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Long Form Dispatches

The English National Cross-Country Relays, Berry Hill Park, Mansfield, UK

By VeloAddict

There’s cross-country. And then there are the cross-country relays.

From here on, referred to as Mansfield.

Listen to the podcast using headphones for the best audio experience and check out the extensive gallery to follow the story of how the National Cross-Country Relays, held in Mansfield since 1989, has become so adored by athletes from across the nation.

For many in the sport of running, the draw of cross-country is sometimes hard to comprehend, but for others, there’s nothing more exhilarating—especially when run as part of a relay.

An event like Mansfield, where it’s not so much athlete against athlete but club against club, presents clear wins for the argument of sport being a unifier. For being a force for good. For engaging communities.

At Mansfield, you have a high-octane day of racing where community and competition mix seamlessly. A year, ten years or even a lifetime after racing here, runners still recall the twists and turns of the course, the panoply of club tents erected by the pond, and their duct-taped shoes ready to race. Mansfield is one of only a few events in the calendar where first timers, elites, young athletes and veterans unite to run XC for the greater good: their club.

They say endurance running is all about commitment and nowhere have we seen it play out to such an extent as here in Berry Hill Park.

Mansfield, we applaud you.

Audio: Danny Easton

Photos: Phil Gale and Emmie Collinge, a former Mansfield Harrier with a lifetime allegiance to the club. Famously first back on leg one as an U15 in 2002.

INSIDE THE TAPE

PAT CARLAN – CHAIRMAN, MANSFIELD HARRIERS

The driving force

“If this event didn’t happen, people probably wouldn’t know a great deal about Mansfield. But as it stands, everybody knows Mansfield and Berry Hill. It makes us proud.

The course has got a bit of everything. It’s fast but undulating and it lends itself to the relays because you wouldn't want something that’s a slog over miles and miles of traditional cross country. All the action is contained in a relatively small area so people can get around and enjoy what’s happening. They watch the racing until it’s their time to race. And then hopefully they’ll enjoy a blast around Berry Hill – and it is a blast because it’s that quick…”

ANDY ABRAHAMS – MANSFIELD MAYOR

The political muscle

“It became a real political storm about what was going to happen to Berry Hill Park… When I came in as Mayor, we took over as trustees of the park, meaning we’ve been able to move things forward, which included getting the Harriers back on the track

To get a small club like Mansfield Harriers going 100 years but still being able to attract a national event shows Mansfield can really punch above its weight.”

A key part of funding Mansfield Harriers' return to their track. After years without a base, that saw them loose members, they're back

A captured moment in the 100-year history of Mansfield Harriers

Barry Holmes - Mansfield Harriers' irreplaceable Club Secretary watches Thursday evening training

Julian Wood - Mansfield Harrier sweeping the course

MADDY COLLINGE - Mansfield Harrier : "I've got so many memories of running it. Including messing up the numbers meaning we were DQ'd. Maybe that's why I've been on car park for a few years now, that and I'm over 70 now."

The final preparations take place pre-dawn on the morning of race day.

RICHARD MASSEY – MANSFIELD HARRIERS

The coach

“You never can tell on the day what's gonna happen and that’s racing, isn't it, as you know yourself. In a relay, you can have one bad stage and that takes it all out – whether you’re Mansfield Harriers or Aldershot and Farnham and District or whoever. We’re all on the same start line. Unexpected things can happen, especially in cross country.”

STEVE DAVIES – EX-GB INTERNATIONAL AND MANSFIELD HARRIER

The course clerk

"It's a lot of work to make sure that the course is ready for the race. I've been in the woods raking for days. This year the conditions should be right – not like 2019 when Pat's Corner turned into a bog. You see, there is an overflow for the pond down there, so if we're feeling naughty we can let some of the water out to make it even muddier. Not this year though; I'm expecting some fast times."

PAUL BEASLEY – SUTTON IN ASHFIELD HARRIERS & AC

The volunteer

"I started at 5 o'clock this morning and it'll be probably 5–6 o'clock before I leave. As the last runner goes by, we’ll start winding up the tape, taking the stakes out and putting the barriers together, ready for the tractor to take away."

There's nothing like a freshly swept cross-country course. Kirsty Huntingdon of the home club works hard before her race.

GRAHAM HEELEY – ECCA OFFICIALS SECRETARY

The Federation

"Mansfield do such a good job here and the main thing is that athletes like to come back year after year on the same course to see if they can better their times."

. . .

INSIDE THE TAPE

10.45am - Junior Women (3 × 2.5K)

10.57am - Under 17 Women (3 × 2.5K)

11.26am - Under 13 Boys (3 × 2K)

11.50am - Under 13 Girls (3 × 2K)

12.15pm - Junior Men (3 × 3K)

12.40pm - Under 17 Men (3 × 3K)

1.06pm - Under 15 Girls (3 × 2K)

1.30pm - Under 15 Boys (3 × 2K)

1.50pm - Senior Women (3 × 3K)

2.40pm - Senior Men (4 × 5K)

"I kind of describe it as if you're running uphill, where you've got two options: either let it get to you, or lean into it and push harder." - A racer.

HARRY WOODCOCK – MANSFIELD HARRIER

The first timer

"Normally after a race you want to stop and chill out, but not this one. You're straight out and supporting your team mates. The marshal told me to sit on a bench and take a breath, but I was like 'no, I'm going.'"

"Ok ladies, just listen up. We are shortly going to walk from here, and I stress that we are going to walk from here with me in front to the assembly line. If you don't behave I've been known to walk you back up the hill and start again. Let's not have that happen, this is only the first race of the day."