The parkrun without a park.

As a rule I don't travel just to do a parkrun, but as with most rules there are exceptions!    This morning was one of those exceptions.  Severn Bridge parkrun is a relative newcomer to the parkrun family, this morning was only its third running.  Husbando and I decided that, having been home for all of 4 days, we needed a break, so booked a hotel in Bristol and drove down early on Friday afternoon - which is when, stuck in traffic on the M4, we remembered that it was Bank Holiday weekend.  Never mind.  We were excited enough by the prospect of running across the Severn Bridge to make the traffic worthwhile.    The Severn-Wye Bridge is an elegant suspension bridge that crosses both the Severn and the Wye (the clue's in the name!).  It was opened by the Queen on 8th September 1966 (just 18 days before Husbando was born) having taken three and a half years to build and costing £8,000,000 (the bridge, not Husbando - he took the standard 9 months to construct, but has probably cost a lot more over his lifetime).  For 30 years the bridge carried the M4 motorway, but when the newer Price of Wales Bridge was opened in 1996 (to carry the M4) the motorway was renamed the M48.  You can see the newer bridge from the old one - which makes me think that a run taking in both bridges would be rather lovely!    The Severn Bridge was granted Grade 1 listed status in 1999 - there can't be many parkruns where you run on a Grade 1 listed structure!  

The parkrun itself starts in Monmouthshire and the route is an out and back over the bridge.  Whilst running you cross the national border into England, and take in the counties of Gloucestershire and Avon, before turning around and heading back into Wales and finishing in a tunnel! 

As we drove to the carpark (in a local football club car park) I thought I spotted a familiar face, and then as we pulled into the carpark we saw a load of Basingstoke parkrunners getting out of their cars! The parkrun world is very small!  The run briefing was excellent - lots of pertinent information, but sadly I had to use my 'teacher voice' to ask people to be quiet as the noise levels were loud and exacerbated by the echos in the tunnel.   I haven't had to do that in a long time - I apologise to anyone I deafened!  Several people asked if I was teacher!  How did they guess?  Husbando said that they'd probably been able to hear me over the bridge in England!

We made our way up a path onto the bridge and assembled at the start.  I didn't realise how far back I was starting until I saw this photo (taken by Ian Nelson), so was in for a slow start as I weaved my way around other runners.  Once I found a little bit of space I thought I was running quite well, but my Garmin was telling me I was running at 10min/mile pace - I've done a fair few miles this week, but I didn't think I was as tired as my legs were telling me, so I pushed harder.  Nothing, the Garmin kept telling me I was running at around 10min/mile pace.  There was very little I could do but carry on running, when I hit one mile my Garmin decided to work properly and told me that I'd run the first mile in a smidge over 8 mins!  That felt a little more like it!  The outward leg is ever so slightly up hill, nothing to strenuous but enough to make you look forward to the return leg!  

The views are stunning!  We definitely wanted to run this one in good weather and we weren't disappointed this morning, even so there was a definite breeze to run into on the way back!  The finish is back in the tunnel, which seemed a very long way from the bridge by that point!  The echoes make for a great finish and will have the added bonus of keeping a lot of the volunteers warm and dry in inclement weather.  I do feel for the marshal at the turn around point in the winter - I hope there are some pennies in the budget for hand warmers for whoever has that role!  The volunteers were friendly and welcoming coping brilliantly with the 308 runners (a record attendance for this new event) and ensuring we all had a great run.  The event team had the added complication of one of the scanners failing - a fact that was evident from the huge number of 'unknown' runners initially listed in the results.  I was such a runner, but the event team dealt with it quickly and efficiently, and I was honest and claimed the position I had achieved (92nd and 25mins 07seconds) rather than claiming a much faster time!  

Barcode scanning

After the run we walked back to the football club where tea, coffee and bacon rolls were on sale.  We had a quick chat with friends, posed for a 'tourist photo' and had a cup of tea before carrying on with the rest of our day.  A perfect parkrun morning!  Huge thanks to the volunteers - I had a great time.  

Basingstoke on tour!

Hasenheide parkrun - with the only hill in Berlin!

 We bumped into our first fellow tourists in the lobby of our hotel, they were on their way to breakfast and then a simple underground trip to Hasenheide, we decided to run/walk the three miles.  We have a limited amount of time in Berlin and I didn't want to spend too much time underground!  Berlin is very flat and we were looking forward to a welcome change from our regular Alice Holt hills.

