As it turned out, attendance seemed low in general, so it would be a case of who was missing from what club rather than how many. In the circumstances, NHRR performed heroically, with the men finishing 2nd and the ladies 5th. This was good enough for 2nd overall on the day and 3rd overall in the series – hoorah – and one place higher than last season too!
So how did this race contribute to my difficult ongoing courtship with XC?
Well, the conditions under-foot were pretty good and it wasn’t too hilly (well apart from the last 1.5 miles which is just about ALL uphill) and there was little wind to contend with. I think I paced things pretty well and was happy with my position in the gent’s race of 14th (4th male Vet 40-49). In fact, but for a tactical error, I think I could have made this 12th. I made my final move a too early and paid for it the last 100m. Putting this in context, the two gents who just pipped me to the line had beaten me comfortably in 2 previous races and 2 of the gents some way behind had also beaten me twice previously. So overall, a fairly positive experience for this XC-phobe and probably my best ever XC performance.
PS - have subsequently noticed that, by my own unofficial calcs, I was 6th MV40 over the series (best 3 races) - pretty pleased with that, given the strength of competition in that age category.
So, there is still some way to go in my courtship with XC, and conditions were favourable, but there are some promising signs. I think we may have at last run hand-in-hand for a short time across the fields!
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Click on image to enlarge
As a footnote, I have also noticed that the nasty little incline just before the turn-back went on for a bit longer this year, also extending the course a bit. The graphic to the left illustrates the point. On the other hand, perhaps the runner who posted the data for 2008 cut the corner?!
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