Winter can be tough for triathletes, but as BTF X YJ ambassador Katie wright explains, cross-country racing can offer an ideal and enjoyable (subjective) training option. Over to you Katie!
Why Cross country?
During the winter months when the wetsuit is gathering dust and the turbo is floating in a puddle of sweat I like to do a cross-country season. Like might be a slightly misleading choice of word!
After the complexity of a triathlon season I’m looking forward to the simplicity of cross country. You put on your spikes, and you run – as quickly as you can. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. It hasn’t changed in the 30 plus years since I first laced up my spikes.
Cross country might be simple, in principle, but you need to be mentally tough and physically strong. What it lacks in complexity it makes up for in its sheer brutality. Yeah it’s brutal! BUT It’s great for building resilience, you need to dig deep, and you learn how to suffer – which is why (I believe) it’s fantastic winter training for triathlon.
Cross Country is structured similarly to a lot of other sports. It has a league and championship races – which are spread out over the winter season. The Cross country league (like superTri triathlon) is both an individual and a team sport. You run as an individual but you also score points for your team. At the end of the season the top three teams (in each AG) get to celebrate on the podium alongside the top three individual athletes (in each AG). There aren’t any giant cheques being given out and the locations are a bit less glamorous (than SuperTri) but it’s super friendly and there is tea and cake.
The 24/25 season kicks off with the county championship cross country relays in late September – which in the South East are held at glorious Goodwood – famous for its motor circuit.
Three runners (in each club team) join forces to complete the lapped course as quickly as possible. The winning team is the team that crosses the finish line first. It’s muddy, the hills are a shock to the system, many legs turn to jelly and lungs feel like they might explode – but in less than an hour all the runners are laying in a heap of heaving arms and legs (by the finish line) thinking about those medals soon to be awarded, and the tea and cake soon to be consumed.
Cross country is a bit like triathlon – it can be horrendous at the time, but you forget pretty quickly. As you stare down at that shiny medal you are already thinking that you quite fancy doing it all again. Which is lucky as the league starts a couple of weeks later back at Goodwood.
In Sussex, our league races take place in some beautiful rural locations. Each one trying to disguise the horrors that are about to unfold.
RACE 1 – GOODWOOD (October)
The guns fires (yes they still use a gun in cross country) there is the initial surge as the runner scramble for position before the single track decent in to the woods. Down, down, down you go, but what goes down must come back up, and up, and up it comes, before a sweeping loop of what looked like a relatively flat (but isn’t) field, past the start and repeat! That’s the race that eases you in to the season! You might get away with trail shoes for this race, I said might!
THE SESSION: Hills and elevation.
Use the hills to build strength for the season ahead. Push on the uphills let the momentum carry you back down.
2km warm up, RACE, 3-5 hill repeats, 2km cool down.
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RACE 2 – Glyndebourne (November)
Glyndebourne was a new course last season and it is completely unique. Beautiful opera tries its best to distract you from the biggest hill I’ve ever been expected to run up during a cross country race (it defeated many last season) There are gently flowing streams (of competitors tears) to hop over – that have the potential to become fast flowing rivers depending on the kind of season we are having! Road shoes need not apply! Imagine roadies rocking up to a cross Tri race on their TT! Last season I duct taped my spikes on to my feet pre race!
THE SESSION: The long easy run with race pace effort.
Run the course before to recce the route as warm up, RACE, cool down on the route
3 x RACE COURSE (easy, fast, easy)
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Race 3 – Ardingly (December)
Ardingly gives you the opportunity to go back to your youth and play ponies as you trot your way around the horse race course. It’s probably the course with the least elevation but the hills are short and sharp as you scramble over ditches and through muddy bogs! Pack your baby wipes!
THE SESSION: Speed endurance session.
1 mile warm up, RACE, 1 mile easy, run the course again FAST, 1 mile cool down.
In January the league takes a month off as its championship season, kicking off with the Sussex Cross Country Championships in Bexhill. There are no separate masters categories in this event so it’s one I’m often tempted to miss, it’s also generally only days after we have welcomed in the new year and pre the kids returning to school!
Mid January, though, us masters (over 35 years of age) have our own Sussex Masters Cross Country Championships at the beautiful South Downs location of Coombe Farm (which also hosts a cyclocross race) the start and finish are nestled nicely in the valley surrounded by steep slopes. You’ll be pleased you did your hill reps!
The month finishes with the South of England Cross Country Championships at Beckenham Park Place (there are also no masters categories, but) if you love cross country you need to do this race! It’s like taking part in a big city road race but on grass. The standard is fierce, it’s super well supported and it’s proper type 2 fun!
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Race 4 – Stamner (February)
By race 4 we are deep in winter, mud up to our knees, fingers we can’t feel and red shiny noses. The shall we wear spikes or trail shoes discussions of early in the season have dwindled and we are at the point of survive rather than thrive! Big hills, big thrills, big, big energy!
THE SESSION: Knowing when it’s best to head home and jump on the turbo trainer
Spin those legs out, get the blood pumping to those frozen extremities
The season (for me) will finish at the National Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill the home of cross country. There is nothing quite like this race, everyone must experience this once. Make the top 200 you are a legend, the top 100 – WOW, the top 10 you are probably a GB runner or Pro Triathlete!
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A FINAL COMMENT
Cross country is “old school” it’s been around forever, but it could learn a lot from newer sports like triathlon. Men and women run in different races, often over different distances. There are ongoing discussion about equalling the distances, and some county leagues have started to introduce this! Progress I appreciate takes time, but I strongly believe that women are as capable physically and therefore should be given the opportunity to run the same distances as men. I don’t think it gives the right message to young girls if boys are running further. But putting the politics aside cross country can be a very enjoyable experience.
