17 November 2025

The RUNdown

'Claudia' did not prevent the Barrow Runners storming the Bagworth Heath cross country race this week with a record turnout and some incredible performances.

It was a very quiet Saturday, no doubt due to the excesses of Friday's presentation evening and something called 'Claudia' (the storm variety rather than the ubiquitous TV presenter). However, hangovers and a storm aftermath did not stop the Barrow gang turning up en masse at Bagworth Heath on Sunday for the second race in the Derby Runner Cross Country League. A staggering 39 Barrow Runners competed at 'Bogworth', all the more remarkable given that it is traditionally one of the muddier courses of the season - and it did not disappoint this year... In the spirit of Club Captain Mark Sadler quoting Mark Platt's Strava comments back at him at the presentation evening, James Woodford's Strava comments would seem to sum up the race: "All of the mud with more mud on top and mud on top of that mud. It was muddy."

There were some amazing performances despite the conditions: Michael Cheverton finished 3rd overall and four of our incredible women finished in the top 10, with the awesome Anna Munday second female overall. It was Barrow Runners at its best.

The cancellation of the popular Watermead Country Park parkrun meant there were only 18 Barrow parkrunners out on Saturday (sadly, the junior parkrun also suffered the same waterlogged fate). Nevertheless, there were some great achievements, and proportionally an incredible amount of age group placings for the club (83%): a case of quality over quantity. This was most evident at Beacon Hill, where the impressive Rachel Vatter was again the first lady overall with Dawn Storer, Justine Albert and Bill Phillips also finishing first in their age categories. Elsewhere, Laura Browne, Mat Richardson and Paul Leaney also added to their parkrun gold medal tally.