Doing the double.

My New Year's resolution is not to run while hungover or drunk in 2017.  There is a subsidiary resolution, that might not be practical, and that is that I will not enter races while under the influence of alcohol.  Not sure how long these resolutions will last, but so far at 7.10pm on 1st January everything is going well!  I've do two parkruns without even a wiff of a hangover.  

I did have tired legs.... legs that were so tired (after yesterday's Gutbuster 10miles) that I was really quite happy with our decision to stay in, plans for an early night were scuppered by teenage children phoning to say 'Happy New Year' and 'Can you send me some cash?' at midnight!   

Husbando and I had been plotting which two parkruns we'd run.  At first we thought Basingstoke and Alice Holt, but Basingstoke quite often start a little after 9am, which meant that we could be cutting it fine to get to Alice Holt, so we decided to go to Rushmoor instead.  As we drove over I complained that we wouldn't know anyone, only to park our car, walk to the start and bump into a parkrun friend from Abingdon who I hadn't seen for ages.  He was there with a group from Abingdon and Didcot who were planning to go on to Frimley Lodge, but we persuaded them to come with us instead!  

So, to the running part of parkrun.... my legs felt heavy, and I couldn't be bothered to warm up as I had no great expectations, Husbando and I were aiming to 'just get round.'  Turned out that my tired legs wanted to move a bit faster than I'd anticipated.  Husbando and I jogged around chatting away until I realised that I was on for a PB - which happened as we got to the finish straight - I was thrilled to go home with a 45second PB!  

Then it was into the car and off to Alice Holt.  Whereas Rushmoor is flat and fast, Alice Holt most definitely is not!  We arrived in plenty of time, which was lovely as it meant we got to see loads of people I hadn't expected to see.  There was a huge contingent from Basingstoke and more from Guildford, including my ex head of department - who I hadn't seen for ages.   Alice Holt is a lovely run, but it is not one that you can do quickly on tired legs, so I was happy to plod around.

parkrun is really all about the people, the volunteers, the other runners - the whole community aspect is why parkrun is so successful, so it was wonderful to sit in the cafe drinking coffee, eating bacon rolls and chatting with friends.  I'm looking forward to many more in 2017!  

I hope you all have a fantastic 2017 and that I'll see some of you in parkrun land soon.  In the meantime, if anyone fees like sponsoring me for the London Marathon, which I am running for a local charity, Treloars, please click on THIS LINK! 

250th parkrun

I heard about parkrun over 6 years ago, but didn't consider going along for at least 6 months because, although I'd been running for a couple of years, I did not consider myself to be 'a runner!'  I didn't want to be the slow one, plodding around at the back with everyone else tapping their feet as they waited for me to finish.  I can't remember what happened to make me change my mind but, on 21st May 2011, I took the plunge and found myself, barcode in hand, in War Memorial Park with a load of strangers.  This was A BIG STEP for me.  I am quite uncomfortable in situations that are new and that involve lots of people I don't know.  I need not have worried.  Everyone was very friendly and I wasn't last.  It was the first time I had ever run a timed 5k and I surprised myself by being able to finish in just under 25 minutes.  I ran, got my barcode scanned and drove home.

But I came back the next week and did it again.  By July, I was turning up almost every Saturday and had probably turned into something of a parkrun bore, telling everyone I could about this amazing parkrun thing.  I volunteered a few times, which was good as it meant that I got to know some of the other regulars - this meant I had enough confidence to brave going along for the post run coffee.  This involved meeting more and more parkrunners, and hearing about (and subsequently entering) lots of races I would not have even have heard of without parkrun.  

It is quite amazing how quickly parkrun became such a integral part of my life, and how many of my friends seem to have decided that it is easier to go to parkrun than to listen to me extol its virtues!  I've visited 51 different parkruns, mainly because they were near where I happened to be on a Saturday morning, and made loads of new friends.  Obviously I've missed a few Saturdays when I've been involved in Saturday races, have had to work on Saturday or been injured, and several runs have been given up in exchange for volunteering at parkrun, but in the main, if it was 9am on a Saturday, I was to be found in a park getting ready for a 5k!

Which brings me to this morning.  Although my 'home run' is Basingstoke, Husbando struggles to get to that venue as he has to work on Saturday. Alice Holt he can do and make it to work afterwards.  Alice Holt also has a lovely large gazebo for setting out cakes, a cafe and nice loos, and I was involved (a little bit!) in setting it up four years ago - so I decided that it would be the venue for my 250th parkrun.  I set up an 'event' on Facebook and sent out some invitations, thinking that a few people might be interested in coming along, especially if I bribed them with cake and fizz!  A friend I'd met via parkrun sent me a message saying that he was coming along and coincidently running his 100th parkrun - so double the celebration!  I stayed up late baking and icing cakes and arrived at Alice Holt fairly early.  As I laid out the cakes I saw a constant stream of familiar faces emerging from the mist - people I hadn't seen for ages and ages and who had travelled for miles and miles just to run 5k with me!  Some people hadn't even come to run - they'd just got out of bed early on a very chilly Saturday morning to come and watch the rest of us run!

Having run 249 parkruns without ever having forgotten a barcode, my 250th nearly had to be delayed - I realised that my barcodes were not in my pocket (I keep all 7 on a treasury tag and they have vanished).  Panic stations ensued!  Could I get home and back and still run?  Could I ask Husbando to give up his run and go home and print out spares?  Would he know how to do that without a tutorial?  Then I remembered that I am a parkrunner, and a parkrunner always has spare barcodes somewhere in every car.  Crisis averted with a mad dash to the car and a rummage round to find a tatty ziplock bag which had the required barcodes.

After setting a new Alice Holt PB last week, and with a 6 hour challenge tomorrow, I knew that I wasn't going to set any records today.  And I wanted to enjoy my run, not end up gasping for every drop of oxygen I could find at the end of the run.  Husbando and I had a nice, chatty run.  It felt so much easier than last week, but I was 44 seconds slower.  

It was wonderful to chat to so many people afterwards, I am really touched that so many people came to help me celebrate.  I really do love my parkrun family.  Huge thanks to PSH, whose love child parkrun is, to all the event directors, run directors and volunteers who make the many, many parkruns across the globe happen every week.  I'll see you in a park (somewhere) next parkrun day!  

P.S.  Is it wrong that I am wondering if the second 250 parkruns will take more or less time to achieve than the first? 

parkrun de Mandavit

It has been a while since I've run a parkrun.  School events, travel arrangements and races on Saturdays have conspired against me being on the start line at 9am.  The last week has seen me getting up at sparrow fart in an attempt to get something resembling a run done before the weather became too oven like (it hit 107F here on Wednesday).  I've 'run' slowly, with that nagging sense that I'd never be able to run fast again.  It is rather hilly around Saussignac so that might be part of the reason.

