Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0
DNFs: 0
DNS: 1
Falling on arses: 3
The Women’s race set off at 1:25 pm, the lads showed, as ever, their fantastic support by deciding this was the ideal time to warm up. Our first finisher was Lola in 10th place, earning herself a promotion and a place in Leeds A team. Closely followed was the ever-gracious Immy, who was our fastest female of the day in 13th place. Emily was up next in 46th with another solid run. She also earned herself dick of the day award for not only racing but managing to nick a bloody vest, which I only realised was missing when she handed it back to me at the track. Closely behind was Lauren S, who finished in 58th from the medium pack, narrowly missing promotion.
Eve had an awe-inspiring run and probably deserved performance of the day; however, she did manage to cause self-sabotage and spike Lucy, which we don’t endorse unless it’s Gateshead. Lucy’s day was only made worse as she unfortunately had to spend an entire car journey with me, finishing a rough day in 69th (lucky Joe!). Heather, just like the doctor ordered, put in a good shift to finish in 78th place. Athene, who, unlike some, debuted a no-injury Bucs Duathlon the week before, has also made her fast pack debut, putting in another excellent performance, finishing in 93rd place.
Harriet wins performance of the day. This has nothing to do with her actual performance; I didn’t watch it. It’s entirely because she made the best brownies and now has to make them every time; otherwise, I won’t allow her to come, inclusive as ever! Luisa was next, who mistook the floor for Olly a couple of times, giving the mud a good smooch, finishing in 178th. Rosie was next, finishing in 266th. I’ve really enjoyed having her in the club, as she keeps revealing more of Niall’s strange habits. My current favourite is him practising opening his gullet to down a pint faster, which usually ends with him in the kitchen chugging water and then throwing up everywhere. And that his Wednesday lunch activity seems to be the reverse of Robin Hood.
The girls ran another impressive race, finishing first in their division. Some might even say they slayed.
Well done to everyone for completing their first proper cross-country race of the season and putting out some fantastic performances. We are definitely ruffling some feathers this year! Thank you to myself, Athene, Immy, Charlie, Luke, Tommy and Dr Styles for driving. Plus, thank you to Anna for successfully driving herself there and back. Finally, no thanks to Harry Bennison for being terrible at communicating whether he is coming or not.
Bonus content:
Toilets:
Portaloo’s: no seat warmers and fewer than normal 4/10.
Portable urinals: Stable and no fun, plus an industrial site is not particularly eye-catching. 3/10.
Coffee and food:
My own flask: lovely and warm as always, shame I didn’t share any. 8/10.
Costa Coffee: Clues in the name. 4/10
Bakesale: Super wholesome! But I am not donating to charity. 9/10.
Harriet’s Brownie: The right amount of sticky and freaking delicious. 11/10
KFC: had too many sweets and brownies beforehand, good toilets though. 5/10
On a very chilly Sunday morning, NUAXC assembled for the final Harriet League of the calender year: the formidable Wrekenton. Having travelled far and wide across the North East to get to harrier leagues so far, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Wrekenton xc course is located in the middle of a housing Estate in Gateshead, saving us a long journey. Despite the urban vibe, Wrekenton offered all that we know and love in any good xc race – gruelling hills, shin deep mud, ankle breaking hills and various obstacles to negotiate.
The lads race set off, as per, late. 36 minutes later, clocking both the fastest net time for NUAXC and the fastest time of the overall race was Luke Davis, pulling off a successful frustration run after a disappointing race only the day before. To get the fastest time on a Harrier League is one thing, but doing it from the fast pack the day after another race is enough to humble even the most seasoned runners, especially when he glides past you, seeming to not even break a sweat. Cheers for that. Next for NUAXC was athletics captain Joe, who seemed to enjoy his second Harrier League. Joe’s track experience was became immediately apparent when he was presented with the first corner. Seemingly not used courses that aren’t a gentle 400 metre loop, he proceeded to slip over and coat the left side of his body in mud – another feature that isn’t present on a track. Nonetheless, he no doubt used his triple jumping skills when he picked himself up and nobly carried on. He may have lost his dignity, but by goodness he earned that KFC on the way home. Next was Alex Biddulph, who had clearly learned from Ed’s experience on the dark side and traded in his c*cling cleats for spikes to put in a solid run and earning himself a promotion to the medium pack along with Joe.
Following him was Jonah, who looked at home on the slopes and puddles – reminiscent, I’m sure, of his daily trek to school in the Peak District. After Jonah was Bennison, who unfortunately started perhaps a little bit to optimistically and ultimately paid the price approx 3k later. Next was me, who for the first time this year actually managed a decent harrier league performance. Who knew that my running performance is based entirely on one factor: mud levels. Olly was next, another member of the club who has unfortunately been dabbling in the dark arts of c*cling but still managed a decent result. I just hope that these members of the club remember that correlation does not equal causation regarding these strong performances. Will put in a solid shift next, who has been a bulwark at harrier leagues this year despite his age. My fellow medium pack starter and skipper of the Movember team Nathan was next, who is getting alarmingly quick and had me checking over my shoulder the entire race. Behind him was Milo who’s biggest takeaway from this race was not the result but quite possibly the most majestic picture ever taken of him, credit to Tommy (see movember week 4 update). After him was Charlie, who, despite having the same photographer did not quite have a photo that was equally flattering. Next was fresher Kinsey, another starter of the movember team, making a strong harrier league debut. Another debutant was Aflie Carburry, who picked quite the race to make a debut, getting the full English cross country experience. Last but certainly not least was Niall, who hadn’t quite had the race that he hoped for, especially making his first ever fast pack start. I almost felt sorry for him, seeing him be the last across the line for NUAXC, however I very quickly remembered the rubbish that he had been chatting in spy bar after the previous harrier league and suddenly my sympathy disappeared . All in all it was a very successful day for the lads in what were challenging circumstances!