AT CROSS PUR POSES
IS CROSS COUNTRY REALLY THAT NECESSARY FOR SUMMER SUCCESS? ASKS DAVID LOWES
Cross country offers one of the few opportunities for team competition and bonding
MARK SHEARMAN
DAVID LOWES
COACHING VIEWPOINT
TRADITIONALISTS claim cross country racing is of utmost importance for summer success in middle distances. Some even suggest it’s impossible to reach track goals without some winter mud, sweat and toil.
It is certainly a great British spectacle and there is nothing more awe-inspiring than the start of the ‘National’ with thousands jockeying for position after a lightning quick start. And it is a sport for all, where the slower and lesser ability athletes can toe the start line with Olympic aspirants. Courses vary from pancake flat and relatively dry conditions to those with streams and barriers and some with hills so steep only the super fit can attack them with zest.
But not everyone thrives off a country season, begging the question whether it really is necessary for all?