Conditions at the third fixture of the Suffolk Winter Cross Country League were not particularly promising for the runners at Haughley Park, Stowmarket. It was cold and wet, whilst conditions underfoot were extremely muddy in places. The undulating course also proved to be very arduous, with runners having to run over a very mixed terrain of twisting woodland paths, and open parkland spaces, as well as having to contend with the usual hazards of tree roots.
Waveney Valley Athletic Club numbers were slightly down from the previous two meetings, owing to unavailability of several members, but the seniors still fielded a very strong squad of thirty-eight runners, An all round solid team performance despite the challenging conditions, saw not only the A team maintaining their top spot in the league, but also the B and C teams.
Lee Cook put in his best performance of the season, crossing the line in 4th place with his time of 33:01. Dominic Oliver, who has consistently finished in the top ten, registered 33:26 in 7th place overall. It was great to see Chris Jones back in a Waveney vest, now based in London, where he competes for Harrow A.C., but he started his interest in athletics with Waveney and was keen to compete for his old club in some cross country fixtures, he put in a strong finish to clock 34:17 in 11th place. Jay Lingwood, Dylan Neeve, Richard Moore and Mark Thompson all packed in well to finish in the top 26 placing’s. Richard Moore’s fine run secured him top spot in the V50 age group.
Other notable performances, Chris Pimlott, Martin Horlock and Lloyd Scriven all finished in the top 50 placing’s. Karim Ouaddane despite falling, which resulted in him cutting his leg, still managed to record a creditable time of 38:15 in crossing the line in 57th place.
In the ladies section Rose Nicholson was first home for the club, she finished in 78th place overall and third in the senior ladies age group with her time of 39:06. Ann Millett took second place in the V60’s in finishing in 235th place overall with 47:58.

Senior results:Fourth Lee Cook, 33:01. Seventh Dominic Oliver, 33:26. 11th Chris Jones 34:17. 22nd Jay Lingwood, 35:33. 24th Dylan Neeve, 35:47. 25th Richard Moore, 35:50 (1st V50). 26th Mark Thompson (V40), 35:56. 35th Chris Pimlott (V40) 36:37. 42nd Martin Horlock (V40) 37:35. 49th Lloyd Scriven (V40) 37:51.56th Daniel Harris, 38:11. 57th Karim Ouaddane (V50). 38:15. 58th Graham Watering (V40) 38:16. 69th Tim Earl, 38:49. 78th Rose Nicholson, 39:06. 84th Paul Sullivan, (V50) 39:25.88th Liam Nudd, 39:46. 103rd Peter Andrews, (V45) 40:56. 108th Jon Comyn, 41:17.111th Wayne Freeman (2nd V55) 41:20. 117th Paul Wright (V40) 41:39. 121st Robert Milner 41:44. 124th Leon Neeve 41:52,127th Tim Moore, 42:02. 143rd Colin Galer, 42:58.148th Nigel Herrod (3rd V55), 43:04. 161st Mike Illingworth (V45) 44:01.167th Jason Browne (V40) 44:16. 187th David Mower, (V60) 45:16. 204th Bill Kingaby, (V60) 46:08. 228th David Lewis 47:45. 235th Ann Millett (2nd V60) 47:58. 247th Steve Gibbs (V50) 48:57.
249th Elies Mann (V40) 49:05. 265th Simon Stevens (V45) 49:59.282nd Karle Howard (V45), 51:07. 304th Sarah Norman (V35) 53:01. 330th Stuart Smith (V55) 55:46.
St. Edmund Pacers will host the next race in the series, which will be held at Nowton Park, on Sunday 19th February.