SATURDAY 18th DECEMBER
RED ROSE CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE
9.5k
WITTON PARK, BLACKBURN

Up to eight inches or more of snow had fallen overnight and yet no message to say cross country was cancelled! The fun started trying to find my little car under one of the heaviest blankets of the white stuff I have witnessed in twenty years. (Now I must be getting on a bit making statements like that) Trying to get on to a main road without getting stuck on a slope was a different matter entirely but I eventually made it for my club's home fixture which was indeed going ahead, albeit with different courses having been devised due to the adverse conditions.
I'm not a big fan of a lapped course which is one of the reasons I'm not a big cross country fan, but the men's revised course was four laps long. Yes, that's right. FOUR laps over the best part of six miles. I couldn't help but think that for fun I really ought to be sculpting a snowman back home or something. 
Anyway I just thought I'd better get my head down and get on with it. It turned out I didn't have a bad run at all and was comfortably in the top ten and duelling with a Tipton Harrier whose vest looked a little out of place amongst the East Lancashire tribes. I managed to stay on his shoulder until the final run in when he kicked on and I had nothing suitable in reply. I was quite pleased with my efforts though. A second consecutive satisfactory cross country result? I need to pinch myself.
Time: 36:41  Pos: 8th/62