Horspath Cross Country Report, by Graham Bridges

Back in the day (4 words in and already sounding like a Creasey), the Horspath Cross Country used to include the full glory of Shotover Hill. You’d leap over/into a muddy ditch, trudge up the hill, then stagger down it at breakneck speed, trying not to trip over the steps and tree roots, then wade through a mile or so of mud before doing it all again. This year, partly because of the dry weather, partly because of something else (health and safety?), Horspath XC seemed positively benign, though not without a few cheeky climbs.When we arrived, there was already a healthy crowd outside our (well, Witney’s second) tent, including our 2 juniors, Charlie and Chloe, who announced that she had overtaken loads on the run-in because her legs are built for sprinting. Maybe she could make some sort of motivational speech before the men’s race in future. As more of the team arrived, there seemed to be quite a few who claimed to be recovering from injuries, or from Christmas in some cases (who shall remain nameless). Possibly as a result of this, the order of the men’s team was a bit of a random affair. The likes of Tom, Dafydd and Mark T took a strangely long time to overtake me, and I went by such notables as Dave and Pete, which is a rare privilege these days. Making the A team used to be a badge of honour for me. These days it’s maybe not such a healthy sign, and the ERR men finished 7th in Division 1 on the day.
We then watched the ladies race, which appeared to be dominated by the bright young things of Newbury and Abingdon. Indeed the winner was so far ahead she seemed to be in a different race – maybe that’s why she didn’t show in the final results. Not too far behind was Hannah, in sadly her last appearance in an Eynsham vest for a while, who finished 12th, just ahead of Liz. A few places further back was Laura, who continued her excellent recent form, and just pipped Kate on the line. This meant we had 4 ladies, including 3 veterans, inside the first 22 finishers, so possibly in contention for a team medal.The main thing to take away from the day was the number of ERRs who took part (37 in total, plus Karen who marshalled), and the number of those who stayed behind for tea/coffee and cakes. It seemed that everyone enjoyed the experience, hopefully including the running part, so let’s hope for a similar turn-out at Adderbury.

Roll of Honour:
Ladies

Bronze LV35: Liz McAllister

Silver LV45: Kate Allred

Silver LV55: Katherine Bates

Gold Veteran Ladies team: (Liz McAllister, Laura Leach, Kate Allred)

Men

Bronze Senior Men’s team: (Mark Baker, Tom Baker, Mark Tyrrell, Nick Leach)

Silver MV40: Dan Lewis

Bronze Veteran Men’s team (Dan Lewis, Dafydd Warburton, Graham Bridges, Dave Ferrier)

Athletes