On Sunday 26th September Calday entered teams for the first time into the English Schools’ Fell Running Championships which this year took place at the prestigious Sedbergh School, Lancashire on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Head of Sport, Paul Miller and Coach/Parent Jane Barnes escorted the team, strongly supported by many of the other parents from our 8 boys team.
Many of the boys, although strong cross-country performers for the school, had never attempted a Fell Running course before and although taken aback somewhat by the ability and courage of those more experienced rivals on the downhill sections, produced excellent individual performances and team results.
In the Yr7 race, Joshua Hatton finished 10th. In the Yr 8/9 race, Dominic Poulston, Jamie Barnes and Charlie Gardner, finished 10th, 13th and 34th respectively (Charlie was actually competing in his first-ever school running event!!!!). This was good enough for the boys to be the third best-placed school overall in their age group!
In the Yr10/11 race, Alex Poulston raced brilliantly to acquire 2nd place, Jack Bernhem also ran brilliantly to gain 6th place and Louis Hatton supported the team fantastically with a 20th placed finish. This meant that overall Calday finished in equal 1st place to win the team age group category.
“An awesome performance when you think about it, particularly for a group of boys from the relatively flat Wirral” as one parent put it.
In the u18 race, Will Sutcliff ran incredibly hard and despite a recent injury still finished in 22nd place.
Overall it was a fantastically organised event, well-supported by parents and parent coaches which enabled the boys to experience competing in a National Championships, and it was their hard work over mostly years of training that enabled them to perform so well and achieve national honours. Mr Miller feels the whole school is very proud of their efforts and that they will remember this day for the rest of their lives.
Check out more of the action shots below!
