We had a team of 10 runners assemble for the Comber Cup Cross Country hosted by Ballydrain Harriers at Billy Neil Playing Fields, Dundonald. The course, a tough 1km out and back route, was almost swamp-like in places with children slipping, sliding and sinking into the mud going both up and downhill. In such conditions, it is imperative that laces are fastened well and this is something we made sure to do before the race set off at twelve noon. Inspecting the course with the children is always fun but never more so than today; the giggles and squeals of delight as the children realised they were inevitably going to be caked in mud was hilarious! Soon enough after our warm up and stretching, however, it was time for the main event!
From the viewpoint at the top of the hill at the far end of the course, the start was at an absolutely incredible pace, children almost dive-bombing down the hill from the start line and slip-sliding around the corner to set themselves up for the first climb of the day. At the front of the race, Lukas had settled in very well as always, looking very comfortable inside the top 10 places. Behind him, Zac led the way from the trip of younger sister Sofia, Charlotte and Lily M. The girls were closely followed by team-mate Logan and Danny who was looking very focused as he climbed the hill. Our next runner was the ever-smiling Faye (making her cross country debut), with Ella and Leo not too far behind as the runners made their way up the hill through the mud and down the other side to the turning point at half way.
Rounding the turn, the runners were faced with a stiff headwind and another hill climb in swamp-like conditions. By this point, almost all the runners were facially showing signs of exertion, their breathing heavy with legs full of lactic acid as they made their way to the finish. Lukas had consolidated his position, closed the gap on the leaders, and actually moved into 6th position as he entered the final downhill stretch. Behind him, Danny had overtaken 4 Castle Gardens runners to become our second runner- a position he maintained to the finish line. Zac was our next runner to crest the hill into the headwind, looking somewhat weary by now but still moving with determination and purpose on the stretch for home. Our fourth runner was our first girl, Sofia, who was closely followed by our next three runners who were all girls; Charlotte had moved some 10 metres clear of Lily with Logan charging in the second half of the race as she always does. Behind them, debutant Faye rallied valiantly up the final climb desperate to hold off the advances of Ella and Leo who were locked in battle with runners from Comber High School and each other.
On a day like today, every single runner deserves credit for battling through a very challenging route in very challenging conditions. All of our runners conducted themselves superbly and tried their very best. They were cheered on at various points on the course by staff and parents, some of whom were moving very spritely indeed and were actually warming up for their own races later! As always, our thanks is extended to our families for their unwavering support for their children; we are humbled and very grateful for your encouragement and help (taking photos too!) to make our attendance at these events as possible. But the biggest thanks today is for our runners themselves- an amazing effort as always and, as was pointed out by several extended family members today, it was so lovely to see smiles amongst the grimaces as you did battle. You should all be very proud of yourselves today. A special mention also for Faye- what a tough race to make your debut!
Photos and video (at the very bottom of the page) are below.
Mr Graham & Mr Gray.
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