National XC Championships, 25 Feb 2023

The national XC champs is normally my favourite race of the year - think muddy puddles up to your knees, mud so thick you're worried about losing your shoes and large logs placed strategically as obstacles for no other reason than making it harder (and more fun). However, this year the event was held at a new venue and combined with this year mild weather, we were in for different challenges: grass and headwind.

After a good warm up with my team mates, we fought our way to the front to get a good start. Despite this, it seemed every man and his dog thought they were race winner potential and sprinted from the gun causing a huge bottleneck and reducing me to a comfortable jog. Eventually the course opened up and I started making my way through the field. I ran hard for 12km but other than that the course was so boring that there's nothing else to note. It was a bit dull until the sprint finish where I pipped 3 people across the line - an unusual occurrence for me! Still a good day out regardless of the course and I placed myself in the top 250.

David Shepherd