Take Me Home Country Roads!

My Dad!

It's been a bit quiet on the running and blogging front for the last few months... since the Potters' Arf back in June in fact. The summer weather never really came... and then my Dad's health deteriorated and I flew out to see him in France before he passed away in July. My Dad's battle with cancer had been a strong motivation for my first half marathon in March and for my fundraising for Cancer Research. I lost my running mo-jo for a while.

Then a few weeks ago, the call came round at Potters Trotters to persuade members to take part in the North Staffordshire Cross Country League - 4 events over approximately 5km on Saturday afternoons from September to December. I confess that I didn't sign up immediately - I think I was held back a little bit by memories of running through icy puddles around the rugby field on a cold and wintry day at parkrun in Glasgow back in January.

Inspiration from London 2012

But during early September, as I started to run with a little bit more frequency and enthusiasm and got back down to Hanley parkrun on a regular basis, I decided to bite the bullet and sign up. My Dad was always telling me that he was "pretty good at cross country" in his youth.... I decided it was time to give it a go and see if I could follow in my Dad's footsteps. It was time for me to get out there and run.

The first event was at Winsford in Cheshire on Saturday. Unfortunately, there weren't too many ladies from Potters Trotters who could make it to the event... so Bobbie Hickman and I had to fly the Potters Trotters Flag. There were however lots of familiar faces from Hanley parkrun representing their various running clubs: Trentham, Stafford Harriers, Stoke, Michelin and Cheadle. There were also teams taking part from as far afield as Colywn Bay. I was amazed by just how many people were actually there - participants of all ages and loads of spectators too...

K-Swiss Trail Running Trainers

We arrived at Winsford in time to see Meg Hickman take part in the U13 girls race - and she did brilliantly over the 2000m course. The ladies course was two large laps around playing fields - reported as approximately 5000m but it actually turned out to be a little bit more than that on my watch... I measured it at closer to 5.5km. No matter - it was all about taking part today. I had my new cross country trainers - an Amazon bargain which arrived just in time for me to wear them today. And I was ready for the mud.

Bobbie and I lined up at the start line - showing off our pink Potters Trotters vests among the blues, greens, yellows, reds, oranges and whites of all the other participants. It was a mass of colour! The start of the race was slightly delayed but then all of a sudden we were underway and the race itself went by very quickly... the ground under foot was muddy in most places but not too muddy and actually not too difficult for running. There were a few points on the course where there were some short sharp uphills followed by downhills - I actually found it easier on the uphills, feeling a little unsteady coming downhill at speed. But there were no mishaps - I didn't end up falling on my backside - and that was a great relief. I didn't have too much left for a sprint finish - the extra 500 metres had sapped most of my energy reserves - but I was really pleased with my effort. It was great to cheer Bobbie over the line too.

I finished in 97th place in a time of approximately 31 minutes (the official times are not out yet and I forgot to stop my watch!). It's not my fastest time over that distance but a very respectable effort for a cross-country first timer. And I think I'll be back to try it again - Park Hall on the 27th October will be the second event. Hopefully, we'll have enough Potters Trotters for that event to include our results in the team event too.

I think my efforts on Saturday would have made my Dad smile, although I'm sure he would be encouraging me to go faster next time. I'll try my best, Dad!