At last week's cross country meet I honestly didn't think that it would be possible to have worse weather than we had there. It turns out that I was wrong!
John Keenan had organised for us to enter some teams into the London Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath. He lured me in by saying that it was a good course and that it would be an enjoyable experience. It certainly was an experience! On leaving the warmth of the Overground train I was immediately assaulted by persistent drizzly rain and a cold wind. The rain would not let up all afternoon and rather than feeling warm and wet like the previous week I felt cold and wet because of the wind.
Nineteen of us turned up to run and I think we all thought that it would have been nicer to stay in bed! There were a lot of other running clubs standing near us beside their flags and under their awnings and tents (London Heathside were obviously hard as nails as they didn't have any cover at all!). Our gazebo did not do very well at keeping us or our possessions warm or dry but it did keep the rain off a bit as we got ready to start. I saw how muddy some of the women were as they returned from their race and knew that this was going to be messy!
After the starting gun went off, we climbed a steep hill (possibly Parliament Hill) and then ran into the first circuit. There was a steep downward slope and the course bent to the left at the end of this; it was already very muddy here and I skidded slightly near the bottom but was able to stop myself from falling. Then it was up another very steep hill and through the trees, which every time I ascended felt like really hard work. I enjoyed the first lap, the second was a repeat of the first but by the time I reached the second steep ascent I was feeling really tired. I kept thinking that these two were only the shorter ones and that there were still two long loops to come!
The rain did not abate and my hands felt freezing cold (I had worn gloves before the start but taken them off as my hands usually get really hot when I'm running), as we started around the first of the two longer loops. These were the first loops with two rabbit-ear shaped extensions included, which were both relatively flat. By now I was finding the conditions really tough, as I trudged through deep swamps and wet boggy bits of the course, I had mud splattered all up my ankles, shin and back. Luckily my fellow Frontrunner Ciarán joined me and we kept each other going for the last part of the run. I have never been so relieved to see a finish line as I was that day!
I was very pleased with my time of 51 minutes 6 seconds, finishing 319th out of 353 runners, which, as it was my first ever 10km cross country, would be a personal best. Despite the atrocious conditions and the toughness of the course and distance I nonetheless really enjoyed the experience - it's always fun running a race with my Frontrunner buddies!
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