Where Are They Now? - Tom Farrell

Many of you will remember Tom Farrell from Carlisle. The ex Austin Friars student represented Cumbria for many years in cross country and track and field. He went on to run for Great Britain at the Junior World Championships earlier this year. So where is he now?

Well Tom is studying at university in the USA. Oklahoma State to be exact. He is a Freshman (first year student) and part of the very talented running squad. The squad attracts some of the finest runners from across the USA and from around the world. Their coach, Dave Smith, has just been named as National Coach of the Year. Oklahoma State have just become NCAA Division 1 National Champions.

If you want to find out more and see where your running can get you too check out the Oklahoma State website at http://www.okstate.com/sports/m-xc/okst-m-xc-body.html

Cumbria Schools County Cross Country Campionships 2010

We are pleased to announce that this years County Cross Country Championships will be held at Sedbergh School in South Cumbria.

The final race times and route are being finalised and final information will be sent out to area secretaries in due course.

The event will be held on Saturday 16th January.

T.Whitmarsh
Hon.Secretary
Cumbria Schools Cross Country

Midlands Cross Country Meet is Cancelled

Due to the appauling flooding situation we have taken the decision not to travel to the Midlands Event tonight.

After taking advice from the Environment Agency and the police we feel it is wise not to be travelling. Many of our County's areas are badly affected by floods and there are numerous school and road closures across the region. In addition the weather over the next 24hrs is expected to bring increasing levels of rain which will only make the travel situation across Cumbria more dangerous.

The decision to cancel is not one that has been taken lightly. We always want to race when ever possible but safety must taken precidence on this occasion.

We look forward to seeing you run at the County Championships in January and hope you stay safe of this most difficult weekend.

T.Whitmarsh

Cumbria Schools Cross Country

Midland Counties Ivitation X-Country Teams

The enties have been coming in thick and fast. It's great to see so many new faces running for the first time this year. If you have tried, and failed, to contact me over the last couple of weeks don't panic. I've been away for the vast majority of the time hence not replying to messages instantly. In addition I've got a heavy coaching commitment throught the week which means I don't get home till around 11pm 2/3 nights a week.

There have been lots of questions about how to get kit. It's very simple. If you've sent the money in then you will be able to get your kit at the hotel on the Friday evening or on the Saturday morning. If you havn't requested any kit but want some then you just need to bring the money with you and purchase it on the day. There is no need to let me know before Friday.

The runners who have confirmed (In no particular order):
Boys:
Solomon White,
Chris Richards,
Sam Storey,
Charlie Robson,
Thomas Taylor,
James Knox,
Robin Goodfellow,
Matthew Doey,
Gregory Holland,
Theo Messenger-Jones,
Sam Nicholson,
Alfie West,
Alistair Weymouth,
Michael Brookes

Girls:
Megan Lewis
Katie Bell
Emma Enon
Tamsin Crook
Hannah Bethwaite
Jodie Hebson
Fraya Sadler
Chelsea Nugent
Rebecca Buchanan
Millie Holder
Beth Dutson
Jennifer Huck
Mary Ann-Oriely
Stephanie Booth
Sally Addison
Brogan Stewart
Abbie Hetherington
Ashleigh Backhouse
Milly Morgan-Mythen

If you have sent an entry in and your your name does not appear on this list then ring 01228 404767 between 3.10pm and 4.30pm (This is a direct number to my PE office)on Wednesday 18th November to Speak to Mr Whitmarsh.

There is one entry that is at the post office because there was not enough postage paid on it. I will attempt to collect this today so one name will be added.

Hope you all have a fantastic race on Saturday and enjoy the Coach journey down on Friday. It's going to be a great weekend!
Mr Whitmarsh
Hon Secretary
Cumbria Schools Cross Country

Midland Counties Ivitation Cross Country Match

Saturday 21st November, Staffordshire University, Stoke on Trent.

The invites have gone out and the replies are flying in fast. We have had the race times confirmed and they are:

TIME AGE GROUP
11.30 pm Walk Course
1.00 pm YEAR 7 GIRLS
1.15 pm YEAR 7 BOYS
2.00 pm JUNIOR GIRLS
2.20 pm JUNIOR BOYS
2.45 pm INTER GIRLS
3.10 pm INTER BOYS
3.50 pm PRESENTATIONS

Watch this space for more information soon

Internationl Duty

Three of Cumbria's finest were called up for International Duty at the end of the season. Abbie Hetherington, Laura Park and Tom Farrell.

After her 7th place finish at hot and sunny Stanford Hall, Abbie was selected to run for England's Junior Girls team for the Home Nations match at Bangor, Wales the following weekend. Abbie improved her overall position in the England team and finished 6th overall with a time of 13.59. This helped the England team to an emphatic win over Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Tom Farrell and Laura Park were unable to run at the English Schools Cross Country Final because they were at UKA's holding camp preparing for the IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan.

Laura finished a highly credible 75th and was part of the most successful Great Britain team who were just narrowly beaten to 4th place by Japan.

