West District Cross Country

Results | Strava Track

The last time I ran the West District Cross Country was in 2011, when it was held twice, both times at Irvine Moor.  The first was in January as the postponed 2010 race, and the 2nd was in December at the usual time of year. I missed out on last year's event, which sounded like a mudbath at Ardgowan Estate, Inverkip.

Anyhow, in December 2011, I finished down in 76th place (2011 results), so I was hoping to do a bit better than that today.

My plan for today's race was to aim for 1st V50. The only way this would be possible was if I shadowed Paul Thompson (now running for Cambuslang) right from the start. I knew that if I let any gap grow, I would never close it down again.

There was the usual scramble for positions at the start, with everyone trying to slot into a sensible pecking order. I worked to position myself a couple of places behind Paul, but couldn't quite get right on his shoulder, due to the general congestion and jostling.  I thought that if I held back on the first lap, I would have more left to close down places as the race progressed.

Colin Feechan was working hard on the first lap, and passed both myself and Paul briefly. I used Colin to pace me for a while, but bit by bit I was losing contact with Paul. Marco Consani, Greig Glendinning and Niall McAlinden all came past, and I was starting to wonder if I had enough strength for 2 more laps.

Kilmarnock West District Cross Country - senior men's course

I did briefly catch Scott Martin at around the halfway point, but Scott shrugged off my challenge, and I spent the final lap with Scott just ahead, and Colin just behind, and working hard to catch me again.

Flogging through the mud

I did just enough to keep Colin at a comfortable distance, but didn't have the strength or speed to catch Scott, so spent the final lap maintaining an even gap ahead and behind.

Final result was 40th place and 2nd V50. Paul Thompson was 1st V50, 35 seconds ahead.