Final XC Race of the 2019-2020 season
What a fantastic end to a fantastic season for MRC in the cross country league.
On the eve of race 6 I was worried that we wouldn’t get a good turnout for the
final event and not be able to make up full teams, so many of our runners were
having to do long runs for their marathon training programmes. I should have
known better -Team MRC wasn’t going to let me down! We had a brilliant turnout
of runners and for the first time since being part of this league, MRC has
managed to enter full teams for every race.
This last race wasn’t going to be easy though. The Sinai Park route is shorter
than some, being around 5 miles in total, but it was muddy and undulating. The
gooey mud was thick and heavy and in places your feet would slide to the side
and grip was difficult, whatever footwear you had chosen. Then there was THE
HILL. There are several inclines on this course, but this one is evil.. it is
steep, slippery and the path is bounded by brambles and other horrible spiky
plants. Those who were unfortunate enough to start sliding backwards down the
hill were forced to try and hold onto either these uncomfortable branches or
else a random fellow runner. Towards the end we did have a long stretch of flat,
gravel pathway (thank you Sarah for marshalling, your support at this stage was
very gratefully received) and a good downhill grassy slope to finish.
Despite the tough course, the results for MRC were amazing. I have to start with
the ladies results: Hannah J was first to finish for MRC and her incredible run
meant that she was first lady overall with Emma finishing in a super second
place and myself, Beckie and Jane all finishing in the top 30. These outstanding
results meant that the ladies team finished in 2nd place for race 6, our best
position to date. For the men Matt was first back, finishing in a brilliant 16th
place. He was followed by Mark G in 21st place, making his MRC XC debut. Wilf
was close behind in 22nd, then we had Paul D, James S, Nigel, Jake, Michael
(another first time out for MRC in the XC) and John B. Another great team
result, with the men finishing in 5th place for race 6.
For the overall season MRC have done very well this year. As I mentioned before
we have managed to get complete teams out for every race and have performed
consistently well across this season. The final overall team positions were 3rd
place for the ladies, 5th place for the men and 5th place for the mixed team,
what a great result for our club.
The XC league also give out awards to those individuals finishing 1st and 2nd in
their age categories. This year I am delighted to announce that Hannah J
finished as second senior lady. Phenomenal work Hannah, congratulations!
I would just like to thank everyone who has taken part in the cross country this
year, it really has been a lot of fun getting out there in the mud and hills
with such a great group of people. I am looking forward to the next season and
hope to see everyone out there again and hopefully some new faces too.
