UK Inter-Counties XC, 11 Mar 2023

After a week of heavy rain and snow, I was hopeful for a good muddy course for the first time this year. This is the type of XC I enjoy. After cheering on the mud covered women, I could see that the course would deliver. Only a 3 hour wait until I got my turn...

Being one of the last Cambridgeshire men to qualify, I was at the back of our pen, so after a fast start I had a lot of work to do. Halfway round the first lap, I caught a fellow Cambs team mate and we tried to stick onto a group but it was clear that I had a bit more in the tank so I pushed on and worked my way through the field. The course was really hard work and the thick sticky mud was really starting to test my legs. It was nice to hear cheers from my parents, who thought their days of cheering me on in a cold muddy field were over when I finished school!

Coming into the main field, I checked my watch and saw we were 9km and must be coming into the finish soon in 10km, as stated in all the race documents. However, the race organisers had other ideas and we had a whole extra field to go, making the actual distance 11.6km (what?!). That was mentally testing but I dug deep and tried to make a gap to the men behind to avoid a sprint finish that the legs wouldn't manage. I crossed the line in 222nd of 279. A good result considering I'd qualified in last for Cambridge and I'd improved on my placing within the county.

David Shepherd