British and Irish Masters Cross Country International

FUN IN THE VALLEYS

On Saturday 16^th November I found myself lined up with some of the best Masters (over 35’s) athletes in the UK as I pulled on a Scottish Vets vest in Cardiff at the 26^th staging of the British and Irish Cross Country International.

This was the 3^rd time I had been selected for the event. Looking back at my 2010 debut (Dublin) I did feel a bit out of place- with my main goal not to be last -while last year in Belfast, although I was pretty competitive (with the rest of the Scottish Team at least) I still found myself a lot nearer the back of the field than at the sharp end.

This time however I did feel as ready as I have ever been at this level so when I did receive an early invitation in September I must admit that for the first time I felt as if I fully merited my place in the team.

Travelling down with my “roomie” for the weekend Kerry Liam Wilson we arrived in Cardiff on the Friday afternoon and quickly made plans to eat out with fellow Ayrshire man Alex Allerdyce, Stan from Forres, as well as English Athletes Claire Martin (who was to finish 2^nd overall the following day), Louise Rudd and Wayne Dashper. A good bit of food and banter was had before heading off to bed in prep for Saturdays Race.

On race day – although the M35-49 wasn’t due to start till 1.15pm – we trooped over to the course in good time for the team photograph which is a traditional part of the event. With over 2 hours to go till our own race we had ample time to stroll round the course while watching the ladies race unfold at the same time and it’s always great to cheer the Scottish girls on (as well as the over 65 year olds who were competing in the same race). Mentions have to go to Fiona Mathieson (Falkirk) who finished 8^th overall and easily retain her age group title to confirm her reputation as one of the best athletes in the world over various distances in her category.

Next up was the M50-64 race and as this was going on I began my warm up in earnest while supporting at the same time. I was also pleased to see Stan finish 7^th in an outstanding run with many of my friends not too far behind.

During the warm up, our first impressions found the course to be fairly flat around woods and football fields. A few sharp turns but certainly nothing like some of the Cross Country courses on the circuit so the general feeling was that it would suit the track runners.

4 laps consisting of 8,000 metres approx awaited us and knowing the standard of athlete in the field I was ready for the fast and furious start. I certainly wasn’t disappointed as the cavalry set off like a collective hare and I tried to go hard as best I could without totally dying early on.

By the end of the first lap I was pleased to have Alex just a few metres ahead of me and with a number of other decent runners around me, if I didn’t already know it, I knew I was definitely in a race. The course also seemed a wee bit tougher than originally thought (which is common) as although it wasn’t the muckiest or hilliest, there were some very tight turns and seemed to be little respite as regards to flat and fast stretches.

The 3^rd lap of 4 is always the toughest in my opinion and as it was the type of race where if you blinked you could easily lose 5 places I needed all the concentration I could muster. Thankfully there wasn’t too much overtaking being done and I was encouraged to actually pass one or two which is always a big boost. The last lap tends to take care of itself and although Alex stayed a place and 7 seconds ahead of me I was very pleased to hold off a cavalry charge behind me and finish with a lot more people behind me than in previous attempts at this race.

Pre race my private target was to finish a counter for my age group, and with 6 in each team with 4 to count I thought that it was achievable. Although we missed out on a medal I was actually first counter in my category so that was a big positive on a personal note moving forward. Previously my highest finish was 73^rd so in finishing 59^th overall that was yet another improvement as was in finishing 9^th Scot in the race.

Onwards and upwards, and while I do think I am much better on the road than I am on grass/trails I am definitely improving each year and have found myself setting more targets during the Winter months than viewing the this time as a necessary evil as I possibly did previously. While most of my goals and training remain fairly private, the knock on effect of taking Cross Country a bit more seriously in the past couple of years has seen me coming out of the Winter in good nick and – this year in particular – I have certainly moved forward and faster by the time the clocks change in the Spring. As I say, onwards and upwards. It also helps that a number of the Seniors in Kilmarnock are improving rapidly and with our winning the Ayrshire Relays for the past 3 years, as well as the Arran Relays this year, the competitive edge within our training group is helping everyone.

Anyway, race over and to cut a long story short, the rest of the day seemed to be passed in the Hotel Bar with a number of other runners, while the night – despite toying with going along to see the Wales v Finland game – was spent at the traditional after race reception and prizegiving. Special mentions go to roomie Kerry who came in 6^th overall and 3^rd V40 in a blinding run so he went home with a medal individually and also a team one as the V40 team combined for bronze.

After a 3am finish to the “night” I then went a hugely enjoyable early morning run with Scottish girls Avril, Lesley, Alison and Beryl which was pre arranged the previous night and gave us an opportunity to see a bit of Cardiff. Afterwards Kerry and I went sightseeing prior to our evening flight home, and (despite Kerry’s patter) the weekend was overall excellent.

Full results are here –

http://www.bmaf.org.uk/results/res2013/xcint2013m35indiv.pdf

Scott Martin – November 2013