Oxleas Wood XC second instalment of the season
With gusts of up to 50mph forecast, the second race in this year’s KFL Cross Country season was very much up in the air (if you’ll pardon the pun). The race did go ahead as planned, minus the shiny new gazebo for fear of it blowing away. Aside from the wind, the weather was very mild and dry with mostly firm ground underfoot.
The course at Oxleas is roughly 8km and consists of one and a half laps of a meadow (where winds were very much present), twice up a relatively steep incline, and twice through two separate woodlands. In previous years, the wooded sections were pretty treacherous with sloppy mud and slippy tree roots to navigate. Whilst it was significantly less muddy today, runners still had to weave their way around various trees and push themselves up a series of muddy hills. But with uphills come downhills, giving runners a chance to gain back any time lost. The finish brings you back out into the meadow – and back out into the wind!
Once again, there was great representation from TRAC today. Congratulations to everyone and thanks again for the brilliant team spirit and encouragement for each other.
Nice to hear some thoughts from our runners. Thank you Ali Smith: ‘Loved the challenging course… got my heart rate up! Loved the support from fellow runners, Marshalls and the general public, shouting “Well done, Alison, keep going! “At first I wondered how they know my name but realised it’s on the race bib! I will definitely do this again! And most importantly, loved the after race cakes, cookies and sausage rolls! Guinness chocolate cake… wow… who wouldn’t run for a taste of that?!”
Also nice speaking to Eliott and Holly Cobb-Webb who are relatively new to the sport of running but are really enjoying the atmosphere, the encouragement and supportive camaraderie in the running community.
Team TRAC again finished in 5th place in the Ladies competition and 6th in the Men’s. This has consolidated our position in 6th as a combined team.
The first 3 men back for team TRAC this week were Alex Dugard, Lee Hardie and Matt McCarthy, great racing guys. The first 3 ladies were Georgie Judge (with another top 10 finish!), Brittany Crombie and Jo Kemp.
And congratulations to Alex Hoss making his debut this week with a fantastic effort – what a course to start with!
| Overall Position | Gender Position | Runner | Time | Rtg |
| 17 | 17 | Alex Dugard | 32:19:00 | 95.45 |
| 25 | 25 | Lee Hardie | 32:49:00 | 93.18 |
| 38 | 37 | Matt McCarthy | 34:02:00 | 89.77 |
| 49 | 48 | Adam Foster | 34:43:00 | 86.65 |
| 50 | 49 | Christopher Brenchley | 34:46:00 | 86.36 |
| 67 | 66 | Philip Morton | 36:01:00 | 81.53 |
| 82 | 79 | Phil Stevens | 36:56:00 | 77.84 |
| 87 | 83 | Mark Croucher | 37:15:00 | 76.70 |
| 93 | 89 | Chris Pascoe | 37:44:00 | 75.00 |
| 101 | 96 | Alex Hoss | 38:11:00 | 73.01 |
| 109 | 6 | Georgie Judge | 38:24:00 | 97.27 |
| 118 | 110 | Elliott Cobb-Webb | 38:52:00 | 69.03 |
| 119 | 111 | James Newing | 38:55:00 | 68.75 |
| 128 | 117 | Andy Jones | 39:16:00 | 67.05 |
| 136 | 14 | Brittany Crombie | 40:02:00 | 92.90 |
| 138 | 124 | Robbie Weatherley-Day | 40:06:00 | 65.06 |
| 194 | 169 | Chris Brown | 41:50:00 | 52.27 |
| 233 | 35 | Joanne Kemp | 43:59:00 | 81.42 |
| 248 | 212 | Mike James | 44:45:00 | 40.06 |
| 254 | 39 | Julie Williams | 44:55:00 | 79.23 |
| 319 | 69 | Holly Cobb-Webb | 47:39:00 | 62.84 |
| 321 | 70 | Nicola Boyes | 47:43:00 | 62.30 |
| 342 | 265 | Oliver Northrop | 48:51:00 | 25.00 |
| 374 | 94 | Sharon Mcavoy | 50:22:00 | 49.18 |
| 375 | 281 | Adrian Neaves | 50:23:00 | 20.45 |
| 403 | 110 | Elizabeth Brown | 51:06:00 | 40.44 |
| 419 | 117 | Anna Harrison | 51:50:00 | 36.61 |
| 421 | 118 | Janet Morgan | 51:55:00 | 36.07 |
| 430 | 307 | Matthew Stanley | 52:25:00 | 13.07 |
| 482 | 151 | Sorcha Page | 56:56:00 | 18.03 |
| 495 | 159 | Alison Smith | 59:18:00 | 13.66 |
As always, a huge thank you to everybody who took part. Particular thanks go to those who brought baked goods, especially Jacquie Brazil who supplied homemade sausage rolls!
Thanks to Brittany Crombie and Jo Kemp for the race report. We’ll see you next week at Knole Park for an early 9am start. Expect autumn leaves, deer and a long walk from the carpark to the start line…
