The final meeting in the cross country season is always the auspicious national championships, and this year the English fixture was held at the beautiful Wollaton Park at Nottingham, where a beast of a course met the runners. Feet deep in water, slippery and greasy mud and, an authentic cross country touch, huge tree trunks placed at intervals to scramble over, not to mention the wild and windy weather conditions. An epic outing for Buxtonians, and the 16 Seniors met the challenge head on. Samantha Willis had a storming run to finish the 5.6 mile course in 44.59, followed by Katie Rolfe in 47.20, Tania Wilson in 47.57 and Kate Ledin 49.51. Just over 900 runners took part in the Senior Ladies race. For the men, Jason Brunnock was first Buxton runner home in the 7.5 mile course in a cracking 53.25, while Chris Rushworth finished in 57.06, David Fryer-Winder 58.14 and Dave Soles 64.04, with Pete Bailey completing the team in 76.55. Over 1700 men raced.
David Fryer-Winder’s mental stamina was tested to the limit when he took part in the 5 lap Oulton Park Half Marathon last weekend, and his superb finishing time of 1.27.33 and 5th finishing position demonstrated that he passed the tough test with flying colours. To add to his glory, Fryer-Winder smashed a huge 5 minutes off his PB time for the distance. 
Debbie Hope took to the fells last weekend and had to contend with hail, snow, mud and rain. At the High Cup Nick fell race, starting at the lovely fellside village of Dufton near Appleby in Cumbria, the 9.3 mile race has over 1500 feet of ascent. A tough race to start with, the weather conditions proved challenging but Hope remained strong to finish in 232 position from a field of well over 400.
Not content with racing at Nottingham on Saturday, two Senior Ladies travelled to Carsington near Wirksworth on Sunday to compete in the Half Marathon. Although dry on the day, the previous rainy conditions had left the usually dry route very wet and muddy, which added to an already tough and undulating course. Faced with strong winds, Samantha Willis and Sheila Bradley met the challenge with relish, with Willis finishing in 1.45.01, 82nd from a field of 450 (4th Female Vet 40), while Bradley finished in 1.53.52, 152nd (1st Female Vet 60). Jenny Cropper took on the 10K out and back route around part of the reservoir, finishing in 1.08.25.
At the Derby Midweek 5K series of races, Elle Twentyman slashed a huge 37 seconds from her personal best time for the distance, finishing in a tremendous 17 minutes and 31 seconds, a cracking time.