September Training Camp 2023
Tuesday
Tuesday the 12th of September saw OUCCC runners, old and new, make their way to the Minstead Study Centre near Lyndhurst in the heart of the New Forest. The centre was set in a seven-acre plot of land which had a large variety of exciting fruit and vegetables growing as well as a field of sheep, a section of woodland and a giant mud hut! During our tour of the centre the staff highlighted the need to keep the gate firmly locked in order to prevent the entry of horses, donkeys and pigs that freely roamed the roads of the New Forest as well as preventing the occasional tourist from popping in. After unpacking the Tesco and Sainsbury’s deliveries (which unfortunately arrived at the same time) we all got ready to go for our first run. We discovered some lovely trails on the run and on return it was time to start cooking our first meal. The spaghetti and lentil bologneses went down incredibly well and fuelled everyone sufficiently for the hat game that was to follow. The game helped provide freshers with some inside information on the current and past OUCCC members.
Wednesday
Wednesday morning was the main session of the camp and coach Seddon made his way down to the designated session location to guide us through the reps. The session entailed 4/6 x 1.5km efforts at cross country pace with 2.5 minutes recovery. It was a tough session and was made even more difficult by the occasional patch of sand on the 1.5km stretch of gravelly track. In the afternoon we headed to the local town called Lyndhurst to mooch around the various gift and charity shops. Some of us then headed off for a second mini run of the day in order to loosen the stiff legs from the session earlier. After a delicious curry meal we gathered into teams to commence the big quiz. Jared’s round was impossible like usual, but people excelled on ‘the chart’ which provided much amusement.
Thursday
Alarms went off earlyish Thursday morning giving people time to eat and digest breakfast before the run for the day commenced. We split into various groups to go on different lengthed runs. Several trails and sightings of horses later, everyone returned for a quick group S & C session then lunch consisting mainly of eggs and bagels. Blue skies and a brightly shining sun meant a trip to the nearest beach was on the cards. Half an hour in the car later (or a 22-mile run for Kunov) and we arrived at Milton on Sea. Whilst Bea went off for a proper swim, everyone else struggled to swim more than 20 metres and stuck to aqua jogging. Feeling suitably refreshed, sunbathing or burying Sam in shingle ensued. We even managed a quick game of frisbee which ended in Jared throwing the frisbee into an open beach hut; thankfully the residents were out! In the evening we all piled into the local pub for a lovely meal before returning for an epic game of mafia conducted by the perfect host, Robin.
Winchester Cathedral
Friday
Friday was a rest day. For most this meant either short easy runs or no runs at all whilst for others (Kunov) this meant running from Winchester to Minstead. Easy runs done and card games played, some of the group headed off to Winchester (by car!) to explore the city and cathedral (the longest gothic cathedral in Europe, no less!) With the erudite Jill as our guide, we marvelled at the restored Great West window and felt suitable admiration for the exhausting exploits of William Walker. After a restorative ice cream some stayed to explore Winchester’s many other charms whilst others dashed back to Minstead for the football…..For those left at Minstead, the evening was spent searching for some horses (successfully) and baking experimental blackberry flapjacks. Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention but was the garlic really necessary?
Friday evening also meant it was time for Southampton to face Leicester at St Marys in the Championship. People were having a great time pre match picking up freebies and watching the Saints band parade around the stadium; however, no more than 30 seconds into the game and Southampton smiles turned to frowns as Jamie Vardy poked the first goal in the net for Leicester. Unfortunately, Southampton didn’t manage to pull things back and suffered a 4-1 defeat. It was a lot of fun and definitely a trip highlight nevertheless!
Saturday
On Saturday we were (mostly) up bright and early to volunteer or run at Brockenhurst parkrun. The parkrun delivered a successful morning for OUCCC with Jonny Cornish breaking the course record with 15:23 whilst Jared Martin and Thomas Rolfe completed an OUCCC top 3. Lucy Thompson and Jemima Ridley also broke the W20 and W18 records respectively whilst those volunteering helped to ensure everything ran smoothly. Apparently the parkrun wasn’t tiring enough as many of the group went on to do some 1 minute reps afterwards. Some headed back to Minstead whilst the OUCCC parkrun volunteers stayed on to complete their tempo session. Whilst some of the boys completed another session in the afternoon, lots of us opted for a far more relaxing visit to the local farm shop before getting ready for the highly anticipated bin night (in the mud hut!!!). With sangria, an overly hyped game of land of confusion, vest swapping and a fire pit bin night certainly lived up to expectations.
Sunday
Sunday was our final morning at Minstead so, despite the previous night’s revelries, we (nearly all) diligently set out on our long runs which provided a final chance to explore. Finally, back for lunch, which consisted of trying to get through as many of the remaining supplies as possible. Nesquick and onions anyone?
What an amazing training camp. Thank you so much to Rhiannon and Jared for setting us up for what promises to be an epic cross country season!