As we entered the park we noted that it wasn't quite a pancake flat as the rest of Berlin, but the undulations were gradual.

Rose garden

We found the start location - always a good start and had few photos taken.  I love the 'visitors whiteboard'!  There are loos (basic - but they are there) and a large covered area with benches where you can leave your kit.

The park has some interesting associations, one of which I will mention later, but it was where the German gymnastic movement, headed by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn began when he opened to first gymnasium in Prussia - there is a monument to him by the north entrance to the park.  It is still popular with athletes today - there are a state park, a roller hockey court and baseball courts, there are wide open spaces for informal games of football.  I also spotted a small zoo and a dog exercise area along with a rose garden.  The park's name originates from 1678 and its use as a rabbit warren where the Great Elector came to hunt poor little fluffy bunnies.  It fell into disrepair/disuse but was rebuild for the Olympic Games by the National Socialists in 1936.

The run briefing started shortly before 9am, splitting into an English and a German version.  Most of the runners seemed to be tourists, but probably a quarter were locals.  I won't lie, the course sounded incredibly complicated (even though I'd looked at the map on the course page of the parkrun site) so I decided to just follow whoever was in front of me and hope for the best.  There was also mention of a hill!  On the start line a man asked me where my 'normal' parkrun was - turns out he thought he recognised me from Basingstoke - but wasn't sure because he hadn't seen me for ages, which is my fault because I've been running at Alice Holt or gadding about all over the country.

The course, not as complicated as it sounded is 2 and a bit laps of the park.  The 'and a bit' is the interesting bit!  Most/all of the course is on tarmac or hardpacked gravel, and has some very gentle slopes.  There were lots of other people using the park - walking dogs, cycling, running but not parkrunning (why?) the marshals warned where positioned at key points to ensure that we were all safe and didn't go the wrong way!

Part way through the second lap you get to do the 'and a bit' park!  We were told that this was up the hill.  It was quite interesting in that you run up the hill, go round it at the top and rejoin the main path before you left it (if that makes sense).  But what makes the hill really interesting (and which I only found out later when I thought about writing this blog) is its history.  It is a man made hill.  It is a 69 meter high 'pile of rubble' called Rixdorfe Höhe which was made from 700,000m²of rubble from the Second World War.  It is now landscaped, but it was build as a memorial to the 'debris women' but Katherine Szelinski-Singer in 1955 and commemorates the cleaning up work that was done, primarily by women, after the war.

That hill is short, but steep!  I had no idea how long it was going to go on for as it winds around in such a way that you can't see the top until you get there, so I didn't push it too hard!  I was happy with my time (25.40) and position, 5th woman and 1st in my age category.  After we'd had our bar codes scanned we pootled off to Cafe Blume, just outside the park to wait for it to open (at 10am) for coffee.  Several tables inside were reserved for parkrun and it was lovely to chat to other tourists from the UK and get to know the locals.  The coffee there was good and the cakes, especially the cheese cakes, looked awesome.

Thank you to all the volunteers for an excellent parkrun!  

Oh what a carry on!

Another epic medal!

Up early this morning, after a thoroughly enjoyable evening meeting up with school friends yesterday - hard to believe it is 30 years since we took our A'levels and set out to conquer the World!  Getting up early on a Sunday is never fun, but until a race director decides to start organising races on my doorstep it is just a fact of life!  We were on our way to Walton on Thames for another of Rik/Phoenix Running's events.  The concept is simple, six hours to run as many or as few laps as you feel like running to get an awesome bit of bling.  Today's race was 'Carry On Up The Tow Path' and a fair number of runners had decided that, blazing hot temperatures not withstanding, fancy dress would be a great idea.  Hats off to them!  An extra layer of polyester, not to mention one gentleman dressed as Spartacus complete with plastic armour and a helmet, wouldn't have been my first choice today!

While we waited to start I chatted with other runners, you see a lot of 'repeat offenders' at these events which means that there is always a friendly face and someone to talk to.  I had a clear aim in mind, given the state of my toe (still broken) and the fact I've done very little training and because Husbando and our friend were running a half marathon, a half marathon was as far as I was planning to go.  I had decided, given the temperature to run/walk (9mins/1min) from the start.  

