It's time for your Dear Leader to issue the Mid Term XC report: Who is already on the Trans Siberian express? Who can still catch a train to Redemption? Who is sat in the waiting room? Who is well on their way to the Seychelles?.

First the bad news. Until the season is over nobody has secured a birth to the Seychelles although Alex Rowe and Charlie Pass can dust off their surfboards and rinse their Speedo's through. The train to Redemption crew include Russell Mabbutt, George Kennedy, Steve Myerscough, and Lee Barlow whilst the waiting room is getting crowded with Derek B, Peter Cruise and Brian Porter to name but a few. As for those who already have a train ticket and a bunk booked in the Gulag count Trevor Rayner, partly what for turning up and gloating at all who ran at Blackpool, Barry Peatfield, will he have the audacity to turn up at Blackburn again just to run, and win, the Lanc's Championships, and Dave Waywell, who did exactly the same as Trevor at Blackpool. For the many who haven't even bothered to register for cross country then it's Dante's Inferno for you.

Now for some good news. I decree you to be pleased that, on behalf of Wesham Road Runners, by negotiation, all Wesham's Cross Country results are also to be printed in the following esteemed periodicals: The Peoples Daily, Granma, Pravda and Socialist Worker.

That is all for now. For all of you who celebrate Christmas, it's cancelled, to be replaced with a training session in Minsk, flying out on Aeroflot - 24th December, return depends on commitment.