SENIOR WOMEN THIRD IN RELAYS
Taunton AC Senior women caused a bit of stir at the Area Road relays this weekend when they finished third against some very well established clubs in the region. Taunton who compete in the Midlands at Area level were out in full force and had high ambitions from the outset to make it into the medals, and in doing so surprised a number of clubs who have dominated the Championships in recent years.
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Competing at Sutton Park in Birmingham over a 4 x 4.8km loop, local favourites Birchfield Harriers exerted their authority from the start. However, first leg runner for Taunton, Alice Murray-Gourlay, was not overawed and produced a fine first leg to get the club into the leading group finishing 4th in 15. Next up was Kate Drew who finished 3rd in last weekend’s Bristol Half Marathon. Although feeling the effects of the previous weekend she did not show it, moving the team up to 3rd place. Drew handed over to Hannah Taunton who produced another strong performance to move the team into 2nd place ahead of Bristol & West AC.
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The glory leg was in the hands of a nervous Kirstie Booth who did not disappoint and hung onto an admirable third place behind two senior Internationals from the Birchfield team and the second place Charnwood team. This is the first Area medal for the women’s team in at least a couple of decades and one that has certainly got them the attention of a few of the other clubs.
Team Coach Charlotte Fisher said "Put into context, clubs like Birchfield and Charnwood have around 40 competitive senior women to select from, including a number of GB and England internationals, whilst Taunton have maybe five or women women competing at a good club level capable of being competitive at this level, so it is a huge achievement, and testament to training together as unit."
