23 January 2018
On Sunday nine members of the cross-country club braved the adverse weather conditions to run in the Abingdon 10km.
Due to heavy snowfall just hours before, the start of the route was altered for safety reasons. This meant a grueling nine laps of the Tilsley Park athletics track, before darting off around the surrounding parkland for a further six laps.
The track ran surprisingly quickly given the snow and slush underfoot, the same cannot be said for the trail section of the race. During the first lap runners had the luxury of running on virgin snow, but by the time they entered their sixth lap the mud was thick and slippery, sapping every last ounce of energy from the legs and making staying upright a challenge for all but a few. Running with numb hands and legs, the thought of a warming hot chocolate was all that kept the competitors going.
Will Cullen (OA and Captain of XC 2007-2008) ran a superb time of 36 minutes 26 seconds, finishing 2nd behind Abingdon's current XC captain, Calum Steer.
Congratulations must be extended to all runners who braved the weather, but special mentions go to Calum Steer for placing 1st and setting a new course record of 35 minutes 46 seconds, despite the conditions being less than favourable, David Bunn for finishing 3rd and Mr Fisher for setting his 10km PB.
1st – Calum Steer
3rd – David Bunn
6th – Alex Pennington
16th – Mr Birkbeck
18th – Matthew Kunov
22nd – Oliver Moody
36th – Oliver Elly
66th – Mr Fisher
33rd Female – Mrs Kaye
