National Cross Country Championships Falkirk 10/02/07
Inspired by some of the remarks after the race (“never again!”, “why?” or words along those lines) here’s my attempt at Haiku:
The question is why?
Cold wind and mud underfoot
Not a chance in hell
Our girls warm upThat sums it all up I suppose. It was cold! It wouldn’t be a proper cross country if it wasn’t. I guess as this was the National, it should really have been snowing as well. Yes, it was muddy in places but it could have been much worse. And with respect to winning it, I’ve given up on that kind of ambition about 25 years ago, it’s the Olympic spirit that counts. Besides, I wouldn’t have been allowed to win anyway, given my outlandish surname.
So there were plenty of excuses, but as this was a team effort we all felt a sense of duty and in the end ten of us showed up in our Porty vests for the National Cross Country Championships last Saturday in Falkirk. A 4 km course had been laid out through Callendar Park on a mixture of grassy slopes and gravel tracks and the odd muddy patch. It was 2 laps for the women, 3 for the men.
The womens' start
The women got off by about half past two. We managed to cheer Mary, Kerry and Sheena on at several points during their first lap while we were doing our warming up. They were running somewhere in the middle of the pack and were looking strong. Unfortunately I didn’t see their finish as that coincided with the start of the men’s race, but they all managed to hang in there and finished within about a minute of each other (Sheena, 91st in 37:41, Mary, 97th in 38:00, Kerry 104th in 38:54). I shouldn’t forget to mention Janet, who ran for COE, and finished 16th.
The frozen water is testament to the cold
At three o’clock it was our turn. The speaker announced that there were over six hundred runners registered for this event and it certainly felt very crowded. Straight after the start in front of Callendar House, it was steeply up the first hill, then down a muddy, grass slope towards a pond and around that on gravel tracks. These took us around the back of Callendar House, and were followed by a long stretch on grass. At the far end was a deep ditch followed by a short steep climb out onto the other side from where it was back to the house on grass and up the hill one last time. Then around a patch of wood (according to the map this is the site of the Antonine wall, but there was no time to investigate this) and steeply down and a few hundred meters through sloppy mud to the finish.
I had made a conscious effort not to go off too fast as I’m still trying to find my race-pace and have been caught out a few times before. During the first lap I managed to settle into a good group and managed to keep running at a steady pace, slowly overtaking other runners. I struggled a bit during the second lap partly as I found myself battling on my own a fair bit. I had worried a bit about the distance beforehand but to my surprise my third lap wasn’t too bad. I managed to keep on overtaking and even managed to find a bit of energy for a final sprint towards the finish. I finished 184th in 49:00 and definitely felt I had given it my best.
At the front of the womens race
So how about the others? I never saw any of them after the start, so I have to go on their results and what they said afterwards. Willie and Peter finished 153 and 154 in 47:41, apparently Willie overtook Peter in the last meters and was accused of un-sporting behaviour. Gerry had been in front of them for much of the race but struggled in the last lap and came in at 163 in 48:16. Keith finished in 51:07, followed by Ricky in 52:56 and John in 57:46. After all this we had enough finishers for both Porty teams to feature in the results. The girls managed a 22nd place and the boys came in 21st.
So the question WHY remains. I have to admit that I just enjoyed it. Must be something to do with battling the elements, you feel miserable initially, but by the time you’ve run one lap you’ve warmed up and are ready to enjoy the scenery! Anyway, I’ll definitely do it again.
Report Leo Zijerveld
Freya was an outstanding winner
Lucy gives it 100%
Gerry's sister Louise cheered us on and took photos
Hang on there's one missing
Aha
The Mens' teamHere is Janet's report...
I was really looking forward to this race as it is such a big event with a lot of good quality runners in it. (There were 148 women altogether in the field.) I hadn't raced for a few weeks so I did feel up for it on the day.
I must say it was a miserable day with a horrible cold wind at some parts of the route. I'm glad I had my hat and gloves on - my nose constantly ran from start to finish. Once I got started I stopped thinking about the cold and started to enjoy the race. I felt relaxed with no pressures, and just ran my own race. I was determined to make sure I at least enjoyed some of the course.
