A WEEK ago Susie Bush was heading the small team of British representatives in a massive international women’s only race in Addis Ababa. On Saturday morning, she timed her finish to perfection to beat her Aldershot club colleague Steph Twell to post the second fastest women’s time ever in the 26-year history of the Keith Falla Memorial Cross-Country, the traditional second event in the annual Easter Festival.
Bush, 28, has her eyes on the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics and was happy to swap steamy Ethiopia, where she was among an all-woman 5km field of 8,000 runners, for the sunny but chilly sea breeze of L’Ancresse.
Within minutes of clocking a fast 26-27 for the 4.75-mile race, Bush was raving about the Guernsey courses.
‘I don’t think I’ve run on such a beautiful course . . . I’m extremely impressed.’
But she was not the only woman with plenty to smile about.
Twell, 17, may have been beaten on this occasion, but her time was 42sec. quicker than her winning effort 12 months ago. And having been injured coming into the weekend, the defeat was hardly a disaster.
Louise Perrio also had a good morning, her time of 28-45 being a new island best for the course and a seven-second improvement on her own record.
The island number one was happy with the run after a disappointing 10k.
‘I went off a bit too quick yesterday, but today I took a conscious decision to go off a bit slower and it worked,’ she said,
Steve Dawes also set a new course PB, his 25-19 for fourth place representing a 20sec. improvement.
But for the second day running nobody could get near Poole Runners’ Williard Chinhanhu, who clocked 23-33, just 16sec. outside the course record on a day when a stiff breeze slowed the field over the second half.
Chinhanhu was not at all worried not to surpass Mark Harris’s 1989 best of 23-17. He has his eyes on the cash bonus for a new record in today’s Healthspan Half Marathon.
‘I think it is in trouble,’ said the exiled Zimbabwean who has run comfortably quicker than the long-standing half record of 64-54.
‘I didn’t push hard. I’m waiting for Monday to try and get the course record, said the man who ran 64-52 at the Bath Half-Marathon last month.
At his peak he ran 61-42 for the distance and it is unclear whether he will have Kenyan Joseph Kibor to push him over 13 miles in Guernsey.
Kibor missed the cross-country to nurse a twisted ankle but is eager to return today for the climax of the weekend.
Aldershot’s Matt Ashton and Steve Scullion were second and third respectively behind the flying Zimbab-wean on Saturday.
Article posted on 9th April, 2007 - 12.00am
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