Cross country is for everyone 💛🖤

Last year, Clarke Gardens was an unusually tidy affair — more “afternoon jog in a park” than “epic struggle against the elements.” There was so little mud you could almost see your reflection in the grass, which, frankly, isn’t the kind of thing a proper cross country runner wants to see. This year, however, the mud made a tentative return. Not epic levels but enough to make it interesting.

Our squad of 22 brave souls assembled, an excellent blend of wise old campaigners (who know better but do it anyway) and bright-eyed newcomers (who don’t know better yet). The veterans paced themselves with the calm of people who have suffered before, while the newcomers discovered the universal truth that cross country is 10% running, 20% tactics, and 70% pretending you’re enjoying yourself.

Clarke Gardens offered everything a course should — slippery corners, a mysterious puddle of indeterminate depth at Dingley Dell, and that one hill that looks small until you’re on it, when it suddenly reveals its true, mountainous personality.

But through all the mud, and the occasional existential crisis halfway through lap two, the team spirit shone brighter than a freshly polished pair of spikes. Every runner pushed hard, cheered harder, and left the course with that peculiar cross country grin — equal parts pride, pain, and the knowledge that showers would be needed.