Inter Services Cross Country Champs

I raced at Blandford camp yesterday in the Inter Services Cross Country Champs. I will post a full race report on my onsport site (link on the right) but as a brief blurb, I have to say that this ended up being a cracking race. I am referring to the Vets race here, as the Senior Mens race is far too hot for old gits like myself! That said, the Vets race is equally competitive and places in the team are covetted. I was drafted into the team after Al Turnbull withdrew due to injury. I was hardly a worthy replacement as Al is by far the quickest Vet around right now (not sure what has happened to Dave Cole?). As we gathered at the start, it became clear that 2 other team members were quite ill! That left 4 of us to run hard. With only 4 to count, the race was on against the Navy and Army. Sure enough Ronnie McWilliam and Marcus Maxwell, both runners who normally beat me comfortably, were off the back sufferring with ilness.

I decided to go off hard and give the race everything from the off. This race has a small field of competitors because each team consists of 6 runners - just 18 in the race! After the first lap of 2 I was hanging in somewhere mid-pack and battling to hang on to 2 Army guys and a Navy chap. I could see the 3 RAF runners not too far ahead and I knew that we were packing well as a team. Then the shouts from the spectators started! As the small bunch I was in passed, the Army spectators were shouting that their 2 guys must stay ahead of me. The RAF spectators were shouting to me that I must move through to beat the 2 Army guys and the Navy guy in order for the RAF to win the team champs! Doh! No pressure then!

To be frank, I was seriously on the limit and hanging on! One of the Army guys put on a spurt on a flat section to try and keep up with the other Army guy and Navy chap. As I knew there was a hill coming up, I tucked in behind this Army guy. The other 2 were pulling away and the gap was growing.

As I hit the hill I pushed hard and the accompanying Army guy fell back. Carl Thompson was at the top of the hill urging me to get on terms with the 2 opposing team guys ahead. All this spurring on and focus on a team champs really made a difference and the occasion felt special! I clawed these 2 guys back and actually started to pull away. Then we hit a roller coaster section that was quite muddy. My racing flats couldn't cope with this slippy stuff and both guys came back passed me! As we hit an exposed flat section into the wind I sensed that they were slowing; so I put in another dig to get back on terms. The final section was slightly down hill and it was time to employ a racing mental technique that I use in triathlon.

I pick a point a few hundred metres ahead and visualise that this is the finish line. Then I take off and leg it like my life depends on it! When I get to the point I am focussing on I do the same again! And so on until I get to the real finish line. Sure this hurts. I mean really hurts! But it worked in this case and I opened up a gap and held on to the end. I was seriously exhausted and happy that I had squeezed every ounce of energy out of myself.

More importantly, we won the Vets title by a single point fromm the Army 8-) Well happy with that result and I managed 7th overall. True, there were some faster Vets missing from the line up but circumstances hit every race in strange ways and you get what you're given.

So much for the brief race report! I will get some pics up soon. The day was very enjoyable. Watching the Senior man take the title was awesome too. Man! That Ben Livesey and Rob Bugden can run like the wind! Those 2 were way ahead of the rest. But the other RAF guys all bunched within the top 12 for a convincing win.

Today I pushed hard on my single speed for a total of 40 miles and grabbed a quick swim of 10 x 100m on 1:45 coming in around 1:28 and 10 x 50m on 60 second coming in around 41 second. So a decent couple of days and tired legs now!

Train well out there!