Fastest: M Smith (M50) 10:37; Calvert 10:40; M Rowling (A’dare) 10:41

M55 (5x3km): 1 Brighton P 60:15 (S Atkinson 11:06, A Tribe 12:29, N Herron 13:27, A Ridley 11:25, A Haines 11:46); 2 Head RR 64:41 (M Slevin 11:37, K Lowies 13:29, F Campbell 12:39, A Darbyshire 12:39, G Marshall 12:12); 3 Soton 69:24
Fastest: Atkinson 11:06; A Byerley (Ayles) 11:12; Ridley (M60) 11:25

M65 (4x3km): 1 Warrington 59:25 (D Norman 12:58, M Ward 17:37, D Gill 16:02, C Bishop 12:46); 2 Oxford C 61:16 (B Vaughan 15:16, S Thorp 15:26, T Dixon 15:01, A Ali 15:31); 3 Halesowen 63:13
Fastest: Bishop 12:46; Norman 12:58; G Argust (Hales) 14:08

M75 (3x3km): 1 Bas & MH 52:26 (A Scott-Moncrieff 18:50, D Hope 18:39, D Powell 14:57); 2 Brighton P 58:34; 3 Thames H&H 63:25
Fastest: Powell 14:57

RON HILL MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY RELAYS, Wythenshawe, October 24

The combined efforts of Storms Austen and Boelo failed to dampen this University of Manchester-promoted event; the athletes may have been battered but certainly were not beaten, Bruce Green reports.

With conditions the worst in the 60 editions of the event, Birmingham University dominated the men’s and women’s races while the home club won the mixed race, beating local rivals Manchester Metropolitan University by just five seconds to win Manchester’s Varsity Challenge, thanks to a storming last leg from George Hopkins.

Birmingham took gold and silver in the men’s and women’s races, with holders Leeds Beckett and Durham University taking the two third places. Individually, Birmingham dominated, picking up more than half of the 20 prizes on offer.

Speaking for the organisers, Green said: “It was memorable and if I said that the last time that I had similar conditions was the 1972 National you will know what I mean and it was certainly the worst that I have officiated in.”

Men (6x3km): 1 Birmingham University Past and Present 56:24 (S Stapley 9:00, E Sankey 9:24, G Noble 9:16, J Hobden 9:33, S Tilley 9:38, A Other 9:29); 2 Birmingham Univ A 57:22; 3 Leeds Beckett 57:54
71 men’s teams finished
Fastest: S Bebdell (Birm U) 8:56; Q Miell-Ingram (Birm U) 8:59; S Stapley (Birm U) 9:00; H Yelling (Leeds Beckett) 9:01; A Ludewick (Manch U) 9:02; H Austin (Durh U) 9:07; D Fisher (Birm U)/S Tilley (Birm U) 9:14; R Parry (Birm U)/E Sankey (Birm U) 9:16

Women (3x3km): 1 Birmingham Univ A 31:31 (E Powell 10:21, K Pye 10:33, T Nickell 10:36); 2 Birmingham Univ B 32:34 (K Johnson 11:00, A Clough 10:25, H Kinane 11:08); 3 Durham Univ 33:04 (L Chance 10:44, E Heavey 11:06, A Ita 11:13); 4 Diane’s Donkeys 33:42; 5 Alehouse 33:45; 6 Liverpool U 33:58
96 women’s teams finished
Fastest: E Powell (Birm U) 10:21; A Clough (Birm U) 10:25; B Ansell (Alehouse) 10:26; H Knowle-Jones (Diane’s Donkeys) 10:29; K Pye (Birm U) 10:33; T Nickell (Birm U) 10:36; A Reid (Birm U) 10:40; S Clough (Birm U) 10:43; L Chance (Durh U) 10:44; A Smith (Liv U) 10:47

Mixed (6x3km): 1 University of Manchester 64:33; 2 Manchester Metropolitan University 64:38; 3 University of Birmingham 64:49
45 mixed teams finished

ESSEX LEAGUE, Match 2, One Tree Hill, October 24

Adam Hickey continued his recent good form with his second league win in a couple of weeks, running out a comfortable winner and again putting almost a minute between himself and the rest of the field.

Between his two league wins, Hickey, 38, who won the 2019 Inter-Counties title, placed second and was inside 50 minutes in the Cabbage Patch 10, six days earlier.

Madeline Barker was third in this fixture last year but graduated to top spot here with a 50-metre victory over Rebecca Luxton, 44, who was fourth at the World Masters Championships in Korea in early September.

Men: 1 A Hickey (S’end) 25:35; 2 F Rose (Hav’g) 26:31; 3 M Walk (C&C) 26:37; 4 M Sanderson (B’wood) 2:45; 5 J Connor (B’wood, M40) 26:48; 6 S Horsley (Hav’g, U20) 26:56
M40: 2 A Clark (Grange F&D) 28:42
M45: 1 R Warner (Hav’g) 29:58
M55: 1 M Waller (S’end) 29:51
M60: 1 C Ridley (Col H) 33:34; 2 P Spowage (Col H) 35:26
M65: 1 D Thomas (Ilf) 36:04; 2 P West (Col H) 36:08
M70: 1 R King (T’tree) 48:46
TEAM Div 1 (6 to score): 1 Havering 60; 2 Southend 115; 3 Chelmsford 181

