Cross country training

Cross country training, though an unofficial BvH session, takes place all year round with just a short break at the end of the summer (keep an eye on website for details). The training is great for preparation of the XC races in the winter, and also for increasing speed and strength in the summer, for the shorter, faster races.

We meet at 8am in the Cofton Park car park and are usually finished by 10am. The training normally follows this routine:

  • Warm-up lap of the park (~2miles)
  • 10mins dynamic stretching (e.g. high knees, skipping, strides)
  • Training session
  • Warm-down lap of park (1-2miles)

The training session can be anything from a continuous 25 minute effort, to a set of 20 x 400m efforts with recoveries. Each week is a different challenge!

Most runners bring spikes with them, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any, a pair of running shoes with a good grip that you don’t mind getting dirty is fine. You may also want to bring something warm and dry to wear after the session, especially in the winter.

All abilities are welcome – If you are new to this type of training, or are getting back to fitness, it’s up to you to decide how much you want to do when you first come along. For example, plenty of people doing full sessions now started off by doing half a session and building up gradually, and some of the group do a slightly shorter warm up/down depending on how fit they are feeling or how much mileage they are used to doing.

The most important thing is to turn up, give it a go, and enjoy getting fit!

Please note: This is not an official club session