Forces Runners Compete At Inter Services Championships

It’s one of the biggest Cross Country events on the military calendar.

Men, women and juniors from the RAF, the Army and the Navy battle it out across four races to be crowned Inter Services champions.

First up were the Juniors and it was a third successive victory for the RAF’s Will Gardner.

This year is his last as a junior and he moved up in style, seeing off the challenge from a number of Army runners who secured the team title.

For the veteran’s race, it was a similar story. A stunning run from the Air Men’s Paul Vernon took the individual title, but it was the Army who again took the team title.

For the women, it was a two-horse race, but it was two Army runners who ran away with it.

Dani Hodgkinson and Lauren Hill have had a competitive rivalry throughout the Army events, with Dani coming out on top at the Army Championships last month.

This time, it was Lauren’s day to remember.

She developed a lead coming out of the woods and held on to be crowned 2019 Inter Services Champion.

Speaking after the race, Lauren said: “I knew coming into the course, it was on my side. I love the fields, I love the hills and when we went into the trees, I felt really good.”

In third place, it was a great performance from the Navy’s Katie Synge while the closest RAF runner came in fourth thanks to Lucy Cotman.

The final race of the day was the men’s, where the Royal Air Force dominated the competition.

James Bellwood ran to individual victory, but it was his team-mates who rounded out a team title for the RAF.

Ben Livesey, Michael Kallenberg and Sam Mitchell all finished in the top five alongside the Army’s Ed Knudson.

The nearest Navy runner didn’t finish until Doug Wilkie’s 16th place.