Marathon Mann

When I went swimming this morning in the nice and warm spa pool, I reflected on the race yesterday and the equally (at least) challenging Chevin Chase which I ran on Boxing day,  which if you recall had rain and floods on almost Biblical porportions.  I would not have believed a few years ago that I could have the sense of adventure to do and even enjoy this sort of thing.   Splashing though muddy puddles and running (or at least trying to run) up impossibly steep and muddy slopes is just something that the average member of the public (including the earlier me), would recoil from!  They don’t understand that adrenaline rush at the beginning and the amazing sense of satisfaction that you get after any gruelling physical challenge.  I am sure the photo taken of my running club friends and I after the race yesterday had broader smiles on than the photo taken at the beginning.  You wouldn’t believe that you could have so much fun while doing yourself so much good both physically and mentally!

Runners (and of course other serious physical sports participants),  you have a lot to be proud of.  You have shaken off the shackles of the modern day sedentary lifestyle and have become lovers of life, living it to the full. To the majority, know that there are very few excuses that stand up, time is often cited as the reason people don’t look after themselves.  I am probably one of the busiest people you know, trust me, if you want to you can.

 

Today was a day that my running friends and I have looking forward to for quite some time, our very own local off-road ten miler, the Temple Newsam Ten.  What can I say? It was quite simply a triumph.  Challenging but fun, it has downhills, uphills, mud, water, more mud and amazing sourroundings.  It was also incredibly well organised and marshalled by St Theresa’s Athletic Club (STAC); it must be a daunting prospect for a local running club to take on and they certainly lived up to and exceeded everyone’s expectations.  It’s great to be part of a team such as STAC and my own running club, Rodillian Runners (based in Stanley, Wakefield) and we had a great turnout of souls willing to step up to this most challenging of races.  Being part of a team like our club gives you a load of support and encouragement.  There is also friendly competition to motivate you because this was the first race of our 2016 championship where we all compete across a range of races with our results adjusted for age and sex!

As for the Temple Newsam Ten; man that was hard! And, a very very well done to all at STAC who put this gem together!

 

Volunteering at parkrun is an amazing way to spend Saturday morning, especially when you’re part of the Temple Newsam team, running the most satisfying and challenging parkrun in Yorkshire (and maybe the world).  As someone who has participated in parkrun so much, I really think I haven’t volunteered enough, so I am determined to get that 25-times-a-volunteer t-shirt this year.  Today, my wife Helen and I did the timing and we had pleasure to clock the first runner though at a fantatic time of 16:58!

As for Janathon, I am sure I could count the jog to and from the car at the parkrun but my goal is to substitute each non-running day with a gym visit.  Therefore, I did some gentle strength excercises followed by 10 lengths of the swimming pool to save my legs for the awesome (and soon to be legendary) Temple Newsam Ten tomorrow!