Today we got up early, and were in the car by 7am for an hour and a half drive to Bordeaux.  parkrun de Mandavit had been chosen as our destination as the course description sounded more picturesque than the other Bordeaux based parkrun.  We found the car park easily, arriving with plenty of time to spare, asked some men in running attire if we were in the right place for parkrun and they pointed us in the right direction, with mutters about 'the mad English!'  Off we trotted towards the start..... it was 8.45am and there was none of the normal pre parkrun hustle and bustle to be seen.  Were we in the right place?  We trotted off for a little look around, and found some parkrun arrows... but nothing that looked like a start.  We found other parkrunners though... which was as much help as a chocolate teapot as they were also here on holiday too (from Alice Holt, Conkers and Rushmore parkrun amongst others) and were as clueless as we were.  And then, at about 8.55am, a flag and a run briefing.  The run briefing was done in English as the majority of the runners were English, with a very quick check that the French runners knew what they were doing.

And then, after a count down (in English!) we were off.  Two laps through the park, mainly in woodland, mostly on dusty trail paths with the odd tree root to avoid, just a short stretch of tarmac.  Some how the course seemed to be predominantly downhill.  I don't remember running up hill at all, although I kept thinking 'I must hold something back as we are going to have to go up again at some point.'   There was a little bridge that meant I had to slow down to a walk (because I am a chicken about bridges at the best of times and this one was a glorrified plank), but other than that and a missed turning at one point it was quite straightforward.

With only 28 runners there were long periods of time when I was running on my own, but there were lots of other runners in the park.  As I puffed by on my second lap, regretting setting off too fast and desperately trying to hold on to my position as first woman with no idea how close the second lady was, one French gentleman said (in English) 'You can do it!  I am 58 and I can run!'  I struggled with my school girl French to tell him that I have 5 children and I am exhausted!

I did hold on to that first woman place (by 18 seconds), despite coming around the building where I expected to find the finish funnel only to see that it was a lot further to go than I thought.  Husbando, who finished 6 places ahead of me, shouted 'Get a move on, she's catching you!'  which meant that I pushed a bit harder and thought I might just collapse on crossing the line!

At the finish, there was free coffee and BN biscuits.  A bit of chat with the organisers, visitors and some of the local participants and the volunteers followed before we went into Bordeaux for some touristy sightseeing.

It is a real shame that more locals don't take part.  There were loads of runners using the park, but not park running (only 6 of today's participants had run at parkrun de Mandavit before).  Is parkrun seen as something quirkily English?  I don't know, but hopefully more and more will start to take part.

Facilities in the park: convenient free parking (at least I hope it was free, I didn't pay!) remember to remove bikes from the roof though! There is one loo - but it is one of those nice 'self cleaning' ones, so worth waiting for the queue to go down.  There is a typical French pissoise on the other side of the loo building - but I didn't investigate that!

Thank you to the organisers for a great parkrun - I hope that this lovely venue goes from strength to strength!

A Valentine's Day PB!

I was about to start this blog with the line 'My relationship with this race isn't great,' but I see that this i.e. exactly the phrase I used last year!  So if anyone wants to know why I have issues with this race all they need to do is click that link.  Whatever you think about this race, there is no disputing the fact that having a 20 mile road race in the build up to the big spring marathons is a brilliant idea.  Running 20 miles on your own is not my idea of fun, but I would struggle to find a training partner who wanted to run at a similar pace to me and fear that I could easily persuade them that it would be a really good idea to stop for a coffee in that interesting looking coffee shop.  So, the race entries opened, and I found myself clicking the links, typing in my credit card details and crossing my fingers that there wouldn't be a repeat of last year's ashtray-gate!  

I didn't train for this race specifically.  My intention was to run it as a training run and see how I felt.  This was a good plan, as I'd ended up running a bit faster than I'd wanted to at parkrun yesterday due to a small person being unwell and not being there to slow me down to her glacial pace.  It had been cold - so my Garmin was buried under gloves and long sleeved top - I'd planned an easy run, wanting to run 5k in about 27/28 minutes, and I did feel I was running easily - chatting as I passed people on my way round, but finishing in 24minutes 26seconds.  Oops.  This morning was chilly but sunny - gloves and sunglasses weather - so I decided that I would not look at my watch at any point other than when I passed a mile marker.  I reckoned I was running this as a training run so I would run as fast or as slow as felt comfortable.  

Chatting to Mark (photographer)

We had the, now traditional and frankly one of the best things about Bramley, FetchEveryone meet up at A&G's house near the start.  Tea, gossip and proper loos - lovely! A two minute walk saw us at the start line, bumping into various people I knew on the way.  The first mile of the run was very congested - someone dropped a gel and ran back to pick it up which added to the melee.  The first few miles were crowded and good natured.  I ran along chatting to people I knew and enjoying the scenery - a group of 6 horses cantered across their field to have a look at us!  A friend commented that he could hear me chatting 'from miles away' and that he thought, as I passed him that he would easily be able to catch me later as I obviously wasn't taking it very seriously and was wasting my energy on talking! (*)

The water stations were frequent and one day I will learn to drink from a plastic cup while moving, the marshals were friendly and encouraging.  Special mention must go to the guys marshalling at about 9/19 miles.  They were the loudest marshals on the course!  At about 4 miles I saw a friend and his son running in the other direction - they'd not managed to get a race place, but decided to run anyway, and it was lovely to see them.  I was checking my watch at each mile marker, but not really paying much attention to it, if that makes sense.  There is a longish hill that goes up towards the 6 mile marker, it is much shallower on the first lap, I think they crank up the elevation for the second lap, but I was surprised to note that I had run one of my fastest miles on that stretch (8.16).  The secret to this was that I was chatting (yes, really, I know you'll find it hard to believe) to total strangers as we slogged our way up it.  

The last few miles of the first lap felt quite festive.  All the 10 miles finishers are looking forward to the finish, we all know there is a nice downhill stretch ahead.  It is hard not to get carried away.  I had a giggle at the 3/4mile, 1/2mile, and 1/4 mile to the finish signs - what is 10 extra miles between friends?  I got to the 10 mile finish thinking, 'Bother, if I was stopping now I'd be on for a PB!' Only just, but a PB all the same!  I did worry about the wheels coming off in the second half, but I didn't really have any option other than to carry on running, so I did.  

Given that more people run 20 miles at this event than run 10, it is surprising how empty the roads feel on the second lap.  The first mile - until the turn into Folly Lane - involved lots of overtaking of people who had finished the 10 mile race and were going back to the car park!  The lack of distraction made it feel a bit harder, although I still managed to chat away quite happily to people I was passing and others who were passing me.  The wind had also picked up and we ran the first couple of miles of the second lap into a rather bracing breeze!  Slopes that had seemed inconsequential when last encountered now felt like the north face of the Eiger.  The hills at 16 and 18 miles were still there - just with few people running up them!  

Multi tasking!

The last three miles were a bit dull.  Not many people around, scenery you've seen before, and my confused brain trying to work out if we'd done the last uphill bit of if we still had that to look forward to.  At 17 miles I'd looked at my watch and realised that I was on for a PB.  In fact, I could slow right down and still get a PB.  I didn't slow down though, I just carried on.  I was still overtaking a few people, although a couple of people who obviously take this pacing lark seriously did fairly whizz past at 19 miles!  

