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11:39am, Monday 16th September 2024
East Cork Cross Country Championships Day 1
The main challenge for me this cross-country season won’t be the wild weather. It
won’t be the hilly courses, the muddy terrain or the gruelling distances. It will be
getting out of my house! Sundays are particularly busy days. The kids have
swimming lessons at 8am, soccer training at 10am, acro dance at 1pm and musical
theatre at 2pm. Throw in the odd GAA match for good measure. Yesterday we had
the addition of a school party. Getting the children to their different activities on time,
in their correct outfit is a complex task, take out one of the cogs (me) and the whole
system can collapse. Thankfully yesterday with the help of grandparents, the show
was kept on the road, and I managed to sneak out relatively unnoticed!!
Sunday morning was grey with a heavy mist /drizzle, but as the juvenile races were
run off and they began the women’s race, the sun appeared, and the temperatures
climbed rapidly.
The men’s race was 6km – 4 x 1500m laps. The route began with a flat 150m stretch,
followed by a gradual twisting climb of about 600m across the two connecting fields.
Once you arrive at the top of the second field, it’s a quick downhill, followed by a flat
to downhill section all the way back to the start line.
The ground was hard, pretty bumpy but by the time we raced, the long grass had
been flattened, and it was generally favourable. In fact, overall, the first race of the
season was a very pleasant experience.
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised but it’s just that notion I have of Cross Country, that it
should be a miserable, tough slog. I think it comes from my experiences in
secondary school running XC. Probably compounded by being involved in team
sports. Things might be different now but the standard punishment in GAA or soccer
for anyone who lost out on a competitive drill/exercise was to run laps. Running
around a field was the equivalent to writing lines. ‘Give me lip and you’ll get another
lap.’ I’ve had it drilled into me that running around a field shouldn’t be enjoyable,
you’ve done something wrong, and this is why you’re suffering.
Of course, running around a field now is a reward for me. It is time spent doing what
I love. It is an escape from the mayhem of my house where my schedule as an
unpaid uber driver knows no let up. And the peace and quiet is only interrupted by
people cheering for you, how nice is that?
The race, as with most races to be fair, began with me looking at the runners ahead
and finished with me looking at the runners behind! With a clear head I spent much
of the first three laps calculating the different positions, age categories and what
might unfold should I keep the 3 runners ahead of me in touching distance coming
down the last stretch. For the final lap, I took every corner as an opportunity to check
on whether any runner behind me was making inroads into my lead. As it turns out I
fell into 6th place early on and stayed there until the end. A few medals bagged – 3rd
M35, 2nd Senior Team and 1st M35 Team.
Terribly enjoyable day out. My highlighter yellow spikes don’t even need to be
cleaned!