Harriet Hughes made it two wins in successive days as she added a U15G Wessex League win to her Dorset County Championship victory, with proud mum Helen achieving 12th in the senior women's Wessex event at Devizes and Rebecca Cutts a close third in the U13G race.
Wessex League at Devizes - Poole AC Results : Under-11 Fun Run : 3 James Rafferty, 4 (1st Girl) Lauren Welch, 6 Emily Francis, 10 Jane Cutts, 21 Tom Cutts Under-13 Girls : 3 Rebecca Cutts, 18 Claire Rafferty, 26 Nicole Freshwater Under-13 Boys: 5 Frank Bailey Under-15 Girls : 1 Harriet Hughes Senior Women : 12 Helen Hughes, 33 Linda Smith
At this point your correspondent sheds his normal journalistic objectivity to report an act of giant-killing worthy of FA Cup third round weekend. At a level of improbability usually reserved for non-League Cup hopefuls or the tortoise who beat the hare; Poole AC's senior men's 'A' team was led home for the first time as far as he can recall in almost eighty attempts by Nigel Harding ! The rest of the squad went off ahead of him and he picked them off one by one !
All the normal excuses offered by giants slain by minnows apply in this case :
1) The pitch
Four laps of a hilly switchback of a course with copious amounts of mud and cowpats really did not suit the silky skills of our fast guys. Wessex League isn't normally 9.2km, even on flatter courses. On the other hand, having run three of his four top half marathon times in the same Wiltshire town, Devizes is Harding's seventh heaven.
2) The morning after the night before !
Much of our squad spent Saturday night living it up in Ashdown scout hut at the Junior Presentation Evening. Lemonade was probably taken in quantity, though no suggestion of anything stronger ! Lesson : Karaoke and cross-country don't mix !
3) Too many fixtures
With Boscombe 5km, the Dorset XC Champs and the Milborne St Andrew '10' in successive days, this was definitely true.
4) Injuries to key players
Undoubtedly, Ian Todd and Richard Atkins are out injured and the crisis deepened as Mark Pauley tweaked a calf muscle just as he was about to ruin the giant-killing dream with his last half-mile wind up.
Wessex League at Devizes - Poole AC Results - Senior Men: 48 Nigel Harding. 52 Paul Cutts, 71 Jason Freshwater, dnf Mark Pauley
NJH
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