If I remember correctly, my first marshalling ever was last year at the Eryri Harriers-organised fixture of the cross country (XC) championships. It was the first race after the AGM, committee members encouraged everyone to marshal where possible. It had been my first AGM.
This year I volunteered again. I am a much more seasoned marshal by now! And this time I was going to marshal all races. In total, there are six; it starts with the under 11 girls, and ends with the senior men. The races get longer and faster as you get along.
I was stationed somewhere where you always go the same way. At least what I could do is tell the runners where they would go at the next junction. It's good to know in advance! And I would assume most would have had a look at the map, but some might not have managed to remember it all. Especially those who had race jitters.
The first runners, the under 11 girls, we're running or muddy grass. But they already started changing this into mud with a little bit of decorative grass. And with every race that went by, the terrain got worse. I was really glad that I had decided again to not run myself. It is so easy to sprain something when you slip in these conditions.
The races came thick and fast. I did have time to eat my lunch along the way, but that was about it. And when the senior men had come by for the last time, I went to the back of the field to retrieve the route markers. And then my job was done! But it was already quite deep into the afternoon. It was time to do other things!
The next race I will be running myself. I really look forward to that! Unsurprisingly, it will be on the road. And I hope that no weather warnings will get in the way…
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| The start of the senior men race |
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| A Gog Triathlon Club runner seems to struggle with grip, with an Eryri Harrier in pursuit |
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| The bloke who would win that race |
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