CAU Inter-Counties Cross Country Finals

THE grounds of Prestwold Hall, in Loughborough, played host to the CAU Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships. Harlow AC had two athletes selected to represent their respective counties; George Watkins ran for Essex and Isla Garrett ran for Hertfordshire.

Garrett ran at Under 15 level and was sixth Hertfordshire athlete home. She ran the 4 kilometre course in 20.05 minutes and was 244 of 295 athletes who completed the course. The Hertfordshire team was twenty-eighth overall. She can be very proud of her performance as she had to dig very deep into her reserves of positive mindset, as at about half distance she lost a shoe and still battled on to complete the course!

Watkins was first Essex athlete home for the Under 13 Boys’ team. He finished in fourth of 292 athletes and ran the 3k distance in a very impressive 12.11 minutes. It is a shame for the athlete that he did not earn a medal to add further gloss to what has been an excellent cross country season for him. The Essex team was fifth overall.

British Indoor Para Championships, Sheffield

Whilst Harlow athletes were competing in team cross country in Loughborough, Bebe Jackson was competing as an individual in Sheffield at the British Indoor Para Championships. She competed in the 60m sprint and also the long jump. In the long jump competition, she jumped 4m exactly. Whilst this was not enough to put her on the podium, she can be satisfied that she is jumping well despite minimal training at this point in the season. The magic mark of 4.25m for her T/F 44 class is well within her compass.

The highlight of her weekend came in the sprints. This is an event she has been working hard at in training, and she has had a lot of exposure at large events indoors already in this brief indoor season. She ran 8.80s to record a season’s best in her heat. And in the final, she ran 8.83s and was second behind Sophie Kamlish.

To cap a fine weekend, Jackson received news that she has been selected as part of a small British squad to take part in the South African Disability Games in Western Province, 17 – 21 March 2023. She will be competing in sprints, jumps and throws.