Dunbartonshire XC Championships

I would normally try to avoid a cross-country race as long as 6 miles but there was a chance of a team prize so I was talked into taking part, and as it turned out the weather had improved drastically by Saturday. I took along my new Brooks spikes as well as my trail shoes and decided on the spikes. I started near the front and kept up with the lead pack pretty well until I slid down the first significant downhill. It didn't cost me too much time, but there was more trouble on the far side of the course where a very muddy patch on an incline meant I had to run into a tree to stop or I would have fallen. On the way back there was a steep embankment where I couldn't find my footing at all. I tried to pull myself up using some nearby bushes but kept slipping backwards. Some of the other runners were having less trouble and I lost quite a few places. I eventually managed to struggle up at the side of the course and started moving through the field, but I had lost so much time that I was way out of contention. If I hadn't been the fourth counter for the team at that point, I might have thrown in the towel. On the second lap I had more trouble on the embankment, but on the final lap I was starting to get into it. Managed to bang my knee on a gate but picked up one more place before the end. I finished 26th in a pretty dismal 41:01. We were nonetheless second team, although due to an error with the results we were awarded third place on the day. I might have got on better in trail shoes or longer spikes than the 6mm ones which came with the shoes.