"I asked for gin!"

And then we were on the final downhill section to the finish.  I was smiling so much and felt as thought I could carry on running for miles!  One spectator pointed at  me and said 'Look at her - she doesn't look like it was an effort at all!'  I threw myself past one last runner as we approached the finish and was over the line and feeling elated!  I felt as though I was bouncing up and down with excitement.  An 11 minute PB!  I removed my timing chip, miracles never cease - I could actually bend over and remove it all by myself!  The support at the finish of the 20 mile race is a bit more muted than at the end of the 10 - lots of people have gone home by then, but it was still great to be over the line.  

Then, back to A&G's, having collected my medal, for tea, chilli and gossip and to see how everyone else had got on.  I had zero expectations of this race when I turned up this morning, but it turned out to be a fabulous day out!  I had no idea I was capable of running so well.  Thank you to Reading Road Runners for organising the race, and to A&G for their hospitality.

Keeping Britain/Bramley tidy

(*) He didn't catch me up.  I wasn't unsportsmanlike in my whoop of joy at running faster than him.

A birthday bimble or two.

What does one do to celebrate a birthday?  A long lie in followed by a  leisurely day of pampering?  That sounds nice, but a bit conventional.  I booked a race.  Races on a Saturday normally mean missing parkrun - but as a birthday treat this race started at the same place as Kingston parkrun and the timings worked out.   

I ran the Thames Meander Half last year in glorious sunshine.  I went home with tan lines.  Today it is safe to say that sunglasses were not necessary.  I managed to keep my feet relatively dry during the parkrun by playing dodge the puddles.  It was lovely to chat with people I haven't seen for a long time, and with people I'd not met before, and it didn't rain too much.  

There was then an hour to wait before the start of the half marathon.  I chatted with friends, watched the marathon runners set off and nervously eyed the dark clouds.  And then we were off.  The route, in my memory, was mainly on tarmac paths.  Which shows how useless my memory is!  It was muddy and puddly for much of the way with quite a lot of uneven ground underfoot.  And it was raining,  and windy - really windy!  

I caught up with a friend who was running the marathon when I got to about 2.5 miles and ran with her for a while.  Lovely to chat with her - she is such a supportive and wonderful person.  Just before the turn around point for the half I bumped into one of the guys I ran with for much of The Cakeathon.   It rained a lot on that day too.  I may just check entry lists in future and only run races he has entered if it is in a drought ridden area - say New South Wales or California!  Seeing friendly faces does make such a difference when the weather is miserable and the pub seems infinitely more inviting than running the next few miles.   And boy, the weather was miserable at times.  The wind managed to be in our faces on the way out and back.   The poor people manning the aid stations must have been so miserable. 

My quad was playing up from the start, so I didn't push too hard - it was my birthday after all!  I crossed the line soaked to the skin - I had cleverly brought a complete change of clothes, but stupidly left spare shoes at home.  Putting wet trainers on is not fun!  I was very glad to finish and retreat to the pub for a pint and fish and chips with friends.  

An emergency purchase of new running shoes followed and now all is right with the world! 

Deary, deary me!

For months and months I have been parkrunning with children.  I love running with children, I really do, but I do miss my weekly 'me against the clock, all out blast of (almost) speed.'  From time to time I do get to run by myself.  This normally happens when Husbando and I are away by ourselves at a book fair or some other such excitement.

The last weekend of October saw us venturing to North Wales for a reunion at my old school.  The school closed a couple of years ago and has recently been bought and will reopen with a new name in 2016.  We were tempted north with the promise of food and fireworks!  We stayed on Thursday night in a former boarding house  - possibly the most luxurious B&B I have ever stayed in - ready for a quick run around the old cross country course in the morning.   We had a lovely day at the school, followed by a civilised dinner in the dining hall and some stunning fireworks.  Then we sat in the rec in our former sixth form boarding house and made a pretty good attempt at drinking all the alcohol in Wales!  It was all good fun, and great to catch up with friends I haven't seen for years, but at the back of my mind I knew I had to get up in the morning and get to parkrun.  

I'd done my research.  I knew that there were two parkruns in North Wales, I knew which one was closest and I knew the route to get there.  But when the alarm went off at 7am all I wanted to do was stop the infernal noise that was ripping my eardrums into shreds.  I did manage to throw my running kit on and Husbando and I crept out of the sixth form boarding house, into the car and we were on our way - until I called for an emergency stop at the edge of the A55!  Surely all athletes prepare by trying to consume their body mass in wine the evening before a run? Our second stop was at a McDonald's in Abergele for coffee and hash browns (the athlete's breakfast of choice).  I spent a few years living in Abergele - the idea that it has anything as cosmopolitan as a McDonald's is still something of a surprise to me!  

Conwy parkrun is dead easy to find.  You just drive along the A55 to junction 18 and follow the signs for the RSPB reserve.  Or that is what I am told - I had my eye's closed and was whimpering quietly to myself.  When I opened my eyes, to bright sunlight, we were in the car park right next to the start, a few steps away from the loos and the cafe.  Perfect.  And the views were stunning - across the River Conwy.  There were people in halloween costumes, so with my hungover pallor I probably didn't look too out of place.  Husbando said he would run with me.  I told him to run by himself as I didn't want to slow him down.  

The course was a flat out and back, running towards the castle (it is a beautiful castle) beyond it and then back again.  The only elevation was over a railway bridge.  It should have been a lovely, fast run.  Husbando had a lovely run, not pushing himself too hard but achieving a very good time.  Me?  Well, every time I put my foot on the floor my head screamed.  All I wanted to do was finish the damned run.  I could see it was beautiful, I even appreciated the smell of the sea, but I was sweating pure alcohol.  I struggled to keep going.  All the time I was cursing myself for throwing away a good running opportunity.  I managed to pull a little bit of pace out of the bag in the last few metres of the run to overtake a woman I had been following for ages.  Husbando was waiting at the end of the finish funnel (I had the barcodes in my pocket) and declared himself surprised that I had managed to run at all, let alone scrape in under 27 minutes (26.44).  I was just glad to stop running.

I am cross with myself.  Conwy parkrun is lovely, stunning scenery, flat paths, lovely cafe, great volunteer team and yet I wasted the chance for a good run by over indulging the night before.  I would love to think that I could come back and run this one again, but the realist in me knows that the likelihood of me being back in North Wales again is slim.  This is a shame.  I had forgotten how beautiful it is up there, but it is a long way away!  

Oh I do like to parkrun by the seaside!

Catching their breath after the run.

