A Cross Country Season To Remember – Sarah Bailey

What a season! It started back in October in glorious sunshine in St. Albans and ended for us oldies (Masters) with sunshine in Watford last weekend.

At the start of the season my goal was to run more cross country races than I had in recent years; the bar was quite low as my record for the last five years was two before injuries forced me to stop. But a big-ish birthday had moved me up an age group and I thought if I could survive enough Chiltern Leagues I might possibly be able to get an individual age group medal.

Little did I know back in October that my fitness would come back in the way that it has, and I feel incredibly grateful to my body for holding out. I love the freedom of cross country - running in parks, woods and fields, some flat, some definitely not, in sun, wind, rain, sleet or mud, the variety adds to the fun. I've run, on and off, since I was a teenager, and had never won an individual Southern medal or a Middlesex or League title, but somehow I stayed healthy and achieved all that this year.

However, the Team League and Masters medals have meant just as much to me. My children are now all away at Uni and an empty nest is a strange thing. It felt good to keep busy so regular races were important, but I've also enjoyed not having to rush home and car journeys up the M1 have been a nice chance to catch up with and make new friends.

Above all this season, I just wanted to run and enjoy Saturday afternoons with the best club mates you could hope for. So a huge thank you to everyone that has been a team mate this season, who has cheered and supported, transported and raised gazebos, marshalled, organised and handed out numbers or biscuits. It really has been a fantastic team effort.