Hallamshire Harriers old and young dominate at South Yorkshire Cross Country Championship

The steep hills and thick slippery mud of the park proved tough for the 500 plus runners taking part.

The men led off proceedings with Hallamshire taking up more than half the top 20 placings, to comfortably take the team prize. Chris Law led home the men in second place with Evan Brown third and John Birch fourth. Tom Bailey also won the V40 title.

The women also performed strongly with Eve Pannone finishing a strong third and Nicola Squires finished first V35 in an excellent ninth place. After the senior races the course became increasingly churned up, but Hallamshire continued to lead. Euan Patton took a dominant victory in the U17 boys race. Jonah Cooper repeated the feat, winning the U15 boys.

The younger Hallamshire runners were even more dominant. The U13 boys claimed four of the first five places. Brothers Tom and Joe Thake led the boys home, in first and second respectively.

The youngest U11 runners book ended a fine day for Sheffield’s oldest club with Max Taylor taking the title. Not be outdone, the U11 girls also won their team competition. Jessica Thake won individual gold.

Further afield, Lauren Hayes competed for the GB women’s team at the European Cross Country Championship and won a team gold medal less than a year after giving birth to her first child.

The next major cross country fixture will be the Yorkshire Championship, taking place at Kiveton Park on January 8.