Southern Counties XC championships, 2019

Becky, Dan and I ventured into central London for what seems a most unlikely activity - cross-country running.  Parliament Hill, part of Hampstead Heath, is infamous for its tough, boggy challenge to thousands of runners each January.  I had an advantage on the rest of the Romsey gang, having been here for a few CSSC XC events, most recently last October.

It was a mild-ish day after a cold week, and I didn't pack a lot of warm gear.  We piled out of the train at Gospel Oak, and in the wind it was really quite chilly - I put on everything I had in my bag, borrowed a hat from Becky and was just about OK.

The Musketeers

This is a very Dan photo

There were ten races throughout the day.  We went up the hill to watch the <20 men come through, and after this Becky was on for her 8k race (absurdly, men and women race very different distances).  Dan and I cheered her on, and suddenly it was our turn.  I had a bit of a scramble to get changed, put my brand-new spikes on and rush down to the start line with barely a minute to go.  No loosening or warming up today.

Becky storms through her first lap

The start is quite something.  The start line is at least 100m long and from there you funnel up Parliament Hill, getting steeper all the time, before you're into the mud.  A gun went off, and 1154 of us charged forward.  Someone roared 'FREEDOM' and suddenly I was in the middle of a medieval battle.

The chaps on the start line

Careful now

Over the hill, and on to the first of three laps advertised as 5k each.  Although it had been a dry month, there was plenty of mud.  With so many runners there was very little space.  It was continually technical and challenging, with many twists, constant gradients and lots of fun underfoot.  My heart and my breath were pounding with minimal respite.

It was all a bit of a blur

Dan, about to punch himself

It felt like I was way down the pack, but on the second lap I was passing close by runners who were well back, which cheered me up.  At the end of the second lap I was looking at my watch thinking that it would be less than 15k overall.  I was glad to mentally tick off all the memorable bogs, slopes and landmarks on my final lap, and then someone called out '800m to go'.  I ran like hell, and managed to catch a few on the final descent and the last straight to the finish line.  Check out my tussle my a guy called Paul...

I finished the 13.7k course in a time of 57:06, and soon afterwards Dan arrived, and then Peat, who had travelled to London independently.  My position was 339 out of 1154, which I was pleased with, in the context of an uber-competitive race - I was hoping to get into the top half.

Great fun, and quite unlike your average race.  Hoping to get an RRR team next year!