Warwickshire & Worcestershire County XC Champs- Solihull Riding Club Saturday 14th December
Write-up by: Nick Price (Junior XC Team Manager & Endurance Lead Coach) Some excellent performances by the juniors at the County XC Champs at the new testing course at the Solihull Riding Club. It was good for the juniors to experience racing on pasture / farm land rather than parks! The Champs is one of the qualifying races for the Inter Counties XC Champs at Nottingham on 8th March with 8 athletes from Warwickshire and Worcestershire being selected! Overall we achieved 4 podium medals and 3 team medals during the day which was a great team effort! U11G – Nya ran away with the race and looked comfortable winning her 2nd County XC Champs in a row! Isabelle 21, Veronica 25. Team 4th U11B- Another excellent performance by the U11s with a great 2nd team place again!! George 5, Thomas 11, Zachary 13, Jeevan 19, William 20, Walter 21, Sebastian…
Action Heart Tuff ‘Un 2024
The Action Heart ‘Tuff-Un’ returned again this year with another muddy challenge
BRAT again had a strong showing.
Junior Cross-Country League Is Back!
Write-up by: Andy Knight If the colours are starting to change at Walsall Arboretum, that can only mean one thing: the cross country season is about to begin! The first race in the prestigious West Midlands Young Athletes Cross Country League is always one of the many highlights of the BRAT year, and this was no different. I’m sure it’s not just me, but with every passing year there is a greater buzz around the BRAT tent, more athletes and parents staying for the entire programme to cheer on teammates and more under 11s than ever! There were countless standout performances, including many by athletes who have never run in a cross country race or even represented BRAT before; the hard work of athletes and coaches is paying off! Well done all! There was great drama in the under 11 girls’ race, with Nya Williams involved in a titanic tussle…
Elliot strikes gold in Midland 5k champs
A strong team of BRAT juniors headed to Sutton Park on 23rd March for the Midland 5K Championships. Many of the junior endurance runners have trained with the seniors on Tuesday evenings throughout the winter, with some good cross country results coming as a consequence. This was another opportunity to see what they could do against strong opposition from across the length and breadth of the Midlands. Star performers of the day were the U15 boys. Team gold was secured with great performances from Diego Dalmedo (12th), Evan Tomlinson (6th), Josh Taylor (5th) and a magnificent individual gold medal by Elliot Dawlatly! The U13 boys also had a great day, taking team silver – missing out on gold by one place! Ollie Knight (3rd), Ben Eden (11th) and Joseph Baker (13th) were all delighted with their performances on the undulating course. There were also strong results in the U15 girls…
Midland 6 and 12 Stage Road Relays and Junior 5km Road Champs
Saturday saw a large BRAT turnout in Sutton Park for the Midland 6 and 12 Stage Road Relays and Junior 5km Road Champs. Ages ranged from under 13’s to over-65’s showcasing the range of membership we have.The spring weather was at it’s liveliest with four seasons in one day but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of everyone taking part. First up were the Junior 5km races which score on a cross country basis from the first three athletes across the line in each age group. BRAT were well represented across the age groups bagging silverware in the U13 boys –Ollie Knight 3rd Individual and backed up by Ben Eden and Jospeh Baker scooped the team silver medal as well. They actually missed the gold medal by one point on count-back. Further success was added by the U15 boys – Elliot Dawlatly 1st Individual and backed up by Joshua Taylor…
Autumn Road Relays Sign-up
The Autumn Road Relay’s are coming up and we are looking for people to sign up, this is one of biggest events in the BRAT calendar and a great chance to meet people from across the club.
New Course Record for Nya Williams
U11 Nya Williams is going from strength to strength with her running. She took part in the Keswick Mountain Festival 5km trail run on 20th May and out of 107 competitors, Nya finished first lady overall in a time of 21:57. Unfortunately she was unable to collect the 1st prize crate of beer but she was very happy with her trophy and trail running backpack. A week later on 27th May she ran a new PB at the Brueton Parkrun in a time of 20.26 and broke the course record in the process – a record which had stood for 9 years! She also had a fantastic night at the Sphinx AC Mid Week 5 in Coventry War Memorial Park where she took part in the junior race and was overall winner. She received a trophy, medal and delicious bag of sweets and said that there was a great atmosphere…
Cotswolds Hilly 100 2023
On the 21st May BRATs once again trekked out to the Cotswolds to take part in the 100 mile relay race.
BRAT Athletes @ Junior Great Birmingham Run
A strong BRAT contingent entered the Junior Great Birmingham Run which was open to 9-15 year olds. The new 2.5km course started and finished in the Smithfield area of the city centre. Elliot Dawlatly, in excellent form of late, confidently set the pace early on and led throughout the race until tantalizingly being caught in the last few metres. He was followed by a succession of high finishing BRAT runners with Ollie Knight placing 3rd and Josh Taylor 4th. In the girls’ race Alba Smith-Pena finished 3rd in a strong field and raised over £500 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital! Other notable performances were in the 9-11 year old age categories with Anaadh Singh and Joseph Baker 2nd and 3rd respectively in the boys’ race and Orla Woodman 3rd in the girls’ race. Full results can be found here. Write-up courtesy of Andy Knight.
BRATs Do Brum Half
BRATs at the Birmingham half marathon and 10k.
Astbury claims Midland Champs gold in strong BRAT juniors’ performance
Whereas the senior event in Sutton Park is a team based relay, the juniors run an individual 5k, the Midland 5k Championship. This is the best runners from across the entire midlands region competing in a championship race. Needless to say, it is a high quality event that attracts the best athletes. Several BRAT juniors took part on what is an extremely challenging course featuring some leg-sapping hills. George Astbury pulled clear in a final sprint on the hill to the finish line to capture his first major medal. A time of 16:15 gave him a 1 second victory in an extremely competitive u17s race. He also took a huge chunk off his 5k PB, which is even more impressive given the nature of the course. In the same race, Morgan Hill and Dylan Teasdale finished 7th and 18th respectively to bring home a bronze medal for the team. Another…
BRAT Women Teams at Midlands 6-Stage Road Relays
BRAT women had a fantastic day of racing at the Midlands 6-Stage Road Relays.