This weekend, I've taken part in my second cross country event as part of the North Staffs Cross Country League at Park Hall Country Park. After my first effort at Winsford in September, which I survived and sort of enjoyed, I decided that it I would give cross country another go.
Since the first event, my running has been a little sporadic. I've run a few times with the Potters Trotters, completing a very hilly 6-miler devised by Liz a couple of weeks ago as part of our preparation. I've also got closer to my Hanley parkrun PB, running 25:12 on October13th with some pace making from Paul Hickman - my fastest time by some margin since July. My next parkrun challenge is to get back under 25 minutes. Last week was a crazy one for work, as I visited Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Bristol, Croydon and Central London for meetings, spending two nights away from home and with a 5am start on Thursday. I did manage an interval session on the treadmill in the hotel gym on Friday morning though.
No time for excuses though - it was time for event 2. It was a very cold but beautifully sunny day on Saturday as we arrived at Park Hall. As last time, there were hundreds of people at the event and this time there were three Potters Trotters taking part - Liz, Bobbie and me. It still wasn't quite enough for us to register a team score but we're getting closer.
We kept as many layers on as possible whilst spectating the junior races taking place first - cheering on Meg Hickman in the U13 girls event as she improved in the standings from the first event. But 1.30pm came around pretty quickly and it was time for our event.
The course was a two-lap route which looked a little bit like a figure of 8. The start/finish point was in the centre. This run was much more of a challenge and felt much more like a proper cross-country race, compared with the first event was basically laps around fields. At Park Hall, the route included gravel paths, rocky inclines, sandy banks, muddy puddles and grassy fields - going up and down and up and down.
The start was a real challenge - the runners were spread across a fairly wide path at the start line then the route went down hill very sharply but with the path narrowing all the time. I was happily near the back of the field at this point - it seemed safer than trying to squeeze between runners to get through narrow gaps. I was also conscious of the changing underfoot conditions and there were a few places where it was very slippy and a challenge for the novices amongst the field (including me). Fortunately, there was helpful advice at one of the more treacherous corners from parkrun regular Phil Thomas, who was marshaling at the event for Trentham Running Club.
There were a few places where runners needed to be in single file as the path was so narrow. On the first lap, I managed to overtake a few people as the path widened out and also on some of the more uphill sections - I seem to be a bit quicker on the uphills but then get overtaken on the downhills. The course did feel like an all-over body workout though - my stomach muscles (if there are any) were feeling the strain as I came to the end of the first lap.
The second lap, although I was tiring, seemed a little easier than the first - partly as runners were more spread out so there wasn't as much congestion on the narrow bends, partly because I knew what to expect in terms of underfoot conditions in each of the different sections. I even had time and energy to take in the amazing views from some of the more open parts of the course. The most confusing point for me came at the mid-point of lap 2 - by the start/finish line. Some runners were already finishing and spectators seemed a little confused by runners coming from different directions, standing in the middle of the path at some places. I got a little bit confused too and had to get help from a fellow runner as to which direction we were heading!
So to the finish - encouraged by cheers from Meg Hickman, Billy Stevenson (taking part in the men's race) and Paul Hickman (marshaling on the course), I found enough energy to speed up on the final grassy downhill section and still overtook a couple of runners on the last big uphill section - and this time they didn't get past me again. Then the end was in sight - chief cheerleader Meg Hickman shouted a final "Come on, Liz" and I crossed the line.
After I'd finished, there was just time to get back into position to cheer Bobbie and Liz to the finish too. Three Potters Trotters made it home! We all agreed that it was hard work... but we'd all really enjoyed conquering the challenge and had big smiles on our faces when it was all done.
My time was recorded at 30:57 - the distance was a little bit more than 5km but I'd been expecting that this time so it wasn't so difficult to run the extra distance. There were exactly the same number of competitors taking part in the event as the first one and I moved up in the placings slightly, finishing in 92nd out of 129.
