Another wet weekend...

...but that didn't dampen the spirits of our young athletes, who threw themselves into the DABGC XC Champs with enthusiasm on a damp Sunday morning. The event was well attended by several local clubs including Low Fell and Houghton, and the wet and muddy course proved to be quite a challenge for many of the youngsters, some of whom were having their first taste of cross country (though hopefully not their last!). 
Well done to the Birtley u11 boys team who were victorious on the day (apologies if other Birtley teams also won, I wasn't there yesterday and there are no results posted yet - please let me know if I need to include more teams!)
Many thanks to the stalwart volunteers, without whom the event couldn't have happened - your help is greatly appreciated by the club and by those who participated.

Saturday also some some cross country action, this time the prestigious National XC Relay Champs, which took place at Mansfield. The following report is by Tommy Millmore:-
National Cross Country Relays, Mansfield, 2nd November 2019
Despite only 3 Team Birtley athletes travelling to Mansfield to race in an incomplete Senior Men’s team, there were still good performances and experience gained by mixing with the best in the country. The conditions were very wet and muddy, an added bonus to an already good course.
Tom Goulding went off 1st and after a solid leg came back in 48th then Greg Poulton was next showing continued progress with his racing returning in 55th position, Adrian Bailes took on the 3rd leg and moved through the field to 37th, and with 161 full teams finishing, surely with another 4th athlete the team would have been top 50 (not too bad for a small club on the National stage, although that’s all hindsight).
Well done you three, and I’m sure you’ve gained from the experience.
Oh and 1st incomplete team, as Adrian says “we’ll take that”!!