A 14 minute drive to nationals, I really timed this house move well! What a luxury being able to leave my house after 1pm for a 2:30pm kick off. Castlelyons was the venue, a town I know well and the home club are known for their excellent organisation. The day was fantastic, a superb buzz around the place despite the rain, the wind and the muck and great to see some old (pun intended) faces at a masters race. We had heard rumours of a fairly sticky course and I had a feeling this would be proper XC so that meant the 12mm spikes would be making an appearance. Unfortunately the 12mm’s had to be attached to a pair of lovely white dragonfly’s which were sacrificed in the name of health as my old battered XC shoes were on the verge of collapse with holes in both shoes.
I was feeling fairly rubbish on the warmup but at this stage I don’t take that as a sign of anything other than things are pretty normal. Still though, when doing a few strides before the race I felt so lethargic and almost weak. I was worrying if I’d eaten enough today. It’s so hard to get the fuelling right for an afternoon race. I just had to trust I’d get into the groove it when the gun went. I don’t write many XC race reports so I’ll just do this by laps. The distance would be 7k which consisted of a 1k loop and then 3 x 2km loops. Because we are so old and useless, we get to run 1km less than the sprightlier intermediates. The course had no major hills of note but some difficult muddy sections and a few drags. There was a bitter wind at play also on a twisty course so it would be wise to choose your moments.
Lap 1 (1km)
It’s 2:30 pm, tops are off, singlets are out and 200+ auld fellas are huddled like penguins in a field in Castlelyons. We were all raring to go but of course one lad was at the back, frantically getting changed and lads pleading with the starter to hold on for a few minutes. Some were getting restless telling him to get on with it while others took pity and told the starter to hang on. I just stood there, spaced out. At this stage he had two fellas kneeled down each tying a shoe for him. I can’t imagine that was the best mental preparation for a race. I had a look along the line and saw already saw a few names that I knew would be a handful today. Of east Cork there was Michael Harty and Tim O’Donohoe, a clear favourite. Sergiu Ciobanu would no doubt be featuring at the business end and there was also Paul Moloney of Mallow who has a good record on the country. We had a good team but lost one of our stronger runners to the intermediates as they needed a little more firepower. Anyways, the gun went bang and we’re off. It was straight into the sticky stuff and I got an awful start. I probably wasn’t aggressive enough but maybe that was ok as I actually felt really relaxed but I was way, way too far back going into the first corner, probably in the 50’s. I could see a lead group forming up front including clubmate John and Donal and I needed get up there. Once we got to a straight, I pulled out to the side and gradually worked my way up and still feeling in control. As we got to the end of the 1km loop, it was back into the very sticky mud but I had gotten myself up to the front and alongside John.
Lap 2 (2km)
It was onto the first of the three 2km loops and I was getting into my stride. I was happy enough to just sit in behind the 4 or 5 and stay relaxed. The going was particularly soft but there were a few decent patches where you could get some good running in. It was probably in the 3rd km where Tim, who was looking ridiculously comfortable finally made his expected break. Tim is at another level to most in this race and I honestly didn’t expect anyone to challenge him given his recent form. His clubmate Harty made the bold move to go with Tim. Was he able to challenge him? Nobody knew, we hadn’t seen him race since the Munsters and Cork county masters races, of which he had won both. The rest of us were happy to play the long game and it was down to a group of 6. I’ve never been in a race where positions changed so much, it was back and forth but we all stuck closely and it was honestly such a great buzz running with these runners. It was good, hard, honest cross country running where you could only but respect the eventual medalists. I had no doubt I was in the runnings and capable of a medal but there was a ways to go just yet.
Lap 3 (2km)
Onto the 2nd lap and i’m really working hard, particularly in the muddy sections where I traditionally have suffered in the past. I was able to hold my own on the good sections and was doing my best to stick to clubmate John who had a great XC season last year and had clearly carried that form over despite a injury setback in December. John was looking relaxed and strong and kept making gaps which I had to close but there were gaps forming between all six of us now. An Omagh Harriers runner, Eoin, who I wasn’t familiar with was right in the mix the whole time and was starting to form a gap at the end of this lap. John and Sergiu followed and I tried to follow but daylight was forming. It was during this lap that Harty had come right back to us and was within touching distance. Despite coming back, you could see how gritty he was and defiant to give up the place as he stuck with the lads ahead of me. Tim as expected is nowhere to be seen but the minor medals are wide open and I still had to believe I was in the mix though that belief was starting to fade and it was becoming more about securing the best team position I can. The support on the course was outstanding, I was getting shouts from everyone and it was lovely to see supporters of what would be local rival clubs enthusiastically cheering me on.
