Results for the Men’s Cross Country League (fixture 4 of 4), Gloucester, 13-Feb-2016

Both cars turning the wrong way out of Copsewood could have been mistaken for bad navigation but it was to pick up a spare club vest and a forgotten Garmin (to paraphrase Imran: if it’s not recorded, it didn’t happen). After that false start, both cars were on the way to Gloucester without any further wrong turns.

The wintry rain en-route was welcomed by Allen, who was looking for a proper cross-country experience. That prospect was only enhanced as we approached the destination as, on the left-hand side, we could see fields that appeared to be 70% underwater. Encouraged by this sight, we parked up and ventured inside to (a) take shelter, and (b) assess the post-run tea and cake offerings.

Wayne handed out the numbers, Imran displayed his new spikes (in club colours) and I changed my old spikes for ones that looked like nine-inch nails. Starting line nerves were increased by mention of running round the ‘bull’s field’ and then we were off around four laps, with the first one being smaller, to make the 10k course.

Andrejs strode into the distance and finished in and excellent 7th place, Allen set off at a good pace but on the final lap I could see the gap to him shortening. At the line Allen finished 5 seconds ahead of me in 55th and 56th place respectively. Wayne followed shortly after in 79th, then David and Paul were ‘encouraged’ in the final stretch by those that had finished. Imran then also received vociferous support but, like a moth to a flame, he was distracted and veered towards us rather than the line. A polite correction or two set him back on the right path and his second cross-country finish.

Jamie made the trip in spite of illness but had to drop out on the first lap. This did not prevent him from being the best placed Sphinx runner in the league’s final points table, just 5 points ahead of Allen. Well done, Jamie.

The end of another cross-country season – the club finished in 10th place out of 16. David decided that his spikes did not have another season in them and left them in Gloucester and Imran’s will never be as pristine again.

Coffee, cake and a dodgy looking bag of herbs in my tea topped off a good day out.

Photos courtesy of ‘if it’s not recorded, it didn’t happen’ Imran:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Results:

http://www.birminghamccleague.co.uk/images/stories/bdccl/articlepdfs/XC_League_Archive/2015-16/2016-02-13-M3.pdf