England in action at the iconic Trofeo Vanoni Relays
England Athletics was well represented at this year's Trofeo Vanoni Relays - one of Italy’s most iconic international mountain relay events.
We had two very strong U23 teams competing against some of the best mountain runners. With individual and team podium finishes, we are incredibly proud of all the athletes for some, this being their international debut.
“Racing at international level is a skill that requires practice. Giving our top U23 mountain runners the opportunity to develop and hone their craft in the incredible environment of Morbegno is invaluable. The whole community gets behind the organisation of this prestigious and historic race, exposing our athletes to a very high level of international competition and giving them a real feel for what it takes to be competitive.
"They can then take these experiences back into training and use them to help prepare for future international competition. Just as important are the friendships forged within the team and with athletes from across the world. Watching those relationships develop has been a real highlight, and everyone will take away incredibly fond memories from this year’s edition of the Trofeo Vanoni Mountain Relay." - Chris Richards, Team Manager
Results
Women
A fantastic effort by Charlotte Rawston (Skyrac AC, Gordon Agar) and Amy Wheelan (Buxton AC) resulted in team and individual podium results.
- 1st U23, 5th team overall
- 3rd individual U23 for Charlotte Rawstron
“A really good first experience of European mountain running. Running in the England vest for the time pushed me to the next level. The race itself was super fun to be part of, meeting lots of great people and hopefully I will be back in Europe racing in the mountains again soon.” - Amy Wheelan
“Trofeo Vanoni was a race that I am really excited to have on the calendar. It was great to be a part of the local atmosphere and the spectacle of the weekend. Sharing the course with Amy as part of the team was great and really good weekend. Fun, fast and a great event.” - Charlotte Rawston.
Men
Our men’s trio of Sam Bentham (Ilkley Harriers AC, Doug Stewart), Edward Hobbs (Ilkley Harriers AC, Andi Drake) and Charlie Allmond (Ambleside AC) also had fantastic team and individual finishes.
- 1st U23 team, 4th overall team
- 1st U23 individual for Edward Hobbs
- 2nd U23 Individual for Sam Bentham