Mansfield - X-C Relays

Phil Nicholls, Andy Vernon, Ben Tickner, Chris Parr, Darren Deed were some of the faces in the pen as I stood waiting for Goolab. So it was a little stacked, but then with only 4 legs in this cross country relay every leg had quality runners looping around a small lake and winding through the forest.

I had no idea what to expect really and the warm up I felt pretty rubbish but with Alan telling us all to throw caution to the wind after 'Sharpy' took a tumble and came home in around 50^th. I went out and within 150m someone was coming past me and I thought "O crap!" but within another 200m I realised he was going off way to hard as he was now next to me, we looped up and around the lake and into the forest trails, this course doest really ever go flat just constant little ups and downs and twists. With back markers I honestly didn't have a clue who I was lapping and who was a place above us...I just tried to catch them all!

I came out of the forest and up a gradual climb and was starting to breath a bit and legs hurting a bit but with only 3k left I kept pushing as best I could. A lad from Salford was battling with me on the first lap but I just got ahead as we went past the lake again and even stranger was I had Phil Nicholls and Andy Vernon in my sights which was a bit of a surprise. The tone of Alan's voice as he shouted on the course made me think I was doing quite well so really pushed out of every corner best I could and back out on to the climb which felt like I was hardly moving but yet catching the guys ahead. The burn was there again as I pushed again into the downhill with Wicksy's advice of "Push down the final hill for every second, it's only 2 minutes". Everyone in front seemed to be closing up with a few seconds in between each other as I saw our team leader waiting at the barriers; I gave him a good shout in case he couldn't see me so he would get out quick.

I had done my job as Wicks lead out man again which feels like Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie now as I have done it so much and good mates at races, again like the south relays I was a bit disappointed I couldn't quite gone another 10seconds faster to put him in a better position to challenge for the medals but I gave it everything for myself, our last man and the whole team.

Results

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