Lap 4 (2km)
I was still putting the chase on Sergiu, Eoin and John at this stage but a gap, albeit 2-3 seconds was getting so difficult to close and I had my own problems with Paul Maloney by my side. It was on the first straight of this lap that I first felt a worrying sensation in my left ankle, a sharp stabbing pain that made me feel like my ankle was going to give way. The ground was so cut up and uneven at this stage so it was whenever my foot hit the ground at an angle that I really felt it. I don’t think the Dragonfly’s were such a good choice for heavy muck. I had also badly bruised my toes on the same foot during the week dropping a heavy shower head on them (don’t ask) and that was also hurting so maybe there was some unconscious overcompensating going on. Over and over, I kept feeling it jarring and was really starting to worry. Thoughts raced through my mind of having to stop and explain why I pulled up on the last lap, why I potentially cost the team a medal. I wasn’t feeling injured, it was more of the threat of an injury and it really felt like I was on the edge. I tried to adjust myself up on my toes and already felt I was after taking the foot off the gas to try gather myself. I thought Paul was starting to labour but I still felt I had more left in me. Harty was meters ahead of me in 5th with the trio having already passed him. This was a case of either cautiously getting home in 7th (or worse) or blasting through whatever pain I had and coming 5th (or better). As I turned onto a drag, I found something, the pain was subsiding (I think) and on a downhill I made a conscious surge passed Paul and then powered my way up the subsequent drag. I was moving well, the threat was still there and I was laboured but I had Harty in my sights. I was getting closer and finally as we turned onto the last straight, it was about 800m to go. Harty glanced around as I came up on his shoulder. What an exhilarating moment of racing. The roars from the crowd that flanked the straight were chilling, cheering us both on. I managed to get a gap on him and I pushed again. My only goal was to get to the line now. John was right ahead of me in 4th with daylight separating 2nd and 3rd also. The places looked nailed but as we neared the end of the straight, there’s still about 300m to go. When we turned, pace was absolutely decimated as we hit the sticky muck. It was incredibly energy sapping and I was aware of the East Cork singlet right on my shoulder. I drove through that section as hard as I could, utterly gassed at this stage. John was 3 seconds ahead of me and when we got to the last 50m with good footing, I put in an effort to nail the place and crossed in 5th. I fell to my knees, then just plain flat on my face. I was empty. I got up and Harty was nowhere to be seen but I’d love to have shook his hand after what was a monumental battle to the line. What a race. I was just 11 seconds off Sergiu in 2nd and 6 seconds off Eoin in 3rd. So very close to a national M35 medal and you’d be almost thinking HOW could you not find 6 seconds but that’s too easy to say in hindsight, that’s actually a big gap in XC. I honestly gave that my everything and came up a little short but I know it’s there now. When I consider I was almost going to pull up with the ankle, I can’t be but pleased with 5th.
Donal “10 things” also finished up with a very strong top 10 run and we ended up with 4th, 5th, 10th and 51st scorers which helped us to 3rd place just losing out to East Cork on a countback (70 points) and Rathfarnham (63 points) who took the title with very solid packing between 7th and 21st place. There was a gold county medal in there also which is always nice. I was happy with the race and my effort overall. I’m not the strongest of XC runners but I left it all out there today and got such a buzz from the battles. It really is hard to beat XC in terms of good honest racing where times, pace and shoes don’t make a difference. It was a seriously good day for the club with the women winning the masters and the mens intermediate also taking the gold. We had to make sure to get together than evening because it’s not all about the hard work, celebratory pints are also essential.
Overall, I’m delighted with that 3 weeks of racing and it bodes well for the year ahead. There’s a great buzz and sense of pride in the club right now with a really solid group of lads to train with and we’re all hungry for some national successes. So many positives and learnings to take away from each race, so much drama, ups and down, but at the end of the day it makes every step in training worthwhile. For now it’s probably time to get the head down for a few weeks and put in another training block and we’ll see what comes my way. Unfortunately the next race I had planned in 3 weeks time (The Hague half marathon) has been cancelled but I’m not too disappointed, there are enough races out there for everyone.
Summary: 5th in 22:25 (bronze team, gold county)
