Cross Country Running

Two words that strike fear into the hearts of the most hardened of runners! Dreadful memories from school of being forced at gun point into freezing January blizzards to run round an icy field tend to colour people’s memories of what is actually a really fantastic form of running. Cross country can seriously improve your road running, moreover it is less demanding on knees and ankles and can very often be a whole load of fun to boot!

Despite the “Road Runners” in the Club’s name, cross country has always been an integral part of its activities and we’re always trying to encourage our runners to take part in races. The cross country season normally starts when the road racing calendar finishes, beginning with short, fun relays in October and progressing to some more demanding races in February and March. Whatever the type of race you choose to do, cross country is a seriously good way of improving your running, building strength in the leg muscles, particularly those stabilising muscles in the knees and ankles that never get a chance to work on the road. Running on grass (and mud!) also gives much more cushioning than Tarmac, so your legs take less of a pounding. All-in-all its a thoroughly worthwhile form of running.

We’ve had our fair share of cross country success in recent years, winning prizes at men’s and women’s team relay races and with individual runners doing very well at local and district level.

Despite being located in the city, the Club has access to a huge range of cross country routes, thanks to being next to Pollok Park, where you can easily run for 10k in glorious woodland without setting foot on a proper road. So why not take advantage of our location and give cross country a try?