East District Cross Country League - Livingston 18/10/08
The start of the Women and U/17 boys raceMichael's Report
So apparently the ‘honour’ of writing a report for the Livingston cross country falls to me. I’m really a very easy man to please when it comes to running. There are very few races, if any, I would never run again and I have to be honest I was definitely looking forward to running cross country after an unacceptably long absence. This was actually my first legitimate senior appearance in cross country; every other appearance had been as a junior or as a senior under an illegitimate name.
Anyway, the race took place in Deans in Livingston, which isn’t by any means the easiest place to find, and the men’s race was 2 laps and about 6 miles in distance. The terrain is varied and the course is undulating without being brutal through woodland and parkland near Deans high school.
The weather pre-race was variable and it was apparent that standing about in a vest and shorts for long periods of time wasn’t going to be advisable.
The men
Portobello had 5 male representatives; myself, Peter, Gerry, Scott Jarvie and Tony, and 1 sole female representative; Mary. Alas that meant there would be no team prizes heading our way even before the race started, although Peter, Gerry, Scott and Tony made a vet team. It was disappointing not to get a team together, although I’m sure this was at least partially due to the proximity to the Jedburgh half marathon the next day
As for the race itself I had a great time. Maybe this is due to the fact I was eager to make up for my horribly enforced absence from last week's hill racing, but I was very much up for this and spent the first half of the race overtaking people, including Peter and Gerry, both of whom I thought I had an extremely good chance of seeing again.
This did not prove to be the case though, and I managed to maintain my progress fairly well into the second lap and towards the end of the race and managed to finish ahead of some faces I had fully expected to beat me. This I’m sure was due, in part, to the nature of the race, as something like this was always going to suit me far more than say, a flat 10k.
However I have to confess to being delighted with my own performance as this very much did feel like a step forward and I felt strong to the end of the race which certainly breeds confidence for the future. What I always liked about cross country was the fact that the variety of the course never allows you time to over-think the distance and before you know it you're finished. Whereas in any road race all I ever seem to do is continually wish for the next much coveted mile marker. That’s my theory anyway.
Congratulations to all who took part; Portobello or otherwise, and all those who came along for support. The next instalment of this exciting 3 race series comes from glamorous Broxburn on the 22nd of November, which is definitely a date that goes straight in the diary.
Report Michael Geoghegan
Results here
Roadrunpics here
Willie's film herePeter says...
A very good day for it really - cool but not freezing and mostly the rain stayed away. Well done Michael getting out his spikes for the first time since 2004, a very strong performance. I'm sure not everyone would agree about the course not being brutal; there were quite a few slips and falls judging by the amount of mud covering some folk. I thought it was pretty full on, but about right, with a great mix of grass trails, dirt and cinder hardpack through the attractive woodlands, slippy corners to test your grip and balance, fast downhills and testing up hill sections.
Showboating unecessarily for the camera.I was also pleased with my run as I went exactly a minute quicker going from 88th last year to 44th this year. What I wasn't so pleased about was the lack of a team either male or female from a club like our's boasting over a hundred members.
Martin Hyman (above) would have been out setting that course (the same route as last year) from virtually first light and taking it down long after we got in our warm cars and left. Alex Jackson and his team at the finish line are out in all weathers, and the work continues afterwards collating results and posting them on the website. All we have to do is turn up and have fun running round a very well laid out and marshalled course taking photos of ourselves! I'm sure we'll have 2 full teams next time won't we?
Now wash your hands.
Don't be put off by the memories of schoolday enforced cross country horrors in the depth of winter between double french and physics. This is much more fun: an invigorating blast over a multi terrain course that is so short (30 ~ 40mins) by the time you're starting to wheeze and peg the finish line is in sight. Hurry home to scrape off the mud and I'll bet the soup and toast tastes better than ever before. Its what the winter is for.
Gareth (2nd claim Porty) and buddy. Gareth also ran Jedburgh - hats off. The yellow shoes are the new Mizuno Wave Harrier 2 the sort of thing to give you grip over the muddy course. Gareth reckoned they were slightly better in the pub than over wet rock but that could be said for most shoes. If you want a pair they are available at Run & Become or Wiggle online (remember to follow the link off our front page.)Big thanks to Martin, Alex and their teams of helpers for the smooth running of a complex machine. Very well done to Martin's prodigy Edel Mooney who came first woman. Outstanding.
Roll on Broxburn and another fun course.
Photos Peter and Mary
FILM OF THE EVENT HEREHere are some better photos lifted from the roadrunpics site, worth visiting to see all the images.
Michael getting away from Peter - Tom Scott (8) did the same.
What could be better than this?
What are they teaching at university these days?
FILM OF THE EVENT HERE
