The fourth and penultimate fixture of the Hampshire Cross Country League took place at Popham Airfield on Saturday 11 February. All the age group races saw numbers running well down on normal expectations, which may have been the result of the fact that this was the first day of the school half term break. This was reflected in the BAC presence, a total of no more than 13 athletes with, for example, none of the usually strong U17M team being present, and it was known that some, if not all, of our athletes in this category being away on school trips. As will be seen below, both Henry and Poppaea Bramwell-Reeks for the senior men and women respectively, and Connor Grocott for the U13 boys and Constance King for the U13 girls all had spectacular runs at Popham.

Before the fixture, BAC‘s senior men were looking at relegation from Division 1, and this remained the case at the end of the day. Only five senior men attended, which meant that a struggling Ian Graham became the team’s 5th scorer. However BAC‘s leader, Henry Bramwell-Reeks, stormed round the course to finish 11th in 33.49, an excellent achievement. Ross Smith is enjoying his return to running and his increasing fitness showed in his 74th position in 39.55. Patrick Kingston is a very welcome regular at these fixtures and was the 3rd BAC athlete home, 86th overall in 41.11. Another regular is Jud Kirk, who did his usual ‘taxiing’ to the venue, which is much appreciated, and was BAC‘s 4th finisher in 47.14 (140th overall). Jud also completed BAC‘s veteran men’s team, ensuring they retained a respectable position in the table. Ian Graham was discovering that a bowl of porage at 7.30 am simply does not provide enough energy for a cross country race at 2.30 pm, and struggled, with elements of walking, to finish the course 173rd (not quite last!) in 64.33. So the final result was that BAC‘s senior men were 9th of 10 teams in Division 1 on the day, and are also 9th aggregate for the season so far, and it is going to take a really spectacular team performance at the final fixture in Kings Park on 4 March to lift the team out of the relegation zone. For the veteran men the picture is brighter, with the team of Ross, Patrick and Jud being placed 11th of 18 teams on the day, and the BAC veteran men’s team lies 7th of 19 teams aggregate for the season to date. Szymon Chojnacki travelled to Popham but unfortunately arrangements to take care of his son at the last minute weren’t possible, so Szymon was unable to compete. However, Szymon‘s commitment, and the encouragement he gave at the course, were very much appreciated.

Turning to the ladies, Henry‘s twin sister, Poppaea, as would her brother an hour later, ran superbly well and finished an amazing 3rd in the senior/veteran ladies‘ race in 22.24. What a valuable brother and sister for BAC! The senior ladies‘ team was completed by Kirsty Drewett, 71st in 29.34, and Jayne Wade, 105th in 36.48, both ever present at cross country fixtures for their club, which meant that the senior ladies‘ team were a very respectable 9th of 17 teams on the day, and lie 10th of 17 teams at this stage of the season.
Although there were no BAC U17 men at Popham it is worth mentioning that Hugo Richardson is at present 6th U17 man in the League for the season so far, and may well cement this in Kings Park on 4 March.

In the U15 boys‘ race both Harry Butcher, 18th in 14.38, and James Davie, 28th in 16.35, flew the BAC flag, as did Jamie‘s sister, Elizabeth, 26th in 18.30, in the U15 girls‘ race. Two of BAC‘s rising stars competed in the U13 races, with Connor Grocott finishing an amazing 5th in the U13 boys‘ race and Constance King a highly creditable 11th in the equivalent girls‘ race. Connor is 5th U13 boy for the season so far, and Constance is 8th U13 girl.

As ever, a big thank you to Simon Hearn for coming along with the BAC tent so providing a comfortable base for the athletes and their supporters.  Unfortunately Simon Saunders, who normally helps in this way as well, wasn’t too well on the 11 February and we wish him a speedy recovery.