THE final race in the current 53-12 Cross-Country League season was the rearranged fixture at Halstead.

It turned out to be the wettest and muddiest of the series, with runners wading knee-deep at times.

Having won the previous five races in Pool B, to secure promotion back to Pool A, the pressure was off but Harwich Runners wanted to sign off in style.

Depleted numbers on Mother’s Day saw the lowest overall attendance of the series and just 20 senior runners from Harwich made the journey.

The ladies won their pool with ease, with the three scoring ladies all placed within the first 15 finishers.

Kate Hodgkiss was the first black and white vest home in sixth, followed by Claudine Benstead in 12th and Madeline Lewis in 15th.

Hodgkiss placed inside the top ten in all six races this season and, along with Nicola Flatt, was the only lady to complete all six races.

In the men’s race, it was terrific to see three runners finish inside the first seven places.

Steve Cooper has had a wonderful series with each of his five races seeing a top-five placing.

He was fourth at Halstead, one place ahead of Graeme Knott.

Stephen Peck also placed extremely well in seventh.

With six to score, though, Harwich had to wait until position 112 for their final total.

Dennis Warner was one of four men to complete all six races and he scored for the team, as did Richard Newman and Simon Garner.

The other men to run all the races this season were Francis Mills, Julian Cordwell and Edward McCreadie.

The men finished third in their group but the combined score lifted the team into second on the day behind host club Halstead.

Harwich finished the series top of Pool B by a clear seven points and they will again compete in Pool A when the series resumes in late 2018.

A total of 64 runners - 46 men and 18 ladies - contributed to the promotion effort this year.

In the corresponding junior race, Michael Knowles has had a good series and once again was the highest-placed Harwich runner in 17th overall.

There was success in the MU11 group, with Samuel Barstow being the highest-placed representative of school year five and Jamie Carter rounded off a terrific series as the best-placed year four boy.

Daisy Ward was fourth in the FU13 group and best year seven runner, while in the FU11 category there were five runners from Harwich with Jemima Garner best-placed among them.

James Mann took on a different challenge - The Viking 100 Endurance Run.

Situated in Herne Bay, Kent, the challenge is to run as many 6.25-mile laps in a 32-hour time period up to a maximum of 100 miles.

Things started well, going through 40 miles in ten hours and 50 miles in 13 hours.

During the next ten miles, his feet became so badly blistered he had no option other than to reduce his target.

Despite having difficulty walking, he kept going until he had covered 100k, 62.5 miles, in around 19 hours.