By Ed Norton
It was a great day yesterday at the British & Irish Masters Cross Country International at Tollcross Park, Glasgow.
It was a beautiful autumn day with perfect conditions underfoot. Over 300 masters athletes from the 4 home nations and defending champions Ireland were congregated for what is the highlight of the year for many masters athletes. There was a real buzz about the place with old adversaries renewing acquaintances.
I was in the first race for over 65 men and women together. England had a strong team in my V70 category so our plan was to get as many of our team in the top 10 which would be enough for silver. Ireland were the main threat for silver with Joe Gough the European 1500m champion one of the race favourites along with Scotland team mate Tony Martin.
After the initial mad rush at the gun I settled down to what I thought was a sensible pace and was in 6th position for the first lap. It was a tough course with 3 hilly loops totalling almost 6k. The hills were taking their toll and I slipped back to 8th but managed to dig in and keep that position for the rest of the race, finishing in 27:01. With Tony taking individual bronze and team mate Frank Hurley in 9th it was enough for team silver.
I had decided before the race that this was to be my last cross country race as it’s not a discipline I really enjoy and I could concentrate on shorter road and track races. Unfortunately there is to be no masters indoor track championships this winter, due to the upgrade of the only indoor track in Scotland, so I’m not sure what to focus on next!
Also, massive congratulations to club mate Julie Menzies who also won team silver in her debut for Scotland along with V50 teammates Janet Dunbar, Allie Chong and Mary Senior. Running in the second race for women aged 35 to 64, Julie finished second counter for the team and 7th V50 in 23:39.
Huge thanks to the team at Scottish Veteran Harriers Club – SVHC for all their hard work in putting on this amazing event.
PH Racing Club 