Arriving at Temple park, the weather app informed me that it was -2 degrees, a whole degree warmer than it was when I left the house however that made no difference as the conditions in the car park indicated that this was going to be one hard xc. Walking toward the course, it became apparent that it wasn’t only the paths that were frozen, but almost everything seemed to be covered in a thick coat of frost. Conditions were no better on the course as we were about to find out.
First up to brave the freezing weather was the U11s. We had 2 competitors, one in both gender categories and first to race was Tom Whitehouse who placed 40th with a strong time of 09:21. Next up, Francesca Watson who also had a strong run, coming home with a time of 9:03 placing 27th.
Our next two races were in the U13 category, with a combined total of 10 runners, we saw some great performances. The boys ran before the girls, and first to come home was Henry Pickett in 37th place with a time of 12:39. Aidan Whitfield closely followed in 41st place running 13:00. Ernie Bigg was next home running 14:47 and placing 47th. To complete our U13 boys’ team, we had Marcus Bigg who came home in 51st place running a time of 17:51.
The girls were up next, and we had 6 in this race, with Anna Carr first to cross the line in 31st place running 13:41 and a second later she was followed by Eliza Palmer who placed 32nd with a time of 13:42, both girls chasing each other down right to the end. Florence Snaith finished next in 35th (14:03), a strong run for her first xc back. Another sprint finish ended in Melina Bourgenot-Lewis Placing 41st (14:29) and one place behind her, Poppy Colver running 14:30 (42nd). Our final Competitor, Kate Whitehouse followed closely behind placing 48th with a time of 15:45.
4 races later the temperature had again risen by a whole degree, yet the course didn’t budge and remained frozen underfoot. Next to race was our U15 boys and girls. Yet another storming run saw Freddie Palmer place an amazing 6th with a time of 15:38. Liam Whitelaw came home next in 24th place running 16:50 and 3 places later, Jake Parker crossed the finish line running 17:17 (27th). Lucas Powell completed the team in 42nd place running 19:07.
The U15 girls race followed, and I can say first hand, the course was a brutal as I have described throughout this report. Ruby Colver was first home, crossing the line in 20:37 placing 35th. Naimah Michla and Alanah Perowne both placed close behind. Niamah finished in 39th position running 21:13. Alanah crossed the line only 2 places behind in 41st running a time of 22:05. Adeline Bourgenot-Lewis crossed the line next in 44th (22:56) . Ruby Ditchburn and Laura Whitman were separated by 1 place, Ruby finishing in 47th (24:44) and Laura in 48th running 25:36. A special mention to Laura, as it was her first xc back since Alnwick in March due to injury, and what an xc to start on!
With no competitors in the U17 or U20 women, it meant our final xc of the day was the U17 boys. Zak Kettle ran a strong run, coming home in 9th position, posting a time of 26:06. David Carr was next to finish in 19th with a time of 27:01 and Jake Moir followed him in 26th place running 29:17.
It certainly was a tough race, but this report shows that with a total of 23 runners, we really do have a hardy junior section who show the grit and determination to get out of bed on a Saturday morning and brave some truly horrific conditions. The support and spectators were as encouraging as ever and never fail to spur you on, even when they are freezing themselves. That was the last xc of the year, so I hope you all have a lovely Christmas break, and we will hopefully see you all back at Temple Park in January for the Sherman Cup!
Thanks for reading,
Ruby C.
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