Race news: 15.10.2009 Written on October 14, 2009, by matt.
Double SSOT bronze at World Long Distance champs
Superb podium places for Anna and Ricky at Kaisermarathon…
Anna Frost added a superb bronze medal to her recent Commonwealth title in Sunday’s World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge on Saturday (10th). Running in fourth position going into the last kilometre Anna managed to overhaul one of the two leading Kenyan competitors to claim a brilliant third place. Barely 5 minutes behind the winner – Anna Pichrtova – Anna was delighted with her run and now gathers herself for a couple of weeks before heading off to Nepal to begin her preparation for the Everest Marathon in December.
Her excellent run was echoed in the men’s event as Ricky Lightfoot (running for England) claimed a fantastic bronze medal.
Ricky (right) on the WLDMRC podium
Again Ricky was not in the medals at the half-way point, as the Kenyan male runners opened up a sizeable lead in the 42km Kaisermarathon race – held in the Austrian Tirol region. Ricky’s podium finish is a great fillip for the Ellenborough runner as he had struggled a little for form in the third quarter of the season.
However, Ricky’s class was always there and as we approach the final few races of the season the form that saw Ricky win at Zergama earlier in the year seems to be returning – just in time for the Skyrunner World Series final in Malaysia in two weeks time.
Andy Symonds takes Scottish Hill Runners Long Classics Series title
After his tumultuous September at the TransAlp with Tom Owens it is fair to say that Andy Symonds deserved some ‘down-time’. A family holiday in Sardinia ensued and Andy admitted that he was looking “to do a few races and ease back a little” over the coming weeks. In easing back he still found time last weekend to run the Pentland Skyline race – the final counter in the SHR Long Classics Series.
With Tom not running (as he prepares himself for the Mt. Kinabalu race) Andy was assured of the title before a mile was run on Saturday, however he still managed a strong 5th place on the day, and now adds the title to a long list of successes this year that include the Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon and of course the Trans Alpine Run.
Rob Hope just misses out on English Championship
After already claiming the 2009 British Championships new-dad Rob Hope was out on Saturday to add the English crown to his highly successful season. It wasn’t to be however, as he finished a strong fourth at the Langdale Horseshoe race in Cumbria.
He was pipped to the title by Simon Bailey, who finished third on the day. Also out to add to his overall points tally was John Heneghan. John ran strongly early and eventually finished 9th on the day, moving him up for a top six finish in the overall championship.
Looking ahead…
On the 24th of October the final race in the 2009 Skyrunner World Series takes place at Mt. Kinabalu, Malaysia. Ricky Lightfoot, Tom Owens and Natalie White travel to represent the Saab Salomon Outdoor Team. Deemed as “the World’s Toughest Mountain Race”, the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon is the ultimate challenge to take for those game-enough to test their endurance by running up and down Mount Kinabalu for a total distance of 21 kilometres.
As the curtain draws on the fell and mountain season the door opens on the cross country season. Many of the Team will now embark on domestic and international events – we will keep you up to date with all of the news through 2009 and into 2010.