 With Basingstoke parkrun relocating to its alternate venue - Crabtree Plantation - this weekend, I decided to indulge in a little parkrun tourism.  Both the 100 boy and the 10 boy have told me that they will *never* run Crabtree again!  I cast my eye about for somewhere fairly local that we hadn't run before and Lee-on-the-Solent seemed to be an excellent choice.  I knew vaguely where it was and put my trust in the Sat Nav to get me there.  As we got closer I realised that it looked a bit familiar, it took a while to realise that it was fairly near Gosport Half Marathon territory!

Parking was a breeze - getting out of the car we were almost blown away by the wind!  I joked that we could see the Isle of Wight - the children laughed at me, but it seems I was right!  I spotted a runner with a White Star Running t shirt - so asked him which idiotic race he'd run with them!  (The Ox)  and found a sheltered spot to wait for the run briefing.  The boys availed themselves of the loos, which are close to the start.

100boy threatens to swim to Isle of Wight!

The course is almost entirely flat and almost entirely on tarmac.  There is an up and down bit at one point (I think it goes over the start of the old pier but would have to check on that) and there is a short section on the very top of the stony beach.  You run about 3/4 of a mile (with the wind behind you) to a turnaround point, then 1.5miles back past the start (wind in your face!) and then turn again to run the final 3/4 of a mile with the wind helping you along.  Nice and simple - with lots of opportunity to pass other runners.  I ran the first mile with the boys, then I left them to their own devices.   100 boy fell over, 10 boy took a detour to the loo, meaning that when I finished I felt duty bound to go back and run in with them.  I scooped up 100 boy and ran him to the finish and then went back for 10 boy.  10 boy does not like distance running, but does like anything up to and including 1500m.  I don't think he pushed himself at all until the last 400m when he just wound up the speed and fairly flew across the finish line.

After we had our barcodes scanned we made our way to Leon's Bistro for a drink and brunch for the boys, making use of the 10% discount offered to parkrunners.  Lovely to sit in the sun and relax!

All in all, a lovely new (this was the 4th event) parkrun!  I hope to come back soon - not sure I will enjoy it quite so much in the winter though!

Salisbury parkrun inaugural

One week after gutting it out, quite literally, at the Kent Roadrunner Marathon I found myself at the inaugural Salisbury parkrun.  I had completed four short (3 - 4 miles) runs since the marathon and none of them had been enjoyable, comfortable or anything that could be described as speedy.  In a fit of madness I had even attempted to run up Brockham Hill.  The relief I felt when I reached the top was short lived when I realised how painful running down such a steep hill would be!  

Saturday, however, means parkrun day.  There was no option but to lace up my trainers and get on out there and try to run.  And Salisbury is relatively nearby - who needs a lie in on a Saturday morning when one could be gallivanting around the country for a 5k run?  I picked up two friends on the way and had left the short people behind so not only was I going to parkrun, I was going to have to actually make an effort.  

The weather was gorgeous.  Sunny, but with a bit of a breeze. We found the car park easily, met up with other parkrun tourists, found the loos, found the start, listened to a run briefing, made a rude comment to the race director from last weekend's marathon (OK, that was just me, my friends are lovely, well behaved and very polite).  

The course is three laps of Churchill Gardens, zigging and zagging around - there is no way I could retrace my steps again!  My legs hated all the corners and weren't too keen on all the grass either.  Those three laps seemed so hard, but we were supported by fabulous marshals,  including a large group of volunteers who waited near the start/finish to cheer the runners on.   Amazingly I managed not to get lapped, and was very relieved on my final lap to see the turn off for the finish.  I even put on a tiny bit of effort to get to the finish line - I regretted this as I had to try to maintain it over a longer than anticipated distance!   

The finish funnel was long and narrow - which meant that there was less chance of people overtaking each other after the finish.  The message about staying in order had obviously been taken to heart by some of the runners who were panicking about staying in order in the queue for scanning barcodes!  

Coffee afterwards was in the cloisters of Salisbury Cathedral.  To say that the view was better than my regular post parkrun coffee would be an understatement!  The coffee was good and the croissants were excellent.   I said the words 'penis' and 'vagina' and shocked an elderly couple walking past our table, which added to the general mayhem.  In my defence, it was a perfectly innocent discussion of when Yr7 should be taught the reproduction module of the KS3 science curriculum - I maintain that the first half term of year 7, when they don't know each other well enough to say these words out loud, is not the right time.  

All in all, a lovely event.  Flat as a pancake, but twisty and turny enough to make it interesting.  Go along and see for yourselves!  Huge thank you to the event team and all the volunteers who made this parkrun possible.  

April in Paris

What's not to love about April in the city that believes itself to be the most beautiful in the World?   Admittedly it can sometimes be a trade off between looking at the pavement to avoid canine land and looking up to see the stunning architecture, but Paris is lovely and, on a warm spring day, it is a great city for walking, talking, eating and drinking.

I took the Eurostar out on Thursday, not because I wanted to get away from the children but because it was much cheaper to travel then.  I went straight from Gare du Nord to the Paris Marathon Expo at Versailles.  I've never done a marathon with an expo before, so I had no idea what to expect.  I thought that there would be a desk to pick up my race number and a few stalls selling stuff I didn't need, but the expo was HUGE! All the major sports kit manufacturers were there as well as several smaller ones selling interesting bits and pieces (I now own a FlipBelt) and, had I taken the time to visit all the stalls, I think I could have signed up to enough marathons to guarantee my entry into the 100 Marathon Club with events to spare!  Needless to say, common sense - or the fact that my back pack was heavy - meant that I didn't spend too long at the expo and didn't spend too much money and I didn't enter any races.

Friday was spent mooching around the Musee d'Orsay, looking at some of my favourite paintings and deciding that I really do not like many of Picasso's paintings!  From there it was a short walk over the river to the Musee de l'Orangerie for a long overdue to see Monet's Waterlilies.  I'd been meaning to go to this museum on several previous visits to Paris - but for some reason I've never managed to get there.  The galleries with the water lillies are stunning.  It was a very restful place to be - until a hoard of school children arrived and started to career around the two oval galleries.    It was a day for doing things in Paris that I hadn't done before.  I had lunch near the Grand Arche de la Défense - a structure I had only ever seen from a distance - with the friend I was staying with.  From there it was another first - a trip to Sacre Coeur.  All in all, I walked over 12 miles before heading back to my friend's house.

Saturday is normally parkrun day, but there are, as yet, no parkruns in France - so the Paris Marathon Breakfast 5k was the only alternative!  We set off from Avenue Foch with 3,000 other runners and finished by the Eifel Tower where we were treated to coffee and croissants.  I met with friends from other races and bumped into a runner from Basingstoke parkrun - I had no idea that he was going to be there!  It was lovely to run with my friend from my OTC days - as we ran with chatted with other runners, I even managed to chat in German with some runners from Barvaria.

Sunday… the big day.  Where Saturday had been chilly and overcast, Sunday dawned bright and sunny.  I packed my bag and headed for the start, dumped my bag on Avenue Foch and made my way to the start on the Champs Elysées, along with 54.000 other runners.  It was warm - which made a change from the start line of many recent races, but as it was only 9am I was aware that it was going to get warmer!

