Cross-Country Camp
North Wales (Sept 1971)

This year's Cross Country Camp, in which sixteen of the school's runners aimed for top fitness, was a promising success from which everyone of those concerned gained a great deal.

From the start the aged and most effective intoxicant of "team-spirit" showed itself to be functioning to a high degree. More work was done than last year (some sixty miles were covered), and despite the heat everyone seemed to be enjoying their training, apart from Mr. Joiner of course, whose time for 200 metres very nearly broke the world half-mile record!

Two days were spent doing speed work on Black Rock Sands; fast sustained running which can be very tiring on this kind of surface. It is creditable that so many runners put in their best effort here. On Wednesday our trip up Snowdon took us just over half the time the guide book said it should.

The attempt to emulate last year's excellent times running up and down the 1,100 ft. Crag-y-Gorn proved to be rather farcical - efforts were half-hearted and few people failed to get themselves lost. A relay race with five teams of three followed so that by lunchtime on Friday hunger and exhaustion had overcome us all. I should mention that although we may have neglected to thank our hostel warden for the packed lunches we were given each day, this does not mean that our insatiable desire for soggy crisps, unbreakable jam butties and very hard boiled eggs has in any way been overtaxed.

The enjoyment of our evenings came not from surveying the fish restaurants at Caernarvon, Criccieth or Portmadoc, but more from being driven there by Mr. Slinn in the mini-bus and returning later at night when our chauffeur's driving seemed to lack its accustomed precision, and instead took on a new character of deception (Sheep may safely graze, but not by the side of the road).

We are all very grateful to Mr. Slinn for amusing us with his vague and varied subtlety of wit and driving. I am especially grateful to him since he helped me in the alarming situation on the return journey when I was accused of indecent exposure. I wish to express the gratitude of the whole party to Mr. Cliché Joiner for a most enjoyable camp; I might even promise that the real expressions of our thanks will come with the fulfilment of a highly successful term. 

K. HARRIS