Mold XC

Race: Mold XC (North Wales Cross Country League, race 3: 5.5m)
Time/Position: 34.58 (27th from 167 [3rd V45])
I've done some muddy races in my time but this really was up there: it's been a while since I experienced a quagmire quite this bad, not since Ras Beca perhaps. I had around 19 hours to recover from last night's Dash but didn't feel too bad, possibly because the wind and icy rain had numbed all the pain in my limbs. Despite shivering at the start, I really enjoyed the race: a classic XC course around the Alyn playing fields, presumably replacing the Wrexham fixture that is usually on this date. I always miss the first two races of the league, so never count overall, but do enjoy it on the rare occasion I can turn out (and Buckley veterans are top of the league at the moment). This was four big laps, over ground that had already been churned up by the ladies and juniors. Just for good measure, more windblown heavy rain fell as we ran. As a result it was cloying mud of varying intensity the whole way round, with one fast descent and a couple of short climbs. By the final lap, the mud was very thick in places making for draining running.