At 9.15am my wave went off.  A downhill start on cobbles in brilliant sunshine and a real party atmosphere.  It felt good to be running after the hell that is tapering!  I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible to avoid the heat and just soaked up the atmosphere.  Bands were plentiful - it seemed that the music was almost constant.  Water stations were plentiful, supplemented by the pompiers who had set up extra water stations and were spraying the runners with their hoses.

The water stations were on one side of the road only - which meant that if you didn't want water you had to run through people who were trying to cross the road to get to the water.  It was also a bit like running through a fruit salad at times - orange peel, raisins, banana and sugar cubes littered the road along with empty bottles.  We ran through the city and out into the Bois de Vincennes, here the crowds thinned out a bit, which meant that we had fewer bottle necks to slow us down.  At some points the supporters had been so enthusiastic that they took up half the road space.

My Kent Road Runner vest got loads of attention from the supporters, and quite a lot of jealousy from fellow runners.  I was lapping this up and having a ball!  I particularly remember the stretch between 12 and 13 kms where the supporters were particularly vocal.  I sang the Welsh national anthem to some supporters with a Welsh flag, high fived all the children and was laughing and smiling so much that there were tears running down my face.  I have never had so much fun running in my life.

At around 16 miles we went into a long tunnel.  The relief from the sunshine was nice, but it was muggy in the still air.  My Garmin lost satellite reception and when it found it again it said I was about 2 miles ahead of where I should be.  The pace info was also messed up.  There is no way I ran a 7 min/mile at that stage, the pace info never really sorted itself out for the rest of the run, so I covered my Garmin and just glanced at it when I passed the distance markers to try to work out where I was.

The last few miles were tough.  Not helped by my getting very confused.  At 36k I thought 'I've got 6k to go - that's 2 parkruns!'  (Because when I get to 20 miles I think that I've got 2 parkruns to go).  2 parkruns, at the pace I was going at would take me close to an hour - which meant that any chance of sub 4 was well out of my grasp so there was no point in pushing too hard.  By the time I'd realised my stupidity I had less than a mile to go, and couldn't possibly make up the time.  I did my best, overtaking people as I threw myself over the cobbles (horrible, hot, bumpy cobbles) towards the finish line on the Avenue Foch.  4hrs, 1minute and 17 seconds.  A 10 minute PB - but I was gutted and elated in equal measure!

All in all, I loved this race.  I would sign up for it again in an instant - but I worry that I might not enjoy it as much next year - especially as I would be going along with high expectations.  I think I will definitely investigate other city marathons in foreign countries.  A great way to see a city and to meet loads of other mad runners!

I am confident that I will get that sub 4 hour marathon time soon.  'All' that is required is that I run each mile 3 seconds faster than I did on Sunday.  Given the heat and the crowds, and my propensity to treat any run as a social event, I am sure that if I get some cooler weather, a clearer run and think more about running than having fun I can do it!

Doing the double.

The week between Christmas and New Year is always a strange one.  Days spent wondering what day of the week it is, staring into the fridge trying to work out what to feed the children as it surely can't be healthy for them to eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch and supper.  We have had the added drama this week of my mother in law being taken ill.  A massive stroke on Monday evening.  This has resulted in even more confusion about days of the week.

Running has, as so often, given me time to get away from it all.  Time to process ideas and think through plans.  It also helps to counter the excesses of the Christmas period.  Some people claim that a good run will get rid of a hangover.   I've never found this to be the case but I keep on trying.  

After an excellent night, which took in a 50th birthday party and then dinner with friends and rather a lot of alcohol, the idea of getting up to run seemed slightly less appealing than it had done when I had made my plans earlier in the day.  Husbando needed to pop into the antique fair at Winchester, so we'd do Winchester parkrun and then, because we could we'd go on to Southampton parkrun at 10.30am.  Husbando had run neither before, and Southampton would be a new one for me.  Luckily I sorted out my kit before going out for the night - trail shoes for Winchester and road shoes for Southampton, and clean socks just in case.   I slept in the car on the way there… I did not feel at my best… I wondered if I could volunteer as tail runner, but if I did that we might not have time for the drive between the two locations.  Strangely it didn't occur to me not to run!  

Winchester is three laps of playing fields.  It could be a fast course but, while the weather was infinitely better than last New Year's Day, it was still muddy and the course is predominantly on grass.  As we set off I remarked to Husbando that I didn't like running on grass.  'Well run on the mud then!' was the witty reply from another runner.  It felt like hard work.  My head was pounding, my stomach felt queasy and there was mud EVERYWHERE I looked!  I chatted to a runner as we struggled around the fields - I think he was one of the run directors, and watched as Husbando got further and further and further ahead of me!  I slid across the line in 25:20, got my barcode scanned, used the loos and then we got in the car and on to the M3.  

Parking at Southampton Common was straightforward and free!  I always panic about parking at new events so it is always a relief to find a space.  We walked to the start with one of the volunteers - a throng of runners, many covered in mud splatters from other local parkruns, were all making their way to the start.  I bumped into friends I have made at running events last year, which was lovely.  

After the run brief we found ourselves at the very back of the field.  This was a bit of a mistake as it took a long time to get up to a comfortable running pace.  Husbando ran with me most of the time and we chatted as we ran, both of us agreeing that it was a lovely course.  All on tarmac and a bit like an Escher painting in that we seemed to go downhill a lot more than we ran uphill.  In fact I barely noticed the uphill on the second lap.  I was beginning to feel a little more human and wishing that I could do this run some justice.  No matter - the joy of parkrun is that I can come back another time and have another go.  I haven't set myself an impossible target to beat - 24.59.  And the cafe looks nice too - but it was closed today, so a return visit is a must in 2015.

Thank you to all the volunteers, both those standing around in the cold and wind today and all the behind the scenes people who do some sort of technical wizardry that makes the results appear.  Happy New Year, may your parkruns always be full of friendship and your running shoes always dry. 

Putting it into context.

I have a list of things I dislike.  It is quite a long list and, to avoid causing offence to too many people, I won't mention all my pet hates here.  I'll try to keep them relevant to today's run!  I dislike, in no particular order, running on grass, running in mud, through puddles and with wet feet.  I hate driving into or around or through Reading.  I have nothing against the people of Reading - but the roads are just too confusing - give me straight forward London driving any day.  And I really, really hate being late.

So today didn't start well when I woke up to discover that Husbando had gone out and taken the car.  I sent him a tex, reminding him that I needed to leave at 7.30am, and made myself a cup of tea - not realising that the text was not delivered until I went to pick up  my phone again.  Argh!  Panic!   Husbando hove into view at ten to eight.  TEN TO EIGHT!  Google maps said it would take me 55 minutes to drive to Thames Valley Park, and I have a history of getting lost in one way systems in Reading.  Adding to that I'd have to find parking and the start of Reading parkrun.  I was a little bit stressed by this state of affairs.

