MORE runners than ever will embark this evening on the toughest athletics competition in the local calendar. Approaching 80 will line up in their separate divisions on the closed road at Pleinmont for race one of the 2004 Abacus All-Terrain Challenge, which features seven events in seven days.
Race organiser Geoff King is delighted with the size of the entry.
‘Two years ago we were at 45 and thinking that the previous year’s might be the last,’ said King, who has organised all six races in the annual series since its inception in 1998.
‘The junior event is an innovation,’ he added and youth will, indeed, have a greater influence on this year’s event, with top under-17s Mark Mercier and Andy Carre now permitted to run alongside the top seniors over the same distances.
Mercier will be a strong contender for the Division One title, along with 2003 runner-up Steve Dawes and former winner Paul Ingrouille.
The juniors (mixed under-15s) have their own division and will compete over the same distance in three of the races and over reduced lengths at the same venue in the other four.
Terry Bates, the club’s athletics development officer, is excited to see many of the club’s top juniors filtering through.
‘It will be good to see them in a challenge that will last all week.
‘After all the hard training they have done over the summer it will provide a stern test and also put them in good stead for the start of the cross-country season,’ he added.
Louise Perrio start favourite for the women’s title.
Article posted on 7th August, 2004 - 12.00am
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