All the neighbourhood Parkruns are cancelled. Anne and I are hunkered down in our living room and I’m watching the rowan tree outside wave its arms around like Kate Bush in Wuthering Heights. There’s no moorland here but it is certainly wild, and I can hear the gusts groaning inside the chimney as Storm Darragh… Continue reading HRV and Club Christmas Dos
Author: theleadlesspencil
I started blogging to practise using that writing 'muscle'. And it's made me realise that I keep banging on about the same subjects: mainly 'running', sometimes about what I'm reading, and, even more occasionally, where I'm going.
BA Cross Challenge – Sefton Park
Apparently, Storm Bert brought snow, wind and rain, and cut the power to parts of the UK and Ireland. Someone asked our team captain Rob whether the race would be called off. He just laughed. The only times I’ve known a cross-country race be called off was when there was not enough parking space due… Continue reading BA Cross Challenge – Sefton Park
Swimming
I am having swimming lessons. I had my first one on Halloween. I was hoping that I’d be clear of the house before the hordes of ghouls and imps came knocking but they’d come and cleaned us out of our thirty-six mini packs of Skittles before I’d even got my cossie in the bag. I… Continue reading Swimming
Sunny Hill Parkrun
The clue was in the name: Sunny Hill Parkrun. To be fair, whatever speed I did here was a bonus, considering that wine o’clock had started around lunch time the previous day. Just to roll up for the start was a win. It was yet another murky day, and cold enough to keep my London Marathon consolation… Continue reading Sunny Hill Parkrun
Borders League – Tattenhall
The second Borders race of the season and for some reason I was put in charge. Perhaps the grey hairs coming through give me an air of authority, but it meant that I had to act like the grown up and scan everybody’s barcodes. I knew that most of them would have to wait for… Continue reading Borders League – Tattenhall
Clarke Gardens XC Race Again
Cross country. It causes a bit of a marmite reaction. The hatred usually comes from some teenage trauma, when a P.E. lesson in the winter rain has forced you to shiver in your vest and shorts on some grubby mound at the far corner of the school grounds. With memories like that it’s hard to… Continue reading Clarke Gardens XC Race Again
Stratford-Upon-Avon: Othello
It was a day that didn’t quite all go to plan. We hadn’t been to Stratford-upon-Avon in a while with one thing or another. So, we were looking forward to rocking up to our usual stay at the Premier Inn in town for a new performance of Othello at the RSC theatre. The hotel had… Continue reading Stratford-Upon-Avon: Othello
Buxton: Dr Louise Newson
I immediately wondered if I was ingesting a gazillion microbes alongside the ancient waters pouring out of the lion’s mouth at St Ann’s Well because it was peculiarly warm. But it tasted pleasant, and I stored some in my water bottle for later hoping the reported healing properties might do a little something for my… Continue reading Buxton: Dr Louise Newson
Chester Marathon – I Beat The Bear
There is a saying which goes along the lines of: if you keep doing the same thing, you’ll end up with the same results. That is, I think, why I haven’t got any faster at the marathon this year. It’s okay because they weren’t really my A races. That was the 50K in July, and… Continue reading Chester Marathon – I Beat The Bear
One Sleep ‘Til Chester
It’s a weird feeling that I have going into tomorrow's marathon in Chester. It’s the first marathon I’ve done, where I feel pretty confident that I’ll complete it, for one thing. That’s a big thing to say, especially at the speed I go (hopefully that statement has not jinxed me). Even though I fell apart… Continue reading One Sleep ‘Til Chester
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