Having narrowly missed promotion to Chiltern League Division 1 at the end of last season, Thame Runners' cross-country team were keen to make a good start in the first of the five-match Division 2 series at Kingsbury, West London, on Saturday.

As the first race in the league, the Kingsbury event is traditionally a gentle introduction.

However,after the heavy rain, the course was marshy in many places and those runners without spikes had great difficulty in keeping their footing.

The women's team, led home by Nikki Hayward, achieved a high position in the team event. Patsy Baker produced a strong run to be the next Thame lady home, followed by Carol Plater.

There was a good all-round performance from the Thame men's team. Neil Richards once again shone, and came in ahead of Graham Turner, Reg Koster, Steve Benjamin, Mark Emmett, Roy Calcutt and Arthur Airey.

Thame's sole entrant in the boys' race, Adam Hayward, failed to finish because of an ankle injury.

The two Abingdon Amblers competitors came away happy with their performances.

Jack Hill (U13B) came in fourth in a time of 13.05 over the 2.4-mile course, while his cousin James Mackinnon in the U17 men came in 22nd overall, but 16th in the U17 category, in a time of 21.51 for the 3.5-mile course.

The next race will be at Shotover on November 4. Thame runners who are interested in taking part should contact the secretary, Graham Turner.