THERE were revenge wins for Mike Fawcett and Nicola Goodwin as the first two swapped places in both the men's and women's races in the second Herefordshire Cross Country League event at High Vinnals near Ludlow on Sunday.

Wye Valley Runners' reigning champion Fawcett was beaten by Tim Taylor in the first race of the season at Croft Castle but this time revelled in the hilly nature of the course to record an emphatic win.

Taylor, running for Hereford Couriers, gained a solid second while Ludlow's Kevin Nash recorded his first top three finish.

The Wye Valley team returned to form with a narrow win thanks to Fawcett, Richard Worth in fifth, Ken Howard (eighth) and Dave Lambert (ninth).

Now just two points separate the top three teams with three races remaining.

In the one-lap women's race, Hereford Triathlon Club's Goodwin gained revenge for her defeat by Wye Valley's Rachel Hatfield in the first race.

Goodwin started more cautiously and pulled through for a decisive victory over Hatfield with Wye Valley veteran Sandy Urro placing third for the second successive race.

Reigning women's champions Ludlow Runners grouped their team well with Sonia George in fifth, Joy Miles sixth and Kris Doll in eighth.

This provided them with a narrow one point team win over Couriers and Wye Valley.

The next event in the series will be run at Holme Lacy College on Sunday, December 7.

RESULTS

Men: 1 Mike Fawcett (Wye Valley Runners) 34 min 8 sec; 2 Tim Taylor (Hereford Couriers) 34 min 35 sec; 3 Kevin Nash (Ludlow Runners) 35 min 58 sec; 4 Tim Clarke (HC) 36 min 10 sec; 5 Richard Worth (WVR) 36 min 37 sec; 6 Mick Ligema (LR) 36 min 55 sec; 7 Matthew James (HC) 37 min 14 sec; 8 Ken Howard (WVR) 37 min 47 sec; 9 Dave Lambert (WVR) 37 min 52 sec; 10 David Moss (Croft Ambrey) 38 min 11 sec.

Women: 1 Nicola Goodwin (Hereford Triathlon Club) 20 min 30 sec; 2 Rachel Hatfield (WVR) 20 min 51 sec; 3 Sandy Urro (WVR) 21 min 23 sec; 4 Alison Cooke (HC) 21 min 36 sec); 5 Sonia George (LR) 22 min 4 sec; 6 Joy Miles (LR) 22 min 22 sec; 7 Jayne Littlewood (HC) 22 min 38 sec; 8 Kris Doll (LR) 22 min 42 sec; 9 Sally Bliss (HC) 22 min 59 sec; 10 Helen Karlsson (CA) 23 min 15 sec.