Belles Strike National Bronze With 12 Seconds to Spare!

Authors: Zoe Doyle, Sophie Carter & Fi MaddocksWhat a weekend, at the same time as the London XC Relays we had 3 Belles up in Derbyshire, and came back with medals. Here are the girls' accounts of how the race unfolded:Zoe: Delighted to medal at the National Masters XC relays. It was the first time the Belles have competed in this race. I liked the sound of short and flat XC so I tried to get a team together.  When I looked at the entries I was surprised to see 22 teams had entered and many of the best Master XC runners. But like I said to the girls if we are travelling all the way to Nottingham at least we will have a good race. Feeling a bit fitter I decided I would commit to a faster pace from the off and run the first leg. I followed Claire Elms V45 and Lisa Palmer. The gap grew but I stayed in 3rd position (2nd V35) until around half way until I was joined by Telford and Sale. I crossed the line 3rd V35 but 2nd was only 2 seconds in front. Sophie ran a brilliant leg and came in second. Heanor had a great lead on everyone. We knew the mighty Claire Martin would be chasing Heanor and third would be the best we could finish. Claire, as usual, ran the fastest leg overall. Fi in her first master’s event ran a fantastic race. She held off 4th, the very fast moving lady from Cheadle, by just 12 seconds.  Superb team work to win the bronze team V35 medal.Sophie: The course was short, flat and fast, something that doesn't usually appeal to me.  There was also a section with some concrete which was tricky in spikes including a concrete step...(something to consider if/when we do it again!). A long drive but worth it and easy enough to navigate once you are there. Zoe had a good strong start and set us up nicely, I was not on my best form and was somewhat confused when to go as the organisers said they would tell me when to go...Zoe came in and no one told me to go so I thought well I betterI then handed over to Fi who was nervous as it was her first masters event but she ran a strong leg to keep us in medal contention and gave her all. It was a real team effort! Thanks to Zoe for organising and persuading me (gently) to do something I would not normally do! I thoroughly enjoyed it altgo but for the first 100m thought they would disqualify me!!!!hough could have done with a hill and an extra lap!It was then time for Fi Maddocks to run the last leg of the Cross country team and a taste for master’s racing.Fi - I was nervous, knowing both would have good runs, I really wanted to do my best and not let them down. When Sophie handed over to me in second, the nerves turned to adrenaline as I thought I just can't let this slip away after their brilliant runs. Telford came steaming past about 1km in, there was no chance of me staying with her. After negotiating the steps successfully Zoe and Sophie were there to spur me on in the final stages, confirming we had a medal if I hung on. The fact it was fast and flat really suited me and to run with Zoe and Sophie in my first Masters event was a great experience. 1 Heanor RC 33:42; 2 Telford AC 34:37; 3 Belgrave H 36:00; 4 Cheadle RC 36:12; 5 Sale H 36:39.  22 teams finishedZ Doyle (3) 11:44; S Carter (2) 11:51; F Maddocks (3) 12:25.