Newark AC produced excellent results at the Saucony English Cross Country Relays at Berry Hill in Mansfield

Newark AC turned out in force for the Saucony English Cross Country Relays at Berry Hill in Mansfield on Saturday.

More than 1,000 teams entered from across the country, featuring many of England’s top cross-country runners.

Newark had three senior men's teams entered, running approximately 5k each. The A team of George Hatton, Elliot Smith- Rasmussen, William Tucker and Conor Pacey finished 26th overall which is by far the club’s best result ever.

All three teams improved on last year’s return, with the B team of Tom Marshall, Oliver Crampton, Rob Lindsay and Leigh Marshall finishing 74th. The C team of David Robinson, Adrian Dix, Chris Harrison and Tim Bagguley were 101st out of 164 starting teams.

The fastest Newark AC runner on the day was Elliot Smith-Rasmussen on leg two, posting the ninth quickest time. Smith- Rasmussen has also been called up to represent Denmark in the Nordic Cross Country Championships next week.

The ladies’ team also finished in the top half, with Lauren Owens, Alison Monaghan and Amber Owens finishing in 52nd spot as they each ran approximately 3km.

The under-13 girls saw Philippa Aitchison-Bowser start off the race, getting a great start and coming in 15th. The next leg was Isabelle Thorpe, finishing in a strong 41st position. This left the last leg run by Savannah Ward, who came back in a superb 30th place.

Also running were the under-13 boys. Edward Greenhow started off with a storming run to come home in 32nd place. On the second leg was Jason Unaigwe, who also had a great run to bring the team through in 47th. The last leg saw Owen Treharne complete another brilliant run, bringing the team back in 25th place.

This was the first time many of the youngsters had run the relays and they certainly did Newark AC proud.

Harry Hewitt, who trains with the club’s endurance group, ran the quickest leg in the under-20s race.