North District Cross Country - Thurso - 06/10/2007

With the 'summer weather' drawing to an end in the North of Scotland it was time to pull out our mud sodden shoes, tight lycra shorts and club colours. Yes, cross country season was upon us. Unlike the usual circumstances, the athletes of Caithness Amateur Athletic Club did not have that all too familiar three hours plus drive to the hosting venue. Instead we were woken by the pleasant rays of sunshine that seemed to have passed us by over the past two seasons when we had hosted a North District Cross Country fixture.

Arriving at the newly-designed course which would include the start and finish being held on the grassed area outside Naver all weather pitch, most competitors seemed quite high in spirits. This was particularly true of the younger athletes as this would be their first time in which their course included a trip through the mud and mess of the moors. However the perk for the older athletes and I can vouch for this myself, was the thought of all the food that awaited us after the race.

At quarter past one the first races were started and so the under 11 girls lined up to be let loose on the moors by the official race starter Pauline Pearson. This age group's race consisted of a route which took them from the all weather pitch to the stream at the bottom of the moors, and yes they finally got to get their feet wet and muddy which none of them protested about.

Five minutes later the under 11 boys were off to a flying start as well with a sea of white and blue vests to be seen, largely due to the fact that there was only one other outside club represented in this age group; it just goes to show how hardy our little ones are!

The first runner home for Caithness was Hannah MacLeod in the under 11 Girl's race who in second place set the pace for all of the 42 Caithness athletes competing. Not to be biased at all, but in the under 13 girls age group it was the all too familiar trio of Emma and Oonagh Dunnett and Jade Currie leading the pack into an exciting race.

The under 13 boys race was also a dramatic race with Caithness athlete Rob Murdoch battling with an Inverness athlete from the start trying to gain pole position. Also in that age group was first time runner Andrew Martin, whose sister Kerry was competing in the Under 11 Age group.

The merged Under 15 and Under 17 Women's race was, as always, a heated event with the renowned Gemma Cormack of Moray Road Runners and Eleanor Duncan of Forres Harriers battling it out with a sprint start that left most athletes standing. Leanne Eyers and Hannah Paterson coped well with their first race in this age group which left them with a much longer distance to cover before the finish line.

Duncan Paterson in the Under 15 Boys age group found the weather that warm, when combined with running that he actually took his hat off! Also worth the mention was David Gardner for Caithness who has just moved up to this age group yet was impressive in beating off boys who were up to a year older than himself and certainly a great deal taller.

The Senior Ladies, what more can I say - go mum! Yes due to my new found 'demands' of being a rugby player I decided to sit this race out and let my 'older sister', as some people like to call her, who was also convening the races, go solo. She may be the endurance coach but how embarrassing would it be if she beat me!

The Under 17 Men's race was the second last of the day with Graeme Taylor and Alistair Black competing in this age group. Both boys had to not only contend with getting stuck behind all the old 'fuddy-duddy' senior women on the moors but they also had to run along with the senior men which can be daunting. Alistair made the most of it by using one of the senior's as a wind break on the more exposed parts of the course.

Finally the Senior Men's race and Caithness had four athletes competing in this age group, one of which was David Eyes another endurance coach; there is definitely a theme going on here. Along with Sandy Christie and two newcomers to the event, Ian Walker and Paul Bryan, the race was a success for after enduring three tiresome laps of the course they found themselves coming home as third men's team on the day.

The results for Caithness were as follows:-

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