By Hannah Thom, Third Year, Geography
At the beginning of February, Bristol Uni Athletics & Cross Country (UBACCC) journeyed to Edinburgh to compete in the season’s biggest cross country competition. The weekend saw many brilliant performances and the team support was rivalled by no other.
This February 30 of UBACCC’s top athletes descended on Edinburgh to compete at BUCS Cross Country. This is by far the biggest competition in the University Cross Country running calendar and subsequently the hype was huge. Whilst perhaps not the best preparation for a big race, Friday’s ten hour bus journey up to Edinburgh was certainly entertaining. The highlight being a top-quality quiz, testing everyone on not only their running knowledge but their grasp of random obscure facts and 90’s bangers. When we eventually arrived in Edinburgh, we had time to have a quick wander and a spoons dinner (where we bumped into UWE undergoing some serious pint-based race preparation). As we are much more professional than UWE however, we went back to the hotel for a stretch and an early night.
Saturday was the perfect day for a race, not too cold and not too wet. The course was in Holyrood Park set against the beautiful backdrop of Arthur’s seat to one side, and the stunning Edinburgh city skyline to the other side. Whilst we were not one of the biggest university teams there, we quickly made our presence known by setting up base under our massive gazebo, showing even the cross-country heavyweights of St Marys and Birmingham that in some cases, size does matter.
The course itself was relatively flat and dry, apart from two sections where you had to cross a stream and run around a small rocky knoll. We were initially worried we may have to run up one of the seriously steep hills that bordered the course, but luckily this was not the case.
We quickly made our presence known by setting up base under our massive gazebo, showing even the cross-country heavyweights of St Marys and Birmingham that in some cases, size does matter.
The women’s B race was first up, with four UBACCC athletes taking a place on the start line in a 500 strong field. Rachael Haddow smashed the 6km course and brought it home for UBACC in a fantastic 68th place, swiftly followed by Hannah Thom, Katherine Skipper and Hannah Jacobs. Next up it was the Men’s B race, with all the UBACCC boys holding their own for 8km across the savagely windy course. It was Alex Stewart who took the first place for UBACCC finishing 235th in a strong time of 31:02.
Now it was time for the big guns. Before they even had time to catch their breath, the B runners were back on the course to cheer on the UBACCC A runners. The girls were up first, with UBACCC’s resident Scotswoman Emily Strathdee smashing out an excellent 62nd place, followed, hot on the heels, by Amy Hammersley and Amelia Williams.
Then it was time for the final race of the day, the men’s A. After a ridiculously fast start, it was Ben Westhenry who pulled it out the bag for UBACCC finishing the 10km course in 46th. There were also some stellar performances from Dom Priest, Nathan Williams, Benjamin Mann, Owen Hibbert and Steven Denby, proving that UBACCC really knows how to dominate a race.
Perhaps the biggest achievement of the day, however, was the sensational level of support. Not only did we have the biggest gazebo, we also had the loudest voices and by far out cheered everyone else. I’m sure cries of UBACCC will continue to echo off the Edinburgh hills for years to come!
Featured: UBACCC / Hannah Thom
Do you think you could attempt any of the cross country courses?
