Bedford AC pipped to medals again at national cross-country championships

At an extremely muddy and windswept Wollaton Park in Nottingham, hopes were high in the Bedford camp that their team could at least pocket a medal or even regain the title they won for the first time in 2014.

With ten of their best 12 athletes on show, including six former and current internationals, the team was close to full strength. And early on, most of them figured in the top 80 of a field of more than 1,700 runners.

However, as the race wore on, early optimism faded as the runners struggled in the horrendous underfoot consitions, and injuries forced three of them, Aaron Scott, Matt Bergin and Josh Lunn, to withdraw.

Bedford still managed some fine individual performances, with Dan Jarvis finishing a magnificent sixth, Jack Goodwin 26th, the veteran of the squad, 41-year-old Darren Deed, 52nd, Ben Alcock 62nd, John Eves 65th and, completing the points scoring, Will Mackay in 91st.

But even though they amassed 302 points, they had to be content with fourth position overall, edged out of the medals, just as they were in 2019, by Bristol AC. Bedford were only five points behind Bristol, and only 32 points covered second to fifth.

The club’s U20 men’s team, spearheaded by James Minter in 22nd place, also finished fourth, while in the U14 boys’ race, Cameron Barnes was an excellent fifth.

Elsewhere, high-jumper Gracie Wall won the U15s’ title at the England Athletics Indoor Championships in Sheffield and now tops the national rankings.