A new XC season and a new course. There are now 13 Clubs in the League and there were 390 finishers – 50 of whom donned the NHRR vest.
I liked the course, which undulates around the Chiltern ridge on the outskirts of Luton. Some thought it was not challenging enough. Perhaps there was too little in the way of water-filled pot-holes, thick grassy tussocks or shin-deep mud? No doubt all these requirements will be met as the XC season progresses!
For me, this easy/hard course assessment is somewhat immaterial. A maximum effort in a road race (or firm underfoot XC) should leave you feeling no less tired than a maximum effort in a muddy XC. A maximum effort is a maximum effort – it’s just the average pace that will vary.
The weather was sunny, but a strong headwind for most of the second half of the race was challenging, especially during the long steady climb between miles 3 and 4. The very steep descent near the start was very entertaining and one runner shouted out “welcome to XC”!
The Club performed well, despite missing one or two faster runners and some runners still coming back to form from injury. We finished 2nd overall on the day (ladies 2nd, men 3rd). The ladies only missed out on 1st place by 1 point and overall the top-3 are very close. This bodes well for the rest of the season. If we get a good turnout at all the races we have a good chance of breaking into the top-two for the first time in a few years.
I liked the course, which undulates around the Chiltern ridge on the outskirts of Luton. Some thought it was not challenging enough. Perhaps there was too little in the way of water-filled pot-holes, thick grassy tussocks or shin-deep mud? No doubt all these requirements will be met as the XC season progresses!
For me, this easy/hard course assessment is somewhat immaterial. A maximum effort in a road race (or firm underfoot XC) should leave you feeling no less tired than a maximum effort in a muddy XC. A maximum effort is a maximum effort – it’s just the average pace that will vary.
The weather was sunny, but a strong headwind for most of the second half of the race was challenging, especially during the long steady climb between miles 3 and 4. The very steep descent near the start was very entertaining and one runner shouted out “welcome to XC”!
The Club performed well, despite missing one or two faster runners and some runners still coming back to form from injury. We finished 2nd overall on the day (ladies 2nd, men 3rd). The ladies only missed out on 1st place by 1 point and overall the top-3 are very close. This bodes well for the rest of the season. If we get a good turnout at all the races we have a good chance of breaking into the top-two for the first time in a few years.
Personally, I was very pleased with my placing of 17th out of 390, which is by far my best ever XCL performance.
Provisional Team results after Race 1
| M | L | All | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wooton Road Runners | 2 | 146 | 3 | 25 | 1 | 171 | |||
| Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers | 1 | 95 | 6 | 80 | 2 | 175 | |||
| North Herts Road Runners | 3 | 163 | 2 | 20 | 3 | 183 | |||
| Dunstable Road Runners | 4 | 210 | 8 | 85 | 4 | 295 | |||
| Stopsley Striders | 5 | 291 | 5 | 72 | 5 | 363 | |||
| Bedford Harriers | 6 | 340 | 4 | 39 | 6 | 379 | |||
| Biggleswade AC | 8 | 404 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 423 | |||
| Wellingborough AC | 7 | 368 | 9 | 112 | 8 | 480 | |||
| Leighton Fun Runners | 9 | 571 | 10 | 173 | 9 | 744 | |||
| Olney Runners | 11 | 890 | 8 | 85 | 10 | 975 | |||
| Northampton Road Runners | 10 | 762 | 11 | 264 | 11 | 1026 | |||
| Northampton Triathlon | 12 | 1104 | 13 | 284 | 12 | 1388 | |||
| Team East Haddon | 13 | 1419 | 12 | 283 | 13 | 1702 |
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