The 2008 PSUK Cross Country Championships were staged by Gwent Police at Pontypool Park where the organisers were blessed with a sunny dry late winter/ early spring day, some 400 athletes competed over a hilly picturesque parkland venue. The Championships incorporated the selection races for the teams to represent PSUK at the USPE Cross- Country Championships being hosted by France in Vichey in March 2008. The first four athletes in each race would gain automatic selection with two discretionary places to be decided later in the day. The course for both men and women could be described as hilly and challenging! The women ran two complete laps, covering a distance of approximately 6km and the men ran three complete laps, approximately 10km in distance. The venue itself was within Pontypool Park, both races starting and finishing on the famous Pontypool Rugby Pitch. From the pitch the athletes ran down to the Afon Llwyd River and along its river bank before turning and heading back towards the first of their hill climbs. The course then climbed a total of 800m through a wooded area onto pasture land before reaching the peak of the climb at the Shell Grotto and then turning to descend the hill towards the top of the ski slope, before turning into a wooded area, culminating in the crossing of a stream before negotiating a short sharp climb to the ‘Stones’. The athletes then descended the hill running on the diagonal to the rugby pitch completing their lap. The women went off first, by the time they had reached the start of the first climb up to the Grotto, a break-away group being led by Kate Swanson, (City of London), last years champion, had formed. This group included Katherine Reeves (Metropolitan), Sarah Simmonds (West Midlands), Janine Brown (British Transport Police), Jessica Turnbull (Gloucestershire) Natalie Farrow (Humberside) and Diane Lauder (Lothian & Borders). By the end of the first lap Turnbull had taken control of the race and led the women into their second lap by some 20- 30 metres. Simmonds was giving chase in second place with Brown in third. These positions remained unchanged to the finish, Turnbull taking the Championships in a time of 33mins 55secs, for the first time in eight years. With places up for grabs to represent PSUK in the USPE Cross-Country Championships in Vichey, Reeves ran strongly to finish fourth, Lauder finishing fifth and Amanda Purser (Hampshire) finishing sixth overall and taking the leading Vets Championship. All first six finishers were later selected to represent PSUK in the European Championships. Other top performances came from Kate Armstrong (Cambridgeshire), Kendra White (Cleveland) and Gaby Waring (North Wales) who won their respective age categories. The Metropolitan ladies retained the overall Championship team title, with Gloucestershire taking the Minor Forces team title and the Metropolitan taking the Veterans team title. In the men’s race, David Mitchinson (Hertfordshire), making his first championship appearance as a police officer, was in control of the