Intense battles in Italian mountains for England

England Athletics were represented by 10 athletes at one of Italy’s most iconic international mountain relay events.  There were record entries in the northern Italy town of Morbegno for the 42nd running of the Vanoni Women’s Relay and the 68th edition of Trofeo Vanoni. 

Senior women

The women were first up, as the two teams of two tackled a lap each of the 5km course with 248m elevation.  After a fast start over the first 500m through the usually quiet streets of the town, the runners hit the steep trails up to the course high point around 2.2km, before the fast descent back into town. 

Evie Warren (Guildford & Godalming, Daniel Wallis) and Hannah Havelock-Allan (Keswick AC, Billy Cartwright) were the first leg runners for each team, with Evie coming back across the line after her lap in 24:23 with Hannah following in 26:56.  Emma Moran (Bingley Harriers, Sarah McCormack) and Celia Powell (Ambleside AC, Sarah McCormack) took over for the second laps and battled their way to secure team finishes of 9th and 16th after running legs of 24:33 and 24.50 respectively. Evie, Hannah and Celia were all making their England Athletics debuts - and strong showings in one of the sports’ primary relay events, sets them up for future success.

Senior men

With Morbegno now buzzing with excitement following an Italian victory in the morning's women's race, it was the men’s turn to attack their 3 x 7.25km course.  Once again a lightning-fast start over the first 500m led to an intense battle for positions, involving Luke Fisher (Carnethy Hill Racing Club) and Jack Cummings (Ilkley Harriers), who were leading out our two teams.  After a longer climb to the high point just after 4.1km, there were once again strong battles throughout the field for the 3km descent back into town.  Our first leg runners arrived back in 30:56 and 34:00, with Luke ensuring England were in the battle for a medal. 

Leg 2 runners Ben Sharrock (Ambleside, Sarah McCormack), 31:33 and Max Walker (Milocarian AC), 30:57, continued the strong starts from the first leg runners, with Max in particular picking up numerous places.  There was still a chance of a medal for England as the 3rd legs started, as George Foster (Keswick AC) took over for the lead England team, just outside of the medals. After another strong run, George came across the line in fifth position after a leg of 31:30.  Jake Collier (Keswick AC) battled to the end of the third leg in 34:40, bringing home the second England team in 14th position.

Photos by George Foster