By George Page
Sunday 19th of January saw the return of the popular local inter-club cross-country league. After Retford’s race was cancelled a couple of weeks ago, due to bad weather, Clowne hosted round one of the four races that will be happening over the next couple of months.
It was a cold morning, and I hope I can speak for the majority when I say, the thought of wearing a vest and shorts filled me with dread! As always with the first race of the series, you can sense the excitement, nerves and apprehensions as crowds gather, separated into their separate clubs, close to the start line. Many are doing warmups not only to prepare for the 5.5-mile race, but also to just warm up! For those of you who haven’t ran the Clowne race before, the route is a mix of fields, muddy footpaths, gravel paths, short road sections and plenty undulations. Check out Danny Green’s YouTube video from this year’s race and you’ll get a good picture: https://youtu.be/izYeTCUwPpQ?si=fEE1JcywA1T-OEMy
The clock hit 11am and the race began. After a short run up Mansfield Road, we took a right onto Damsbrook Lane and headed towards the first of multiple field sections. When we got through the gate and into the third field, we were greeted by some excited supporters in the form of horses. If people weren’t nervous before the race, then the sight of these large animals galloping both to the left and right of the runners would probably be enough to get the heart racing. Once passing the horses, a sharp left downhill took us to another gate and into the next field and the four of five more beyond that. Trainers clogged with mud, leaving the legs and feet feeling heavy, we headed uphill on Church Road and the first of the few road sections (a great opportunity to shake some of that mud off!). Some farm roads and more mud followed as we headed for the start of a half mile long, uphill slog. This starts with a footpath going through a farm (passing some more horses, thankfully behind a fence) before hitting a gravel path. Once at the top, we were gifted with a nice downhill section on Shuttlewood Road before a right turn on to Church Road, once again. With less than 2-miles to go, you could be mistaken for thinking that the end is in sight! But the Clowne course likes to save the best until last. A punchy hill led us to a section where you have to opportunity to cross paths with other runners and club mates. With words of encouragement and thumbs ups exchanged, the infamous Cardiac Hill awaited. If you haven’t experienced Cardiac Hill, then know it is as tough as it sounds, especially this far into a race! If the hill itself doesn’t get your quads burning, then the wall climb at the top does. Once over and with legs feeling like jelly, it is roughly a mile to go, with the majority of that at a nice, steady downhill gradient, into the finish line back on Mansfield Road.
Congratulations and well done to every runner. There were some top performances from Retford runners as well as a fair few either making their club debut, XC debut or both! A tasty chilli, among some other great buffet food, catch ups and race reflections were held at the Old School Taphouse closer to the town center. The results announcement followed.
As always, our incredible Ladies team topped the table, as they look to repeat the defence of their Ladies title, with our Men’s team clinching third place, behind Worksop and Clowne. After round one we find ourselves top of the table overall. Roll on Handsworth on 2nd February. Let’s keep up the good work RAC!

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