Heathside’s Josie Hinton edges ahead of clubmate Annie Arnold. PHOTO: LEONARD MARTIN

THERE was no risk of the senior women from London Heathside AC getting stuck in the mud on Saturday when they took part in one of the biggest race days in the athletics calendar.

Thousands of runners homed in on Hampstead Heath to take part in the coveted English National Cross-Country Championships.

And in the mix, and mud, at Parliament Hill was a Heathside senior women’s squad enjoying one of their greatest ever seasons.

They went into the Nationals having already been crowned champions of the Metropolitan Cross-Country League for the fourth campaign running.

The Finsbury Park-based runners also scooped a set of silver medals at the South of England Cross-Country Championships, with Beth Hawling once again leading the team home as she claimed an individual bronze.

Heathside’s bronze medallists, from left: Josie Hinton, Rebecca Bunting, Brogan Wallace and Beth Hawling. PHOTO: JIM CONNELL

Then, on Saturday, the senior women captured their biggest prize yet when they bagged a team bronze at the Nationals – the first time that Heathside have medalled at the event in almost five decades.

Hawling, who won four meets out of four in the Met League, was the fastest Heathsider as she completed the 8k course in 30 minutes, nine seconds to finish ninth out of a field of 1,011 finishers.

Brogan Wallace (32:34) was the next to score as she took 46th place, while Rebecca Bunting (33 minutes flat) and Josie Hinton (33:06) also scored valuable points as they finished 55th and 57th respectively.

Their efforts earned Heathside third place in the team rankings out of 104 clubs.

Heathside chairman Jerry Odlin was the last athlete to win a medal at the Nationals in the early 1970s when the club was known as North London AC – finishing third in what was then the Men’s Under-18s race.

“A huge achievement by our senior women’s team. Simply outstanding,” said Jerry. “Our first medal in a National Cross-Country championship since 1973.”