The tow path is lovely and flat, with a mixture of shade and blazing sunshine with the occasional and very welcome light breeze.  I forgot to take my first walk break!  The rules are quite strict - if you forget a break you have to carry on until the next one is scheduled.  This is primarily because it keeps the maths nice and simple.  Lots of people think that running laps is boring but in reality the idea of running laps is far worse than actually doing it.  You get to talk to lots of people, you know exactly when you are going to get your next bit of shade and exactly how long it is to the aid station.  I tend to spend my first lap looking at the ground underfoot (to make sure I don't fall over) and after that it is a case of just keeping going - I try to find something different to pay attention to on each lap (counting boats for example) but invariably I get distracted and forget.  

Husbando - relaxing after the race

Today it was really hot out there.  The towpath was quite busy, with lots of cyclists going up and down as well as rowers on the water and people picking blackberries.  There were dogs and small children to avoid tripping over - plenty to watch to take one's mind off running!  The aid station was kept busy supplying us all with water and snacks and we were given our wrist bands (1 for each completed lap) but an Egyptian goddess!   Husbando was running and chatting with a maths teacher, my friend was running well (on track to get a massive half marathon PB), the sun was shining and everything was going well.  If we hadn't all agreed on a half I'd have been tempted to keep going.   Husbando was the first half finisher, I was the first woman half marathon finisher and our friend smashed her previous time by 13 minutes!  Once all three of us had finished and collected our bling, grabbed yet more water and handful of sweeties (for some of us) we made our way back to the car - which always seems to have been moved further away during the race - and a quick stop for something to eat on the way home.  

Thank you, as ever, to Rik and his amazing team of marshals for putting on another great event.  I know we'll be back for more soon.... hopefully I'll be back to running marathons again soon!

Not so grim 'oop Norf!'

Husbando decided, a couple of weeks ago, that a trip to the Ilkley book fair would be a good idea.  My entire experience of Yorkshire is a few trips to York and this scene from a Monty Python film.  I may have caught the occasional episode of 'Last of the Summer Wine' but really my knowledge was pretty sketchy.  Husbando dangled the website of the Devonshire Arms Hotel in front of me and I was pretty much sold on the idea.  The prospect of walking and running appealed to me and there was, of course, the small matter of a bit of parkrun tourism to consider.  

We arrived in Ilkley on Thursday at lunchtime.  Ilkley is a lovely town, enough big name shops to cover all basic needs but plenty of interesting independent shops too.  And the locals were shopping, eating and drinking in the town - it was really thriving.  We grabbed some lunch and then I abandoned Husbando at the book fair and returned to the hotel to explore.  I went on a walk to recce a run route for that evening - just up to Bolton Priory and back.  The scenery was stunning!  Our run was eventful!  Lots of stopping for photos, and I swear I was fine on the stepping stones until I stopped and turned around.  The thunderstorm that followed was amazing!  The rain came down in stair rods and we were drenched within seconds.  But it was wonderful to have rain after so long without any.  We hoped that the temperature would drop a bit - but we were on for another very warm night.  

Friday was another scorching day,  I spent a pleasant couple of hours in Skipton - another beautiful, bustling town with a castle and canals - before lunch and then headed off for a wee walk up to the top of Beamsley Beacon.  I hadn't brought any walking kit with me, because I thought that my broken toe would preclude any walking, but the pull of a visible and achievable peak on the horizon was too much temptation.  The heat, more than the terrain, made it quite a tough walk, this combined with a couple of blocked footpaths (barbed wire and bare legs are not a good match) led to a couple of detours on my way up.  The views from the top, after scrambling over loose, rocky paths were stunning.  I covered 6 miles in 2 hours and didn't see anyone else for the entire time!  Utter bliss until, while descending from the Beacon, I suddenly wondered what would happen if fell over....  As it was I didn't fall over, but my poorly toe complained vociferously and I spent most of the evening with my foot on ice!

It rained again on Friday evening, and off and on again all night.  We woke up to torrential rain on Saturday.  Did we have to parkrun?  Of course we did!  Off we went to Skipton, spare clothes in a bag in case we needed to change!   We were met at the car park by two very friendly and helpful parking marshals.  Loads of parking was available, the leisure centre was open so we could use their loos and put our bag of clothes in a locker.  Or rather, Husbando did this while I went to the start.  As a result he didn't get caught in the biblical downpour but I did!  The fact that I had my sunglasses perched on the top of my head looked very optimistic!  