Luckily the traffic was good and I only took one wrong turn in Reading, and Google maps lied a bit (or I drove too fast - who can say?) and I had arrived and parked by 8.35am, phew!  Reading parkrun's course info page told me that 'regular road running shore should certainly suffice in most weathers' but I decided, on advice of other parkrun tourists, to wear my trail shoes.  This was the right choice - although in retrospect mud claws would have been a better choice… not that I own any because, as has already been stated, I don't like running on mud!

Having picked my way between muddy patches to the start area, I bumped into friends I know via the parkrun show and lovely Gary - with whom I have run a couple of marathons in the past.  Soon we were on the start line and raring to go.

And then… squelchy, squishy, slippery, slidey mud.  And lots of it!  I didn't know what my feet were doing half the time.  I revised my hoped for finish time and concentrated on staying upright!  The views along the Thames were lovely - but I couldn't look up and see them as I was terrified of ending up flat on my face in the mud.  And kicking myself for not bringing an entire change of clothing with me just in case of such an eventuality!  Part of each lap was on gravel paths - sheer heaven after the mud, and a chance to claw back a few seconds, but with paths came puddles and there were choices to be made.  Pick one's way gingerly around the puddle, through the mud, losing time or plough straight through the middle.  I went for the latter option.  Once your feet are wet they can't get much wetter (but it was bitterly cold and a bit of a shock to the tootsies!)  The last 600m are back across grass, just when I wanted to put on a bit of a sprint I found I was struggling like Bambi on ice (but far less graceful).  I overtook someone, then realised I could not work out where the finish funnel was - there were loads of people but I couldn't spot the tape, so I let him overtake me again (having established he knew where he was heading) and managed to get across the line in 24.59.

I was disappointed with my time.  It had been hard work and I always want to take advantage of my child free parkruns to run as hard as I can.  I chalked it up to experience, met up with friends and went for coffee.  We left our very muddy trainers outside the doorway to the David Lloyd gym and had a very nice coffee and a natter.  Putting ice cold, wet trainers back on is somewhat unpleasant, but it didn mean that the pleasure I felt at changing into warm and dry socks and trainers when I got back to the car was immense!

Back at home, looking at the results page, I realised that I was 4th lady to finish - I've only bettered that at Pymmes parkrun (very small field) and first in my age category.  So maybe it wasn't such a bad run after all.  And, at the end of the day, I was out there doing something I love, with people who share my passion.  There are thousands of people who couldn't run if they wanted to. Thousands of people who go for days and days without any meaningful interaction with other people.   I get to do this every single week.

And today I came home to madeleines made by my 10 year old son...

A merry parkrun Christmas.

In the words of one of my favourite performers "I am hardly religious, I'd rather break bread with Dawkins than Desmond Tutu, to be honest."  And I am not a huge fan of Christmas.  It generates a huge amount of stress just a couple of days after the end of a long and stress filled term at school so I tend to feel a growing resentment towards the whole shebang.  Why, I ask anyone who has the misfortune to be in my vicinity, should I be expected to spend a small fortune on presents after the stress of trying to decide what would constitute a suitable gift for someone who already has everything that they could possibly need?  Believe me, when you get to trying to buy an original gift for your 5th child it takes more imagination than I can muster after a 16 week term when I still have a pile of marking and planning hanging over my head.

So, this Christmas I resolved to keep things a little more low key, a little less excessive, with a little more focus on what really matters.  I am not convinced that we succeeded.  There was still a huge pile of presents under the tree, but I had only purchased things that the children actually needed - so the youngest girl got a new coat, middle child got jeans and a hoody, that type of thing.

Some Christmas traditions couldn't be ignored.  One relatively new tradition is parkrun.  And on a beautiful, crisp morning like today it was no hardship to go for a run with 327 other people.  For me it is a lovely way to break up the morning - a pause between stocking presents and tree presents, and a very social interlude at that.  I got to run with one of my best friends this morning.  I've never run with her before although she is responsible for me starting to run.  My husband and two of my boys ran with me and my older daughter volunteered as a time keeper.   Afterwards we had cakes and crisps and prosecco and sloe gin as we chatted with friends before heading off home to continue our day.

But I was reminded of an edition of Woman's Hour I half listened to last week about people who are lonely at Christmas, and the latest episode of the parkrun show.  I thought about those people for whom parkrun might be their only contact with other people over the holiday period.  And then I thought about the man who walks with his dog in the park every Saturday and never interacts with anyone unless it is to moan about us.  He was there again this morning, I wished him a merry Christmas as  passed him - in much the same day that I always say good morning to him, and got exactly the same response - which was no reply!  I love my parkrun family.  I love the welcome I get when I visit new parkruns from people I have met via the parkrun Facebook pages.    I can't imagine a better way to start a day that is, for me, all about connecting with people we love.

I hope that, whatever you did today, you had the day that suited you.  I guess for me parkrun gives me the sense of community that other people get from being part of a religious/church community.  I meet up with people once a week to pursue a shared interest and mark successes and failures along the way.  And that is a good thing.  So thank you parkrun, and merry Christmas to you all.

This one was for you...

For the last two and a half years I have been running most parkruns  with the Fredster.  It is lovely that he enjoys running but it does mean that I have put my own parkrun journey on the back burner.  One of the many joys of parkrun is that you can use it to see where your fitness is on a weekly basis and, if you are too lazy to do speed work on your own, you can use it as a weekly speed session.  But last Saturday the Fredster earned his 100 shirt and I decreed that he should have this week off.

There have been a few other parkruns I have done without him recently but I have always been a bit disappointed with my performance.  My parkrun PB was set at my home run, Basingstoke, on 17th September 2011.  Over three years ago - and since then my solo parkruns had been somewhat mediocre.  I'd got close a couple of times, but normally ended up running around the 24 or 25 minute mark.  I'd got within a minute of my PB when running at Fulham Palace parkrun just over a year ago (I ran 23.58 against a PB of 23.16) so when the chance came for a return visit I didn't hesitate - despite the fact that it was going to involve leaving the house at 5.30am.

My previous visit had been for a very special occasion.  parkrun is a wonderful community that brings so many people together, and it was through parkrun that I met a lovely couple called Steve and Zoe.  I met them first in Basingstoke and warmed to them instantly.  Zoe's smile would light up the greyest of days.  What I didn't know then was that Zoe was dying.  You don't expect people younger than yourself to be dying do you?  But such was her personality that she wasn't going to let this fact ruin what was left of her life.  She set herself goals she wanted to achieve, one of them was to run 50 parkruns and receive her coveted 50 tshirt.  That Saturday at the end of November last year was the day that her tshirt was going to be presented to her.  parkrunners who knew Zoe turned up to support her and cheer her on as she completed what was to be her last parkrun.  It was chilly warming, but full of love and friendship and there was much laughter in the beautiful cafe inside the Bishop's Palace after our run.

