Gwent League Cross Country - Parc Bryn Bach - 28/02/2026

Women

It was even muddier (witness photo) than Chepstow at Parc Bryn Bach, with a hilly course covered more in moss than grass.  Going into the race, the A team had a slender lead with 6162 points compared with Les Croupier on 6147 points, while the B team was in the lead overall in the reserve division. To add to the mix, Parc Bryn Bach were not far behind and were on home turf or in this case, mud.

Again, Kat Entwistle led the A team home. Kat ran in a group of three through most of the race before pulling away to finish second in a time of 25.31. Miri King had arguably the best cross-country race of her life, pulling through the field to finish 4^th in 25.52. It’s worth noting that six days earlier, Miri posted an 85-minute half-marathon at Wokingham. Ellen Raymond was the surprise package of the day, having an astonishing run to finish 13^th in 27.27, some 40 places higher than her previous Gwent League best. Evergreen Annabel Granger produced her usual remarkable run to finish in 14^th place (27.31) and first W50. W40, Caz Buckeridge completed the A team. Caz thrives on tough courses, and here she set off determinedly to finish 31st and 4th W40 (29.06). These results meant that, although second on the day, 22 points behind Parc Bryn Bach, the A team were first overall by a healthy 91 points. Surprisingly, the challenge from Les Croupier failed to materialise.

Maria Jones led the B team home. Although well up on the first of the two laps, Maria took a nasty fall at the start of the second lap, rolling out of the way to avoid the oncoming traffic. Maria picked herself up and finished 32^nd in 29.11. Amy Brammar confided that she didn’t have one of her best races (night shifts don’t help) but still finished 39th in 32.36. Tanya Chowdhury (W45) had her usual solid run, finishing 76th in 32.36 just in front of Emma Clarke, who was returning to racing after shoulder surgery. Emma was 77th in 32.39. Jennifer Graham, making her debut for the club, completed the B team. Jen finished a creditable 80^th in 32.53. Thus, the B team was again first in the reserve division by over 700 points.

Rosey Mushens (W60) was first home for a depleted C team, finishing 131^st place and, in doing so, was W60 with a time of 36.20. Victoria Langdon was another making her debut for the club. We agreed, not the best course to start on, it was tough! Nevertheless, Victoria had a great run, finishing 125^th in 37.16.

The add-on was that although the W35 team was 7^th on the day, it was sufficient to remain 1^st overall by 39 points from Westbury Harriers, while the W45 team, 6^th on the day, was 3^rd overall. Not a bad haul of medals.

246 women finished.

M65+

Mike Nutt was our sole representative. He finished a creditable 9^th M70 in 40.03.

Men

Lee Gawler continued his remarkable run of success, leading the A team home in 5^th place in 35.00. Lee was with the second group of four, oscillating between 2^nd and 5^th throughout the race. This was Lee’s highest place in the league. Dan Shepherd took time off from preparing for the Brighton Marathon in April and had his usual solid run to finish 8^th in 35.57. James Palmer is at home on the hills, and he, like Lee, achieved his best performance in the league, finishing 14^th in 36.35. Joe Ballard was a few metres behind Aled Anderson with 400m, but had the fastest finish. Joe finished 17^th in 36.40 for his best run of the season, while Aled also had his best run of the season, finishing 19^th in 36.43. The team was first equal with Parc Bryn Bach on the day and won overall by a margin of 130 points.

Robbie Stewart led the B team home in 23^rd place (37.02). Robbie was with Aled and Joe on the first two laps but found the slippery conditions tricky on the third, finishing 23^rd in 37.02. 800m specialist, Shaun Hudson, found the conditions gruelling, finishing 38^th in 37.48. Club Chairman, Ben Maliphant, took time off from managing club affairs and from logistics (like moving vast blades of wind turbines through the lanes of Scotland) to have his first outing of the season. With minimal training, Ben finished 90^th in 41.23. Andy Grigg is another having trouble fitting in training to a busy life. Andy was 94^th in 41.42. Sam Johnson is another track man who found life difficult on the mud and hills. Sam completed the B team in 132^nd place in 43.58. The B team were third on the day, but were first in the B division by some 860 points.

Matt Brown (with Dan Lambourne) first sorted out the club tent and managed the young ladies before starting the men’s race. Matt was 170^th in 46.48, leaving only Ben Langdon, who tenaciously fought his way round the course to finish 264^th in 64.35 to complete the team. Their efforts were duly rewarded because they earned sufficient points for the C team to finish 1^st in the reserve division and the D team 4^th and first D team.

-Chris Elson