I remember the hell of it at school and hiding in the bush at the end of the first field loop and waiting for half the class to come back, before jumping in mid pack to finish. Thing is, I never got questioned as I was fairly sporty other than that!

Oops, that makes me a cheat, doesn’t it?! I wouldn’t do it now!

Thanks Anna. I only thought about sharing my cross country tips when I came across my old spikes abandoned in the loft. They were covered in mud and rust and were beyond redemption… As I’m too slow for my current running club, I’m researching new clubs at the moment. It’s amazing how many local clubs don’t enter teams into the cross country leagues. Anyway, once I’ve found a club, I need to make sure that my knee is cross country proof next season!

My love of cross country running started when I was at school. My first experience of a ‘proper’ cross country course was at the Midlands Independent Schools cross country championships. I didn’t own a pair of cross country spikes and struggled to stay upright in the mud. I invested in some running spikes and finished in the top 10 the following year. The photo of me running through the river was taken near the finish of the Suicide 6 race in November. I’m almost 6ft tall and have long legs, other runners got drenched going through the water. Quite a few runners dived in. At least the river water washed off the majority of the mud.