race by the time the men had reached the start of the first climb up to the Grotto. Mitchinson was followed by Steve Rhys-Jones (Hampshire) and Ben Whitby (City of London) who in turn were being chased by a group which included Steve Cairns (Lothian & Borders), Darrel May ( Hampshire), Peter Tucker (Metropolitan), Richard Gardner (South Wales), Ian Wetherall ( V40 – Cheshire), Malcolm Fowler ( V45 - Cheshire), Ben Gamble (Staffordshire) and Darren Riley ( V40 - West Midlands). By the end of the first lap Mitchinson had established a good lead over Rhys- Jones in Second and Whitby in third. May was chasing in fourth, with Gardner in fifth and Tucker in sixth. Over the final two laps Mitchinson extended his lead over Rhys-Jones who in turn extended his lead over Whitby. Mitchinson took the title in 38mins 31secs. May ran strongly to finish fourth, with Tucker taking Gardner on the final lap to finish fifth and Gardner finished sixth. Of the first six finishers, Mitchinson, Rhys-Jones, Whitby and Tucker gained automatic selection for the European Championships. May who is a Police Community Support Officer was not eligible for selection and Gardner did not wish to be considered. The final two discretionary places for the Europeans were awarded to Martin Williams (West Midlands) and Steve Cairns. Not too far behind the first six, Fowler finished eighth overall, first Vets 45, with Wetherall finishing two places behind to take the Vets 40 category and Riley taking second. Des Michael (Hertfordshire) had a very good run finishing just in front of Mick Bond (Essex) both winning their respective age categories. With Eddie Murfin (Lincolnshire) winning the Vets 60 prize. Just like their female colleagues, the Metropolitan retained the overall Championship team title, with Cheshire taking the Veterans team title and Northamptonshire taking the Minor Forces team title. Lancashire Team Lancashire turned out a good team of male and female runners with respectable times from the men. The women did very well in achieving the 3rd Veteran 35+ team title. Jools Ready (Northern, Sue Harrison (HQ) and Jade Leeson (Northern) were later presented glass trophies by ex-Lancashire chief officer, Chief Constable of Gwent, Michael Tonge. Results Men's Race  Men's Open
1st | David Mitchinson | 38:31 | Hertfordshire | 2nd | Steve Rhys-Jones | 39:28 | Hampshire | 3rd | Benedict Whitby | 40:13 | City of London |
Men's Veteran 40+ 1st | Ian Wetherall | 44:04 | Cheshire | 2nd | Darren Riley | 44:19 | West Midlands | 3rd | Steve Cairns | 45:28 | Lothian & Borders |
Men's Veteran 45+ 1st | Malcolm Fowler | 43:39 | Cheshire | 2nd | Tony Caulton | 47:02 | Derbyshire | 3rd | Mark Evans | 49:09 | GMP |
Men's Veteran 50+ 1st | Mick Bond | 48:45 | Essex | 2nd | Dave McMillan | 49:13 | Derbyshire | 3rd | Pete Gray | 50:52 | Northamptonshire |
Men's Veteran's 55+ 1st | Des Michael | 48:41 | Hertfordshire | 2nd | Mathew Hand | 56:37 | Dyfed Powys | 3rd | Ian Cooper | 58:46 | West Mercia |
Teams - Men Men's Team Open 1st | Metropolitan | | 2nd | Hampshire | | 3rd | Cheshire | |
