Nationals
HAWAY the lads! Muddy boots Andy Simpson and Gordon Westley made the long trip to Wearside for the high point of the cross country season.
All signs pointed towards windswept Sunderland for the National Cross Country Championships.
It was Simmo who led the green-vested Stubbies home in 404th place over the 12km course with a time of 47min 59sec. Gordon Westley, who currently leads the cross country points standings and clearly looking to grab the mantle off Simmo, was 726th in 55:38.
The race was won by Frank Tickner, who cut through the icy winds at Sunderland's Herrington Country Park for victory. The Birmingham University student - who is staying home to take the final exams of his English and French course while the Great Britain team acclimatises for the World Cross Country Championships in the steamy Kenyan city of Mombasa - won the Senior Men's title by a convincing margin of 40 seconds.
It added to his victories in the European Trial during the Liverpool leg of the UK Cross Challenge, the World Trial during the BUSA Championships and the UK Inter-Counties Championships, which incorporated the UK Challenge Finals.