The Only Way In Essex

Last weekend the DAB&G clubs travelled to Essex to compete in the National Associations cross country championships. Qualifiers for the county team had been selected from the county champs, held in Birtley in December. The Team had representatives from Birtley, Derwentside, Sunderland, Houghton and Phoenix Fliers.
With a Harrier League on the same day, a lot of older athletes understandably decided on that event. This did not undermine the enthusiasm of our u/11 and u/13 athletes to travel and compete. A bus load of 50 left Birtley on Friday evening travelling down to our hotel in Peterboro for an overnight stay. After a not too early breakfast we had a couple of hours travel down to Upminster in Essex. The team arrived in good spirits ready to battle against the strong winds and the opposition.
As usual the Durham squad performed well in all the races with all Birtley athletes bringing home medals as follows:
u/11 girls
1st Maggie Graham and team gold
2nd Daisy Graham and team gold
3rd Amy Dodds and team gold
Terri Bauma team silver.
u/11 boys
3rd Matthew Drummond and team gold
Lewis Watson team silver
u/13 boys
1st George Beevers and team gold
u/15 boys
2nd Rowan Mason
Well done to all Birtley athletes and the rest of the Durham team some great performances and excellent behaviour throughout. I hope you all enjoyed the experience and look forward to seeing you at Ramside Hall later in the year.
Ed Lown