The British and Irish Masters Cross Country International 2008 took place on Saturday last,15th November, at Singleton Park, Swansea.  Not having had a phone call to run for my country (Wales) I ran in the Open Race, in BvH colours, which followed after the `formal` international competition earlier on.

The Open X -Country commenced at 3 pm in relatively mild, but damp conditions, and as it was the last event of the day the Course was very muddy and churned up.

The venue was on quite a steep gradient so it had the inevitable `ups and downs`.What added to the challenge was the awkward camber on many of the bends,the uneven ground in places,tree roots and the concentrated patches of muddy quagmires.

For my particular age category (F35+&M65+) the Course consisted of 2 laps 1850m each and 1 lap of 2050m.The total distance was 6K.

I crossed the Finishing Line in a time of 31mins17secs and was 14th overall, and second in my age group.

Thankyou once again to my wife Katie, and my friends in Welsh Masters(including John Llewelyn), for their support.

Barrie Roberts V`n`