Oxon XC Race 3 at Horspath – January 4th
Caroline Johnstone reports:
What a turn out! There were a whopping 25 racers (15 men; 10 women), photographers (thanks Juan and Carey), supporters (thanks Mike), tent putter-uppers (thanks James B and Tom), bakers (sorry not to have names) and importantly, the team race volunteer, Megs, who is the only reason any of the rest of us could be there at all – thank you.
Conditions wise, it was absolutely freezing (note to self – take spare socks for afterwards next time), but that made for good running conditions with not too much mud.
In terms of the women’s race, there were some fantastic results. Grace stormed home in 16th place overall (total female runners = 186) and our second female finisher Lizzie was 3rd V50. Only 10 seconds behind her was Jess (8th VL40), despite the fact she stopped twice on the course to do up her shoe laces! Kirsty L followed shortly coming in 9th VL40 with an injured, but thankfully still intact, toenail. Jas was our 5th female, coming in 56th place overall and knocking 2 minutes off her time from the same course in December. I trailed in behind her after struggling on the second lap. Liz O’F run well and also knocked 1.5 minutes off her time from December. Old time Woodstock Harrier, Valerie, who has only just recently returned to the club must have enjoyed round 1 of the XC as she come back for more which is wonderful. She ran strong and finished smiling so we look forward to seeing her at future races! Caroline S also ran very well, finishing 10% higher in her age category (proportionate to the number of runners) compared to the first XC race, a great improvement! Finally, Vicky, wins the prize for dedication – her birthday is tomorrow but she is celebrating it today – and she chose to celebrate it by doing a XC race! She tells me her family thinks she is mad. Well you are, but everyone who does XC is a little bit mad in my book. Great running all round!
For the men, there were also some great results. For the first time I got to see a Woodstock Harrier finish an XC race before the ladies race started. That was Angus (Iain’s son) who flew past us to finish 8th overall (total male runners = 316). He was also 5th SM and only 15 seconds short of coming 3rd SM. Angus, what a way to introduce yourself to the club!!! We look forward to seeing what you can do in future races. 2nd WH male to finish was James B, who got stuck in a bit of traffic going into the first hill but still came in as 2nd V50. Next in were Tom P and James G. There was only 3 seconds between them this time, with Tom P just coming out in front (last month it was James G)…. we shall see what the next XC brings! There was also rivalry between Iain C and Louis, but when Iain made his move to pass Louis on the 2nd hill, Louis speed up, leaving Iain behind and also sneaking past Ross before the finish too. Kevin stuck to his strategy of walking the hardest bits of the hills (which I wholly endorse – better to walk and finish then not to race or finish at all) and finished strong. There was similar determination from Neil who fell over but kept going. There was less drama from Ed K (unusual) who just got on and ran (probably while still chatting) and finished as 5th WH male, followed by Ian L, Jonathan W and Florian. Interestingly, Florian is using XC to support his triathlon training which is a great example of how participating in races can support wider training goals. Finally, Adrian just keeps getting better and better and finished a huge 8 minutes faster than he did in this XC last year (I think we know why he won the handicap prize for 2025!) and Rob W impressively finished in 9th V60, one of only three men to get a top-ten age category finish (Angus and James B being the others). Again, well done all!
I’ve already broken my new years resolution of no race report errors. I’m so sorry David W. Thank you also for supporting, particularly in the cold. It was appreciated!
