The last time I ran cross-country was back in about 1994 at the Leeds University cross-country championships. I remember it well – actually, no, that’s a lie. It’s very much the dim and distant past but I do still have the long-sleeved top that DOSS AC (the Leeds Uni cross country club) had made to commemorate and that yours truly designed. And I ran it. And it was in Meanwood Park in Leeds. Apart from that I recall absolutely nothing – although it’s likely there may have been beer involved.

Anyway, yesterday I put on a club vest for the first time in over ten years and ran for my club at the first round of the Chiltern Cross Country league. The Chilterns – an area of outstanding natural beauty with so many beautiful tracks through stunning woodlands and forestries and marvellous trails along the chalk downs. So obviously the event was held at Luton Airport. Okay, to be fair, it was Wigmore Park but it’s right next to Luton Airport – as in, I think one side of the park actually runs alongside the main runway.

Still, a race is a race is a race. The course itself was three laps around the park, each lap being about 3km long (which, I’ve been reliably informed, means it was 9km in total – or 8.97km according to my trusty and brand shining new Garmin GPS thingymajig). Having met up with my club, got my number and appropriated some pins (why is it that I have three film cases full of pins and NEVER remember to take them to an event like this?), warmed up, been denied some cake and quickly asked someone how to use my new wrist mounted running computer device macguffin, I lined up at the start with the 214 other runners. Then the gun went. Well, actually, it was more of a whistle. Or maybe a beep. Or perhaps someone just said “Off you go then lads”. I’ve got no idea but people started running and I figured that meant the race had started.

And bloody hell did they go off quick!

The great thing for me about having a new Garmin is that it tells me exactly how fast I’m going at any particular time. The terrible thing for you is I get to bore you with these very same excruciating details. You, on the other hand, get the option to not read it but I don’t have the luxury of not writing about it. I am now compelled to go on at length about my minute per mile pace. It’s in the contract.

So anyway, the pace went off fast and the leaders disappeared into the distance. When I say fast, I’m talking 5 minute mile pace which is probably faster than I could run a mile flat in. When I say probably, I mean it absolutely, unquestionably and totally is. I tried to drop my speed a bit but found that I still did the first two miles at about 7 minutes per mile. Still fast for me but hey, what the hell? On the other hand I was quite disturbed at how many people passed me in the first mile – and kept on passing me for the rest of the race. These guys, I decided after five minutes, were hardcore.

I’m not going to describe the course much more than to say that it was flattish, dry and solid under foot. There wasn’t much in the way of any steep inclines or anything particularly challenging and I can’t say it was the most inspiring course I’ve run on. But I completed the 9km in 41m41s, averaging at 7m29s a mile. That pace would have put me at about a 46 minute – only fractionally slower than my PB. Not bad seeing as how I’ve only been back running for a couple of weeks. I placed 187th out of the 215 starters but came 73rd out of 76 in the senior men age group. I’m so far out of my depth in this event that it wouldn’t be funny if it weren’t for the fact that, actually, its quite amusing really. I don’t particularly care – I enjoyed it and I was pleased with my time over that distance and it’s a good benchmark for the beginning of my training.

And to top it all off, Wales ran riot over Irish hopes in the Rugby World Cup and facing France in the semi-final. Could this be the first time Wales make it through to the RWC final?

I’m not even going to tempt fate!