Hulshout 2010 - Belgium

A New Year and while everyone was sleeping off a long night of celebrations; six athletes set out to race in Belgium. The opportunity to run at the Lotto Cross Cup competition in Hulshout was presented by the Glasgow Athletic Association Endurance Initiative to develop upcoming athletes in the run up to the Commonwealth Games in 2014. It was clear on reflection that all the athletes learned a lot from their experiences and will use this race as a springboard to their aspirations this year. In the 9.55k Senior Men’s Race, Glasgow were represented by a team comprising of Tzegezeab Woldemichael, Matthew Gillespie and Thomas Fay. After a quick start, Tzegezeab was involved in a close race with many athletes all within a few seconds of one another going into the last lap. He eventually came out an impressive 9^th. What was even more impressive was that given the -6C temperature and snow Tzegezeab performed so well. It is clear he has adapted very well to the weather in Scotland and used this to his advantage. This was Tzegezeab's first race in the snow;  Matthew Gillespie, ran in 14^th after a consistently paced race, a fantastic run from the young athlete just a few weeks after placing 14^th in the European Junior Cross Country Championships . Thomas Fay made his debut in a Team Glasgow Vest finishing 33^rd. After just having his final set of University exams 2 weeks previous; it will be interesting to see what he will be able to do in the coming months. This was Thomas first ever international competition. The quality of this event can be seen by the names of the athletes who placed in the first three 1^st Tasama Faisa Dame (ETH), 2^nd Kipketer Gideon (KEN) and 3^rd Kemboi Hilary (KEN).The race series receive full TV coverage and large crowds flock to the events to support the local Belgium talent.

All the athletes are grateful to John Mackay for being an excellent team manager and  the Glasgow Athletics Association Endurance Initiative for the opportunity.