West Norfolk youngsters scoop county team accolade

It was time for off-roading running on Sunday as the Norfolk County Cross-country Championships took place at Eaton Park in Norwich.Eaton Park makes for a tough cross-county running at the best of times, so the freezing temperatures and driving rain made for very tricky conditions for all the brave athletes and organisers involved.In the U11 boy’s race (2.1K), James Watts transferred his 2024 success into 2025 as he finished joint first with an impressive 7:05 to become joint county champion.Liam Allitt, Arthur Hollingsworth and Jacob Green also had very impressive performances on the day with all running at their best form lately over the 2.1k very tough course – Allitt in ninth place with 7:56, Hollingsworth 19th with 8:33 and eight-year-old Green running sub ten with 9:49 for 31st.Each race has a team element too with the first three for each club being eligible for a team award – and for what we believe is the first time in a long time, the West Norfolk Athletic Club team brought home gold, making Watts, Allitt and Hollingsworth county champions.In the girl’s race over the same distance, Lauren Lawrence was placed seventh running 8:50, improving her county schools place by one from late 24.Another talented member of the Watts family, Jessica Watts, ran 9:03 and was placed 12th in the girl’s race, again improving her county school’s place by eight places and running bravely. Dana Bishop, a newer member of WNAC continued her great progression to finish with a time of 9:57 and was placed 23rd with her customary strong run and brilliant second half. The girls only narrowly missed out on being on the podium for the team award with just 15 seconds between them and the bronze medal – a fantastic achievement for them all.West Norfolk only had one member in the U13 category, over 3.2k, but Casey Ward held her own as usual.Ward showcased another impressive run, putting her dedication in training to practice and was placed fifth in the girl’s race running a time of 12:35 The U15 boys ran a course of 4.6k with the terrain starting to churn after rain and multiple races beforehand.In what were two outstanding performances, Thomas Murray was first home and was placed second, running a fantastic 14:51 with clubmate Ethan Ward just behind for third place and a time of 14:57. Both boys showed some physical and mental strength to get themselves on the podium in what is a hotly fought race.In the girls’ race, Jessica Lawrence (who also ran a road 10k days earlier) was placed an impressive sixth, completing the 3.2k course in 19:40. Olivia Ord was placed eighth, running a strong 20:21.This was another wonderful showcase from West Norfolk’s young athletes, many placing high up across all categories and all athletes having strong runs in very difficult conditions.The seniors competed over 10k and it was definitely becoming the mudbath by this point, with a downpour of rain not long after the race commenced.Chris Elmer was first over the line for the club in the senior’s race, running 36:25, placing 18th in his age group, swiftly followed by 19th in the same group for Oliver Foxwell, making his debut for the club, with a strong 37.23. Dominic Marray-Woods who was running in U20 category which took place at the same time as the seniors race, was placed 11th U20 male, running a time of 37:42, with his usual determination on the course.Benjamin Collison was placed 44th, coming back after injury in 2024, looking strong running a time of 38:03.Ben Foxwell also had a great run over the winding and muddy course with 43:27.Well done to all the athletes at the county championships which is always a tough race and highly competitive so there were fantastic performances all round.