Words by George Page
Sunday 2nd of February saw round two of the inter-club cross-country league, hosted by Handsworth Roadhogs. Another cold start turned into a delightfully sunny morning. 38 Retford runners showed up and put on fantastic performances on the challenging course.
The course started with a half mile downhill, as we headed towards Shirtcliff Wood. A sharp right turn started lap one of the two undulating loops. The smell of petrol (or diesel) from the two or three mini motorbikes sharing the woods with us hung in amongst the trees as we made our way up and around. As we started descending to the lowest point of the woods, the mud was getting thicker and sloppier. A set of wooden stairs gave us a new obstacle to tackle, which hadn’t been the case in previous years, with some choosing to go left, right, or straight down them. After some skiddy turns and a series of puddles, we reached a wooden bridge, taking us over the brook and up a short, punchy hill. Once at the top, a delightful descent led to another bridge before another hill, just over a half mile long. This completed lap one. Knowing what is in store for lap two can either be a blessing or a curse. You work out at this point that you’ve either been pacing yourself well or dread that you still have half the distance to go.
Being a lapped course means that some runners cross paths with fellow clubmates and get the opportunity to cheer and encourage one another along, which (I hope you all agree) can be a great morale booster. Once lap two has been completed, we leave the woods and head back uphill towards the start. This is the only course in the series that doesn’t finish with a flat or downhill, so mentally, that final half mile can be a real challenge. With some overgrowth on the previous year’s finishing path, this year saw us take a right up a short, tarmac path (the only bit of tarmac on the course) before a sharp left to the finish line.
We had some more RAC and XC debutants running, showing how much the club has, and continues to grow. Whilst some of you may have heard comments about Handsworth being the more difficult and hilliest course in the series, it’s amazing that you weren’t put off and I hope you enjoyed the sunshine, running and joys of being part of a team. Every runner counts in this series!
Once again, our Ladies team were in shining form and delivered another top position finish with the Men’s team grabbing another third-place finish. It is amazing to say that both our Ladies and Men’s teams had 4 runners each in the top 10 of either race, which is just incredible! In the overall series, our Ladies are in top spot and Men’s are in third and we see ourselves tied at the top of the joint overall table, with Clowne.
There are two races to go and all to play for! Killamarsh is on the 16th of February and Worksop on the 2nd of March and we need as many runners to come along and join the fun. Let’s keep it going RAC!
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