Liz Greenwood and Kelsey Rutherford were selected to run for England in the Home International at the Junior Hill Running Championships held in Achray Forest, Aberfoyle on September 21st. Kelsey is 2nd from the left and Liz 3rd from the left on the Team photo.

Full Results HERE

Photo’s courtesy of Dave Woodhead at Woodentops HERE

Liz who has been in good form prior to the Race and was coming off a Team Gold Medal performance at the North West Relays the week before, showed how good her form was by winning the U16 Girls Age Group category Race in 19.23, seventeen seconds in front of Heidi Davies (Wales) in 19.40 and Aoife Mulroy in Bronze medal position from Ireland (20.12).

Liz (centre) with Heidi Davies & Aoife Mulroy

Liz (centre) with Heidi Davies & Aoife Mulroy

Molly Travis in 4th place (20.33) and Rosie Dale in 5th (20.44) combined with Liz to win the Team Gold Medal for England with a total of 10 points to Wales 16, Scotlands 27 and Irelands 30 which just about put the ‘icing on the cake’.

Understandably, Liz was really pleased with the day and told us that she “really enjoyed my weekend in Scotland with Kelsey and all of the England squad. We arrived on Friday afternoon and walked the course with some of the team; luckily we just got back in time before it went dark. After that we ate tea in the outward bound centre that we were staying in and met the rest of the team. We all slept in log cabins about two hundred meters from the start so there was no need to wake up really early to get to the venue.  The following morning I was nervous before the race but really enjoyed it once we were off. It was quite tough but I really liked the downhill section as it wasn’t too steep. I was thrilled to win it and it was good to race against people I hadn’t run against before from Wales, Ireland and Scotland. After our race we could relax and watch the rest of the races and cheer on the rest of the team before we got our trophy, as England won overall.  It was a great experience and I hope I get the chance to repeat it in the future”.

Liz Greenwood at Junior Hill Running Home International 21st Sept 2013 Aberfoyle

Liz Greenwood at Junior Hill Running Home International 21st Sept 2013 Aberfoyle

Kelsey was also really excited to be selected to run in the U16 Girls Race. She finished in 13th place in a time of 21.40 and there is no doubt that the experience was a positive one as she competed at this level for the first time. After the Race and when she got home, Kelsey told us about her experience.

“I had such a great weekend with Liz and all the England squad. We travelled up on the Friday with Liz and her dad and we chatted all the way up, we were excited and nervous. When we arrived we took are bags to our lodge and waited for everyone to arrive. We had tea then walked the course before it went dark. Then we were all given our kit. On the day of the race I was very nervous but excited. I really enjoyed the race even though it wasn’t steep (which I love.) After the race it was a great feeling, we all got out pictures taken and cheered everyone else. Over all it was a great experience and something to remember. And hopefully many more to come”.

Kelsey Rutherford at Junior Hill Running Home International 21st Sept 2013 Aberfoyle

Kelsey Rutherford at Junior Hill Running Home International 21st Sept 2013 Aberfoyle