Roll forward just over 12 months, and I find myself walking from the tube station to the park in the coldest weather of the year so far.  The thermometer read minus 2 and there was ice on the paths.  My Garmin strap was broken, I didn't know a single person there and did I mention it was cold?  I had 5 layers on and was still too cold.  It was very different to the party atmosphere of my previous visit.  I chatted to a few people, went for a warm up jog, almost falling on an icy patch and decided that a PB attempt would be a bit silly.

Fulham Palace parkrun is nearly 3 laps of the park, it is as flat as a pancake, although you do have to keep your wits about you as there are several sharp corners.  I set off, with my Garmin in a pocket, and just ran.  I fell into a pace and noted that I was about 10m behind a dad who was coaching his son around the course.  I felt comfortable and, using my wrist watch and the fact that I knew how long the laps were, calculated that I was running 'about 8min/mile pace' - that felt about right for the effort I was putting in, and decided that I would just enjoy myself.  As I ran down the bank of the Thames, I thought about Zoe and how proud she had been to wear her 50 club tshirt.  I couldn't help but grin at the thought.

Passing the start line for the final time I decided that, if I could run 8 min/miles in the dying stages of a half marathon I could certainly run a bit faster for the final three quarters of a mile in a 5k.  I passed the boy and his dad and pushed on for the finish, thanking the marshals (they must have been so cold) as I passed them for the last time and even lapping a fair few people.  I threw myself across the finish line (which is painted onto the tarmac) and fumbled to stop my Garmin.

I was stunned to see the time - 22:43!  The man who finished behind me came up and congratulated me on an excellent run, the father of the boy commented that I had run really well.  He'd been aware of me on their tail, and said that he'd watched me as I'd sped up - I'd just noticeably lengthened my stride as I'd glided past them.  After that at I couldn't get my extra layers back on fast enough and, after thanking the volunteers, I made my way into the Bishop's Palace to get warm and have a coffee.

Thank you to all the volunteers who stood in sub zero conditions just to allow us to run.  And Zoe, this run was for you.  You may no longer be with us in body, but your spirit lives on in many forms.

Slippy, slidey mud sections

Last night I went out for supper with friends to celebrate my birthday.  Not just any birthday, but a birthday that takes me into a new age category for parkrun.  My intention had been to run as fast as I could at parkrun to mark this momentous occasion, but I scuppered that idea last night by eating more than I normally eat in a week and drinking enough alcohol to constitute what government guidelines would probably deem binge drinking if I'd shared it with the five other diners… but I didn't share.  I wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep when the alarm went at 6.30am.  But parkrun beckoned, and I'd made arrangements to go to Horsham parkrun with a friend to meet up with some other friends.  And The Fredster needed run if he was to make his 100th parkrun on target.

So off we set.  Thankfully I was not driving and navigating was enough of a challenge for me.  We got to Horsham Park with plenty of time to spare, parked our car and found the loos and then made our way to the start.  The weather was dry, but the wind was chilly and we tried to keep warm while the small boys climbed a tree.  TheFredster planned to 'run' with a friend who was planning to walk as he is recovering from knee surgery, which freed me up to run.  Great, I thought, what a wasted opportunity - I felt sick and a wee bit fragile!  We listened to the run brief - there were about 200 runners, not bad for the 10th event, and then made our way to the start, where we observed a minute's silence for Remembrance Day.

The start was on a fairly narrow path, which made for a bit of congestion, but we were soon underway with a gentle downhill on a tarmac path.  And then we were off the path and on the grass.  Well, I say 'grass' but it was more of a bog in sections, which made for heavy going and much slipping and sliding!  There was one short, muddy, uphill section that was particularly challenging, with my feet just slipping backwards as I made my way up it.  It was tough going.  I looked at my watch and realised that the pace I was struggling to maintain was the same pace I'd found so easy to maintain for a half marathon last weekend!  Part of this was due to the conditions underfoot, but a lot of it was self inflicted!

Hearing that a parkrun is a three lapper normally fills me with dread, but there was so much going on in the park that it was a really interesting run.  There were children playing football, people being beasted by ex-army PT instructors (who on Earth wants to pay to be shouted at and do press-ups in a wet field?) people riding bikes and a silver sculpture thing!  And each lap seemed shorter than the last - which is odd, because I them all at the same pace!  As I ran I realised that TheFredster was not with the person I thought he'd be with, or his wife, it was only about half a mile from the finish that I caught up with him running with my other friend and her son.  

I ran past them and tried to pick up the pace a bit to make it to the finish.  I still felt ghastly and wanted to stop running more than anything on the planet.  I threw myself through the finish funnel and was convinced that I was about to chunder.  I staggered to a nearby fence and leaned on it while I regained my composure and checked my watch.  24.17 - not bad,  second fastest time this year!

Post run coffee (and breakfast for the boys) was taken at The Conservatory Cafe.  It was lovely to see so many parkrunners chatting and getting to know each other.  The food looked pretty good too!

The results came through pretty quickly - I was thrilled to see that I was first in my new age category, which was a nice start.  I am sure that I will be back to run at Horsham again sometime soon - but maybe I will wait until it is dryer underfoot.  And when I am a little less fragile!

Thank you to the Horsham parkrun team for a lovely event.

Thames Meander

This time last week I had no races planned until February.  That suited me just fine.  I'd run a good half marathon and was quite happy just to bimble through the rest of the year, having a nice slow start to my training for next year's marathons.  Then someone mentioned that they were running a half marathon in Kingston, and as I had nothing planned I thought I'd look into it.  I almost got no further than that.  The Fredster is due to run his 100th parkrun on 29th November - it has to happen then as a Facebook 'event' has been set up, and that means he couldn't miss a Saturday.  But, but, but… the race started at the same place as parkrun…. could we do this?  Yes we could!  

So, having left it too late to enter online, I emailed the race organisers to check that there would be plenty of availability to enter on the day, persuaded my reluctant 15 year old to a) get up early on the last Saturday of half term and b) run with her 10 year old brother.  I thought it might be possible for me to run both parkrun and the race, but really didn't want to risk having to make a mad dash from the finish of one to the start of another.  We set off this morning with loads of time to spare.  I'd forgotten how hopelessly lost I'd got the last time I tried to get to the venue (Kingston parkrun back in March this year or maybe last year).  Sat nav is great, but not infallible.  I ended up doing a couple of loops of a Kingston before finding the right turning.  Getting lost is stressful.  Being late is stressful. I hate getting lost and I hate being late.  Trying to work out how to get where I need to be at the time I need to be there with two children in the car is very stressful.  Needless to say we got there in the end, and we weren't late but the car park was full, so we had to find somewhere to park on the street and then barrel along the towpath to the Hawker Centre where I registered for the race and bumped into lots of friends.  

I saw the children off on their parkrun, then chatted with people while I waited for them to come back.  It started to rain.  It had been seasonably chilly since we'd woken up and now it was raining.  I patted myself on the back for remembering to bring my hat with me and was a little cross with myself for thinking I would be happy in a vest top and shorts!  While we waited of the parkrunners to return, the Thames Meander Marathon runners set off - to the accompaniment of bag pipes!  

