Being a newbie, not only to the club but to running in general, the thought of a 5 mile Cross Country race was somewhat daunting. I had thought about not doing it a number if times on Sunday morning but I am so glad I did.
Meeting everyone at the station, fairly chilly and a little bit groggy after the celebration evening the night before, I was put at ease by the other people running and those who were there to support us. We drove to Basingstoke and were soon donning our vests and getting ready to walk to the start line.
I was surprised at how many other clubs and runners had turned out and was getting increasingly worried about getting lost or coming last. I needn't have worried, fellow Hedgie Helen Hobbs was running her first cross country too so we decided to stick together.
It wasn't long until we were off, running uphill into the woods. We made a good start and were soon running at a comfortable 11m mile pace. I soon realised that my road shoes were going to make things interesting as I started slipping & sliding all over the show, luckily I didn't actually fall over...phew!
Running into a field of sheep was something I had never thought of but they soon moved out of the way of the herd of runners coming towards them. We were making good progress and a quick glance at my watch showed we were halfway after 25mins. We kept going through the trees and mud until a Marshall told us we had just half a mile left, it was wasn't that far but it felt like it was ages away.
It was amazing to come down the hill to see Hedgies running back down to cheer us on and get us up to the finishing line, which was up the biggest hill I think they could find.
WE DID IT!! And I for one loved every minute of it...not just the sausages and cakes afterwards.
I didn't get lost or come last, so that afternoon I went out and bought some trail shoes ready for the next one.
Meeting everyone at the station, fairly chilly and a little bit groggy after the celebration evening the night before, I was put at ease by the other people running and those who were there to support us. We drove to Basingstoke and were soon donning our vests and getting ready to walk to the start line.
I was surprised at how many other clubs and runners had turned out and was getting increasingly worried about getting lost or coming last. I needn't have worried, fellow Hedgie Helen Hobbs was running her first cross country too so we decided to stick together.
It wasn't long until we were off, running uphill into the woods. We made a good start and were soon running at a comfortable 11m mile pace. I soon realised that my road shoes were going to make things interesting as I started slipping & sliding all over the show, luckily I didn't actually fall over...phew!
Running into a field of sheep was something I had never thought of but they soon moved out of the way of the herd of runners coming towards them. We were making good progress and a quick glance at my watch showed we were halfway after 25mins. We kept going through the trees and mud until a Marshall told us we had just half a mile left, it was wasn't that far but it felt like it was ages away.
It was amazing to come down the hill to see Hedgies running back down to cheer us on and get us up to the finishing line, which was up the biggest hill I think they could find.
WE DID IT!! And I for one loved every minute of it...not just the sausages and cakes afterwards.
I didn't get lost or come last, so that afternoon I went out and bought some trail shoes ready for the next one.
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