BUCS Cross- Race Report

Pre-Race

The pinnacle of student cross-country running for the 2009/2010 season has arrived. This weekend is the weekend which will top all weekends. Any student-athlete who has any kind of grip on reality will tell you this is one of the greatest races ever concieved. Not because of the race itself, but because of the team bonding that transpires and consequently the relationships that materialise. It's a time to show your comrades just how much you love them and a time to let your passion for the sport speak volumes, And when all is said and done, it dosen't matter how you ran or where you finished, only that you walk away with a smile on your face.

Let's get the simple stuff out of way first. This race will not be easy. It's 11k of cross country running and the longest race I would've done on any surface. I will be lining up against some of the best seniors in the country and trying to compete on a similar playing field to them. The jump of 6k to 11k will probably be a massive shock, but it is a stepping stone in getting used to senior cross country running. I'm going to have to race very sensibly and get my pace judgement right, or the last couple of miles will look quite ugly. I've been feeling great in training these past couple of weeks so I think I'm in good shape, I've just got to get the race right. If I'm honest I'm looking forward to the race, even if Andy Vernon is running. I'm still on a high after my last race and for a few weeks now I've been eager to get out and race. It will no doubt be a challenge to get round but when I'm excited about taking on.

We should also be looking for team honours on Saturday. We have a good team on paper and I believe we can easily medal. It's four to score and we have a few guys who are in very similar shape at the moment so to make the scoring four could be tough in itself. Unfortunately I will not be revealing the 6 guys in the A team and I will also be not revealing who's injured and who isn't. I have heard rumours from other unis though. Apparantly Vernon and Ashley Harrell aren't running for St Mary's, but I'll believe this when I see it. More word from St Mary's is that they have a full strength team, and if this is true, they're my favourites to take the team title. However, sport works in a funny way and who knows, there may be an upset or two.

It's no secret that there'll be a gathering of athletes after the race. Now we will be present at this little social event with our 100+ competitors. In my opinion this is where a few athletes shine. Certain athletes have certain reputations for performing certain antics, and you can bet your bottom dollar they'll be at their finest come Saturday night. If you happen to be present at this affair, here's a few key players I recommend you look out for:

Dean Miller- will probably get into a fight with a bouncer at the after party and she'll end up giving him a black eye and throwing him out.

Wilko- will NOT be present at the after party as he will be hijacking a Greggs lorry so he can get Sunday mornings fresh batch of cakes in advance.

Harvey Ben Speed- will spend most of the night with his shirt off

Pete Whitehouse- will pull 15 perfectly formed female blondes and have a second bout of glandular fever. He never learns...

Joe Townsend- will be busting some serious moves on the dancefloor

Ander Russell- will be the best looking man at the after party. FACT.

Dan Cliffe- will wear one of his 4 Newcastle shirts at the after party.

Harry Harper- will throw up a symphony of colours due to the various pigmentations of his drinks.

Alex Tovey- probably won't make it out of the hotel to the after party.

Andrew Stanton- is promising to have a shot of vodka on the startline. True hero.

Nat Quigley- seeing as it is in Scotland he'll definitely get in a fight.

Gundo- may or may not be present during the A race as he could be in the pub watching the Merseyside derby.

Dan Clorley- will probably think it's too much effort to make the choice of whether he should go out or not so will probably sit his lazy ass in front of the TV.

Michael Salter- will bring some poor overweight girl to tears and apologize by shoving his tongue down her throat.

Jo Durrant- will only be present at the party for a few minutes. That's all the time he needs to get a girl and take her back to his room.

All the girls- will get drunk, fall over or break an ankle in heels outrageously too big, throw up, promise to never drink again then go to bed. Pretty standard night really.

Me- I'll go wherever the Smirnoff Ice takes me...

Good luck to anyone running this weekend xxx

Race Report

BUCS XC, what a weekend.

For a start, the race was more than perfect and a great way to kick off my racing in 2010. Over an 11.1k cross country I managed to finish 2nd against a tough field. The course wasn't easy either. There was a 1k section in middle of the large loop which was very hilly and even when we were walking the course I had lactic in my legs going up one of them. There were a couple of small sections on the course which had boggy patches, but they weren't too bad. It was mainly dry with short cut grass which was ideal for fast running, but quite a few narrow sections didn't help when things got crowded.

Our race was made up of 1 small lap and 3 large laps. Before the race Steve said to me to start off conservatively because of the distance. If were to start off too hard then when I get to later parts of the race I would suffer. So on the first lap I made sure I stayed very relaxed and held back. After a few minutes of running I was feeling quite easy and back in the 60's or so. The legs felt good and I gradually started to make my way through the field. Starting the first of the long laps I still felt comfortable and was still going past people but I kept telling myself to hold back as there was still a long way to go. Just after mid way on the this lap I broke into the top 10 and joined a group of (if I remember rightly) Mitch Goose, Wilko, Dan Mulhare and a few others. At this point I was still feeling very good and I decided to just hang on to the back of them. People ahead started to come back and going into the second lap Vernon was long gone and the group was down to me, Goose and Mulhare. The legs were still feeling fresh but the breathing was getting a bit heavier but I was still feeling relaxed.

Halfway through this lap I decided to up my pace a bit and opened up a little gap on the other two. Admittedly I did have a think about going after Vernon, but after a very short time of running by myself I decided this was a fools errand. He was so far ahead and even though I felt good, I would've had to up the pace significantly which wasn't do-able and even if it was, I still had around 4k left and I didn't know if I would fall apart in the last 2k or not. I thought I might be able to hang onto silver and this was enough for me, so I decided to be safe rather than sorry and run for second. Going into the last lap my legs still felt great, but my chest felt like it was tightening and I just tried to relax and stay under control. I had a horrible feeling Mitch was catching me so I was trying to maintain a good pace to keep a gap. I didn't push it too hard though, just in case he did catch me and I needed something for a sprint finish. After the hilly section of the lap the last 1k is quite flat and fairly fast so I opened up my stride again to try and guarantee the silver. Fortunately I did enough and crossed the line with the lungs hurting but the legs, funnily enough, feeling as fresh as they were at the start.

To be honest I think this was the best possible result I could've come away with. In my opinion everyone was going into that race running for silver, so for me that was like a win. Even so, before the race Steve said top 10 would be good, top 5 would be a great result and anything higher an amazing run. But he didn't tell me until after the race he knew I was in awesome shape, but negelcted to mention that so I wouldn't feel any pressure. Things are looking good for the National in 3 weeks time and I've got a few more hard weeks coming up.      

People have told me to write a little bit about the after party so I'll say this- it was ok...

Thanks for the read xxx

PS please, please can the boys at 186 Dawlish and their partners in crime go easy on the comments, children read this stuff you horrible rascals.