By Owen Morgan
Charlotte Arter produced a brave run to claim second place in the women’s senior at the Simplyhealth Great Stirling X-Country.
The Welsh athlete’s performance helped Great Britain & Northern Ireland earn vital points as they held off Team USA, to finish with 84 points overall.
Team Europe took victory, accumulating 55 points.
The women’s senior race kicked off the day’s competition and Arter was the first of three Welsh athletes in action – Swansea Harrier Kris Jones and Liverpool AC’s Charlie Hulson running later in the men’s senior race.
A cagey first two laps of the six kilometre course in the shadow of the imposing Stirling Castle saw the women’s field stay closely packed.
But the start of the third lap saw Arter take the race by the scruff of the neck, upping the pace and stretching the field out behind her.
Only Germany’s Elena Burkard and Denmark’s Anna Emille Moller appeared able to stay with Arter as the Cardiff athlete built up what looked to be a potentially decisive lead during the third lap.
But Burkard fought back onto level terms as the athletes started the final lap and went on to build a lead which she would hold to the finish line.
Arter fought hard to stay in contention but had to settle for second place just five seconds behind in a time of 20:06, but ahead of Moller.
The performance led the British team to second in the senior women’s team race. Swansea Harrier Verity Ockenden finished fifth in a time of 20:16.
After the race Arter, who had been part of Great Britain’s silver medal-winning senior women’s team at the European Cross Country Championships in December, said she was pleased with her performance.
The 27-year-old said: “I had a race plan to start with and stuck to it. At the Europeans I very much got to the back and I had to work my way through, so I really wanted to attack that course today and run a brave race.
“So, after two laps I just went for it. I probably went a little bit too hard and maybe a lap too soon, but I committed and went with it. But Elena caught me up and then it became a matter of hanging on for as long as possible, but I’m really happy to come second.
“I’ve had a really solid block of training and I had a really good parkrun last week so I knew I was in good shape and just wanted to run with confidence and see where that took me today.
“Six kilometres is bit shorter (than the European Championships) and I didn’t want it to come down to a last 400m burn up so that was in the back of my mind, wanting to make sure that I made it a good, hard, honest race.”
Asked whether she was now targeting a place at the World Cross Country Championships in Denmark in March, Arter said: “After the race today I’m going away to Spain for warm weather training on Monday, then the plan is to just hit the roads and maybe a bit of cross as well. I’m undecided what I’m doing, but it’s definitely on the cards.”
The senior men’s race was won by Hilary Bor for the USA in a time of 23:48, ahead of Europe’s Napoleon Solomon.
The American claimed the win despite going the wrong way with just over a lap to go.
Kris Jones, who in previous years had only watched the international races at this event after taking part in the accompanying inter-district races, finished 12th overall while Charlie Hulson was one place behind.
In the final race of the international match, European 1500m champion Laura Muir led the Great Britain mixed relay team to victory, earning herself a fifth consecutive mixed relay title.
Wrexham’s Matt Willis had originally been selected for the junior mixed relay, where Great Britain finished sixth, but had to withdraw prior to the event.
Great Britain’s victory in the mixed relay ensured the team took second place in the overall team standings:
Europe 55
Great Britain 84
USA 90.