It was a foul day. We had thick wet snow in the morning and by the afternoon it had resolved to a murky cold mist. As we left the house, stripping down and running around a playing field was the last thing I felt like doing.
In the event, I loved it. The perimeter of the fields had been churned into mud, which made it quite a technical route. Add to that some interesting little slopes and chicanes, and I didn't mind the complicated laps. I had a great battle with a runner from Eastleigh AC and finished in 54th position - my best by a long way this season... although this was partly due to a smaller field of runners. Even more pleasing, I made it into 10th place veteran position for the league as a whole. Interestingly, my finish time was exactly the same as the same event last year, but given the conditions underfoot I reckon that's an improvement.
A very satisfactory end to the season. I'm very grateful to the organisers and marshals who brave hours on end at these events being very cheerful and stoic despite getting thoroughly wet and cold. And of course thank you to the lovely Mrs S for braving the elements for photo taking and very welcome support!
A selection of photos:
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| Near the start - I'm wearing the hi-vis gloves |
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| The runner from Eastleigh... we battled for much of the race |
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| The muddy finish |
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| 54th place - my best ever in the XC league event |
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