Dave Neilands reports . . . .
November heralds the start of the Cross Country season and for the first fixture of the Mid Lancs league at Towneley Park , Burnley something unusual happened – Garstang Running Club fielded a ladies team for the first time in several years. What was not unusual was the weather – cold, wet and windy – and the mud – proper cross country mud. This was not the splashy bog type mud found on the fells around Garstang but thick quad sapping clay mud of the lowlands – with perhaps the biggest challenge to extract the foot from the mud vacuum it had just created. First home for Garstang was Helen Hunter in 98th place with Philippa Olive 105th, Sue Richmond 106th and Denise Hughes 109th – obviously keeping close together in case they got lost! Finishing 25th out of 27 teams and 16th out of 17 in the Vet 35 category belies the promising start. The men had seven representatives – several more than usual – and finished 17th out of 26 teams with Mike Whyatt finishing an excellent 12th with Craig Menzies 130th, Tony Pritchard 136th, Colin Jennings 138th, Phil Cornall 154th, Martyn Knowles 166th and Geoff Lyons 203rd of the 268 finishers.
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