We have put together this page of advice and guidance to help both athletes and parents for training sessions and competition. If you have any suggestions or feel that there is something that we have missed please let us know.
Training Sessions
The following bulleted list gives you some basic advice and guidance to help make your training sessions both enjoyable and successful.
- Clothing
- Please ensure that you dress for the weather conditions. All of our training sessions take place outside and it is important that you don’t get too hot, cold or wet.
- Footwear
- It is important to wear suitable footwear for the event you are training for. We ask that you wear multi-terrain or training shoes for our training sessions as there may be sections of hard surface (tarmac/gravel) to be negotiated during the session.
- Drink
- It is important that you remain hydrated during training so please bring along a water bottle for use during training sessions.
Competitions
The following bulleted list gives you some basic advice and guidance to help make your competitions both enjoyable and successful.
- Preparation – Make sure you have all of the information you need for the competition well before the competition day.
- Competition date and start time
- Competition venue (address and postcode)
- Timetable with times for your race
- Transport to the venue. If you require help with transport to the venue contact Phil York
- Clothing and Footwear
- Dress for the weather conditions. You will not perform at your best if you are cold and wet!
- Running Vest (different competitions require different vests)
- Safety Pins (for your race number)
- Cross Country Studs or Spikes (Spike key and spare spikes). Most cross-country races are best run in cross-country studs or spikes (either 9, 12 or 15mm depending on conditions).
- Take a change of kit, the cross-country races do not always have changing rooms but there are always toilet facilities. It is not much fun going home from a meeting in mud-splattered wet kit.
- On the day
- Walk the course in advance – give yourself enough time to do this. The races are marshalled but it is important to know where you will be going. It will also allow you to recognize any potential hazards or places where overtaking opportunities may be limited – this information can be used to your advantage during the race.
- Walk the course in a pair of old trainers (or wellies if it’s that muddy) so that the shoes you will be using during the race will be dry and mud free on the start line.
- Drink(s) and Food
- Suncream
You may find it helpful to create a checklist of all the items that you need for a competition. This can be improved over time as you gain more experience. A checklist is a good way to make sure you have everything you need on the competition day and helps with your preparation.
