After hearing a lot of “Thornley is brutal” from others in the club, I wasn’t sure what I’d let myself in for when I signed up to this year’s cross country season. Thornley Farm has a reputation as one of the hardest NEHL cross country fixtures, but I’d never done cross country before and was excited to try out something new.
I’d also had people telling me that cross country is great fun and I’d love it, so I went in with an open mind wanting to just enjoy it rather than aiming for a certain time. I felt reassured after I’d quizzed Claire on the drive in on all the logistics of cross country (and was very happy to hear women only do 2 laps).
After a bit of a rush to grab our numbers from the team tent and some wonky-placed bibs, we were ready to start. I tried to pretend I didn’t struggle with the steep climb at the start of lap 1 as I passed the club cheering us on.
I’d envisioned knee high mud and deep bogs, but it was a sunny day and an uncharacteristically dry course (with hardly any mud to clean off my shoes after). I still found the route tough but felt more confident in the second lap knowing what was to come and had some much needed encouragement from other runners. Apparently I wasn’t hiding my struggle up the hills as much as I hoped I was.
The senior men’s race had started as I came into the finish so we quickly headed back up the hill ready to cheer them on in time for their second lap. A big well done to Claire on first Saltwell and an impressive course PB!
The closest I’d done to cross country was probably the club fell race earlier in the year, which I’d found very tough and definitely “type 2 fun”. Cross country was a great opportunity to get out and race as part of a team (and celebrate with cake after). Plus I got to meet people in the club I’d not had the chance to meet at weekly training.
For anyone unsure or nervous about trying out cross country, I would definitely recommend giving it a go. I’m not saying I enjoyed every second of the race, but I’m actually looking forward to the next fixture at Druridge Bay. Something tells me I won’t be as lucky with the weather and (lack of) mud the more we get into the season.
Catherine Dutton
