THE wind blew, the rain came down and the mud made going difficult, but the intrepid runners from Tavistock Athletic Club turned up in numbers for round four of this season's Brooks Westward Cross Country League this Sunday at Bideford.

The course had received a thorough soaking all week long, and once they left the first mile on road and trail, athletes were confronted with treacherous underfoot conditions in undulating fields and along narrow riverbanks, before returning to the road for the final run-in to the finish.

Race one produced the first Tavistock victory of the day. In the middle of a rich vein of form, Jo Meeks' quality was apparent to all as she blasted clear of the field to take an emphatic victory over the senior ladies field. Veteran 40 category leader, Caroline Steven showed the benefits gained from recent training at the Tavistock Track with an outstanding fifth place to further extend what now looks like an invincible position in her age group. Despite a serious injury sustained during a gymnastic competition Rebecca Deane bravely completed the Tavistock Team by finishing in a battling 16th position and maintaining the team's challenge for a top three position at the season's end. Running alongside the Ladies, Josh Steven and Sam Lloyd competed well at U17s men's level to finish in 9th and 10th place respectively.

U13 boys and girls have been the top junior categories for Tavistock this season. Following his outstanding win the previous week at the South-West Championships, Jordan Channon notch up his fourth consecutive victory. In his best finish of the season, team-mate Josh Boon followed closely in fifth place. In the girls lone Tavistock entrant Emily Attfield grasped her opportunity, giving her all to take a superb fifth.

Tavistock provided 12 of the 88 entrants in the senior mens race with some outstanding results. With Adam Holland leading the Tavistock challenge, there was little to choose behind between Champion, Exley, Drage , Symons and Groombridge as they followed closely.

Shortly after an energy-sapping uphill battle, Drage was able to show Symons a clean pair of heels, leaving him behind to battle the remaining race with Martin Exley who clearly had his mind on his forthcoming selection for the Spanish 12K Championship. A continuing surge then saw Drage pass Adam Holland to move into fifh overall. Holland was able to fight back with a final sprint, his younger legs pulling him clear of the experienced South West veteran 50 champion.

Further back, a cruel hamstring tear within sight of the finish was to deny Groombridge a top 20 finish, but he still managed to finish in 23rd place, anchoring the Tavistock team to their first overall victory of the season and maintaining his own 100% record in the Veteran 55 championship.

Senior men's Tavistock: Adam Holland 4th, Richard Drage 6th, Tony Symons 13th, Martin Exley 15th, Steve Groombridge 23rd, Chris Champion 27th, Lloyd Charles 39th, Rufus Meek 52nd, Reuben Grice 57th, Pete Overcoat 65th, Gary Chater 75th, Mike Carpenter 83rd .

The U15 boys rounded off an outstanding day for the Devon club, with James Best in 7th and Pete Jarman in 12th place gaining their best finishes so far and setting the bar high for February's equally tough fixture at Bovey Tracey.