CITY of Salisbury cross country men’s runners are celebrating a double promotion following the last Hampshire League fixture of the current campaign at Reading on a tough and windy day.

Next season both the senior men’s team and the over-40 year-old veterans will now start in the league’s first divisions.

Ed O’Gorman took a hard-earned fifth place in the overall league standings, and evergreen Kevin Tilley was 13th.

Not to be outdone, the club’s ladies’ team produced their best league result with a fourth placing, the club trio having been strengthened by an excellent debut from Sian Thomas. She took 11th spot, Alex Mundell was a good 17th and her younger sister Tasha Mundell, 15, ran a storming race to make up the trio with 51st.

Men’s placings on the day were Jaymee Domoney 34th, Ian Shelley 60th, Ed O’Gorman 63rd, Kevin Tilley 79th, Andy Holme 82nd, and Richard Larcombe 114th.

Nile Battey had a good run with 15th place in the under 15s and Fabrice Webb was 16th in the under 17s. Among the under 15 girls, Louise Webb was 28th and Ellen Tilley 38th.

Stuart Holloway ran one of his best 10k’s on the road in the coastal event at Selsey where, despite a near gale that ripped across the flat, circular course, he took second place in 33min 37sec, less than a minute down on winner Toby Lambert of Winchester AC, the Salisbury 10mile course record holder, who clocked 32.43.

The strong wind was a feature at the hilly, three lap Wimborne 20mile race too, two Salisbury runners completing the challenge.

Rithy Hy was the better of the two with 2hours 17mins 44sec and Clive Smith recorded 2.22.35.