“Where are we meeting and what time?”, asked someone.
“5:30am outside Greggs!”, was the answer. The food of athletes — surely the answer was obvious!
Finally, it was here, the great Hoops excursion to the Capital to participate in the 2025 Cross-Country Nationals at Parliament Hills. Can I take this moment to thank the club for the time and effort in organising a fantastic weekend with “great” company and a lot of laughs? Thank you!
So, it began with a raucous train journey at 5:50am from Central Station. Talk on the train was curious to say the least — debates about spike lengths. Some excitement over 8mm being the norm, with course recommendation being 12mm. I thought it was best to hedge my bets and go with the reliable 15mm (size as I found out makes no difference honestly)! I did at one moment think about saying I had 4mm needles in my bag, but I didn’t want to startle anyone. Anyone who has any burning questions about thumb compasses then Simon Long is the sage on the subject.
So, we pulled into Kings Cross to the usual greeting from the Londoner’s (which isn’t much at the best of times) and we went and waited for the peasant wagon. After a 30-minute bus journey we had breakfast at some café which served bagels and various other things (essentially coffee). We then chilled for a bit which gave the opportunity to ponder our thoughts of what the day would entail or rather what Hell on earth would look like later…! Great little café with good service and a great canopy as well.
We arrived at our destination. Found a spot next to the mud for the tent got it up with relative ease (I was surprised) and if we followed Mr Wilson’s rule “NO SHOES IN MY TENT” then we were fine! We arrived in good time, and then did very little apart from spend time soaking up the fantastic cross-country atmosphere and seeing if we could spot any other North East clubs. Then the excitement rose when the numbers arrived and everyone had a look of pride on their little faces. I thought I was the Chancellor of my own Exchequer!
We watched the girls do their best at cross country both great efforts. They set off around 1:30pm. Then we waited for the start of the men’s race at 3pm. Yikes!
Off we trudged to the start. Lovely bit camaraderie between the male Hoops at the start line (which the ladies would call male bonding) – handshakes all round! A very strong start of around 800 seniors — what the Nationals are all about.
I was startled at the look up from the start – a very big climb. Off we went the sound of the gun! The course was brutal to be honest, nothing like it was seen in the North East Harriers League. More mud than any other XC course. I do like a challenge, so no biggy.
Elevation gain of around 890ft and I cant wait till next time! I found the course tough, but no pain no gain. Done two marathons (more to follow) as a type one Diabetic so not going to be phased by a bit of Cockney Mud. Bit disappointed with not finishing bit of the course due to marshals dismantling the course whilst people were running and not being very interested to put it politely when asking for directions. (Mental note for later: Don’t ask a marshal whilst they are having a tea break!)
Can I offer my sincere thanks to club mates for their concern if I was okay? Much appreciated comrades! Back at the tent we all felt rough as a badgers… but we did it and that counts! We got the tent down and even managing to remove the banana peel. Then off we went to catch the bus to the hotel.
Stopping in Paddington seemed okay as it had a Tesco’s opposite (win win for club points) abd about five mins from the tube. Never stayed in a Point A but seemed a decent little place. Getting to the hotel I was looking forward to a nice cup of coffee only to find out much to my annoyance that there was no tea or coffee nor even a kettle – not very Travelodgical!
Well, we arranged to meet just before 8pm in reception to have something to eat at Pizza Express. My greeting from the group was very touching. “Nice glasses Martin!”
“Why, thank you.”
So off we went to see what the locals had to offer. I went with a nice Bruschetta and Florentine Pizza (curious what Ricco would think of a fried egg in the middle of a Pizza). Then off we went to finish the evening in a couple of the bars. Later in the evening there were five of us walking round the streets of London trying to find somewhere to drink. It was an experience to say the least. There was even an interesting pub with gentlemen smoking pipes outside. Strange!
Then back to the hotel to bed. What a day. What a course!
Check out, then off too Kings Cross to get breakfast — a nice mega breakfast at O’Neils with the train at 11am. What a weekend!
If you’re not one for cross country, then its good as a one off – you might even get the XC bug! Besides, a great weekend and something different.
Martin’s final thought? “Nil Desperandum!”
Martin Waugh
