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RACE REPORT - Cullham XC (Oxon Lge)

Running as second claim for my old club. arrived in good time with the news from the website that 15mm spikes were advised.....

Cant be that bad surely....... I was wrong.... it was worse. On arrival put stuff in tent and got No, then looked over the hill towrds the Thames, all one could see was water, water, some mud, a hill more mud and some water, some more water and still some more water............

The hill, just one, looked at the map go up and sdown the side of it 8 times each lap.... what is this a flooded moto cross circut? Well actually yes..............

Do a warm up after putting the spikes in (only have 12s) they will have to do.....

So got ready for my second XC race inside two days......

Great to meet up with club mates from old too.....

To the start line, for two laps of a S&M course...........

The start, straight up a muddy hill, followed by down, up, down, up, down up, down up, no breathing required when your dead......... oh and theres some water too,

eventually get on to the flat for the loop of the meadow (flood planes) and the gale force winds are (yes yoyu guessed) right in our faces. Having a right ding dong battle with 3 club mates, no of us can decide where we want to be so contantly changing positions, as well as trying to run, which is not easy in the conditions.

Manage to finish the 1st lap somehow, now its strength test time after yesterdays XC, always try to push on on last lap, and it works, put brain into neutral and just run through the water and thick goo and gain several places, have now dropped 2 of my club mates and catching the other one, now on the moto cross hill again and really having to work, nearly fall several times coming down the hills as mud is a foot deep in places and have to be carefull 1, not to slip and 2, not to leave shoes or legs in the mud......

On the last hill down take club mate, yes, now whos in front of me, a couple more club mates a several from other clubs, feeling strong and take about 6-8 people over the next K into the headwind, knowing that as soon as we turn its a K to the finish with the wind behind us. Manage to get the next club mate, and push on, close in on a group of 4 runners for the push in, manage to pick 3 off in the last 400m but one comes back at me and is too strong, cross the line in a slow 45:12....... (for 8.8K) bearing in mind yesterdays XC was 39:01 for 9K shows how hard this was.......

Have not got a clue on position, but was good to have Gobi shouting me in (he finished somewhere well ahead of me....)

Finished off with washing legsa nd spikes in the flooded areas...........

Great hard day of XC.