Veteran duo Smith and Wetherill lead the way for delighted Mansfield Harriers

For they returned home with two individual titles and victories in three team events, plus three seconds and a third place.

The individual golds were won by veterans Alan Smith and Andy Wetherill, who led the masters men’s team to a superb triumph, alongside Gary Morley. Smith finished 20th overall in ther men’s race to be crowned over-50s’ champion, while Wetherill finished 39th to take the over-55s’ title.

In the same race, Harriers junior Alex Rieley finished a terrific eighth on the day to end up a fine second for the series. Steve Davies came 123rd, Jon Hardy 172nd, Tony Gelsthorpe 182nd and Trevor Hiscox 236th, while the race also marked the club debuts of Ged Naylor, who crossed the line in 167th, and Garry Hodgkins, who was 189th.

A tremendous day was also enjoyed by the club’s U17s, who claimed the two team prizes. The ladies were led home by third place for Bethany Williams and fourth for May Roberts, while the men were indebted to Matt Buchan, who finished fourth, and Cam Walker, who averted disaster when set the wrong way as he sat second on the last lap, losing 30 seconds, and ended up finishing fifth. In the series overall, Williams was second, Roberts fourth and Buchan third.

In the senior ladies’ race, Beverley Armstrong finished 33rd to take second in the over-40s’ category and Amanda Hardy was 59th, while five Harriers athletes also competed admirably in the junior races, most notably Courtney Spencer, who was a series-best fifth in the U13 girls’ contest, and Katie Lancaster, who was an encouraging sixth in the U15 girls’ race to continue her recent return to athletics.