Frozen wastes of Banbury

Now that was good fun! Serious cross country is off my agenda these days as my Achilles will not allow the wearing of spikes. I get away with Ranelagh mob matches as they are social occasions and just good training. It's a shame really because I have always believed that xc serves a purpose in terms of strengthening the athlete through the resistance of mud, hills, awkward terrain and all sorts of winter weather. I always used to race over the country on a weekly basis taking some races seriously but using others as good hard training runs. It also helped that xc was, and still is, generally on a Saturday afternoon with the consequence of a perfect weekend: race Saturday afternoon, drink Saturday evening then get out for the long Sunday run.

With the winter weather continuing its harsh vein, it was evident that Banbury's course would be frozen and I could get away with wearing flats so I told skipper Adrian that I'd have a run round. Having done a two hour training run the day before I had no expectations of performance although it's amazing how often a good race can come in these situations through relaxation and no race stress. Today sort of fitted into this category, but only eventually ...

I might have 40 years experience of racing but sometimes I'm as stupid as ever: I wanted to start steadily and then move through the field, something I do as a matter of course, but I ignored one obvious problem. About 200 metres into the race there was a tiny gap to run through with the added problem of a fallen tree to climb over. This was crass planning by the race organisers, being so close to the start, but something I should have thought about. But no, I naively sauntered off at a leisurely pace then came to a grinding halt as I queued to get over the damned log! As it turned out this made the race more fun. The next mile or so was awkward as I tried to pass others along the narrow disused rail track (see Bill Leggate's photo), made particularly difficult by the rutted ground, but as the field spread out I started to stretch my legs and by the second lap I was absolutely flying. What a great feeling it was to feel so strong and to pass others at pace. With a mile to go I spotted club debutant Ben Rosedale up ahead - he was having an excellent first run in the red & black - and was able to get by before spotting Robbie Brown a few more places further on. I got up to his shoulder with about 400 to go, he looked back, saw me and took off for the finish. I might have been going well but I had no change of pace. Great run by Robbie and hopefully a sign that he's about to make a breakthrough in 2009 - perhaps his mum, Sue, will get her way and he'll give up rugby, and all those horrific injuries, and take his running seriously. I hope so as he has the talent.

The club turnout was pitiful and that's a real concern. Adrian (see picture, on his way to a superb 4th place finish) works really hard as captain and we have the makings of a cracking team but races such as the Oxford League should embrace the whole club, not just the first team, and that's just not happening.