Hampshire Cross Country Championships, 7th January 2006
IT was a fairly good day at the office for the Vernons at the Hampshire Cross Country Championships.
Even though he had won a junior silver medal at the European Cross Country Championships in Holland a month earlier, birthday boy Andy Vernon needed a good performance at Staunton Park in Havant to put himself in future contention for a place on the senior Great Britain team.
And that the Stubbington-based runner, who was celebrating his 20th birthday on Saturday, did over the 11,850m course by finishing second behind Guernsey's Lee Merrien.
Though Andy was wearing first choice colours of Aldershot, Farnham & District, dad Chris was clad in Stubbington green and he distinguished himself by finishing 64th place overall, some 12 minutes behind his son, for fourth fastest M50 veteran. Andy clocked a time of 43:39 - 53 seconds adrift of Merrien - compared to Chris's 56:25.
Chris said that Andy will be running the Southerns at Exmouth in Devon on January 28th, as well as the English Nationals at Parliament Hill Fields in London on February 25th.
"Andy needs to get selected by Hampshire for the county senior team at the Inter-Counties so that he is a contender for a possible senior Great Britain place," explained Chris.
"Ambitious, I know, but Andy has a record of performing so well at the big events that the selectors might just go for it to give him the experience at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka, Japan this April."
Chris was Stubbington's leading runner at Havant. Graham Bell followed in 105th in 1hr 1min 56sec, followed by Tor Duffin in 126th in 1:06.09. Colin Elderfield and Gordon Westley completed the Stubbington line-up placing 144th and 148th in 1:15.04 and 1:16.44 respectively.
The women's race was won by Jo McGarry from Channel Island-based club RBC Jersey Spartan, who gained a five second advantage over Erica Sheldon from Southampton Running Club, completing the 7,600m course in a time of 31min 54sec.
Results: http://www.hants.gov.uk/athletics/fixtures/hcxcc06.html