I was watching it this morning and I couldn't look away for the last 10 mins of the race. Avery is the real deal. Hard as nails, and a really smart racer. Had it not been for the slippery nature of the course, she could have beaten Gemma Steel.
However, it is depressing to think that NCAA D1 women's XC is of a higher standard than the European Senior Champs. Kate had one contender within 20 seconds of her today, Gemma inches ahead of her. Everyone else was miles off the back.
Maybe Pavey and Hassan could have been up at the front had they been there. Still embarrassing how far behind Europe is in distance running.
At least this race was exciting. The Senior Men's was a battle between 3 Africans cruising for 3/4 of the race and hammering the last bit. Absolutely devoid of any interesting breaks or moves. Seriously people (top-level European runners) - run Euro XC! It won't kill you to run a hard 10K in December, and you'll even get some good press for turning up. What a state European distance running is in!