I'd heard lots of tales (thanks to the old parkrun show) of 'Yorkshire tough' parkruns - but could not remember whether Skipton fulfilled the necessary criteria!  It is 4 and a bit laps of Aireville Park.  It is all on tarmac, which was a little slippery in places after the rain, and starts and finishes with an uphill.  It has less overall elevation gain than my local (Alice Holt).  Each lap had one short, sharp incline followed by a gradual downhill and then a long, gentle uphill - that long, gentle uphill seemed somewhat longer and a little less gentle the fifth time around as I approached the finish!   I did manage to pass  the tail runner twice - he was the friendly parking marshal I'd met earlier.  We had a bit of banter about the relative merits of Geography and Biology...   Given the state of my foot I was fairly pleased with my time (27:33) and 65th out of 142 runners.  I was also glad of my sunglasses - the sun came out during my second lap!

Skipton parkrun is one of the friendliest parkruns I've visited.  We arrived knowing no one, but everyone was chatty and friendly and we enjoyed a nice cup of tea in the leisure centre cafe with some of the parkrunners.  It is lovely to run at smaller events.  Skipton now is roughly the same size as Basingstoke was when I started parkrunning.  I know that all parkruns, big and small, are inclusive but a smallish parkrun seems much more open and easier to navigate as a newbie/tourist.  I'll probably get some flack for that comment... 

Thank you to all the volunteers today.  We had a marshal playing music at one corner which was lovely.  All of the volunteers did brilliantly today, standing around in the unaccustomed rain can't have been too much fun!  We had such a great time in a beautiful part of the country that we have decided to come back next year.... where we parkrun then has yet to be decided!

Flip flop running!

Before

There are good things and bad things about running in flip flops.

Good: if you get a stone in your shoe it falls our really easily.  Bad: you get lots of stones in your shoes.  Good: your feet don't get hot and sweaty on a hot day.  Bad: your feet get REALLY dirty.  Good: you use lots of muscles that you don't normally use.  Bad:you use lots of muscles you don't normally use and they ache a bit the next day. You also get lots of strange looks which leads to starting conversations with people you've never met before.  One gentleman cycled past me, stopped, waited for me to catch up and then said 'You do know you are wearing flip flops don't you?'  Well, knock me down with a feather!  So I am!  How silly of me to forget to but my running shoes on this morning!  

After

So, yes, I ran a race in flip flops.  Why?  Because in a contest with our sitting room door my toe was the looser and I ended up breaking my little toe.  As a result of this I can't get a trainer (or any other shoe) on without causing me enough pain to turn the air around me blue!

I'd entered Phoenix Running's 'Space Race' early last week (before my toe v. door fiasco) with the intention of getting away from the children for a few hours and running a marathon.  I mentioned this to Husbando and a 'non running' friend who said they would come along and 'run a couple of laps.'  We'd decided to take two cars so that they could go home when they were done and so that they wouldn't have to hang around waiting for me.  In the light of my poorly foot we decided to take just one car. 

Phoenix's events are lovely, low key and friendly events.  In the 6 hour challenges you can run as many, or as few laps, as you like and you are still a winner.  That meant that I could walk a lap and still claim my rather epic bling!  And that is, honestly, what I intended to do.

I made a fatal mistake though.... I put on running shorts and a running top rather than 'normal' clothes.  Thus when I stood on the start line and everyone started running it seemed unnatural not to at least give the running thing a bit of a go.  It was hard work.  Every step required thought and concentration to ensure that feet and flip flops hit the ground simultaneously, but I was actually running - not fast, but definitely faster than a walk!  The weather was warm, but not excessively so and there was, at times, a pleasant breeze coming off the River Thames.  The tow path was not terribly flip flop friendly and it was very dusty!  I ran the first out and back, chatting to other runners, seeing Husbando and my non runner friend as we passed each other and arrived back at the aid station.  I stopped my Garmin - one lap was more than enough.  I faffed a bit and thought that, as the other two were going to do more than one lap I could probably walk the next lap before they were done, so off I went.  Of course I didn't walk.... I ran.  I completed the two laps (6.6miles) in 1hr 8mins  which wasn't too shabby.  

