A Saturday afternoon in the middle of December. Some might consider this an opportune time to go Christmas shopping. Some spend their afternoon wrapping presents, making mince pies or decorating the tree. Clearly these people are misguided: everyone knows that the best thing to do on a December afternoon is to don a red and black striped vest and run three laps of a muddy cross-country course in Richmond Park.
More than two hundred people had evidently decided that they would prefer to spend their Saturday afternoon participating in the South of Thames CCA Championship Race, rather than staying tucked-up somewhere warm with a cup of tea and a mince pie. We were rewarded with a beautiful route around the south-west corner of Richmond Park. The rain held off, the previous week’s ice had melted and the paths were muddy without turning into a quagmire. The course was sufficiently hilly to keep everyone entertained but not too arduous for the novices.
Eight women turned out to run for HHH and the team was sixth overall. After the race we rested our legs and warmed back up with some very welcome cups of tea and mince pies in the pub. Next race: Surrey XC on 5th January in Lloyd Park!