The half marathoners set off at 10am.  It was still overcast and drizzling and, for the first time in a long time, it was cold!  We set off down the towpath from Kingston towards Kew.  This was a flat marathon and it should have been really easy - but the towpaths were uneven - think compacted gravel paths, hugely degraded tarmac paths and sections that were muddy with tree roots and that was most of the path - interspersed with short sections of 'proper pavement' and cobbles!  It was the sort of terrain the looks as though you can just run without thinking, but actually you needed to concentrate to make sure that you don't trip.  Within the first few miles I'd seen someone face plant spectacularly in front of me!   The path was narrow which meant that going was slow at the start unit the field spread out a bit.  It was lovely to chat to other runners and enjoy what was rapidly becoming a very warm and sunny day!  While I was chatting with some other runners (@777epic - who are planning to run 7 marathons in 7 days in 7 continents) I heard another runner mutter 'I won't be beaten by a mother of 5!'  Hmmm… more of that later!

At the halfway/turnaround point I managed to mess up the turn and found myself running through a garden, then scrambling through a hedge to get back on the towpath.   The return leg was  a great opportunity to encourage fellow runners as I saw them.  This return half was much busier in terms of avoiding other towpath users.  Cyclists, walkers, scooter users and dogs (on and off leads) were in abundance.  I'm not a huge fan of dogs - especially when I don't know them and they aren't on a lead - I could feel myself pulling up short every time one got close.    

At around 7 miles I was aware of the man who didn't want to be beaten by an old bird on my shoulder. He was working hard, breathing heavily, as he tried to keep up.  I wasn't working hard.  I decided to change gear and put some distance between us.  Even stopping for a drink at the drink station didn't allow him enough time to catch up with me.  

The sound of bagpipes meant that I was approaching the finish line.  Bagpipes can carry a long distance, but I had lots of energy left, so I out on a burst of speed to finish strongly.   I was looking out for the children as I threw myself towards the line, but didn't see them!  I crossed the line in a chip time of 1hr 48mins 41 secs.  I'd have been thrilled with that a few weeks ago - but today I felt I could have done better.  I didn't need to stop at both the water stations to drink as I had a water bottle with me, messing up the turn about cost me time, as did my trepidation about the uneven ground.  I was gratified to find that I was the 18th woman to finish.  And it is another sub 1hr50 half time so I should be very happy.

There was a little bit of drama after the finish - we couldn't find The Fredster!  He'd gone off to cheer me at the finish, while the 15 year old had stayed in the cafe being a 15 year old grumpy girl!  I hadn't seen him and he had not seen me, so he just stayed where he was, about 300 m from the finish cheering in all the other runners while he wondered where I was!  It was only when a friend from Hatch Warren Runners finished and told us where he was that we managed to locate him!  

The bling is lovely.  There was also lots of cake and biscuits at the finish - which was enjoyed in the sunshine before heading off home.  The event organisation was fantastic!  This is my first Hermes Running event, but it will not be my last.

Cranleigh parkrun

Today is the 10th anniversary of parkrun.  10 years ago the notion that I would get out of bed at 7am on a Saturday morning to go running would have been laughable.  I am still a bit bemused by the transformation that running has wrought in my life, but can only assume that it is generally a good thing to be more active.  Not only has parkrun increased my enjoyment of running, and the number of races I have entered, it has also greatly increased my circle of friends and acquaintances.  It was a bit of a shock last weekend to turn up to a race and not recognise anyone at the start.  In the UK I am more likely than not to bump into someone I have met before, or know online.  These friends have enriched my life more than I would have thought possible when I first, rather nervously, made my way to my first parkrun.

Today I considered going to the birthplace of parkrun - Bushy Park to celebrate with many other parkrun friends.  Then I thought about the numbers of people who would be there.  On an 'average' parkrun day there are about 1000 runners.  Today was looking as though it would be closer to 2000.  I don't like crowds.  I get a bit stressed about going to parties where there will be more than a handful of people - especially if I don't know everyone.  To be fair, I normally go to the party anyway and either have a miserable time not talking to anyone because I get a crippling attack of nerves, or I anaesthetise the inner social nerd with enough alcohol to take out a small village and have an awesome time - or at a least the bits I remember are great!  Alcohol doesn't mix well with a 5k run, especially if you have to drive to the start line, so I started to look for somewhere smaller.

A few weeks ago some running friends had mentioned that there was a parkrun starting near them.  In fact they had organised their holiday flight to ensure that they could make the inaugural Cranleigh parkrun.  Now inaugural parkruns normally attract quite a crowd.  But the canny bods who make parkrun magic happen had planned quite a few for this morning.  This, I assume, was to take some of the pressure off Bushy, but which also had the effect of reducing numbers at all the first time events.  And even a 'bumper turnout' for an inaugural is 'only' about 300 runners.  I can cope with that!

Cranleigh, according to my sat nav, was 55 minutes away from home.  I bundled the running child into the car (resplendent in our anniversary tees), picked up a friend and set off.  It took us 35 minutes (less time than it takes me to get to work most mornings - and we almost drove past my school) and a swear I don't drive that fast!  We found some free parking and some loos.  I had a minor contact lens disaster (had to remove one, decide it was too overcast to wear my prescription sunglasses so the only option was to run with one good eye and one blurry eye) and then we set off across some football pitches and a road to the start.

There were people at the start - but not the masses we get at Basingstoke ever week.  There were familiar faces and new people, there were 100, 50 and 10 t shirts and a smattering of anniversary t shirts too.  We chatted to people we knew (and a few we didn't), had a warm up lap of a field, listened to the run briefing, made our way to the start and then we were off.

Two grassy laps of a fairly convoluted course starting at Bruce McKenzie Memorial Field with some stunning views over the surrounding countryside.   There is one significant climb - which isn't too bad as it is fairly short, at the top of which the most amazing views were to be had, and also some amazing echoes.  I would like to apologise to any residents of Knowle Park Nursing Home who were trying to have a lie in - my booming voice echoed impressively back to me as I encouraged Freddy (and other runners) at the top of the hill and the start of the steep decent!   Freddy was a wee bit too enthusiastic on the downhill, and did an impressive head over heels tumble.  Where is a camera man when you need them?  He cried a bit - through shock more than anything - and on we went, Freddy covered in grass and mud!

We chatted with several other runners as we completed our last lap.  I started singing to encourage Freddy to get a wiggle on, he hates my singing (the boy has taste) and so put on a spurt towards the end.  As ran through the finish funnel and collected our finishing tokens we were congratulated by the Mayor, who, wearing her chain of office, shook hands with every finisher.

There were 111 finishers - a lovely number for this venue.  We got to chat to people and get a feel for what this event will be like over the next few months.  There was coffee and cake at the finish, provided by the local leisure centre and the volunteers.  The sun shone while we ran - although the heavens opened on the way home.  Thank you to everyone involved in this lovely event.  I am sure I'll be back to run with you all again someday soon.