I rang the bell and collected my fabulous bling!  Then came the serious business of supporting the people who were still running.  I sat on a wall and took photos!  Hopefully I got at least one photo of everyone who was still running.  I've just got to find the time to look through them, get rid of the out of focus ones and upload them to Facebook for everyone to have a look at. (Link to the photos is here)
 There was some amazing running going on.  One lady completed a half marathon on crutches (see - I am not the only person who doesn't let broken bones stop her running a race she's paid good money to enter!) and there were lots of smiley happy runners on the Thames tow path.  

Husbando ran a half marathon - the furthest he has run since Giant's Head Marathon a few weeks ago.  My amazing 'I am not a runner' friend ran a half marathon off the back of running a couple of miles once a week!  She's now talking about future half marathons - there will be no stopping her!

Thanks to all the marshals - that aid station got pretty busy at times and you coped admirably.  Thanks to Rik for putting on yet another great event.  I am sure we'll be back soon!

Eastville parkrun

It has been a busy week at school.  Or rather, it has been a busy week not being in school.  We've had activities week which for my year group (9) was a series of day trip.  This coupled with a two nights out up in London meant that consideration of this morning's parkrun venue was very low down the list of things to do.  I knew it would be 'somewhere near Bristol' and I was hoping that there might be a new parkrun since I was last there.  

Husbando met me from the train (he was there for a book fair) and we decided, over supper, that it would be a good idea to find one that was close enough for us to run there and back.  This would mean that we didn't need to incur an additional charge at the hotel carpark and that we could skip our long run on Sunday.  Eastville parkrun seemed to fit the bill - 2.75miles from the hotel and one that I hadn't run before.  

After grabbing a quick breakfast in the hotel we set off.  It was overcast and cool - quite a change from the rest of the week.  It was a nice easy route to follow and as we arrived at Eastville Park, with plenty of time to spare, we could see the tell tale high viz jackets and a parkrun flag.  While we waited for the run brief we bumped into the RD of Maidenhead parkrun - last seen (I think) at the inaugural there!  

It is an interesting course.  The first lap is clockwise around the middle, squarish, section followed by a second lap that goes all around the lake and up to the top of the park with the last lap around the central square.  It is all on tarmac and is not exactly flat!  200ft of elevation with a long uphill drag from the lake up to the other end of the park and an uphill approach to the finish.  I took it easy today, my legs were tired after the marathon last week and it was starting to get rather warm!  Husbando sped off into the distance....   We ran right up to the edge of the M32 - is this the closest a parkrun gets to a motorway?  The marshals were helpful and friendly making sure that we didn't go the wrong way

We didn't hang around afterwards as Husbando had to get back to work.  We grabbed a bottle of pop from the Subway at the corner of the park and ran back to the hotel in the now baking heat.  

Thank you to all the volunteers who make the parkrun magic happen.  Hopefully we'll be back again soon!

A marathon with bells on.

 In the days leading up to this weekend Husbando said that he would run with me.  'Oh great!' I thought.  'Just what I need, 10 miles of him nagging me to go faster and to quit whinging, followed by me having a hissy fit and telling him to sod off and finish the bloody race on his own.'  In the interests of matrimonial harmony I decided to give running a race together another go.  What could possibly go wrong?

We arrived, with friends, on Friday evening and after checking in to The Greyhound Inn we toddled off to the village hall to tuck into lasagne provided by the local WI which we washed down with a pint of ale before returning to the pub to sample a local gin (http://www.newtonhousegin.co.uk).  Pre race hydration completed we went to bed.  We had an early start the next morning, but for once we weren't leaving the house at daft o'clock to drive to a race.

The race started at 8.30am after a short race briefing.  Straight out through the village and then up the first of many, many hills.  It was warm already but we were happily plodding along, walking the steep bits and chatting with a few people we knew.  The ground underfoot was treacherous: baked solid and  very rutted.  We saw a couple of people take a tumble in the first couple of miles - but nothing serious.  Just past the second aid station we heard someone fall behind us and turned around.  A lady had fallen on the chalky, flinty path and even from the distance of about 50' we could see that it wasn't good.  We ran back as there was no one else near her, I took my phone out of my pocket as I ran towards her ready to call race HQ if necessary.  The poor thing had split her eyebrow (breaking her glasses in the process) and had impressive bruising on her cheekbone, and grazes to her hands and knees.  Husbando ran back to the aid station, a first aid kit appeared and we stayed with her and her friend (who had caught her up) until the ambulance arrived.  I don't know if she carried on or not - I hope she is ok!

