Every year the Midlands Champs is one of my favourite races - it's a top quality race and it seems like every cross country runner in the Midlands turns out. There must have been around 300 people on the start line, from GB Internationals to keen club runners. Athleticos (great site for athletics coverage in the UK!) filmed the race and did a great job of picking up everyone in the field as well as the leaders:
Watch more video of 2012 Midland Area XC Championships on www.athleticos.org
As you can see, it was another beautiful day for running - we've been really lucky so far this year. The course was firm apart from the bottom corner and the long straight down to the finish. From running the UK InterCounties Champs here a few times, it can be a very very tough course when it's muddy. I can also remember running here as an U17 on a slightly different course and struggling in the mud.
Today's course seemed especially hard with the long lap taking us to the top of the hill by Wollaton Hall before looping back down to the bottom, along the avenue and straight back up the steepest part. The organisers also kindly added another hill loop as you head down towards the finish - sending runners off to the right for a short downhill before a very steep uphill to rejoin the course!
Normally that many hills would fill me with dread, but today I couldn't wait to run! I knew I had to take it steady up the hills and keep relaxed, as 8km XC is a pretty long race for me, and given my cough over the last few days I didn't want to over stress myself too early in the race and suffer with a tight chest and coughing again.
I was also excited because there was an outside chance of a team medal. The team competition is always super competitive with Charnwood and Bristol&West usually taking Gold and Silver at any Midlands event. Bronze however is pretty open, and if we all run well on the day there's a chance we'll finish 3rd. I've got 2 Midlands medals already, 3rd U20 Women's team from the Midlands XC Champs at Stafford Common in 2005 and 3rd at the Midlands 6 Stage Road Relay Champs at Sutton Park in 2007.
With our top 2 runners, Claire Martin and Kim Fawke both internationals, and both likely to finish in the top 10, there's always a chance if the rest of us run well, we'll pick up a medal! Photo below (courtesy of Johnny Sanders) shows Kim and Claire in the lead group on the front lap:
I felt pretty good on the warm up, with limited coughing. I've been taking calcium supplements since my stomach cramps in the last race and I was feeling a lot better for it. I got a good 25mins slow jogging in before the race, stretched in plenty of time, put my spikes on and did a few strides. Generally I felt quite relaxed as with 3 laps to run and lots of hills I knew I needed to stay in control at the start and gradually wind it up. Having had problems breathing on Tuesday night I'd decided going off hard was just a recipe for disaster!
The race went great, I worked through steadily over 3 laps, but got to the top of the last big hill feeling as if I was about to throw up - a good sign I'd timed my effort right! And here's a lovely photo of me at that exact moment:
During the race I'd only spotted a couple of Bristol&West runners and I'd seen a Tipton girl drop out, so as I came off the top of the hill with a couple of minutes left to run, I had it in my mind that we may be in with a chance of a medal. Spying a Coventry runner and a Trentham runner just ahead of me, I pushed really hard over the final 1km to overtake these and pull away with a decent sprint finish!
I finished in 50th, results here, with Telford AC getting Bronze by 1 point from Coventry - glad I overtook the Coventry runner in the final 1km! Local clubs Charnwood and Notts AC took Gold and Silver respectively.
We got a nice long warm down in afterwards enjoying the gorgeous sunshine and lovely park (below with Stacey Johnson and Rebekah Randell)
Our individual positions were:
Claire Martin 7th
Kim Fawke 9th
Sarah Mackness 50th
Nellie Sanders 85th
And here we are with our Bronze medals!
(L-R: Sarah Mackness, Nellie Sanders, Claire Martin and Kim Fawke)
Congratulations to all the team, great effort everyone! Just one place worse from one of us and we wouldn't have come 3rd. Thanks as well to Johnny Sanders for the driving, support and excellent photography - more here. Unfortunately by the time I got home I was exhausted and coughing lots, and my attempts at running on Sunday were thwarted by problems breathing. A trip to the Doctors on Monday diagnosed Bronchitis and I've had problems breathing all week following the race. On reflection I shouldn't have run with a cough, and I'm lucky I managed to run as well as I did. I've had to have a week off training as the Doctor warned I risked collapsing if I tried to run with Bronchitis - hopefully the rest won't do me too much harm with the Nationals only a few weeks away and providing I can get back running soon it was probably worth it for the medal!
