Gateshead International

My junior cross country campaign kicked off in Gateshead this year, and I was lucky enough to be a member of the England Team being sent there. I had heard rumours that the course was tough and when walking around I could see why. The ground was completely soaked and churned up and the hill not far off a right angle didn't help, definitely a good strength test before Liverpool.

The weather was the usual, cold, wet and windy. Fortunately we got some new England kit which was waterproof and wind proof, so I was pretty dry. The race set off and immediately my feet were in puddles. By the way, a few weeks, maybe months, ago I said I was saving a new pair of Brooks spikes for Gateshead. Well I went through with it and by the end they didn't look very new. Anyways, the shoes were still pretty stiff which didn't help with the tight turns, but that wasn't the main issue. It was very slippery and I only had 12's in, BIG mistake! Grip was hard to come by and I'm sure the other runners will tell you the same thing. It was a right slog of a race and a big mental challenge for me.

It was 4 laps of 2k and I honestly thought after the first lap I wouldn't make it. During this first lap I just sat in with the big group and waited. Even though I didn't feel like I was running very fast my breathing felt a little too heavy, I thought I was going out the back door! I was thinking to myself something must be wrong because I'm breathing far too heavy for this pace, and we've only just gone by the quarter mark. I tried to hang in for as long as possible and not even think about making an early move. It was mainly Wilko taking the pace on, I did a bit but it was mainly him. To get rid of the discomfort I just switched off and stayed in the group. We eventually got to the last lap and my legs felt pretty drained, but I had made it that far so might aswell tough it out. I decided I would pick up the pace just after the big hill. This I did but the wind was tough so it wasn't much of a pick up. I held the front for the majority of the last part but going into the final U-turn, sneaky Mr Jonny Hay made a kick and flew by me. I gave chase and then coming off the bend my legs felt drained and I couldn't go after him, and he pulled away comfortably leaving me coming home in second.

Despite being beaten, I was happy with the result. Going into the race I didn't think I was in great shape but I proved myself wrong with that performance, finishing in the top 3 was a comforting thought. Being outsprinted was disappointing, but only because my winning instict took over on the last lap. Before the race I wasn't sure if I could achieve a top 3 spot, and in the grand scheme of things, it's a big step towards the trial. Steve said to me outright before the race, "you're probably going to get beaten". He didn't say it to be horrible (I think) but because he dosen't want me running amazingly this early, and he admitted he thought there were other juniors running better than me. Overall, a positive run and it put some of the demons in my head causing doubt to rest, making me more relaxed than what I was prior to the race.