A couple of miles later, and after a minor detour resulting in climbing over a barbed wire fence, I realised that my phone was missing.  I couldn't think where it could be.  We stopped for a while and had a think.  The 'find my friend' app didn't work as my phone appeared to be in an area with no reception.  I then remembered running towards the fallen lady with it in my hand so assumed that I had put it down and not picked it up again.  I knew we'd be going back past that point and I knew that if anyone saw it they would hand it in, but decided to mention it when Andy drove by in his truck and slowed down to ask about the slight detour we'd taken.

As for the running, it was going well.  We were taking it easy and stopping to take photos.  The heat meant that it was not going to be a fast marathon for anyone, but as tanning opportunities go it was great!  At some point, before half way, we took another wrong turn - the dangers of assuming the person in front knows where they are going.  We probably only went about three quarters of a mile along the track before people started heading back down saying that we were going the wrong way.  There followed a rapid retreat and a scramble down a very steep slope to rejoin the rest of the runners on the correct route.

Soon after halfway, Husbando began to tire.  He is a better runner than me, but due to injury his training regime has been even more lacking than mine this year.  This combined with the heat made it really tough.  We were briefly distracted around this time by dealing with another person who had fallen over.  It was a short downhill section and we watched him land heavily.  Husband, me and another runner helped him up, chatted with him, asked him if he was OK, washed the grit out of his hands with my water.  He assured us he was good, and because we could see other runners approaching, didn't think too much of it when he said that we should go on.   We found out later that he had broken both wrists, cracked two ribs and damaged his eye socket... but he managed to complete the marathon!

Husbando was struggling.  We were walking more than we were running and stopping frequently.  I soon realised we had passed the point where I could run on and leave him to struggle on alone because I was worried about leaving him.  He was really struggling with the heat and various bits of him were hurting to lesser and greater extents.  Our pace dropped off considerably.  All we could do was hope to get around. I don't tend to run marathons with a lot of snacks and gels with me because I find I don't need them, especially at a White Star event as the aid stations are so well stocked.  Husbando became convinced that he needed salt - I am grateful to all the kind runners who shared salt tabs and gels with him.


At the final aid station I thought that the wheels had finally come off the bus and that there was a chance he wouldn't finish.  He sat in the shade, drank a lot of water, ate some salty snacks and eventually we set off again.  We'd run with James and Ruth at a couple of points during the race, and encountered them again at the aid station, they had the misfortune to leave the station just after us and therefore were able to witness Husbando throw up copiously!  Rather than take a wide berth and run on in disgust they stayed with us to check that he was ok. Ruth and I went up the final hill pulling him behind us.  After that it was down hill all the way - but we still took it slowly, breaking into a jog only where we could see the finish line.  I think I realised how rough he looked when, as we ran hand in hand to the finish line, people were shouting 'Well done that man!' It was as though I wasn't there!  As we crossed the line he started to wobble, so we steered him in the direction of the St John's Ambulance for a sit in the shade and rehydration salts before I went off to collect medals, buffs and t-shirts.

A quiet afternoon followed - back to the room for a shower then Husbando went to bed for a couple of hours, I went back to the village hall for a pint of beer with friends before we all met up for supper and a very early night.

I slept well, and woke up ready for a the '9k fun run.'  This had a Le Mans start (i.e first find your shoes) and a compulsory warm up.  The race follows much of the route of the Sydling Hill Race (10k -ish) with a short cut.  Forfeits must be performed at the aid station in order to collect your cowbell medal and running the last mile into the village and the finish line.  This was a lovely race and would have been even better if I hadn't done the marathon the day before!  As we ran down into the village with our bells, those taking part in the 5k fun run were coming up it - which made for some near misses as my very tired legs couldn't cope with running down hill and rapid changes of direction!

Once safely down the hill we all met up for tea and cakes (the local WI strikes again!) before packing up and going home.  Despite feeling awful, I think Husbando is glad he did it.  He certainly appreciates why my times at Giants Head are far slower than my road marathon time (3,166ft of elevation will slow you down a bit!) and is very pleased with his spinning willy medal.  He's only signing up for the 10k next year though!

Thanks to Andy and all the WSR team - and well done on your 100th race.  The marshals were excellent, the aid stations coped brilliantly with all the demanding runners.  I am looking forward to next year... I think.... we've booked our accommodation, so now we have to come!

This is what we think of hills!