THE blue vests were replaced by posh frocks and dinner jackets on Saturday night as the City of Salisbury Athletics and Running Club (CoSARC) enjoyed its annual awards dinner at St John Place, writes DI CROSS.

Guest of honour was five-times Olympian and European 10,000 metre gold medallist Jo Pavey MBE.

Pavey told guests how “Running is my passion” – discussed her long career and answered questions from guests, before presenting the awards for:

Female cross country runner of the year: Sian Thomas.

Male cross country runner of the year: Richard Davidson.

Junior female cross country runner of the year: Louise Webb.

Junior male cross country runner of the year: Henry Dix.

Female road runner of the year: Ruth Holloway.

Male road runner of the year: Stuart Holloway.

Female most improved athlete of the year: Helen Carlton.

Male most improved athlete of the year: Benedict Saunby.

Female track & field athlete of the year: Emma Clarke.

Male track & field athlete of the year: Richard Holt.

Junior Female track & field athlete of the year: Skye Allen.

Junior male track & field athlete of the year: Joshua Dyer.

New member of the year: Grace Cousins.

Female participant of the year: Denise von Roretz.

Male participant of the year: Vasen Moodley.

Coach of the year: Craig Weatherburn.

Official of the year: Andy Webb.

Volunteer of the year: Jill Coles.

Before concluding, Povey received flowers from one of the club’s young stars, Bea Wood, who was also celebrating success this week.

Wood won the Intermediate Girls event at the Wiltshire Schools Athletic Association Cross Country Championship at Sheldon School in Chippenham in 13:49, nearly a minute ahead of her nearest rival.

She was followed by the club’s Isabella Wolsey in fourth, Jade Griscti in 10th and Alicia Finnis in 15th.

To make it a double for the club, Lukas Bailey took the Intermediate Boys award in 19:43, with Guy Mitchell following him in 6th.

In the Senior Boys, Henry Dix took 14th in the Junior Boys Otto Jenner was 18th; Olivia Glover was 8th in the Junior Girls and Zoe Thomas 10th; Neve Cousins was 6th Year 7 Girl and Amelia Brace 36th; and Toby Halsey and Joseph Holme were 24th and 38th respectively in the Year 7 Boys.

The Chepstow Speedway 10k produced another city triumph, with Verity Ockenden taking the honours in a new course best.

At the London Indoor Games at Lee Valley, Alex Mundell ran a personal best of 2:15 to finish 16th in the U20 and Senior Women’s 800m, while Nick Bruce also ran a personal best, finishing in 1:58 in the under-20 and Senior Men’s 800m.

Meanwhile, Jaymee Domoney opened his indoor season in the USA running for Charleston Southern University with an impressive 13 second personal best in the 3000m at the Gamecock Opener in Columbia, South Carolina last Friday evening. His time of 08:29:66 ranks him 13th internationally for the event this year.

Stepping up from metres to miles, Jenny Hartley completed the challenging Beyond the Far Side 24-hour ultra. “The most ridiculous amount of mud I’ve ever seen,” said the hardy runner, who covered 74.2 miles with 11,900ft of elevation to take the second woman spot and fifth overall.

All pictures taken by James Ballard