Also Doncaster Half,

Last week’s leg of the East Yorkshire Cross Country League at Sewerby concluded a series which, from a Viking Strider point of view, was satisfactory without  being particularly memorable.  The Striders men’s team finished a very creditable fourth place in the final league table, headed by three strong teams who take their running very seriously, but the overall impression was that it could have been better. 
Nobody can be faulted for lack of effort, but on the days when performances are restricted by absence, injury or plain old lack of form, a small club like Goole does not have the strength in depth to be able to paper over the cracks.  That is not to say there weren’t any outstanding individual performances.  Simon Griffin, Giles Harris and Martin Midgley have been the Striders’ front runners all season and finished impressively high in the final standings.  Dave Hanney was second in his age category, while Alan Bexon, Neil Bentley and Mark Thompson all worked their socks off in the team’s cause.  David Byass and Dave Ryan made excellent progress during the series to get into point scoring positions.
While the men’s team might have done better, the ladies’ team could hardly have fared worse.  Their problem was not one of quality, more of quantity.  Julie Masterman and Kay Ryan ran brilliantly, both winning their age categories, but too often they ran unsupported, leaving the team unable to field the minimum three counters.  It can only get better.
Meanwhile the Doncaster Half Marathon on the same day provided twice the distance but half the degree of difficulty as Sewerby.  Andy Masterman had a good race to lead the Striders in by over 20 minutes from the evergreen Keith Wilson, and Dot Pullman did well to beat her target time, but the real stars of the day were Jo Mouncey and Alison Hoggarth who both came away with excellent personal bests. 

Cross Country positions and times:
Men: 4^th Simon Griffin 33.43, 13^th Martin Midgley 36.21, 28^th Dave Hanney 38.28, 35^th Neil Bentley 39.17, 37^th Alan Bexon 39.24, 49^th Dave Ryan 40.54.

Ladies: 3^rd Julie Masterman  39.43, 11^th Kay Ryan 45.51. 

Overall Standings (five races out of the six need to be run to qualify):
Men: 4^th Simon Griffin, 9^th Giles Harris, 13^th Martin Midgley, 22^nd Dave Hanney, 25^th Alan Bexon, 33^rd Neil Bentley, 39^th Mark Thompson.

Ladies:  5^th Julie Masterman, 10^th Kay Ryan. 

Doncaster times:  Andy Masterman 84.07, Keith Wilson 105.29, Richard Anness 108.15, Dave Pullman 108.22, Patsy Fenelon 108.37, Alison Hoggarth 110.53, Dot Pullman 123.21, Jo Mouncey 134.39.