St Bede’s repaired a shocking first performance in the Peco Cross-Country League with second place last Saturday at Hunger Hills, Horsforth.

The sunny, mild weather was deceptive. Henry Heavisides, Ilkley Harriers’ captain, described the underfoot conditions of the two-lap five-miler as “challenging: mud, hills, mud, woods, mud, road, mud, track, mud and fields, with a lot of mud as well”.

Ilkley’s men won their Premier Division match, with Dave Wilby third, and Ian Rowbotham and Steve Turland in the top ten.

St Bede’s, in their first season in the league, are pushing for promotion out of Division One.

Hardy Matamala, back in Bradford from Germany for his wife’s graduation, started strongly, but soon had to pick a shoe out of foot-deep mire, lost confidence and dropped back to 52nd.

Captain Will Kerr competed for 21st spot with a heavily sprained ankle a day after a hard recce preparing for tomorrow’s Calderdale Way Relay.

Other scorers were Simon Forde (25th), Adrian Worger (34th), Stephen Wolstenholme as the permitted “second-claimer” (47th), Jack Verity (76th), Harry McGill (113th) and Pete Huby (127th).

Paul Watts, Chris Reynier and Graham Eastell helped improve their score over their competitors.

Second promotion place seems possible in the five-race series, behind a strong Kirkstall Harriers team.

Guiseley-based Airecentre Pacers were fifth on the day and Yeadon-based Dragons sixth, with Eccleshill disappointingly eighth of the 11 teams.

Dragons’ ladies are new to the women’s Premier Division and struggling. Nevertheless they beat a weakened Ilkley team, despite Diane Haggar’s tenth place.

In Division One, Airecentre gained bragging rights over their neighbours: fifth, just ahead of St Bede’s and Eccleshill.

Jen Willingham raced for the first time since the New York Marathon to finish 21st. She was well supported by St Bede’s clubmates Helen Love (35th), Michelle Eyres (82nd) and Judith Nunn (95th).

In the junior races, Eccleshill had a fine turnout from their new affiliate, Blakehill Primary in Idle. And St Bede’s had their first junior competing, Sam Worger, in a fine sixth in the secondary-age event.