Five local athletes wore the red rose vest of Lancashire at the Inter Counties Cross-Country Championships last Saturday.

The event took place at Prestwold Hall, a country estate a couple of miles east of Loughborough in Leicestershire.

It was a smaller representation than usual, with several of the island’s best athletes turning down selection in favour of their road racing targets, and others simply withdrawing.

The best run of the day from the Manx contingent came from David Mullarkey in the final race of the programme.

Competing in the senior category for the first time on the day of his 20th birthday, he judged the pace well to finish 65th in the men’s race.

He started cautiously, as planned, and was well down the field in the early stages. A very strong second half saw him gain many places to achieve a very creditable placing in a good field.

The race was billed as 10 kilometres but was actually more than 11km, with parts of the course being gluey quagmires.

Penny Webster was competing for the first time for Lancashire in the under-13 girls race, and from her starting position right at the back of the team pen she was near the rear of the field early on.

As the race progressed she made up quite a number of places to finish in 287th place, gaining valuable experience of high-level competition.

Lorna Spiers competed in the junior women’s race and battled determinedly through the claggy mud to finish 96th. This was a good effort having not competed much over the country this winter.

Ella Crowe (u15 girls) and Sarah Astin (senior women) had both been unwell over the previous fortnight. Ella was further down the field than usual in 169th place but gave it her all as she always does.

Sarah was in the top 10 to 12 in the early stages and gave it her best shot, but illness and lack of recent training forced her retirement in the second half of the race.

The London-based woman is in good form and a big performance isn’t far away once she gives herself a chance to recharge her batteries. Her sights are now set on road and track events as the summer season approaches.

DAVID GRIFFITHS