Cross Country in Leek




On Saturday 9th December it was the last cross country race of the North Staffs Cross Country League (see http://www.nsccl.co.uk/) which was held in Leek. For the last few years Walton Chasers have entered a team with varying levels of success.

The course was extremely muddy and very churned up in places (see photo!) because of the previous races. It was quite a hilly course which when combined with the mud proved to be quite technical. Although I never like muddy and hilly courses I knew that I could be in for a good race as for some reason it doesn't affect me as much as others.

On the first lap I just tried to run at no more than 90%, but seemed to be well placed. Towards the end of the lap I picked off a few individuals which is always a nice feeling. On the second lap it was just a case of finding a rhythm and again I managed to pick off a few more runners. I seemed to be slower than quite a few others in my group on the flat/descent and would often drop back by 15m or so, before regaining that distance on the following climb. I don't remember too much about the third lap other than I was starting to feel it a little, and on the fourth lap I got overtaken by a couple of runners. By the fifth and final lap I was really beginning to feel tired and got overtaken by 3-4 more runners, but by this stage there was nothing I could do about it. Towards the end of the lap I caught sight of a team mate, Ray Collins and I made it my target to lap him. I managed to do with with about 40 metres to spare.

Overall I was well chuffed with the run, coming in 41/179 which I think is probably one of the best runs ever by a Chaser in a time of 44.26. If only all cross country races could be as tough as this one!

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