Duo triumph in senior races at the UK Cross Challenge final in Nottingham on Saturday.
Wollaton Hall was again pressed into service for the UK Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships which, in the case of the men, celebrated 100 years of competition. In the senior races James Kingston and Jess Gibbon came out on top, but Saturday (March 7) saw athletes in multiple age groups battling for UK Cross Challenge honours.
The racing began with a para-athletes’ event, but where just nine males and one girl competed, plus the under 11 events, over a course devoid of mud. There, just 25 boys and 16 girls finished, leaving many to doubt the wisdom of having that age group at this level.
Senior men
Theirs was the final race of the day and it was Kingston who did most of the pace-making although Jacob Cann also showed in front at the end of the first 2km short lap.
There, it was tight after a dozen or so runners soon opened up a gap on the rest but pressure from Kingston soon showed and, after three laps and 7km into the four-lap race, it was down to just two as Cann was the only taker.
Richard Slade was up with the lead mid-race but was 50-metres down and eventual fourth placer McMillan a further 80 metres going into the last lap. His Yorkshire took the team gold medals.
Kingston said: “I think I did most of the work and after 12 weeks of 100 miles a week, you know you are strong.”
He then then mused on his loss to Hugo Milner in the English National at Sedgefield saying that he was “disappointed” to lose but added: “I now have six medals from National and Inter-Counties in the last few years.”
Today’s Inter-Counties win added to the 24-year-old’s English title back in 2023 and silver and bronzes in the same two events.
Kingston finished by saying: “I will have a down week and then go for the (road) relays.”
Men: 1 J Kingston (Kent) 29:15; 2 J Cann (Sx) 29:32; 3 R Slade (Bucks) 30:02; 4 A McMillan (Yorks) 30;17; 5 E Buck (Notts) 30:33; 6 C Charleston (Ex) 30:37
TEAM (6 to score): 1 Yorks194; 2 Surrey 217; 3 N East 258; 5 N Ireland 261; 5 Lincolnshire 336; 6 G Manchester 384
TEAM (9 to score): 1 N East 520; 2 Lincolnshire 785; 3 G Manchester 787
Senior women
Gibbon comfortably retained her senior women’s title and did so in similar fashion to last year, although the finishing margin of victory was smaller.
The Reading 29-year-old was content to sit in a three-person pack along with Eleanor Curran and Niamh Bridson-Hubbard before cutting loose on the final lap.
Earlier, Kate O’Neill had been along for the ride but soon lost contact.
These three seemed to take it in turns at the front but it was holder Gibbon who looked most at ease.
Then, as in 2025, it was a final lap effort that yielded victory over Curran and Bridson-Hubbard.
Gibbon then reflected on her fourth spot in the English National: “I had convinced myself that I had an injury and didn’t do so well in the National, which was a bit of a roller-coaster, but I didn’t.”
Then talking about the Inter-Counties, added: “I feel like I’m good at these races and like the purity of cross-country.”
Back in an isolated fourth spot, for much of the race, Niamh Brown led a complete Surrey team domination, as the yellow vets closed their scoring six home in the top 30 positions as the rest of the counties were merely also-rans more than 200 points down.
Women: 1 J Gibbon (Oxon) 27:26; 2 E Curran (Leeds) 27:33; 3 N Bridson-Hubbard (Kent) 27:36; 4 N Brown (Surrey) 28:06; 5 K O’Neill (Ex) 28:21; 6 R Roberts (NI) 28:26
TEAM: 1 Surrey 100; 2 N I 303; 3 Yorkshire 307; 4 N East 327; 5 Lancashire 328; 6 Cornwall 333
Young athletes (male)
Many favourites took home gold medals and the first of the recognised Inter-Counties events away was the junior men’s event where Alex Lennon took the gold.
The early leader was Yorkshire’s Jack Sanderson as 11 runners had broken clear after two miles but the group soon dwindled before it was just Lennon and Sanderson left to contest the third and final lap.
Lennon then sprinted up the final hill towards the famous Wollaton Hall before a celebratory run down to the finish and victory for the Surrey 17-year-old, who won the under-17 event here last year.
He was only competing in his third race of the year after a trip out to the World Cross and a 14:22 in the Podium 5km road race eight days earlier.
Talking about the early pace, Lennon said: “It was going out too slow,” before things began to split up. On the course he added that it was, in fact, “sticky in places.”
Back in third, Jack Sanderson led a Scottish one-two in the team competition as Scotland West headed Scotland East ahead of Lennon’s Surrey.
Another race where the favourite prevailed was the under-17 men’s event where English National champion Rory Barclay-Watt again handed out a defeat to Joseph Scanes, who was third at Sedgefield.
Talking about his tactics the 17-year-old said: “I had hoped to hit the hills hard.”
