Essex XC Championships

11 January 2016 - By Marc Underdown

The Essex Cross Country Championships were held on Saturday at Claybury Park, near Woodford. Whilst we always knew that we didn’t have to worry about attending the prize giving presentation, nevertheless five of us made the trip to take on the three laps, totalling about 7 miles, in order to ensure that Witham was represented at the county championships. The lap is undulating and contains one steep climb. Whilst it has perhaps just under a mile of solid paths, the rest of the lap was a mud-fest! The rain in the week was the primary cause, but it didn’t help that the senior men’s race was the last race of the day, so all the previous races had churned up the course a treat!

Scott played it steady at the start but managed his effort the best, passing me on lap 2 and Leo on lap 3. Leo likes his cross country having run in both the senior and vets championships. I’m not a fan of muddy cross country but I am just looking at it as good training for the Gt Bentley half! Mark Austin was probably counting the 100 club championship points as he was going around, whereas we understand Sean Darney was cursing his brother for getting him into it!  Well done to all, and I hope everyone has managed to clean the mud from their shoes, clothes and bodies!