CC Air Cross Country Championships - 09
The Allied Component Command Headquarters Ramstein Cross Country Championships - 18 Oct 09
RAF LADIES STRIKE GOLD
On Weds 28 October at RAF Halton, the Mens and Ladies Cross Country Teams competed in the annual CC Air Ramstein Cross Country Race. In unseasonable warm and dry conditions the ladies competed over 3.5 miles and the men 6.5. The course proved to be exceptionally fast due to the firm going. In a field of 31 ladies expectations for RAF Team were high and straight from the start the RAF ladies were very well placed at the front. As expected both Cpl Jodie Digby (Halton) and Fg Off Helen Taylor (Henlow) were well placed for medal positions. In close pursuit was FS Tara Park (Digby) utilising all of her experience in a measured pace which allowed her to close in and use her strength to help lead the rest of the RAF Ladies home. Cpl Tamsym Rutter, Flt Lt Jo Johnson and SAC Helena Smith closed out the ladies team, all very well placed to ensure a team victory. In a testing race Jodie and Helen battled valiantly, but in the final mile the Polish ladies moved in to the top 3 positions with Jodie eventually finishing in a very creditable 4th. Despite claiming the first 3 places, the Polish Team did not pack as well as the RAF and the ladies secured the Team prize and for the 4th consecutive year.
In a field of 43 Men the Polish Team were fielding their usual semi-professional athletes. However, despite the loss of 2 top RAF athletes to illness and commitments, the RAF Team remained very strong. From the gun Flt Lt Ben Livesey (Kinloss) took on the Poles and to his credit held the lead for a considerable part of the race. In a very close race 2 of the Poles eventually moved ahead of Ben, but in a stunning performance Ben held on to finish 3rd. Given the status and standard of the Polish runners, Ben's performance was outstanding. As Nimrod aircrew his ability to mix that of an operational member of aircrew and that of top athlete is truly outstanding and marks him out as one of the RAFs top sportsmen. Meanwhile the rest of the RAF Team was battling well, lead by Cpl Matt Blunden, SAC Lee Athersmith and Cpl Steve Frear. The RAF Team Manager and senior RAF Veteran Wg Cdr Dave Cole was also working hard for team points along with SAC Oz Ellis, Cpl Graham Hunt and SAC Nick Gaulder. Their battling performance ensured that the RAF easily secured the runners up slot, but the Polish Team secured 1st place.
Air Cdre Richard Gammage Chairman of RAF Athletics commented that not only was it outstanding sporting success for the RAF, the event also highlighted the superb support that RAF Halton, RAF Uxbridge and the RAF Sports Board applied to the event. Although the RAF Ladies Team and Flt Lt Ben Livsey's performance were the highlight of the day, a special mention must be made of Sqn Ldr Al Pearson (RAFC Cranwell), who as Project Officer very successfully organised the event.
Womens Team Results