Pittville Park cross country 2026

Pittville Park cross country race in Cheltenham was the fourth and final race of the Gloucestershire Cross Country League in the 2025/26 season. I would have loved to run all four races, or even three so I would be eligible for a prize for the season, but the first two races of the season clashed with other races I needed to do for the Gloucestershire AAA series – Sharpness 4 and Guy Fawkes 5. So I just ran two races again this season – Bath and Pittville Park. Maybe next season I will manage three or four?

Anyone who has been living in the UK lately will know just how much it has rained this year. And the week leading up to the cross country was no exception. The park was very muddy and waterlogged, and the stream we have to run through was much higher and faster flowing than last year.

But on race day, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining! There was a really good turnout of club members running the race, plus a few supporters too. There were three shorter junior races before ours. Our race was at 1pm and included all senior and masters women, plus under 17 men and women (under 17s are always called men and women rather than boys and girls in athletics), under 20 women and over 65 men. The race was 6.5km (just over four miles). The men’s race at 2pm was 9.8km.

The temperatures were in low single figures, but because the sun was shining I decided to brave running without a base layer – just in shorts and a vest.

I am very familiar with running round Pittville Park, but the cross country race takes in parts of the park we would never run or walk on at any other time. It manages to be way more challenging than any other run around the park.

The race started at 1pm on the dot. It had a nice wide start line, so I didn’t need to be too far back. I anticipated finishing somewhere in the middle of the pack and hoped to finish second for our club, as I usually do. Although there was a much younger woman running from the club this time, who is about my pace.

The race begins with a start section of around 600 metres. This eases us in nicely as it is essentially an out and back section on grass with only a very gradual climb, so nothing tricky to contend with. I looked at my watch and realised I was running way too fast – at mile PB pace! Cross country isn’t really about your time, as conditions vary so much from year to year. It is much more about your finishing position.

After the start section, it moved onto the trickier, muddier sections, with some hills. In parts, the mud was incredibly thick. Luckily, I was wearing spikes. A lot of our club members were just running in trail shoes. My husband bought us both some cheap spikes before our first cross country race and they were a very good investment. They were the reason I managed to overtake the younger woman from our club as soon as we got to the mud and I never saw her again.

After going up and down the muddy hills, we had another straight and fairly flat section on grass. This was wet, but not difficult. It was building up to the main event – the stream crossing! The water was above my ankles and splashed right up to the top of my shorts. It was cold, but OK. The main challenge is getting out again, because the bank is muddy and very steep. I’m pleased to say I managed it. Nearly all of the spectators were by the stream and loads of them were shouting my name, which was lovely.

Then it was up onto a narrow, muddy bank and round a playing field, which was flat and very muddy. Then up onto an even narrower, even muddier bank and down a short, steep downhill. Then we were running gradually uphill on grass and towards the finish line. Ready to run the whole thing again!

I was happy with my pace and how I was negotiating all the difficult parts of the course. It wasn’t crowded. I had space in front of me and behind me pretty much all the way round. Although as I approached the finish line, I kept hearing people cheering on ‘Amelia’. I know there’s a woman called Amelia of my age at one of our rival clubs, so I made sure to stay ahead of her. I had no idea where I was in my age category, but I wasn’t going to let her take my place.

I finished in 31:46 – nearly two minutes faster than last year! So, despite the awful rain we’d had, it seems the course was actually in better condition than last year. I was 54th overall out of 141 runners, second lady from the club and third in my age category. I was also part of the veteran ladies’ team picking up a team bronze.

I loved Pittville Park cross country and will hopefully be back next year!