Metropolitan Cross Country

Herts Phoenix hosted their regular cross country event at Stanborough Park on 13th January 2024. 

Whilst Stanborough Park is an ideal venue for a cross country race with varied terrain including woods, hills, cambers and this year plenty of mud, it is only around 1,000m long so it is difficult to design shorter courses suitable for the younger age groups and longer ones for the older age groups. 

However the club have developed a multi-looped layout that satisfies these demands and is particularly spectator-friendly. This year the course was modified to simplify the courses for the younger age groups, and to eliminate a minor hazard on the courses for the older age groups. A further change was necessitated about a week before the event, when we realised that one section of the woods was impassable due to fallen trees. The course was just re-routed around the edge of the woods. 

The first race was the combined U11 Boys and U11 Girls These young athletes are well supported by parents, and the marshals spend as much time keeping the course clear of spectators as they do directing the runners. In no time at all the leading runners appeared.  

Next up were races of 3,200m for the U13 Boys and U13 Girls, this was followed by races of 4,200m for the U17 Men and U17 Women.  

With the equalisation of the men’s and women’s race distances a couple of seasons ago, both competed over three and a half laps of the course - each full lap including a large inner loop which included the mound at the north end of the Park, a distance of 8,100m. 

Possibly due to the better conditions, the Senior Women’s race attracted even more runners than last year, there being 178 finishers. There was similarly a slight increase in the number of runners in the Senior Men’s race, there being 379 finishers.  

Several marshals, officials and club members remained after the last race to help to clear the course and generally tidy up. And, soon after most had left, the Park’s team were already cleaning up the toilets, which were obviously muddy but not damaged by runners - who were asked not to wear spikes in the toilets. 

Richard Bloom – Herts Phoenix AC concluded 

“The good weather and the efforts of many volunteers, the event was most successful. Although a little shorter than ideal, the park does offer an interesting and challenging cross country course that is enjoyed by runners. The Park’s team were both welcoming and helpful to the Herts Phoenix team, which made arranging the fixture a pleasant challenge rather than a chore.” 

All pictures courtesy of Mark Easton 

markeaston.zenfolio.com