U18: 1 C McGurk (Bas) 0:25; 2 B Tucker (Harl) 20:41; 3 Jopling (S’end) 20:54; 4 A Derrick (C&T) 21:31
TEAM (3 to score): 1 Basildon 20; 2 Southend 22; 3 Havering 24

U16: 1 J Humphries (Chelm) 13:50; 2 W Godsave (WG&EL) 13:57; 3 J Dalton (Chelm) 14:00
TEAM (4 to score): 1 Basildon 26; 2 Chelmsford 39; 3 WG&EL 59

U14: 1 R Stringer (C&T) 11:20; 2 F Blacketer (Chelm) 11:41; 3 A Botherhood (SS) 11:43
TEAM (4 to score): 1 Chelmsford 47; 2 Southend 49; 3 SS Athletics 56

Women: 1 M Barker (Hav’g) 24:55; 2 R Luxton (Chelm) 25:16; 4 C Brooks (E Ex Tri) 25:20
W45: 1 L Coleman (LoS) 26:53; 2 Z Oldfield (Lought) 28:08
W50: 1 S Judd (Herts P) 29:05
W55: 1 A Trauttmansdorff (Lought) 30:17
TEAM Div 1 (4 to score): 1 Chelmsford 39; 2 Basildon 55; 3 Havering 68

U18: 1 F Phillips (Chelm) 23:41; 2 L Fulling (Harl) 24:02; 3 H Bailey (Bas) 24:25
TEAM (3 to score): 1 Basildon 21; 2 SS 29; 3 Havering 40

U16: 1 S Bickerstaff (B’wood) 15:11; 2 A Mathuka (Bas) 15:59; 3 R Reeve (Col H) 16:01
TEAM (4 to score): 1 Colchester H 35; 3 Havering 91

U14: 1 S Davies (B’wood) 11:46; 2 L Esterhuysen (B’wood) 12:07; 3 L Robinson (Chelm) 12:28
TEAM (4 to score): 1 Brentwood 12; 2 Chelmsford 40; 3 SS 54

NORTH LONDON CHAMPIONSHIPS, Brent Lodge Park, Hanwell, October 24

Men: 1 B Kelly (Lon H) 25:55
TEAM: 1 London Heathside 56; 2 Serpentine 80; 3 Highgate 175

Women: 1 K Casterton (Serp) 30:25
TEAM: 1 VP&TH 26; 2 Serpentine 34; 3 VP&TH 58

SURREY MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS, Nonsuch Park, Ewell, October 24

On a blustery day, Richard McDowell, 47, led Hercules Wimbledon to the team medals in the youngest men’s age group, with a narrow win over clubmate Eoin Brady.

Up the age groups and in their separately run race, David Ogden led South London to the M65-and-over team medals, while ever-present M80 Peter Giles also stood out with another age-group win.

Georgie Bruinvels, the many-time South of the Thames Association winner, took the women’s masters event, but it was the older women who came out on top in the age gradings.

Lucy Woolhouse, 65, was graded the best with 93.3%, ahead of Susan McDonald, 59, with 92.68%.

Men M35-64 (9.3km): 1 R McDowell (HW, M45) 31:42; 2 E Brady (HW) 31:45; 3 A Russell (Dulw R, M45) 32:49; 4 D Lipscombe (E&E, M45) 33:22; 5 C Blackburn (Holl Sp, M50) 33:23; 6 M Leyshon (Rane) 33:24
M50: 2 M Loder (S Lon) 33:42; 3 B Paviour (Herne H) 33:53
M55: 1 E Francis (26.2RRC) 35:31
M60: 1 T Booth (G&G) 34:46; 2 G Moyse (Herne H) 36:41; 3 S Corfield (SoC) 37:12
TEAM: 1 Hercules Wimbledon 12; 2 Epsom & Ewell 31; 3 S London 32

Men M65+ (6.3km): 1 D Ogden (S Lon) 24:45; 2 G Quarton (S Lon) 27:22; 3 R Zietz (SoC, M70) 27:40; 4 P Bown (S Lon) 27:48; 5 G Hansen (SoC) 28:02; 6 P Hammell (Strag) 28:22
M70: 2 C Owens (Rane) 29:15; 3 M Darville (S Lon) 29:33
M75: 1 M Mann (Dulw R) 35:02
M80: 1 P Giles (HW) 32:25
TEAM: 1 S London 8; 2 Stragglers 13; 3 Wimbledon W 13

Women W35+ (6.3km): 1 G Bruinvels (AFD) 22:55; 2 G Carnwath (Herne H, W40) 23:05; 3 E Wicks (AFD, W40) 23:22; 4 S Overington (S Lon) 24:10; 5 M James (S Lon, W50) 24:34; 6 N Archer (S Lon, W45) 24:44
W45: 2 J Vicker (S Lon) 26:01
W50: 2 N Cahusac (G&G) 25:32
W55: 1 S McDonald (S Lon) 25:58; 2 V Filsell (THH) 26:36
W60: 1 R Hutton (S Lon) 26:51; 2 A Smith (S Lon) 27:09
W65: 1 L Woolhouse (Vets) 28:16; 2 P Iannella (S Lon) 30:19
W75: 1 J Davies (E&E) 36:25
TEAM: 1 S London 15; 2 Herne H 26