When the going got tough, Peterborough & Nene Valley Athletic Club runners really got going

The third and penultimate fixture of the season took place on a cold, wet and windy day on a hilly, muddy and challenging circuit, but several PANVAC athletes rose to the occasion positioning themselves for end of season league honours.

After a second place finish Alex Hampson now leads the senior men’s standings, while under 13 star Louie Hemmings made it three wins out of three to put himself almost out of reach of his rivals for age group honours with one race to go.

Several ladies are also in contention for honours with the Walker sisters Erin and Olivia both sitting a splendid second in their age group rankings.

Chloe Finlay is another to be enjoying a fine season and she currently occupies an excellent fourth spot in the senior ladies table

As has been the case all season Alex Hampson led the men home and their third place finish promoted them to second place in the team standings overall.

Harvey Hancock in 11th and 12th placed Nathan Bunting provided a strong PANVAC presence towards the front of the field, and Luke Brown in 21st and 29th placed Kirk Brawn were not far behind.Simon Fell in 49th, Ben Hewitt in 57th position, along with 72nd placed Toby Hall and Ryan Anderson in 83rd provided sterling support, as did 105th placed Travis Anderson and 139th placed Paul Parkin.

The senior ladies finished fifth, and now occupy third spot in the overall standings.

The five ladies on duty all finished in the top half of the field. Finlay in ninth, and 11th placed Sarah Caskey were at home in the Derbyshire mud as was 36th placed Paige Roadley, who used to compete for the Heanor club. Hannah Knight placed 38th ahead of Ellie Rainbow in 47th.

Hemmings showed he can do it the hard way by coming out on top in a sprint finish.

Erin Walker in second place along with Evie Hemmings in eighth and 14th placed Lola Gaches ran the under 15 team into the runners-up spot, while the under 17 women placed third.

Olivia Walker in fifth, Josie Knight (13th) Lottie Hemmings (18th) and Niamh Rushton (25th) helped the team to secure this position.

Both the under 15s and under 17s sit second overall behind Burton AC. The under 15 boys placed fourth with Felix Bowling enjoying a fine run to finish third. Rhys Buswell in 22nd and Noah Fell in 23rd provided strong support.Findlay Smith took seventh spot in the boys under 11 race while Layla Gee was the 11th under 11 girl home.

The final League fixture takes place at Mansfield on January 15.

SHOT PUT Gold Medallists

Peterborough and Nene Valley AC throwers Kevin Bates and Simon Achurch both won shot put gold in the Eastern Master’s Indoor Championships, staged at Lee Valley last weekend.

Bates won the over 65s competition with a throw of 9.70m, while Achurch threw 11.93m for over 45s gold.

Achurch also took to the track where he placed fourth in the 60m sprint.