"I ran the National Cross Country Championship on Hampstead Heath, and helped Gateshead Harriers to second place team medals. There is an old saying about 'horses for courses', and this race showed me just how true it is. My style of running is best suited to bouncing off the smooth hard surface of a track or road. The 1981 'National' consisted of 9 miles of unrelenting deep sticky mud, and I slipped and slid my way to 56th place, five minutes behind the winner Julian Goater."
Source- Charlie Spedding, From Last to First, page 96 (first paperback edition).
The West District Cross Country only took place yesterday but the experience was such a horrific one, I cannot get it off my chest quickly enough. I like flicking through Charlie Spedding's book every so often when I need something to help me in running. I came across the above quote. I could sum up my experience at Ardgowan Estate, Inverkip in one, brief paragraph.
I ran the Scottish West District Cross Country Championship on Ardgowan Estate, Inverkip, and helped Cambuslang Harriers to first place team medals. There is an old saying about 'horses for courses', and this race showed me just how true it is. My style of running is best suited to bouncing off the smooth hard surface of a track or road. The 2012 'West' consisted of 6 miles of unrelenting deep sticky mud, and I slipped and slid my way to 14th place, 2 minutes 53 seconds behind the winner Derek Hawkins.
Can you see what I did there? Charlie Spedding's paragraph sums up my experience yesterday in a nutshell. After a small lap to start, I got into a group of 5 with Derek Hawkins, Andrew Douglas, one of Shettleston's Eritrean athletes and our own Wegene Tafese. What followed came totally unexpectedly. I was totally ill prepared for the scale of the mud and, before long, runners were passing me. My head went down big time. At the end of the first of 2 laps, I was genuinely on the verge of stopping. However, I've never pulled out a race and never intend to, therefore, whatever it took and wherever I ended up, I intended to finish. I ploughed on, failing to get any rhythm going whatsoever. 5 Cambuslang athletes had passed me so, with 6 to count, I had a battle to remain one of the counters. Only the 6 counters get the medals. Not since the year I finished last in every cross country I entered had I felt so awful in a race. Horrible feeling. I did manage to stay ahead of our 7th man, Charlie Thomson, to take the 6th spot. That target alone got me through the 2nd lap. Woeful as I felt, I did seek out every guy I could find who finished ahead of me to offer a handshake- Thomas Fay, Stephen Trainer, Chris Devenney, Michael Deason and all 5 of our guys. I couldn't find the others, Derek Hawkins, Andrew Douglas, Sean Fontana or Kerrick Hesse.
Above: a long, lonely, soul destroying slog. Photo courtesy of Kenny Phillips.
In the end, we were very convincing team gold medallists thanks to me in 14th plus Wegene Tafese (2nd), Iain MacCorquodale (7th) then Ben Hukins, Kerry Wilson and David Munro finishing one after the other in 9th, 10th and 11th. An excellent, dominant team performance. They say time is a healer but, as I write this, I'm still a bit raw.
In a strange paradox, on returning home, I had a parcel containing my British Milers Club membership for 2013 and vest. Some good race opportunities await next summer. At least there isn't any mud on a track.
for me... it was much worse ;)
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