Dunbartonshire cross country

Six brave souls battled the elements at the Dunbartonshire Cross Country at Posties Park in Dumbarton. The mens team consisted of Don Reid, John Quinn, Peter Grassl and long lost member Jon Slowe. Muffy and I were the only two ladies present so we didn’t have a team. The course consisted of a 2 mile circuit which the ladies did twice and the men three times. It was mainly flat with a couple of slight downhill sections which made for interesting running if you weren’t wearing spikes. The men ran along with the women which was unusual but certainly gave you an incentive to try to avoid being lapped for as long as possible. The start was predictably fast with the top men speeding off and the remainder of the field strung out behind. I soon found myself towards the back of the field along with some Helensburgh ladies and worked hard to stay in touch. I was pleased to complete the first circuit in 16.40 and hoped for a finish time of about 34 or 35 mins but alas the heavy ground took its toll and I struggled at the end to finish in a disappointing 37 mins. Muffy had a great run in 33mins and is clearly getting back to form after a long layoff with injury. The finishing order for the men was Jon Slowe (anything but) John Quinn, Don Reid and Peter Grassl. It was a real cross country course with wind rain and glaur in abundance but good fun nonetheless.