Men's Teams - Veteran 1st | Cheshire | | 2nd | Lothian & Borders | | 3rd | Metropolitan | |
Men's Minor Forces Teams 1st | Northamptonshire | | 2nd | Norfolk | | 3rd | Central Scotland | |
Women's Race Women's Open 1st | Jessica Turnbull | 33:55 | Gloucestershire | 2nd | Sarah Simmons | 34:10 | West Midlands | 3rd | Janine Brown | 34:28 | BTP |
Women's Veteran 35+ 1st | Amanda Purser | 35:18 | Hampshire | 2nd | Andrea Pickup | 36.21 | Metropolitan | 3rd | Kate Swanson | 36:26 | City of London |
Women's Veteran 40+ 1st | Kendra White | 36:58 | Cleveland | 2nd | Tracey Marshall | 40:49 | West Yorkshire | 3rd | Diane Hamilton | 41:13 | Derbyshire |
Women's Veteran 45+ 1st | Kate Armstrong | 35:54 | Cambridgeshire | 2nd | Grace Palmer | 39:09 | Staffordshire | 3rd | Katrina Kemp | 39:15 | Leicestershire |
Women's Veteran 50+ 1st | Gaby Waring | 41:55 | North Wales | 2nd | Judy Mills | 42:20 | Avon & Somerset | 3rd | Heather Mitchell | 43:34 | West Yorkshire |
Teams - Women Women's Open Teams 1st | Metropolitan | | 2nd | Lothian & Borders | | 3rd | Hampshire | |
Women's Veteran Teams 1st | Metropolitan | | | 2nd | Devon & Cornwall | | | 3rd | Lancashire | | |
Women's Minor Forces 1st | Gloucestershire | | 2nd | Fife | | 3rd | Cambridgeshire | |
Full Individual and Team Results Men's Results | | | | | | Pos. | Name | Force | Vet | Time | 1 | MITCHINSON David | HERTS | - | 38:31:00 | 2 | RHYS-JONES Steve | HAMPSHIRE | - | 39:28:00 | 3 | WHITBY Ben | City London | - | 40:13:00 | 4 | MAY Darrel | HAMPSHIRE | - | 41:12:00 | 5 | TUCKER Peter | MET | - | 41:46:00 | 6 | GARDNER Richard | S WALES | - | 42:21:00 | 7 | GAMBLE Ben | STAFFS | - | 43:27:00 | 8 | FOWLER Malcolm | CHESHIRE | V45 | 43:39:00 | 9 | PETERS Rhys | MET | - | 43:48:00 | 10 | WETHERALL Ian | CHESHIRE | V40 | 44:04:00 | 11 | RILEY Darren | WEST MIDS | V40 | 44:19:00 | 12 | RAINSCOURT Daniel | HAMPSHIRE | - | 44:48:00 | 13 | BROWN James | MET | - | 44:52:00 | 14 | NEWTON Simon | WEST YORKS | - | 44:57:00 | 15 | PACKER Leigh | MET | - | 45:06:00 | 16 | FREE Karl | MET | - | 45:07:00 | 17 | CAIRNS Steve | LOTHIAN & B | V40 | 45:28:00 | 18 | CARDY Paul | HAMPSHIRE | - | 45:44:00 | 19 | WYATT Paul | MET | - | 45:55:00 | 20 | JOPSON Andrew | ESSEX | - | 46:48:00 | 21 | HEYES Guy | GMP | - | 46:49:00 | 22 | COOPER Jim | MET | - | 46:52:00 | 23 | TURNER Richard | BTP | - | 47:00:00 | 24 | CAULTON Tony | DERBYSHIRE | V45 | 47:02:00 | 25 | PENNY Mark | KENT | - | 47:06:00 | 26 | HALL Dave | West Mercia | - | 47:18:00 | 27 | JONES Stephen | Norfolk | - | 47:33:00 | 28 | SOWERBY Adrian | Cumbria | V40 | 47:35:00 | 29 | QUINN Carl | WEST YORKS | - | 47:38:00 | 30 | BUNN Sean | Northants | V40 | 47:44:00 | 31 | ROSE Harvey | WEST MIDS | - | 47:48:00 | 32 | DOOLEY Leigh | MET | - | 47:56:00 | 33 | MURTAGH Peter | PSNI | V40 | 48:08:00 | 34 | HARVEY Michael | Fife | V40 | 48:12:00 | 35 | WOODRIDGE Peter | MET | - | 48:19:00 | 36 | WELCH Russ | ESSEX | - | 48:31:00 | 37 | MICHAEL Des | HERTS | V55 | 48:41:00 | 38 | BOND Mick | ESSEX | V50 | 48:45:00 | 