| A Poacher record entry of 55 sampled the excellent courses put on by planner John Fulwood in the fast runnable Pillar Wood. Whilst the long course went roughly to form with notable strong runs from Junior Ben Offler and UltraVet Mark Tyszka and the fitter Pete Harris, it was the short course that produced the most intense competition. 35 runners from 8 to nearly 80 on a fast course resulted in tightly packed finishers, but it was William Sowerby running on his own who showed his true potential with a first win but only by 20 seconds from Grimsby's Lee Smith making his first appearance in Poacher 2004. Top competitor from the numerous Grasby village entrants was Gary Robinson in an encouraging 7th. place just behind his namesake from Hull in 3rd. and a few seconds ahead of the improving Kim Powlesland who is adding to the competition in the Lady Poacher section. It was good to see record numbers of Juniors and Ladies taking part. Next week sees most competitors heading west to Lincolnshire's largest forest-Laughton. A plea for people to help at the start in the forthcoming events; with the large numbers turning up it is difficult for the on the night planner to do everything- if you turn up early but want to run later why not assist at the start for a few minutes? |