33 HARRIERS braved thick mud, cold and rain at Monmouth Showground at the Gwent League cross country race on Saturday 13th February.

The women did brilliantly, with their five A team scorers in the top thirty. Despite their star runner Kath Matthews taking a tumble right at the start, she managed to recover and go on to become seventh overall, which was a stunning result in such a competitive field.

The women also had a solid B team. Those running were Kath Matthews, Niki Morgan, Jane Horler, Georgie Prior, Lisa Jeffrey, Dani Sapsford, Berna Cantwell, Teresa Tranter, Berta Havers, Jen Danger Harding and Sue Ashton.

The men had a good turnout with 14 runners. Those competing were Stuart Penny, James Blore, Jonathan Carter, Andy Bray, Andrew Oliver, Andy Stott, Neil Grant, Tim Buckley, Glen Meek, Kevin Mcentee, Mike Evans, Dave Andrews, Matthew Lawson and Syd Wheeler.

The women ran three laps of the energy sapping course, clocking up seven kilometres. The men ran four laps, which totalled 10 kilometres.

There were also five from the Chepstow Harriers’ novice boys team who ran well in tough conditions, making their parents proud. They were Reuben Lawson, Dylan Downham, Tate Cantwell-Hutton, Jonty Cantwell-Hutton, Daniel Mc Manus and Alexander Ward. The two novice girls that ran were Helena Green and Imogen.

“Despite a dreadful forecast, we had a great turnout of Harriers for this very competitive cross country race,” said ladies team captain Vanessa Lawson. “The kids did amazingly well in tough, muddy conditions. The women did superbly. It’s the first time in the club’s history that we have had our five top scoring women in the top 30.”