| Surrey Walking Club had five out for the National 10km which incorporated the Southern Area as well and finished well up the team results. A warm summer (almost!) afternoon in the peaceful Essex countryside at Earls Colne saw a reasonable field of over 40 men and 20 women with several of the top British walkers in both events including Jo Jackson, who was the sole GBR walker in Osaka. The Surrey contingent worked hard on the flat airfield perimeter course and in particular Stephen Crane broke 55 minutes, taking advantage of the strong field around him and holding his pace as others wilted a little in the hot sunshine and fast competition. His good position was complemented by a race-long struggle between Mick Harran and Peter Hannell to give a silver medal for the both events. The final gap was only 7 seconds with Mick pulling away on the final lap. Backing the others up came Nolan Simmons returning from a short break in competition but well under a kilometre behind. |