Cross-Country Camp
North Wales (Sept 1970)

By two o'clock on Sunday, August the thirty-first, all fifteen eager (?) cross-country runners and Mr. Joiner and Mr. Cahill had assembled in the foyer at Euston main-line station, fully armed with kit and sleeping bag, and the two masters with their fuming pipes. We then proceeded to the train, where amongst luggage of all shapes and sizes (including two pipes) we managed to find a few spare inches of seat on which to deposit ourselves for the very comfortable five hour journey that lay ahead. (This was to lull us into a false sense of security).

We finally arrived, after an hour's coach Journey from Bangor station, at the "Cwm Pennant" mountain centre, to be our home(!) for the next five days.

The centre was exactly what we had envisaged. An old (very old) converted (half-converted) millhouse (hovel?), with bare floorboards, unplastered walls, dusly mattresses on rickety bunk-beds, and no running water. These setbacks were, however, effectively compensated for by the beautiful Welsh scenery and the good food prepared by the victims supervised by the two masters.

The next day (Monday) our trainers (Messrs. Cahill and Joiner) began their savage rule. They "broke us in" with a pleasant five mile road run to the end of the valley, which was then succeeded by a gruelling and very blustery trek up the valley side (seventeen hundred feet high) and followed by a five mile walk back to the mountain centre.

The next four days followed this general pattern of events; a run in the morning, and then a very enjoyable walk up to a distant hilltop in the afternoon. The evenings were spent either in playing cards or football, or poker dice. Another version of this game, "liar" dice, was taught to us by Mr. Cahill and Mr. Joiner, obviously two very skilled players. Also, most of us at some time or other paid a visit to Tremadoc, the nearest village, which was four miles away.

One day was spent at Black Rock Sands, Porthmadog, on the Welsh coast. Here, after a three mile warm-up across the sands, we continued our training by sprinting along a section of the beach. Despite a clear sky and a warm sun, the sea was too cold for the majority of us, and the day ended with an enjoyable relay race round. the sand dunes a course cunningly devised by Brian Johnson.

On the Wednesday and Thursday evenings we spent an evening at Criccieth and Pwllheli. Half went to Pwllheli on Wednesday night, and the remainder visited Criccieth the following evening. While Mr. Joiner and Mr. Cahill drowned their many sorrows at one of the public houses, we visited the fish and chip bar, the café, or went down to the beach until it was time to return.

The training programme was concluded with an exhausting three-man team relay race up and down Crag-y-gam, eleven hundred feet high. The team with the slowest aggregate time received the unenviable task of preparing the sandwiches for the packed lunch on the return journey.

Despite the hard training imposed on us, our two coaches must be commended for the meals which they cooked, with our assistance. Meat Salad, Cottage Pie, Baked Apple, Fruit Salad, and a very satisfying and appetising "Beer Casserole" were amongst the meals provided. (This was, I now realise, an ingenious scheme to make us run faster during training!)

The last night (Friday) is worth mentioning. It was then that a certain individual, and an assistant, deposited some very crunchy cornflakes in a certain master's sleeping bag.

In conclusion, everyone enjoyed the camp, and we are now looking forward to revisiting Wales next year. Consequently we are now prepared for a formidable succession of races in the coming season.

A. ALLEN, 5A