39 | BEDELL Nigel | WEST YORKS | V40 | 48:53:00 | 40 | DALE Nick | WEST MIDS | - | 48:58:00 | 41 | BROOKS Mike | LOTHIAN & B | V40 | 48:59:00 | 42 | HARRINGTON Mike | CHESHIRE | - | 49:02:00 | 43 | EVANS Mark | GMP | V45 | 49:09:00 | 44 | McMILLAN Dave | DERBYSHIRE | V50 | 49:13:00 | 45 | WILSON Steve | MET | - | 49:16:00 | 46 | ROBERTSON Myles | CHESHIRE | V40 | 49:17:00 | 47 | MERAYD Miguel | Central Scot | - | 49:31:00 | 48 | SHARPE Nick | SURREY | - | 49:32:00 | 49 | CHEEK Chris | WEST MIDS | - | 49:35:00 | 50 | JONES Craig | North Wales | - | 49:41:00 | 51 | PRETTY John | STRATH | - | 49:48:00 | 52 | SIMPSON Derek | Central Scot | - | 49:54:00 | 53 | GRIFFITHS Kevin | Dyfed Powys | - | 49:57:00 | 54 | HARDING Rob | MET | V40 | 50:01:00 | 55 | GODDARD Simon | HAMPSHIRE | - | 50:11:00 | 56 | ROWE Nigel | MET | V40 | 50:18:00 | 57 | BLAIZE Andy | Northants | - | 50:23:00 | 58 | FURSEY Bob | KENT | V40 | 50:32:00 | 59 | HARBON Richard | HERTS | V45 | 50:37:00 | 60 | DUTTON Neil | WEST YORKS | - | 50:39:00 | 61 | NELSON Dennis | LANCASHIRE | V40 | 50:44:00 | 62 | FULTON Dave | GMP | V40 | 50:48:00 | 63 | COCKRELL Steven | Norfolk | - | 50:49:00 | 64 | CURTIS Paul | KENT | V40 | 50:51:00 | 65 | GRAY Pete | Northants | V50 | 50:52:00 | 66 | McGRATH John | SUSSEX | V40 | 50:55:00 | 67 | MILLER James | Gloucs | - | 51:05:00 | 68 | DINWOODIE Stuart | Wiltshire | V45 | 51:08:00 | 69 | PARKER Matt | MET | V40 | 51:09:00 | 70 | PHILLIPS Carwyn | Dyfed Powys | - | 51:15:00 | 71 | DUDFIELD Stuart | Gloucs | - | 51:30:00 | 72 | SLOAN Neil | Cambs | - | 51:55:00 | 73 | FLECK Steve | THAMES VAL | V45 | 52:00:00 | 74 | CREECH Stuart | AVON & SOM | - | 52:08:00 | 75 | PHILIP Gavin | LOTHIAN & B | V40 | 52:15:00 | 76 | USHER Wayne | Gloucs | - | 52:27:00 | 77 | WEDGE Iain | CHESHIRE | - | 52:37:00 | 78 | JONES Stuart | GMP | V45 | 52:38:00 | 79 | PRYTHERCH Tom | North Wales | - | 52:40:00 | 80 | LYCETT Paul | WEST YORKS | V45 | 52:42:00 | 81 | BROOKS Tim | DEVON & C | - | 52:46:00 | 82 | CLARKE Paul | Dyfed Powys | - | 52:59:00 | 83 | LELLIOT Steve | KENT | V40 | 53:04:00 | 84 | MOGRIDGE Russ | DEVON & C | V45 | 53:07:00 | 85 | GRIFFIN Mike | DEVON & C | V45 | 53:13:00 | 86 | DUNNE Carl | WEST MIDS | - | 53:14:00 | 87 | ZOLLER Gary | Norfolk | V40 | 53:17:00 | 88 | SORRELL Dan | ESSEX | - | 53:18:00 | 89 | WEIR Nick | Central Scot | - | 53:18:00 | 90 | WOOD Dave | ESSEX | V40 | 53:19:00 | 91 | COOK Nigel | KENT | V40 | 53:20:00 | 92 | MEZZETTI Joey | Norfolk | - | 53:25:00 | 93 | LAKELAND Andy | S YORKS | - | 53:29:00 | 94 | STEIN Jim | DEVON & C | V40 | 53:32:00 | 95 | WALKER Derek | ESSEX | - | 53:33:00 | 96 | PRICE Tony | WEST MIDS | V45 | 53:43:00 | 97 | MOODY Adrian | KENT | V45 | 53:56:00 | 98 | RAYFIELD Dave | Northants | V40 | 54:03:00 | 99 | NEWSON Roger | KENT | V50 | 54:08:00 | 100 | WHITE Tony | CHESHIRE | - | 54:10:00 | 101 | AULD Alun | STRATH | - | 54:15:00 | 102 | BRANSTON Michael | Cambs | - | 54:21:00 | 103 | WILLIS Ken | Northants | V50 | 54:29:00 | 104 | GRAHAM Rod | LANCASHIRE | V45 | 54:30:00 | 105 | ROGERS