This effectively meant that the Devon runner was in control throughout. He said that he now plans a track season based on 3000m to 5000m distances.
The team race here was another win for the West of Scotland, despite Scanes’ Kent also having Joseph Hill in third.
It was tight in the under-15 boys’ race before English National winner Theo Creed just got the nod over Taylor Thorn-Watts. He said: “It was only after going up the final hill and round the bend that I got it.”
The Surrey runner had taken the under-13 title here last year.
Luis Da Silva was yet another English National winner and favourite, to come good and was probably the tallest runner in the field and led throughout to take the under-13 boys’ event, later saying that he “expected to win.”
U20 Men: 1 A Lennon (Sy) 24:34; 2 J Sanderson (Yorks) 24:39; 3 J Alexander W Scot) 24:57; 4 C Benyan (Camb) 25:04; 5 S Wilson (Glouc) 25:10; 6 C Collins (Dors) 25:15
TEAM: 1 Scotland West 57; 2 Scotland East 81; 3 Surrey 82
U17: 1 R Barclay-Watt (Dev) 18:48; J Scanes (Kent) 18:59; 3 J Hill (Kent) 19:03; 4 F Rowe (Ex) 19:08; 5 D Kinnard (W Scot) 19:15; 6 J Ireland (Chesh) 19:16
TEAM: 1 Scotland West 75; 2 Yorkshire 105; 3 Suffolk 114
U15: 1 T Creed (Sy) 13:19; 2 T Thorn-Watts (Sx) 13:20; 3 J Osuji (Chesh) 13:38; 4 N Greig (S Wales) 13:43; 5 J Summers (Herts) 13:44; 6 M Lamy (Mx) 13:44
TEAM: 1 Middx 44; 2 Surrey 63; 3 E Scotland 85
U13: 1 L Da Silva (Mx) 10:40; 2 P Friedrich (Hants) 10:45; 3 G Fisher (Chesh) 10:53
TEAM: 1 Kent 77; 2 S Wales 83; 3 Hants 109
Young athletes (female)
The under-20 women’s race was keenly contested between Ava James and Katie Pye before James prevailed off the final hill.
The Sussex runner was ahead from the early stages and took Pye away from the rest of the field before opening up in the final part of the race.
James seemed surprised by her win and said: “Pye ran a really good race and I was only hoping for top 10” – and this was after a third spot in the English National.
Back in third here, National runner-up Maisey Bellwood was first home for third placed Yorkshire but, along with James’ Sussex, were both comfortably beaten by sixth placed Eva Jha’s Cheshire.
Beth Lewis was another favourite to come out on top as, in the under-17 women’s event. The Humber runner came home 20 seconds clear of Kitty Scott who, however, led her Surrey quartet to team gold.
However, the early leader was Sophia Chapman before three other runners got away. Lewis was there along with Scott and Sabrina Coppola-Johanssen before Eleanor Foster joined in the fun.
However, it was Lewis who opened out a big lead on the final circuit leaving Scott adrift. She said: “I knew it was going to be a difficult course but you keep going.”
In the penultimate race of the day, under-15 Gabrielle Pinder scored with a comfortable win over Isabella Buchanen, as Olivia Lee won the dip for third with Summer Smith.
Pinder said: “I had to lead most of the way and was hoping I could wind it up.”
The most certain favourite of the day was under-13 girls’ winner Madison Kindler, who, Like Da Silva, in the boys’ event was the tallest runner in the race and duly also retained her title but it was second placed Sienna Lavine who led Yorkshire to their second team title.
U20 Women: 1 A James (Sx) 21:40; 2 K Pye (Sy) 21:46; 3 M Bellwood (Yorks) 22:08; 4 I Edwards (Hants)22:18; 5 E Wells (Dors) 22:22; 6 E Jha (Chesh) 22:34
TEAM: 1 Cheshire 69; 2 Sussex 88; 3 Yorkshire 90
U17: 1 B Lewis (Humb) 18:05; 2 K Scott (Sy) 18:25; 3 E Foster (Dev) 18:42; 4 S Coppola-Johanssen (Sy) 18:48; 5 D Connor (Sx) 18:50; 6 S Chapman (Bucks) 18:51
TEAM: 1 Surrey 32; 2 Yorkshire 80; 3 Sussex 102
U15: 1 G Pinder (NE) 14:48; 2 I Buchanen (Sx) 14:57; 3 O Lee (Derby) 15:02; 4 S Smith (Ex) 15:02; 5 P Guest (Sy) 15:14; 6 C Whysall (Notts) 15:23
TEAM: 1 Yorkshire 54; 2 Essex 82; 3 Surrey 100
U13: 1 M Kindler (Ex) 11:37; 2 S Lavine (Yorks) 11:50; 3 S Davies (Mx) 11:54
TEAM: 1 Yorkshire 61; 2 Middx 73; 3 Surrey 86