Sunday saw Halstead host round 5 of the Ness XC league at Gosfield School & Broaks Wood. 107 men & 55 ladies took on the challenge in some of the worst weather conditions possible. Torrential rain, a sleet shower and freezing temperatures turned the already sodden ground into a quagmire, with ankle-deep mud and knee-deep water features making the task [...]
Last Saturday saw the 5th and final round of the Essex XC League and HRR had three women and one man tackling the challenging Gloucester Park course in Basildon. The recent heavy rain made the going very soft and slippery, especially up and down the steep hills that runners had to overcome on each of the three laps. In the [...]
Round 4 of the Ness XC league took place on Sunday at a new venue of Thorrington Scout Camp hosted by Braintree & District Athletics Club. Halstead Road Runners had 14 runners competing for them. The 3 lap course was slightly shorter than the expected 5 miles but each lap provided a challenge for the runners with a fast downhill [...]
The penultimate round of the Essex Cross Country League took place at Hilly Fields, Colchester on Saturday. Despite the recent heavy rain the course was surprisingly dry and although cold, it was bright with light winds. The senior women's race measured 4.5 miles and saw 130 finishers. For Halstead Road Runners Wendy Carter ran well to place 86th with Jess [...]
The Essex Veterans Cross Country Champs took place in Epping Forest close to Chingford. There were three races, all using the same two lap course which measured 4.9 miles. Halstead Road Runners had three men in the over 50's race and three women in the over 40's race but no representatives in the men's over 40's race. In cold, sunny [...]
NESS XC LEAGUE ROUND 3. On a beautifully sunny but cold Sunday morning 24 Halstead Road Runners travelled to Hilly Fields in Colchester for Round 3 of the NESS XC league. The course lived up to its name with some challenging climbs & descents through the wooded sections but generally the ground was firm underfoot. There were 156 men competing [...]
ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE 7 hardy Halstead runners tackled a very challenging cross country course at Hadleigh Country Park, Essex. It was a cold & windy morning with a bit of gentle rain thrown in to the mix. The course had some fast downhills but also long, slow, gruelling climbs to equal things out. Over the 3.9 mile course 4 [...]
Sunday November 16th saw 20 Halstead Road Runners tackle a new XC course hosted by Springfield Striders at the Wild Forest Outdoor Activity Centre, Brentwood. Normally used by Nuclear Races for muddy obstacle course races, the venue gave runners a very challenging, muddy & slippy course with ditches to cross, logs to jump & large muddy puddles to get through. [...]
Sunday saw Halstead have their turn to host the next race in the Ness XC league at Gosfield School. This was a cross country race that sort of had it all, mud, hills, woods, water features and motocross bikes, and the unexpected morning's rain made the course a little bit more challenging. First home for Halstead's men's team, making a [...]
Great conditions for trail running today with several of us at the Mersea Mix, organised by Essex Trail Events. The longer race was advertised at 9 miles but came up as 8.63m on my watch. Keely was once again first back for HRR in 1:14:07 and 7th place, followed by Andy Carter 12th in 1:19:41, just 2 seconds ahead of [...]