Tom Farrell was the second European over the finish line and finished 58th overall. A fantastic result which augers well for the future. We look forward too seeing all three return to the track this summer.

English Schools National Cross Country Final 2009

Congratulations to all those who represented Cumbria at the National Final. A hot and sunny day saw some outstanding individual performances and some great team results. Two of Cumbria's top runners, Tom Farrell and Laura Park ,were unable to run at the Championships due to being selected for Great Britain to race at the World Championships in Jordan that weekend. Despite this Cumbrian runners stepped up to the mark and excelled again!


Results:
Junior Girls
Abbie Hetherington 7th 11.14 (Selected for England to Run at Home Nations Match)
Hannah Bethwaite 39th 11.51
Eilidh Sproul 156th 12.34
Olivia Miller 186th 12.43
Brogan Stewart 243rd 13.01
Beth Dutson 252nd 13.03
Sally Addison 303rd 13.29
Sarah Dawkins 333rd 14.52

Team Result - 20th overall



Junior Boys
Alistair Weymouth 21st 15.45
James Knox 22nd 15.46
Theo Messenger-Jones 94th 16.31
Sam Storey 147th 16.45
Ross Campbell 168th 16.53
William King 172nd 16.55
Thomas King 244th 17.23
Simon (DNF)


Team Result - 12th overall

Intermadiate Girls
Ellie Wilson 85th 18.02
Laura Valiant 117th 18.19
Jennifer Huck 172nd 18.53
Charlotte Richards 182nd 19.00
Vicky Johnston 194th 19.05
Jodi Hebson 203rd 19.12
Robin Goodfellow 240th 19.34
Kim Little 304th 20.41

Team Results- 27th overall

Intermediate Boys
Matthew Grieve 15th 18.17
Patrick Vicary 90th 19.24
Harry Earl 95th 19.29
Peter Harrison 100th 19.31
Joss Addison 122nd 19.41
Rory Addison 152nd 19.56
Sam Fisher 201st 20.21
Tom Doyle 260th 20.53

Team Result- 10th Overall

Senior Girls
Rosie Stuart 40th 19.11
Charlotte Arter 96th 20.11
Elizabeth Wignall 115th 20.33
Claire Pogson 177th 21.27
Antonia Bamford 226th 22.14
Christina Wiejak 254th 22.57
Felicity Steven 269th 23.34
Kate Donavan 276th 23.40

Team Result- 22nd overall

Senior Boys
Josh Thompson 209th 27.09
Tom Hinton 224th 27.31
Nial Till 244th 27.53
Mark Crawley 301st 32.59

A big thank you must go to all the team managers who give up their time for free to support the event. They do a fantastic job of making sure all the athletes run at their best on the day. We look forward to seeing all of you there next year!

Team Managers for National X-Country Final

Hello all, am sure you're all training very hard in the lead up to the National Final.

A word of warning if you are thinking of going to check the course before the day. DON'T! The ESAA have contacted all counties to say the grounds are private, and that no one is allowed on the site before the event. Apparently there have been large numbers of people going down to the site, without permission, and scouting the route. If it continues the event may well be cancelled!!! This is no idle threat, it has been done before! So best thing to do is come on the coach with us. We'll be there in planty of time to walk the course and don't worry about it! We live in Cumbria. It can't be that hilly.......................

The following staff have been allocated as Team Managers. They will be the ones who you need to work with, and they will make sure you get to the start on time!

Mr Whitmarsh - Overall Team manager

Junior Girls - Mrs Johnston
Inter Girls - Miss Butler
Senior Girls - Mrs Turner
Junior Boys - Mr Mason
Inter Boys - Mr Bowem
Senior Boys- Mr Pownceby

ESAA Cross Country National Championships

If you're reading this then the chances are you've been selected to run for Cumbria Schools at this years National Championships which will be held at Stanford Hall, nr Loughborough, Leicestershire on Saturday March 21st 2009. You will have recieved a selection letter which must be returned as soon as possible. There is some additional information below which you will want to know!

Race Times
12.30pm Intermediate Girls Championship.
1.00pm Junior Boys Championships.
1.30pm Junior Girls Championships.
2.00pm Intermediate Boys Championships.
2.35pm Senior Girls Championships.
3.05pm Senior Boys Championships.

Packed Lunch
A packed lunch will be provided, free of charge, by the sponsor - Sainsbury's for all athletes and Team Managers.

If you havn't been on the site before then check out http://www.esaa.net/ for all the latest news on English Schools Athletics and Cross Country.

Keep up the training, and we'll see you on the coach!

Inter Counties X-Country Match is Cancelled

Hi all,
Just a note to explain that the Inter Counties X-Country match at Kirkby Stephen on Saturday 7th Feb. was cancelled due to the bad weather. Despite the best efforts of everyone involved in organising the event the weather got the better of us! Snow and frozen solid ground meant that the course was too dangerous to run on. In addition travel to and from the match would have been almost impossible for the other counties coming from the North East.