RUNNERS enjoyed mild and sunny weather for the second round of the Southern Cross-Country League, organised by Portsmouth Joggers.

The course was muddy and slippery for most of the way and runners needed shoes with good grip as they tackled the numerous hills at Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

On this Remembrace Sunday, a two-minute silence was observed before the start.

Nineteen Farnham Runners men vied for five scoring places and 15 ladies for three. The team positions are combined to give a final score, so consistency between men and women was key.

Farnham Runners came away with a valuable fifth place overall out of 23 clubs, with the men placing sixth and the ladies fifth.

After a demanding cross country the previous day, Richard Lovejoy strode round to finish a fine sixth.

Up against tough competition, Ian Carley came 22nd, Andrew Ellison 28th, Stuart Haig 49th, and John Hill-Venning 58th.

Strong in support were Matt Dellar in 79th, Neil Ambrose 86th, Nick Hitchcock 88th, Ali Hardaway 92nd, Colin Addison 96th and John Phillips 97th.

Improving with every race, Eloise Stradling headed the ladies with an excellent tenth, her best placing to date. Back to competitive racing, Gabi Hithcock came in 12th and Lindsay Bamford was the final scorer in 32nd.

Then came Kayleigh Copeland in 43rd, Fiona Carle 52nd, Jane Georghiou 55th, Anne Snelson 66th, Kay Copeland 77th, Grace Carley 92nd and newcomer Kate Townsend 100th.

Other Farnham placings: men – Terry Copeland 112, Steve Bailey 161, Geoff Brown 193, Simon Brander 208, Tim Farrant 201, Craig Tate-Grimes 202, Peter Chapman 212, Jeff Loomis 264; ladies – Mary Denise Fitzgerald 101, Becky Martin 103, Tori Shaw 136, Cyra Parkes 153, Clair Bailey 162, Kathy Brown 185.

Somewhat further afield, Linda Tyler recorded 3-47-14 in the New York Marathon and finished a creditable 20th in her age group.

Susie Chan ran 3-40-02 in New York and, just a week later, clocked 3-32-45 in Cannes, France.

Three intrepid Farnham Runners completed the Druids Challenge, a three-day 84-mile ‘ultra’ along the Ridgeway in Berkshire. The indefatigable Sarah Hill came fourth overall and first lady by one and a half hours, her total time being 12hrs 43mins 10secs. This was despite losing the trail and running two extra miles on the first day. She could have won the event outright but for that.

Paul Day clocked 16-48-13 and Ian Calder 17-14-54 for commendable 53rd and 63rd positions out of the 105 who completed all three days.