A Kettering team of minuscule proportions braved the snowfields of Lincolnshire for the penultimate round of the North Midlands Cross Country League, held at RAF Cranwell.
In fact, the term “team” is somewhat inappropriate as there were only two Harriers there. For a variety of valid reasons, there were no Young Athletes or females, just a couple of senior men (a Junior and a Veteran to be precise).
KTH weren’t alone in this respect, as the fields were considerably smaller than the norm in this league, but the absentees missed a treat. Host club Sleaford Striders had laid out an interesting two-lap course, including two woodland sections and even a bank that is part of an equestrian circuit.
Jonny Goringe had fairly low expectations having been confined to bed earlier in the week, but he ran a steady first lap, reaching the halfway point in 12th. Then whatever had been afflicting him made a reappearance and he almost ground to a halt, losing eight places within a couple of hundred metres.
Fortunately, this proved to be a temporary trauma and he set about regaining the ground he’d lost, with a final surge taking him past the likes of Corby’s Troy Garrity and Chris Curtis, to reclaim 12th spot.
Back amongst the plodders, Peter Goringe ran a ‘steady’ race and even managed to overtake three people on the second lap. His finishing spot of 106th was, like Jonny’s, a personal best, helped of course by the smaller numbers taking part.
This was a day for the diehard cross-country runners. What could be better than running through the snow on a clear, windless December afternoon? It certainly beat Christmas shopping!