Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Virtual Insanity (Part 2)

by Russell Turner - 17:11 on 20 June 2020

As expected, the Edinburgh Marathon has been cancelled. The decision was announced yesterday, leading to much moaning on social media from disgruntled runners who want their money back. They should have read the small print.

Matchgirl and I took the option to carry our places forward to 2021, although whether mass gatherings will still be allowed in May (protest rallies seem to be exempt) remains to be seen. This means I’ve now had five races moved to next year, and probably another three will join them when race organisers bow to the inevitable and admit nothing’s happening this year. How they’ll fit in with a glut of rescheduled City Limits wedding gigs also remains to be seen.

So virtual racing is all that’s left.

Because lots of rain is forecast tomorrow I ran my virtual Midsummer Half Marathon today while Matchgirl toiled womanfully in the garden with the lawnmower. Heat, humidity, and my choice of a route that climbed 200m in the first five miles meant a PB was not going to happen: my target was to finish reasonably fresh and not worry about the time.

Fresh was not a description that could have been applied to the figure who staggered up the drive of the beautifully mown Rural Retreat after 136 minutes of effort, but under the circumstances I was pleased with the result. My reward (apart from the forthcoming medal) is two days of rest, including tomorrow when Matchgirl will be splashing around the local roads. She’s much tougher than me.

I’ll need to borrow some of her endurance in a couple of weeks’ time when, despite believing my virtual ambitions were complete (apart from a marathon in September/October), I take part in another challenge I discovered this week: the Virtual Race To The Stones.

The real thing is 100km of the Ridgeway (that’s 62 miles) and takes place over two days, ending at Avebury stone circle. Hardy ultramarathoners do it in half a day. The virtual race is over a much more forgiving seven days: if my legs can manage nine miles a day for seven days I’ll be there. The race begins on Monday July 6, so expect a week of thunderstorms or flag-cracking heat. Or both.

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