[Photo courtesy of Graham Smith – Ed Hobbs claims 9th place in the Junior Men’s race]
From Rachel Carter…
This event is the oldest National Cross Country Championships in the world, having first been run in 1876 and is open to all athletes who are members of registered running clubs. I’ve run at the Nationals a couple of times before but never at the iconic Parliament Hill venue so decided to make it a family outing at the end of half term. Other Ilkley entries included Alison Bennett who had had her arm twisted by Diane Kitchen to ‘make a weekend of it’, Dan McKeown (who sadly couldn’t run due to injury but came to provide great support (quietly!), first time ‘cross-countrier’ Charlie Kay, and Ed Hobbs in the Junior Men.
The course is hilly and this year was very muddy everywhere – the only saving grace was that it wasn’t cold or raining! In the U17 men Alex Wolfenden finished a credible 57th of 319, and Ed Hobbs had a great race in the Junior Men’s race – working his way up the field over the laps to finish an amazing 9th of 191. Having clocked 17,000 steps walking the course and chasing around supporting my kids, my actual warm up was a bit lacklustre. Alison said she’d warmed up well but then realised a bit too early by thinking the senior women’s race started 20 mins earlier than it did! Di, Alison (who succumbed to the mud twice) and I all had a good race finishing in 631st, 697th and 228th respectively of 830. Results aren’t broken down by age category but the bias towards the more youthful senior women is apparent on the start line which can be un-nerving!
We stayed to watch the start of the men’s race which is a sight and sound to behold as nearly 1,800 men make their way up the start hill. Charlie Kay, having never run a cross country before, had a good taste of muddy conditions and finished in 920th.
So all in all a good time was had a by all – it’s a great atmosphere, the support on the start hill and at the lap changeover points was like something out of the Tour de France. So would I go to London again for the Nationals in the future? Yes probably, though I would feel very unlucky if the conditions were as tough going again!