We were blessed with fine weather for the first of the East District XC races on Saturday, set in the grounds of Stirling Uni. Warm, clear, dry, it almost seemed like a waste not to go for an alternative run up Dumyat instead. However, we were there to represent the club, so I guess we needed to do the XC instead. Bah! We had Mary Lye representing the ladies. Mike Lynch, Matt Jones, me, and James Waldie representing the blokes. Other familiar Carnethy faces were there running for other clubs: Brian Howie for EAC, and also Bob Johnson for Gala. Additionally, Mary and Matt’s tribe were out representing Edinburgh AC in the junior races.
James Waldie smashed round the course and finished 21st overall. Mary was first Carnethy lady, finishing comfortably in the top half of the field. I finished just ahead of Mike, and Matt followed soon after. I did notice that the route for the ladies race is shorter, for some reason, at 7k and the men’s race was about 9k – I find this hopelessly sexist, as I’d have much rather run 7k, but I guess that’s the way of things. I did enjoy the race though, it was a lot more like a trail race than I was expecting. To be honest, I expected a “twice round a football field” type of cross country, but it was a lot better than that. Undulations, mud, fast running, twists and turns – what’s not to like?
The best part about this XC series is that you don’t need to pre-register, you can just rock-up with a home-made team number (21 – Carnethy HRC) and then run! In a world where online pre-entry and waiting lists are becoming the norm, it’s nice to do something so simple.
The next one is on the 21st November in Alloa, I reckon I’ll do it, and I encourage others to come along too!
Jim Hardie