Michael | Northants | - | 54:38:00 | 106 | HARRIS Mark | MET | V45 | 54:47:00 | 107 | JOHNSON Paul | LANCASHIRE | V50 | 54:49:00 | 108 | JAMES Simon | DEVON & C | V40 | 55:00:00 | 109 | WOOD Dave | Gloucs | V40 | 55:03:00 | 110 | DIFFEY John | S WALES | V40 | 55:21:00 | 111 | PITCHER Del | DERBYSHIRE | - | 55:23:00 | 112 | FOSTER-TURNER J | Gloucs | V40 | 55:27:00 | 113 | OSBORN Mark | HUMBERSIDE | - | 55:28:00 | 114 | JACKSON Paul | Gwent | V40 | 55:29:00 | 115 | LAURIE Steven | LOTHIAN & B | - | 55:31:00 | 116 | LAWTON Bryan | GMP | V40 | 55:34:00 | 117 | BURNETT Paul | HUMBERSIDE | - | 55:38:00 | 118 | HANSON Chris | WEST MIDS | - | 55:44:00 | 119 | BAGGOTT Ian | DEVON & C | V40 | 55:47:00 | 120 | MALINSON Richard | WEST MIDS | - | 55:51:00 | 121 | OTTER Paul | DEVON & C | - | 55:57:00 | 122 | BENTLEY Jim | GMP | V50 | 56:04:00 | 123 | WHITT Graham | NOTTS | - | 56:13:00 | 124 | HAND Matthew | Dyfed Powys | V55 | 56:37:00 | 125 | SCOTT Colin | STRATH | - | 56:39:00 | 126 | MALLOY Duncan | LEICS | V40 | 56:44:00 | 127 | MITCHELL David | STRATH | V50 | 56:46:00 | 128 | CHERRY Paul | SUSSEX | V40 | 56:56:00 | 129 | ROWELL Nick | DEVON & C | - | 56:57:00 | 130 | MAWDESLEY Ian | NORTHUMBRIA | - | 57:19:00 | 131 | POOLMAN Ian | Fife | - | 57:20:00 | 132 | TAYLOR Iain | Central Scot | - | 57:25:00 | 133 | BUTTLEMAN Jim | HERTS | V40 | 57:28:00 | 134 | KAY Graham | DEVON & C | V50 | 57:37:00 | 135 | PURSEY John | Gwent | - | 57:41:00 | 136 | RICHARDS Kevin | DEVON & C | V40 | 57:44:00 | 137 | PAGE James | AVON & SOM | - | 57:46:00 | 138 | ROBERTS Jason | Wiltshire | - | 57:49:00 | 139 | KYTE Steve | NORTHUMBRIA | V40 | 57:55:00 | 140 | WRIGHT Andy | GMP | V45 | 57:58:00 | 141 | RICKMAN Anthony | HAMPSHIRE | - | 58:00:00 | 142 | GODFREY Paul | Wiltshire | V40 | 58:08:00 | 143 | WILLIAMS Paul | AVON & SOM | V40 | 58:10:00 | 144 | ALLSOPP Adrian | WEST MIDS | V45 | 58:12:00 | 145 | BROWN Nick | North Wales | V45 | 58:17:00 | 146 | SNALAM Derek | LANCASHIRE | V50 | 58:27:00 | 147 | COOPER Ian | West Mercia | V55 | 58:46:00 | 148 | FROST Barry | DEVON & C | V45 | 58:43:00 | 149 | SLEVIN Martin | WEST MIDS | V40 | 58:44:00 | 150 | MILLS Bob | WEST MIDS | V50 | 58:44:00 | 151 | PRICE Ashley | Dyfed Powys | - | 58:49:00 | 152 | BACKHOUSE Ade | STAFFS | V40 | 58:55:00 | 153 | GIBBONS Danny | THAMES VAL | V45 | 58:56:00 | 154 | McDERMOTT Ross | Norfolk | - | 58:57:00 | 155 | COLEMAN Jamie | Norfolk | - | 59:02:00 | 156 | MANSON Alan | Central Scot | V40 | 59:12:00 | 157 | MERIFIELD Peter | WEST YORKS | V45 | 59:22:00 | 158 | CORNS Gary | GMP | - | 59:24:00 | 159 | COX Nigel | AVON & SOM | V45 | 59:25:00 | 160 | BALDING Terry | ESSEX | - | 59:28:00 | 161 | PARSONS Frank | HERTS | V50 | 59:28:00 | 162 | CHAMPION Stuart | KENT | V40 | 59:35:00 | 163 | STEVEN Robert | LOTHIAN & B | V40 | 59:41:00 | 164 | PRICE Kerry | Gwent | V45 | 59:46:00 | 165 | BECKETT Chris | STAFFS | V45 | 01:00:02 | 166 | BENNETT Ashley | SUSSEX | - | 01:00:06 | 167 | McGRATH John | MET | V40 | 01:00:12 | 168 | SPENCER Lee | CHESHIRE | - | 01:00:14 | 169 | LUCAS Peter | City London | - | 01:00:16 | 170 | STEER Dave | Dyfed Powys | V40 | 01:00:18 | 171 | GILLIAN Stevie | LOTHIAN & B | - | 01:00:21 | 172 | TEW Adrian | Gwent | V45 | 01:00:22 | 173 | DYSON Graham | WEST YORKS | V40 | 01:00:30 | 174 | MORLEY-TRAPNELL R | DEVON & C | V40 | 01:00:35 | 175 | LANSDOWN Ian | Wiltshire | V40 | 01:00:37 | 176 | QUAEY Charles | ESSEX | V40 | 01:00:41 | 177 | BARNARD Stuart | Norfolk | - | 01:00:42 | 178 | PATON Douglas | LOTHIAN & B | V40 | 01:00:46 | 179 | FORTUNE Phill | STAFFS | - | 01:00:53 | 180 | KNIGHT Malcolm | AVON & SOM | V55 | 01:00:55 | 181 | EVANS Julian | DEVON & C | - | 01:01:02 | 182 | BOYD Grant | AVON & SOM | - | 01:01:14 | 183 | BANKS Alex | HAMPSHIRE | V45 | 01:01:18 | 184 | BROADBENT Steve | LANCASHIRE | V45 | 01:01:26 | 185 | HARVEY Tony | North Wales | - | 01:01:28 | 186 | JEZZARD Ian | ESSEX | - | 01:01:29 | 187 | HOLDEN Craig | Wiltshire | - | 01:01:30 | 188 | BOWRON Mike | City London | V50 | 01:01:36 | 189 | FROST Jon | SUSSEX | V45 | 01:01:36 | 190 | McGILL Alan | DERBYSHIRE | V45 | 01:01:39 | 191 | REYNOLDS Graham | DEVON & C | V40 | 01:01:42 | 192 | RUSSELL Kevin | S WALES | V40 | 01:01:44 | 193 | OSBOURNE Remi | City London | - | 01:01:54 | 194 | NELLIES Gordon | Fife | V45 | 01:02:20 | 195 | ALTOFT Stuart | HUMBERSIDE | V40 | 01:02:26 | 196 | JOHNS Ross | WEST MIDS | V45 | 01:02:34 | 197 | CONDON Jon | AVON & SOM | V40 | 01:02:37 | 198 | BRISTOW Richard | S WALES | V40 | 01:02:41 | 199 | LANE Gary | ESSEX | - | 01:02:52 | 200 | SMITH Mike | S YORKS | - | 01:02:57 | 201 | GOVAN Andy | Central Scot | V45 | 01:02:57 | 202 | PEARSON Don | DEVON & C | V50 | 01:03:02 | 203 | LING Jim | ESSEX | V45 | 01:03:09 | 204 | WHITE Nick | KENT | - | 01:03:16 | 205 | SNEDDON Bill | LOTHIAN & B | V40 | 01:03:20 | 206 | DONALDSON Andy | Lincolnshire | - | 01:03:20 | 207 | DALEY Ged | LANCASHIRE | V40 | 01:03:34 | 208 | JACKSON Ian | DERBYSHIRE | V40 | 01:03:47 | 209 | PLUMB Steven | LEICS | V40 | 01:04:16 | 210 | MAHWOOD Robert | S YORKS | V40 | 01:04:19 | 211 | HALL Malcolm | DEVON & C | V50 | 01:04:19 | 212 | MURFIN Eddie | Lincolnshire | V60 | 01:04:28 | 213 | SALMON Matt | Wiltshire | - | 01:04:34 | 214 | HAZELL Stuart | AVON & SOM | V40 | 01:04:38 | 215 | SAYERS Andrew | AVON & SOM | V60 | 01:04:56 | 216 | WILLIAMS Andrew | Gwent | - | 01:04:56 | 217 | BAKER Dru | Central Scot | - | 01:05:19 | 218 | ELLIS Craig | Gwent | - | 01:05:34 | 219 | CAINEY Rob | AVON & SOM | V40 | 01:05:37 | 220 | LOFTUS Kevin | DERBYSHIRE | V45 | 01:05:46 | 221 | PEELO Tony | HAMPSHIRE | V55 | 01:05:49 | 222 | THOMPSON Mark | Wiltshire | V40 | 01:05:51 | 223 | MacKENZIE John | ESSEX | V50 | 01:05:53 | 224 | ROULSTON Greg | HAMPSHIRE | V50 | 01:05:55 | 225 | BRIER Chris | HAMPSHIRE | V50 | 01:06:02 | 226 | O'BRIEN Liam | North Wales | V45 | 01:06:09 | 227 | BRYAN Pete | ESSEX | V50 | 01:06:26 | 228 | HOGARTH Paul | City London | V40 | 01:06:41 | 229 | PARKER Andy | STAFFS | V60 | 01:06:49 | 230 | WRONA Taj | Wiltshire | V40 |
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