Event 3 is in just 3 weeks at Stafford Common. I hope to make it to the start line again... another challenge awaits. I'll be trying to go a little bit faster and maybe move up a few more places... and hopefully we'll encourage a few more Potters Trotters to take part and register a team score.
Happy Running,
LizT.
Since the first event, my running has been a little sporadic. I've run a few times with the Potters Trotters, completing a very hilly 6-miler devised by Liz a couple of weeks ago as part of our preparation. I've also got closer to my Hanley parkrun PB, running 25:12 on October13th with some pace making from Paul Hickman - my fastest time by some margin since July. My next parkrun challenge is to get back under 25 minutes. Last week was a crazy one for work, as I visited Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Bristol, Croydon and Central London for meetings, spending two nights away from home and with a 5am start on Thursday. I did manage an interval session on the treadmill in the hotel gym on Friday morning though.
No time for excuses though - it was time for event 2. It was a very cold but beautifully sunny day on Saturday as we arrived at Park Hall. As last time, there were hundreds of people at the event and this time there were three Potters Trotters taking part - Liz, Bobbie and me. It still wasn't quite enough for us to register a team score but we're getting closer.
We kept as many layers on as possible whilst spectating the junior races taking place first - cheering on Meg Hickman in the U13 girls event as she improved in the standings from the first event. But 1.30pm came around pretty quickly and it was time for our event.
 |
| The course map - twice round a slightly skewed figure of 8! |
The course was a two-lap route which looked a little bit like a figure of 8. The start/finish point was in the centre. This run was much more of a challenge and felt much more like a proper cross-country race, compared with the first event was basically laps around fields. At Park Hall, the route included gravel paths, rocky inclines, sandy banks, muddy puddles and grassy fields - going up and down and up and down.
The start was a real challenge - the runners were spread across a fairly wide path at the start line then the route went down hill very sharply but with the path narrowing all the time. I was happily near the back of the field at this point - it seemed safer than trying to squeeze between runners to get through narrow gaps. I was also conscious of the changing underfoot conditions and there were a few places where it was very slippy and a challenge for the novices amongst the field (including me). Fortunately, there was helpful advice at one of the more treacherous corners from parkrun regular Phil Thomas, who was marshaling at the event for Trentham Running Club.
 |
| The Ups and Downs of Park Hall |
The second lap, although I was tiring, seemed a little easier than the first - partly as runners were more spread out so there wasn't as much congestion on the narrow bends, partly because I knew what to expect in terms of underfoot conditions in each of the different sections. I even had time and energy to take in the amazing views from some of the more open parts of the course. The most confusing point for me came at the mid-point of lap 2 - by the start/finish line. Some runners were already finishing and spectators seemed a little confused by runners coming from different directions, standing in the middle of the path at some places. I got a little bit confused too and had to get help from a fellow runner as to which direction we were heading!
So to the finish - encouraged by cheers from Meg Hickman, Billy Stevenson (taking part in the men's race) and Paul Hickman (marshaling on the course), I found enough energy to speed up on the final grassy downhill section and still overtook a couple of runners on the last big uphill section - and this time they didn't get past me again. Then the end was in sight - chief cheerleader Meg Hickman shouted a final "Come on, Liz" and I crossed the line.
After I'd finished, there was just time to get back into position to cheer Bobbie and Liz to the finish too. Three Potters Trotters made it home! We all agreed that it was hard work... but we'd all really enjoyed conquering the challenge and had big smiles on our faces when it was all done.
My time was recorded at 30:57 - the distance was a little bit more than 5km but I'd been expecting that this time so it wasn't so difficult to run the extra distance. There were exactly the same number of competitors taking part in the event as the first one and I moved up in the placings slightly, finishing in 92nd out of 129.
Event 3 is in just 3 weeks at Stafford Common. I hope to make it to the start line again... another challenge awaits. I'll be trying to go a little bit faster and maybe move up a few more places... and hopefully we'll encourage a few more Potters Trotters to take part and register a team score.
Happy Running,
LizT.
It does sound a lot of fun!
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