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Ramsden and Axford triumph at Cardiff Cross Challenge
Kate Axford and Matthew Ramsden won the senior races at the Cardiff Cross Challenge 2026.
Kate Axford and Matthew Ramsden were crowned senior women’s and men’s champions in the Cardiff Cross Challenge at Llandaff Fields.
The first instalment of the three-part British Athletics Cross Challenge Series, sponsored by Sportsshoes X Nike, delivered plenty of drama, with Axford holding off Amelia Quirk (Bracknell AC) for the win in the women’s race.
Ramsden (Blackburn Harriers) missed the entrance to the home straight in the men’s race but had enough left in the tank to chase down James Kingston (Tonbridge AC) for victory.
Axford was always part of the lead group in the women’s race, with Poppy Tank, Lizzie Wellsted (Colchester Harriers AC) and Rebecca Flaherty (Bingley Harriers & AC) all taking turns at the front, while 1500m Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir (Dundee Hawkhill Harriers) was in the mix.
On the final lap of the 6.4km course, Axford, Quirk and Flaherty pulled away from the rest to make sure of the podium, with all three surging to the front in the closing stages.
As Axford and Quirk kicked, Flaherty lost touch, with Axford then able to hold off a late charge from Quirk to claim victory in a time of 20:37; Quirk posted the same time, with Flaherty finishing three seconds back.
“The last time I raced this race was two years ago; since that time, I have had all sorts of different setbacks and injuries,” Axford said.
“I think it is just wondering whether you can get back…I like cross, but I didn’t know how I would fare. Six and a bit k, that’s quite long for me now these days.
“It was nice to use some of that 1500m speed in the last 30 seconds to take the win. It was a great race; I was tested all the way.”
The men’s race played out similarly, with a big pack taking the 9.6km race out, led initially by Jacob Cann (Western Tempo)
Ramsden and Kingston were always comfortably placed at the front, with Kadar Omar, Callum Elson (Cambridge & Coleridge AC), Mahamed Mahamed (Southampton AC) and Jenson Connell (Leeds City AC) also involved.
The final lap saw Omar join Kingston and Ramsden at the head of the race before the latter two pulled away to battle it out for the victory.
It looked like Kingston would streak away for the win when Ramsden missed the turn for the finishing straight, but after hurdling the ropes, the Blackburn Harrier showed a remarkable turn of pace to chase Kingston down and triumph in a time of 27:26.
Kingston finished two seconds back, with Omar completing the podium in 27:39.
“It was brilliant, my first time at Cardiff Cross,” Ramsden said. “I have heard it was good underfoot and dry, which it has been the previous years, which it was.
“I really enjoyed it; it was good running out there, it is completely different to what cross country is about, but it is still a gutsy course, so I am happy with that.”
Earlier in the day, Maisey Bellwood (Keighley & Craven AC) delivered a dominant win in the women’s U20s race, finishing 21 seconds ahead of Reading AC’s Lizzy Sheridan with Eleanor Foster (North Devon AC) coming home in third.
Rory Barclay-Watt (Exeter Harriers) was similarly dominant in the men’s U20s race, front-running to a 10-second victory over Jack Sanderson (Settle Harriers), with Onjoro Sumba (Aldershot Farnham & District) just behind him.
The best of British cross country will next head to Sefton Park for the Liverpool Cross Challenge on 28 November, which will also act as the official trial race for selection to the Novuna Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team for the 2026 European Cross Country Championships.
