Croft Ambrey Running Club hosted the final race in the Herefordshire Summer Cross Country series at Shobdon Court last Wednesday (23rd July). More than 120 runners turned out to compete on an incredibly warm evening, among them seven Monross Trailblazers, looking for a strong finish to the league campaign. The 5.5-mile course through the Shobdon estate covers open farmland, lakeside and very few climbs making it one of the faster courses in the series. Andy Stephens ran well again, finishing third on the evening in 33 minutes and a second, and in turn winning the MV40 category for the overall series. Following up the charge were Richard Bevan 12th (36.07), Barry Davies 15th (36.39), James Fletcher (42.53), Nigel Baker (43.09), Emma King (47.17) and Vanessa Ball (48.11). The Monross team finished the series in sixth place overall from 17 teams, a fantastic achievement for a developing club. An extraordinary event took place on Sunday 27th of July with the MonRoss trailblazers leaving the usual comfort of trail running and taking on the 10k Magor Marsh road race at Undy. This was left to the Monmouth element of Monross as the Ross contingent were either on holiday, working or injured. Andy Stephens finished in fifth place in 35:33 and Matthew Hall in 44:38. Luke James finished in 40:13 and Emma King in 50:41. James Fletcher recorded his first ever career 'did not finish' due to an ankle injury but was given the all clear after a short stint in A&E. The team are next in action on Thursday evening at the Cardiac six-mile challenge near Abergavenny. They are also looking to start up a club training evening so whether you want to try out trail running for the first time or are already a fell running fiend, then look out for a date coming soon.