Men
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
8 | Angus Claxton (SM) | 27:30 | |
60 | James Bolton (MV50) | 30:39 | Second MV50 |
92 | Thomas Preskett (MV40) | 32:32 | |
93 | James Groves (MV40) | 32:35 | |
143 | Ed King (MV40) | 35:29 | |
161 | Ian Lee (MV40) | 36:31 | |
167 | Jonathan Wilford (SM) | 36:54 | |
169 | Florian Combe (MV40) | 37:03 | |
208 | Rob Webster (MV60) | 39:08 | |
238 | Adrian Smith (MV50) | 41:13 | |
256 | Louis Warden (MV40) | 42:28 | |
259 | Ross Nutter (MV40) | 42:35 | |
265 | Iain Claxton (MV60) | 43:08 | |
268 | Kevin Game (MV50) | 43:11 | |
305 | Neil Preddy (MV60) | 48:07 |
Winning time: 26:13 Number of finishers: 318
Women
Position | Name | Time | Narrative |
16 | Grace Harrison (SW) | 34:37 | |
45 | Lizzie Kelly (FV50) | 37:45 | Third FV50 |
50 | Jessica Tallman (FV40) | 37:55 | |
51 | Kirsty Lee (FV40) | 38:07 | |
56 | Jasmine Presho (SW) | 38:33 | |
60 | Caroline Johnstone (FV40) | 38:51 | |
100 | Liz O’Farrell (FV50) | 42:51 | |
124 | Vicky Walker (FV40) | 44:38 | |
149 | Caroline Sloan (FV50) | 47:21 | |
167 | Valerie Berryman-Bousquet (FV50) | 49:59 |
Winning time: 29:07 Number of finishers: 187
Cross Country Handicap Competition 2025/26
Including Results of Horspath Cross Country & County Championship (Race 3)
Name | Actual Time | Handicap % | Adjusted Time | Points (Race 3) | Total Points (Position) |
James Bolton | 30:39 | 100 | 30:39 | 12 | 52 |
Tom Preskett | 32:32 | 92.2 | 30:00 | 17 | 46 |
James Groves | 32:35 | 89.8 | 29:15 | 22 | 57 (3) |
Ed King | 35:29 | 91.9 | 32:36 | 02 | 09 |
Dave Cantwell | n/a | 83.4 | n/a | n/a | 46 |
Jonathan Wilford | 36:54 | 82.1 | 30:18 | 14 | 31 |
Ian Lee | 36:31 | 80.5 | 29:24 | 20 | 59 (1) |
Rob Webster | 43:14 | 79.7 | 31:11 | 07 | 18 |
Florian Combe | 37:03 | 79.0 | 29:16 | 21 | 55 |
Ross Nutter | 42:35 | 77.5 | 33:00 | 01 | 07 |
Adrian Smith | 41:13 | 75.2 | 30:59 | 08 | 21 |
Iain Claxton | 43:08 | 71.3 | 30:45 | 11 | 30 |
Louis Warden | 42:28 | 76.1 | 32:19 | 05 | 05 |
Neil Preddy | 48:07 | 65.8 | 31:39 | 06 | 14 |
Kevin Game | 43:11 | 75.0 | 32:23 | 04 | 04 |
Angus Claxton | 27:30 | 100 | 27:30 | 25 | 25 |
Grace Harrison | 34:37 | 85.1 | 29:27 | 19 | 44 |
Kirsty Lee | 38:07 | 81.0 | 30:52 | 10 | 28 |
Jessica Tallman | 37:56 | 79.5 | 30:09 | 15 | 31 |
Caroline Johnstone | 38:51 | 73.8 | 28:40 | 23 | 46 |
Lizzie Welsh | n/a | 72.0 | n/a | n/a | 35 |
Sarah Kerswell | n/a | 70.5 | n/a | n/a | 21 |
Liz O’Farrell | 42:51 | 69.6 | 29:49 | 18 | 58 (2) |
Vicky Walker | 44:38 | 68.2 | 30:26 | 13 | 25 |
Caroline Sloan | 47:21 | 65.3 | 30:55 | 09 | 14 |
Val Berryman-B | 49:59 | 64.9 | 32:26 | 03 | 06 |
Lizzie Kelly | 37:45 | 75.6 | 28:19 | 24 | 24 |
Jasmine Presho | 38:33 | 78.0 | 30:04 | 16 | 32 |
Note: The best 4 results from the 5 races to count. No entry to competition after race 3.