I’d forgotten how much of a stampede the start of a big XC race can be, particularly when the course narrows sharply soon after the start as it does at Farley Mount. As a result I probably started to fast and I had to let the group of Southampton runners I’d been with go at the second lap. I did manage to pick up some places on the third and final lap but promptly lost them again on the sprint finish. I was 74th at the line which doesn’t seem so bad when you consider there were 269 in the race. That and Noel was just behind me this time!
Emma enjoyed playing in the woods afterwards. As you can see from the photo, we dressed her up in some garish tights to draw your attention away from the scrape on her chin – the result of a close encounter with the pavement earlier in the day. I suspect one day we may be back at Farley Mount watching Emma compete – her favourite phrase after the event was “run run run”.