Newton Court Farm - Last XCountry & series winners

Whilst we didn’t have the scorching weather of previous races, it was a muggy evening for the last of the cross-country summer series, held at Newton Court Farm.  After a bit of careful parking (early arrivals had the benefit of the cafes main car park – note to self, get there earlier next year, and maybe miss out the, not so short, short-cut) there was the usual pre-race chit chat.  This soon turned to the conditions of the course, which apart from being rather undulating, was also rock hard and seriously rutted.  Care with ankles and knees was going to be essential if future running was hoped for, whether this was a general concern for all involved, or merely reflects the average age of a Hotfooter, I’m making no comment. 

After the chat came the customary photo and the, now equally customary, absence of Phil – or maybe he’ll teleport in later, but whether he’ll be levitating or the right way up, who can tell.



There were thirteen Hotfooters who crossed the start line and I’m very pleased to say that all 13 survived the course and finished to pick up their bottle of water and all-important cider token.  Unfortunately, whilst there were sufficient men to make up two teams, we didn’t quite have the required number of women, so had only one qualifying team.  However, this didn’t hold back some fantastic efforts on the night with Paul Milsom coming in first in his category and Sharon coming second in hers. 

To qualify for the overall series all 4 races had to be done, and we had 7 Hotfooters who had done that.  Out of these 7, Paul Milsom came 1st in his age category and Eleanor and Beth both came third in theirs.  A fantastic achievement for a small club where over 40% of those who qualified, came home with medals!  Two special mentions remain, one for Tina for again marshalling, seeing a friendly face on the course and hearing the encouragement really does help, and whilst the writer might not have made eye contact to say thank you (full concentration was required on foot placement) it really does help.  And finally, to Captain Eleanor, who not only had a storming series, but managed through it all to stay calm and herd the Hotfooters to the right locations on the right nights at the right time, well done Eleanor!  


Roll on the winter league! (although given it starts in October, will this be retitled the autumn or late summer league?)