Priest’s rapid rise through ranks a real success story
JAMES PRIEST has gone from beginner to winner in just three years.
He led from the start to seal a Division One victory in the opening FNB Cross-Country League fixture at Delancey, having placed 40th on the same course as a debuting Division Three competitor in 2015.
Going was quick underfoot on a dry afternoon and Priest clocked 16min. 18sec. over three miles to gap established rivals Carl Holden and Peter Amy.
The fast improver, in the same vibrant ‘4 Non-Gingers’ vest that he wore to good effect in the recent Jersey Marathon relays, reflected on his best win to date.
‘It was a hard race in the heat and there were some very tough hills, but I’m very happy to come away with the victory,’ said the delighted victor.
‘When I took up running to try and improve my fitness, I never expected to be at the level I am today.’
Eventual runner-up Holden presented the strongest challenge to Priest and kept the gap down to mere seconds during the heated first lap around the undulating circuit.
Both slowed slightly on the remaining two laps but Holden ended up 17 seconds adrift by the finish line, still a solid result for the distance specialist.
Amy, coming off a great Manchester ‘Half’ result six days prior, was slightly more conservative in his efforts and enjoyed his own battle with top distance woman Sarah Mercier.
Amy’s toughness in the latter stages allowed him to close to within three seconds of Holden, while Mercier won the women’s race in an impressive 17-01.
Louise Perrio added another touch of class to the field and was also slightly tired initially from her record-setting half-marathon efforts the previous weekend.
She worked her way into the race and went on to finish in 17-25, three minutes clear of Island Games triathlon prospect and third woman Emily Squire.
Warwick Helps led home a strong string of veteran runners with 17-39 and sixth overall.
On the other end of the age spectrum, under-17 Louis Le Cheminant made a good return to the local scene with a close seventh in the senior race.
U15G Summer Woodhead added to her good run of local results by winning the two-mile junior race in 12-21 – just under half-a-minute clear of runner-up Jayden Creber.
The next race of the series takes place on the challenging Stonecrusher loop on Saturday 10 November at 2pm.
Full results to follow