There were a few small steep inclines you had to work on, a few down hills, and as we ran towards the trees and pond we had to go through a very muddy part. I could actually feel the ground trying to swallow up my shoe - thank goodness I had double tied them.
On the second lap I followed a girl Jill, who wisely ran around all the mud, so I tracked her feet the rest of the race. I enjoyed the first lap; I felt comfortable, but as I headed on to the second lap I had to focus as I knew I was in 3rd place for City of Edinburgh and would count for a team medal as people kept saying to me as I was running round. Someone even shouted “Come on move it! Every place counts!”
Janet storms towards the finish line
Anyway I finished strong and did get my bronze team medal and enjoyed the whole event.
Report Janet Dunbar
Photos Peter Buchanan, Louise Scullion
Results hereand this just in...
For the second consecutive year the main Scottish cross country championship took place at Callendar Park in Falkirk reports Gerry. I think all those in the club who took part would agree, an excellent venue for a major cross country event.
Ricky, Willie, Keith and I turned up early, early enough to grab a cup of tea in the school dinner hall before getting changed into our gear for the BIG event. We were to join up with Leo and Peter for part of the warm up and John Forker closer to the start time, though we did seem to lose Keith for a while.
Outside we met the brave girls from the club taking part, Sheena, Mary and Kerry. They were 20 minutes from their kick-off so were understandably nervous but still in good humour.
For the mens' event, what a start it was, a stampede of 400+ runners up a slope. It felt and sounded like a horse race, the ground almost shook at the number of feet banging (or gliding) over the grassy surface.
Three circuits of a fine 4 km course, mixed ground, some short hills, a bit of mud, some good stretches of fairly solid flat ash ground, what more could you ask for for a cross country event. A bit of wind too but not so strong to push you back or forward.
After about a km I spotted Willie in front of me, and Peter a little in front of him. It was reassuring as with the numbers participating I was never quite sure if I had gone off too fast, too slow or just right - my reaction was 'just right'.
About half way round the lap there was a steep dip and then sharp upturn, it seemed like a bit of fun at any other time than a serious race. Then a further flat section before the longest hill, which wasn't too bad. A further flat section followed around 2.5 - 3 km with a short, slippy steep slope which took a great deal of effort to keep on your feet. By that point I had passed Willie and could see Peter in front. Good to see a bit of competition amongst club runners.
On the second lap I continued to gain a few more places. Cheers from the lady runners, my sister and some chap who seemed to know my name (but I couldn't look across to see if I knew who it was, OR maybe there was another Gerry running close to me!) helped greatly. Thanks.
I caught Peter. stayed beside him for a couple of hundred metres before heading up a hill and seemed to gain a couple of yards. Peter tells me that on the last, short slippy hill of the second lap I gained a few extra yards as he struggled with the mud. Understandable as it was pretty deep and slippy no matter which route you took and the more tired you were the harder it was.
Got round to the start of the final lap and welcomed the cheers of the crowd gathered around that point, I took a second to wave at my sister. All seemed well at that point. A km later, going around the back of the loch I wasn't so fine, a stitch had got hold of me and I struggled with it for a couple of hundred metres before giving into it, it was agony. I gave some thought to how I could get rid of it but nothing came to my mind, I couldn't adjust my breathing at the pace I was going so I had to slow down and clutch my side, at this point I was down to a jog.
A few runners came by me then Peter, who kindly asked if I was OK (don't know where you got the breath for that) followed soon after by Willie who said a similarly kind remark. I was done at this point.
By this time I suspect we were close to half way round the third lap. I was disappointed but just kept on plodding - no point in feeling sorry for yourself - that's not running etiquette. The stitch lifted a bit and I tried to get back to the others, but I felt a bit done in. Still we had a full team for the event so every position matters so I tried to keep with those going by me. I think I lost around 35 places.
The final straight section, on red ash makes a fine finish. I managed to hold onto some chap who helped to pull me through. I was glad to see the finish line.
Well done to all the guys and girls who took part in the race. It's a big event but it's great that we had full teams taking part in the mens' and womens' event, and a couple of our runners in COE too. Promising for the future.
Next year I am confident we will have full teams for all the cross country events. This year has been a big step in the right direction.Report Gerry Scullion
