Skip to main content

Diolch!

I've spent the weekend in Wales at a little cottage just near Bala... there has been very little running but a lot of laughter.


Six friends, one cottage: snow, mud, winding roads, tractors that seem to drive themselves, a roaring fire, gin, board games, a lake, a river and a waterfall, mountains, cows and sheep for noisy neighbours, cake and crumpets, chocolate brownies, cottage pie, sausage sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, tea (but no teapot), beautiful views, a bit more gin, late nights and endless chatter.


And laughter; did I mention the laughter?

It's been so much fun and I feel very lucky to have met these amazing friends through running. We live in different parts of the city and we do different jobs. We didn't know each other at school or college. We grew up in different places. If we hadn't met each other at parkrun or running clubs, we might never have met at all.

But I'm so glad we did... it has been a fabulous weekend.

Thanks for the brilliant memories.

Diolch!

Ps As mentioned, there was a little bit of running... we wrote a run report for Pont y Bala parkrun to say thank you for having us. You can read it on the event's website (https://www.parkrun.org.uk/pontybala/news/2019/11/12/run-report-number-31/).


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Run

This latest blogpost is all about parkrun , which is an organisation which arranges free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They have been taking place around the UK for several years and in Stoke-on-Trent since September 2011, when Hanley parkrun was held for the first time. Every Saturday morning, between 30 and 50 runners, plus volunteers and supporters gather in Hanley Park by the lake. When the fountains are turned on at 9am, the countdown to the start begins. The course takes us from the bottom of the park to the top and back (twice) and finishes by the bandstand just above the canal - it parkrun terminology, its a net uphill course. I love parkrun. I love the challenge of trying to improve my own time each week. So far this year, I've knocked about 2 minutes off my personal best and I'm really pleased about that. Each week, I feel like I can control my pace a lot better and the hills are not too big an obstacle to climb. The speedwork and hill trainin...

Pollyanna

During the first half of 2013, I've really enjoyed taking part in races as part of the annual competition by the  North Staffs Road Runners Association . There was the first race of the season in Alsager where I learnt about the importance of spotting the other "Ws", two hilly 10k races in Newcastle and Clayton , my accidental half marathon in Uttoxeter . Even the tough races at Westbridge and the Potters 'Arf  had moments of enjoyment, where I felt like I was accomplishing something as a runner. And my first season in NSRRA Group W has gone better than I could have hoped - six races, six wins. Last weekend, it was time for my seventh race - the Stone St Michaels 10k.  I didn't wake up on Sunday morning feeling enthusiastic about running - the weather was not inspiring and if I hadn't pre-entered and arranged a lift, I might have been tempted to give it a miss and have an extra couple of hours of sleep. But I did run - two laps ro...

Sunburn

The London Marathon... An iconic sporting event broadcast all over the world. Something I've watched but now would take part in for the first time, my second marathon. My first one in Manchester couldn't have gone much better... perfect conditions, a negative split, amazing support. That's a lot to live up to. Setting out for the start... thanks to Potters Trotters Liz for my send off If this were any other race, I would probably write about my disappointing result, my goal of 4 hours disintegrating in a few moments just after half way, the first race where I've had to walk for long periods because I just couldn't run anymore. I might write about what went wrong in great detail - probably a combination of the sunburn, heat, residual tiredness and problems with hydration and refuelling - and ponder on why running 9 minute miles felt so tough almost from mile 1. I could show you graphs of my km split times getting slower and slower. But this wasn't any...