AFTER topping the table at the Merseyside County Championships, the young athletes of the Wirral Endurance program were keen to test themselves against the best in the North of England.
They travelled by coach to Pontefract racecourse for a gruelling test of their strength and fitness on January 29.
Running on a very hilly course, where the last 1km is a notorious climb, and facing the winds of Storm Malik with gusts of 50mph, they had to dig deep for every ounce of strength.
Once again though they showed that when it comes to cross country, the wirral endurance program can go toe to toe with anyone.
Wirral Endurance championship EMK medals. Picture courtesy of Ronan Kearney
The girls were up first, and the U15 girls were ninth in the North, and both U13 girls and U17 girls were in heart-breaking fourth places, just points away from medals. After all the success the girls have been having recently, it was a day for the boys teams.
The medal flood started with U13 boys (pictured, below) taking a very close silver, even though they were missing squad members to Covid.
The U15 boys went one better by defending their Northern title, and not to be outdone, the U17 boys rounded off the day with another title, in this case the first time Wirral AC has won the U17 title for over 30 years.
Wirral Endurance championship U15 trophy. Picture courtesy of Ronan Kearney
In the individual races, Ellen Mary Kearney took a bronze medal in the U20 race and Sophie Tarver won silver in the Senior Women’s race.
Wirral Endurance championship U20 women. Picture courtesy of Ronan Kearney
Wirral Endurance championship U17 girls team. Picture courtesy of Ronan Kearney
Wirral Endurance championship U17 trophy. Picture courtesy of Ronan Kearney
Overall, with two titles, one silver and two fourth places, Wirral topped the Northern cross country table for the first time.
Anyone interested in joining the Wirral endurance program should contact Ronan Kearney on 07941140629 or getronan@hotmail.com
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