ENGLAND WIN LION’S SHARE

CLAIRE MARTIN AND MICHAEL HARTY WERE AMONG THE WINNERS AS THE TOP VETS FROM THE BRITISH ISLES GATHERED

REPORT: STEVE SMYTHE

Claire Martin: comfortably took her fifth outright win

PICTURES: BOBBY GAVIN

LESS THAN 24 hours after Scotland’s footballers suffered defeat to the English at Wembley, England again came out on top, this time in the five-way international.

Scotland had their best championships for some time on a very testing course in Tollcross Park, especially in the women’s events, but couldn’t stop the English athletes making the most of their huge population advantage.

Dot Fellows: W70 gold for England

England won two of the three main individual races and altogether took 11 individual and 10 team victories from the 17 age-group titles on offer.

One of the most notable things about the winners is the longevity of their success. Claire Martin, Dot Fellows and Angela Copson confirmed their positions among the all-time greats of the event, while Fiona Matheson and Clare Elms continued their successes with the two biggest wins of the day.

Next year’s race will be in Derry, Northern Ireland.

Mandy Vernon: W45 win by nine seconds

WOMEN’S RACE

THE women’s and M65-plus race was first off and England’s Claire Martin continued her remarkable success.

The initial leader on the first lap was Scotland’s Gillian Palmer, who at the age of 35 was competing in her first major masters event. Based on her recent 75:49 Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run half-marathon and her sub-16 5000m pedigree and experience, which included an eighth in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Palmer looked the class of the field in the absence of defending champion Ann-Marie McGlynn.

After a mile, Emma Macready, who was also making her debut, and W40 Martin could keep pace with her but by the end of the first 2km lap, Martin went ahead and she prised a few seconds off Palmer on the big hill at the start of the second lap. Halfway around, the gap was seven seconds and that had grown to 16 seconds at the end of the lap with Macready in front of Palmer.

The Telford athlete dominated the final lap in isolation and, by the finish, her margin was 28 seconds. Macready held off a late rush by Palmer to secure W35 gold. Macready will run the Valencia Marathon this weekend.

It was Martin’s seventh age group title and her fifth win outright.

Emma Macready: W35 gold medallist

Wearing a black ribbon in memory of the two AFD athletes killed in a road incident earlier in the week, she was pleased with her victory.

“I had to work hard on that course. I felt Palmer slow and I tried to pick up. The course suited me.”

With previous winner and former world masters 1500m champion Louise Rudd second, England easily won the W40s, but Palmer led the Scots to an equally dominant W35 team title.

England also supplied both the W45 and W50 individual and team titles.

Finishing seventh overall, W50 winner Clare Elms took her third successive title as she also beat all the W45s in what she thought was probably her best and easiest cross-country.

“After long-standing breathing problems, I felt totally different today and probably should have run harder, but I stayed comfortable,” she said.

Teammate Jane Wassell was 54 seconds behind, while former overall winner Niamh O’Sullivan took bronze.

Anglea Copson: claimed ninth successive title

Elms finished 10 seconds up on W45 winner Mandy Vernon, who had her best win to date, and England edged Ireland by a point in the team contest.

Fiona Matheson had won the three previous W50 races before Elms entered her age group, and in her first race in the W55 class, the Scot easily had the biggest win of the day.

Finishing in the top 20 overall, she won by more than two minutes from Sue Becconsall but England pipped the Scots by two points in the team race. “I have been training for this since I turned 55 and hope to set some W55 records next year,” she said.