At last, a bit of rain to get the cross country season back to normal business! Having done a couple of cross country races and last week’s Exmoor Stagger in road shoes due to the hard, barren conditions, it was time to break the out the Walshes again.
Or so we thought!!!! The endless rain and wind that hit us down here in Cornwall all day Saturday and overnight into Sunday morning obviously decided to give Exeter a miss and concentrate all its effort down here!
And so it was that after a look at the course, those with road shoes in their kitbags quickly slipped into them leaving the rest of us to pound another hard and dry cross country course. Global Warming will put paid to many a Spike/Fell Shoe business in coming years, I can tell you!
After last Sunday’s Stagger, nothing would be making Glyn, Hodgey, Barrie and Chris H lose any sleep about 4 laps around the fields at Exeter. The old course at Wonford meant you would be feeling the baby’s head trying to get out of your bottom all the way up the A30 as you thought about those hills and river crossings. The new course holds no such fears and only one pair of underpants are necessary!
The men started at 1325 in the dry conditions, not a sign of any rain anywhere. Glyn, Hodgey, Tommy, Barrie and Chris were expecting a race of about 5 and a half miles. The hooter unleashed the lightening charge from the start. The first ‘short’ lap was out of the way with 3 full laps left to go. Glyn and Hodgey were away and doing battle with ex-Carnie, Paul Chesterfield keeping close order. Further back, Tommy had made a strong start. Barrie’s quick start lasted about 200 metres and a surprised Chris found himself right on the chairman’s shoulder.
A bit like playing golf with your boss? Chris thought about that for a second or two and then decided to pass. The decibel level of Barrie’s breathing moved up a level or ten and it was obvious he meant to sort the situation.
By the end of the lap, he had and edged a few metres ahead.
It seemed that either everyone was running a minute a mile faster than they had ever done before, perhaps a by-product of the clocks changing, or the course was well shorter than advertised!
Glyn crossed the line just ahead of Hodgey with ‘Chessie’ between them.
Chris was doing well to keep in touch with Barrie who in turn was closing down on Tommy. In the final few metres, Barrie passed Tommy and finished one place ahead with Chris a couple of places behind.
The race turned out to be about 4 miles long. 200 miles travelling for 4 miles running and no showers. Bargain!!
The boys adjourned to do some serious damage to the odd bacon bap and tray of chips before going to support the girls.
By the time Donna, Ceri and Denise started, the rain had started and a good drenching was in order.
Donna made a steady start on the 2 lap course and was just behind Revis Crowle of ECH with Jo Friday the leading Cornish runner.
Ceri (above) had that normal ‘determined’ look and was looking strong. Denise was just behind and running fresh, having omitted the 45 mile morning cycle ride tactic that she had used at Redruth!
The girls race was just over 2 and a half miles and before we knew it the race was over.
Men.
Glyn Davis 56th 24:54
Chris Hodge 60th 25:02
Barrie Cardew 95th 27:37
Tommy Polglase 96th 27:40
Chris Harper 101st 27:52
Ladies.
Donna Jenkin 14th
Ceri Drew 43rd
Denise Cardew 56th
Next Race St Austell 2nd December
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