Author: Ros Tabor
These championships are held annually with the host nation rotating. For 2019 it was the turn of England Athletics Masters Association to organise. The race venue was Aintree racecourse, a flat grassy course with the going described as ‘good to soft’!
All the women, and men over 65, raced over 6k (3 laps), while the younger men (35 – 64) completed 4 laps to make 8k. There were 4 separate races, and for the first time a category was added for W75 runners.
After initial transport problems, and a slightly delayed start the races all went well. The weather stayed dry and much milder than anticipated. The results team which included Peter Kennedy and Andy Murray provided an extremely efficient service. In the evening there was a meal and prize giving in Southport, attended by athletes and families/friends. Several VAC members were selected to run. Of these the following were medalists:
GOLD Peter Giles M75
GOLD Clare Elms W55
SILVER Sue McDonald W50
BRONZE Ben Reynolds M55
BRONZE Lesley Bowcott W75
Other VAC members were members of medal winning teams. England won the women’s, men’s, and overall championships. The women’s trophy was presented to multiple age group winner and VAC member Clare Elms. ( pictured below racing her way to success)
In addition Zoe Doyle won the open race, held after the 4 championship races.
Congratulations to our masters. A full write up courtesy of Athletics weekly can be found : https://www.athleticsweekly.com/event-reports/grand-masters-at-aintree-1039926570/