The sixty-first Senior Women's National Cross-Country Championships took place on Stopsley Common, Luton. The course was 5,700 metres and consisted of two laps and the start and finish straights.
Lisa York (Leicester Coritanian AC) was unable to defend her title due to injury. World Junior Cross-Country Champion Paula Radcliffe (Bedford & County AC) and Suzanne Rigg (Sale Harriers) were missing as they were concentrating on preparing for the World Cross-Country Championships. This left the path open for the other contenders such as Jayne Spark (Altrincham & District AC), the Northern champion, double individual champion Andrea Whitcombe (Parkside AC), Southern title holder Gillian Stacey (Bromley Ladies AC) and Laura Adam (Parkside AC).
The runners had to face icy winds and thick mud during the race. Halfway round the first lap, Alison Wyeth (Parkside AC) led from Andrea Whitcombe with Laura Adam, Gillian Stacey and Wendy Ore (Cardiff AAC) in pursuit.
By the end of the first lap, Wyeth and Stacey shared the lead followed by Ore, Katie McCandlemas (Parkside AC), Lesley Morton (Westbury Harriers), Whitcombe and Angela Hulley (Leeds City AC). On the second lap Stacey maintained her pace on the hills and the rest fell away giving Stacey a win by 13 seconds over Alison Wyeth in 19:53. Katie McCandlemas came through for bronze.
Gillian Stacey told Athletics Weekly "At the end of the summer I wrote three aims for this winter into my diary - to win the Southern Championships, to qualify for the World Championships and to come in the first three of the National. All were wild dreams that I didn't believe I could achieve."
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