Home Countries Cross Country International, Antrim, Northern Ireland, 26th March 2011

So here I was. 10 years after finishing last in the under 17 men race at the Scottish National Cross Country to complete a clean sweep of cross country wooden spoons that winter, at the age of 27, I was lining up for my first ever race in Scottish colours. Quite a turnaround which even I can barely fathom. The whole thing was rather new. I even asked the week before if we were expected to travel in our tracksuits.

A party of 18 flew out to Antrim split between Glasgow and Edinburgh airports- teams of 4 senior men (half of which came from Cambuslang, myself and Chris Wilson), senior women, junior men and junior women and two team managers. Friday night accomodation was at Antrim's Holiday Inn Express. Much of the race build up- dinner on Friday night, breakfast on Saturday morning, our team meeting and transport to the Greenmount Campus for the race- went by in a blur because I was so tense. It was only when I got to the venue that I relaxed a bit and focussed on the task.

I walked a lap of the course, caught some of the other races and went through my own tried and trusted warm up. I've done the same stretching routine ever since my Calderglen Harriers days and the same stride drills since switching to Cambuslang. Call it superstition. Whether it's the Dundonald 10k or the Home Countries International, nothing changes. England were more or less dominating most races but there was some Scottish cheer. Matthew Gillespie won the junior men race, Sarah Inglis and East Kilbride's Beth Duff were 3rd and 5th junior women and Rosie Smith of Edinburgh's Hunter Bog Trotters was top Scottish senior woman in 6th. Our time came. A good luck card had been posted to my workplace that week. I said a quick prayer to goodness knows who, quickly re-read the card (I had taken it with me) then joined my teamates Chris Wilson, Ross Houston and Michael Gillespie and teams from England, Wales, North England, Midlands, Irish Universities and the Combined Services on the start line. There were 28 of us in total.

We had 10.8km, 6 laps of 1.8km each. The terrain was okay. Some lush green grass then a slight dip into some woodland, slight rise onto grass, a short but sharp hill, more grass leading into the toughest part, a circuit of a farmer's field churned up by a tractor. That was a lap and, because we're senior men, we got the pleasure 6 times. I established a decent position just off a group in the top half. It was encouraging to get over half way through the first lap and still have the leaders visible.

Above: entering the woodland on lap 1. My distinctive heel flick running action is clearly captured. Thank you to Mark Pollard for taking the photo.

I battled into the second lap when I thought the wheels were coming off. Ross Houston passed me at the woodland followed by another athlete. This put me about 12th. I was feeling the strain a bit and feared an avalanche of runners. I rallied up the hill, passing another athlete and injected a surge of pace at the top. Some confidence came back but after negotiating the tractor treads, the thought of another 4 laps of all that was horrendous. As I entered lap 3, I dug deep into my mind- "what does your vest say? Scotland. Why are you here? Because someone deemed you worthy and selected you. Who are these athletes around you? Among the best in the UK and you are holding your own. So many people have wished you well. Someone even wrote you a card. You cannot stop."

Within a few strides, I had re-invigorated myself and became determined that no-one else would pass. By now, I was going back and forth with a Midlands athlete. Together we were pulling in athletes ahead. Ross Houston was running well in the top 10. Michael Gillespie had gone for it from the start and was gradually dropping back. Chris wasn't far away at my back. A marshal on the course shouted your place each time you passed his spot. My Midlands friend and I were 10th and 11th. I'd had a Welsh athlete for company earlier but a "Spedding surge" (see my training posts) up the hill had burned him off. I got through laps 3 and 4 with a degree of confidence, maintaining good rhythm spurred on by encouragement from team manager Mark Pollard and others. Before the hill on lap 5, Michael looked behind him. I sensed I could catch him. I have a golden rule in races- I always look forward, never back. He had looked back. There was a dip which lead into the farmer's field. Time for another "Spedding surge." I threw myself down the dip and round the right turn past Michael to gain another place. My Midlands companion had slowly upped the pace and I couldn't match it.

Above: the 5th lap. Thank you to Mark Pollard for taking the photo.

I started the final lap in 10th and was determined to stay there. Strangely this turned out to be my strongest lap. As I left the field behind for the final time, I even found a sprint in the home straight to hold on for 10th place in a time of 35:36. Ross Houston was 7th in 35:18, Michael Gillespie rallied for 12th with 35:41 and, showing how close it was for positions, Chris Wilson finished 21st in 36:32. We were 2nd team behind England and ahead of Midlands with Wales in 4th. The race was won by England's Jonathan Pepper in 34:12.

As far as Scotland debuts go, I was happy to have been competitive throughout. Hopefully Chris has taken similar satisfaction. Having raced at Birmingham then Antrim, something I've noticed is how intense the races are. If you have a bad spell, you are down several places in an instant. A key difference between my performances in Birmingham and Antrim was that I was much fresher for the second one. The UK Inter Counties were only 2 weeks after the Scottish National. I ran at one pace all the way. Here I had the benefit of a 3 week gap so fitted in an easy week to freshen up. It made all the difference. I was able to respond to other athletes' moves, I could up the pace and I had the energy to hold off any challenges at the end. These races are a whole different ball game but I am grateful to have had a taste and want to sample more.

The 4 of us warmed down together then, after a chance to shower and get a bite to eat, we were all transported back to the airport. The bar in the departure lounge had stopped serving food and my only options for dinner were Burger King or nothing. I opted for a Whopper, fries and cola just this once. I was desparate!

I suffered a slight ankle sprain during the race. I'm pleased to report as I write this 4 days later, it has cleared up.