Cornbury Cross Country Report by Katherine Bates
So the usual features one would expect to find at a cross country event were there….
Hills, mud, trails, more hills. Together with a field of tents,( gazebo in our case..ERR history there ), a jumble of spikes, an aroma of Deep Heat there was also plenty of bon homie. The x country season had well and truly started! What was also present, unusually, were high temps with glorious sunshine to boot. With a backdrop of an autumnal Cornbury Park, the setting was stunning. What’s not to like ! ERR proved to be a smallish representation of the club for this first fixture, especially the ladies team with only 5 of us. Injuries abound it seems, but hopefully a few more will be able to join us for the next 4 events. A few newbies on the mens team boosted their numbers and I’m sure I heard them say they ‘enjoyed’ it ! The usual format ensued with the men charging off first to make it that bit muddier for us ladies and loud cheers from us as they all ascended the first hill with much puffing and panting as befitted the degree of difficulty it afforded. Note to self at this point… ‘ stay over on the furthest side so that I am more obscured to the viewing gallery’. Now that equal opportunities ensue, racing distances for x country is the same so ladies can rightly claim to have worked just as hard as the men. Hurrah ! And yes, I found it hard, really hard .Due to my own dalliance with injuries over the years I have been unable to compete in this series for many years and I was sharply reminded how tough an event it is. However, being part of a team makes all the difference and gives an extra edge to trying to do ones best. Attempting to hold form and not lose ground when trudging uphill, then letting rip and flying downhill is what I do best. Doesn’t make me the fastest in my age group out there,but I absolutely loved the challenge. Most notable on the day goes to Laura Leech for being 3rd in her age category.. a splendid performance given the huge (pun intended), field out there. A big shout out also to every ERR giving it their all on the day to represent the club and to Tom and Jacky for organising us all. Now , time to sign off and get out there practising on ‘them thar hills’
