Highland Cross champion Joe Symonds gunning for the record books
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THREE-time Highland Cross winner Joe Symonds will go for an unprecedented fourth crown this weekend as he seeks to break two records.
Symonds, alongside Fergus MacLean and David Rodgers, has won the 50-mile duathlon three times and would become the first four-time winner of the Cross.
Also in his sights is Keith Murray’s 23-year-old course-record time of 3:13:31, which he came three minutes from breaking when he won his first event in 2013.
The former Raigmore Hospital doctor relishes the Kintail-to-Beauly course, which consists of a 20-mile run and a 30-mile cycle. Pacing yourself on the run is often key to a successful cycle and Symonds hopes to have built up a substantial lead by the time of the change-over.
In preparation for the Cross, Symonds has ran the Clachnaben, Kaim and Dumyat hill races in the last two months, as well as the gruelling 28km Isle of Jura Fell Race.
He feels in good form heading into his fifth Cross and hopes to have a shot at Murray’s record.
“I have always got it in the back of my mind but unless you get the right conditions it’s very difficult,” said Symonds. “When Keith Murray did it – he was a phenomenal athlete but he had good conditions for it. With a headwind on the bike you can easily lose five minutes.
“There’s some good cyclists but it’s difficult for them to make up 10 minutes, so if I can get a lead like that then I’ll be happy.”
“Three years ago, the rain started chucking it down with about 10 minutes to go. I had to take a bit more care towards the finish, which just meant I was absolute freezing when I crossed the line. I was straight into the back of an ambulance.
“It’s quite an exciting prospect to win it four times and it would be nice to do. But there’s some good competition and I’m not going to count my chickens yet.
“There’s so much chopping and changing with teams. With any other race, when people drop out, it would be straight-forward but with the Cross, places need to be filled. When you’re scrambling around to see who you can get, you can end up with some top athletes.”
The weather forecast for Saturday looks to predict dry weather, which bodes well if the former Milton of Leys resident is to make a tilt at the record.
He worked at Raigmore from 2011 to 2013 as a paediatrician, before relocating to Glasgow, where he currently works at the Royal Hospital for Children. His record Inverness parkrun time of 15:38, achieved on his only run in July 2013, still stands, although last year’s Cross runner-up Gordon Lennox regularly hunts it down.
Symonds will again be part of the medical team Pumphrey and The Soggy Bottom Boyscorrect, along with Inverness Harrier Graham Bee who Symonds met running in Innsbruck when he was 17.
A total of 798 people will take part in the 34th Highland Cross, which has raised over £4 million for charity since its inception. Each team that enters must pledge to raise at least £500 to contribute to the competition’s six charities of choice.
“It’s a special event and so many get involved. Even if you’re not doing it, everyone in the Highland community is aware of it,” he said. “It’s exciting and you feel like you’re part of something.
“It’s one of those events that’s completely engaging because everyone goes out on the bus to Morvich together. You can feel the excitement building and you get quite a bit of chat on the bus.
“Most races are usually about trying to win – this is more about an enormous amount of fundraising because it’s so important for that community.”
