From Oli Murphy…
For the first time in a while the Ilkley Harriers’ men travelled to the Northern XC relays to mix it with some of the top clubs in the UK. The four-leg format gave the chance to blood some of our newest talent. Christos, fresh from his heroics at the fell relays was back for more alongside partner in crime Ed Hobbs, who has been posting some frankly ludicrous times across all sorts of distances this year.
There was some mild concern that three of us wouldn’t make the start line, after I took my two young charges on a scenic tour of Sheffield’s various parks. When we eventually found the right one, I had to hide how intimidated I was by the number of pairs of carefully shaved legs there were strutting around. Ice white running spikes, tight vests and even tighter shorts seemed to be the order of the day. The “proper athletics” scene is a bit of a different vibe to the fell running scene.
Four laps of 2 miles each meant it was pedal to the metal the entire way, with nowhere to hide. I’m always amused at XC races how random spectators are keen to impart their wisdom on you, as you run past. Cries of “you need to catch that group” or “work up the hill” always come out. For the record, and in the unlikely event that any of those spectators are reading this, I was trying to catch the group and I was working up the hill, it was just very hard!
After a breathless 45 minutes of racing Ed ran in on the anchor leg, bringing us home in 11th place. A really solid result, showing our two young guns were totally unfazed by the calibre of some of the athletes that were knocking around.