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.
Malton 10k (And Excuses)
by Russell Turner - 15:52 on 27 September 2024
Autumn is here and there are signs that winter isn’t far behind: Pandora’s used her purple throne beside the radiator for the first time in months; Willow is making more use of the shelf above the other radiator; snow’s been seen on Ben Wyvis; I’ve had a cold and passed it on to Matchgirl, who’s taken it to Shetland.
My illness came and went in a couple of days (Matchgirl’s incapacity will take much longer as she’s such a delicate flower) but, more than a week later, the after-effects are dragging on: blocked nose, congested chest and disinclination to do much. The recent weather may be involved too. Sod’s Law says that the last two warm, settled days were when I barely left The Rural Retreat; since then the temperature’s plummeted and rain’s made several appearances.
Luck, and a lack of gigs last weekend, meant I was able to fit in training runs when the weather wasn’t too awful, but fortune – and energy – were both lacking today, when a final pre-Oxford HM 12-mile long run was scheduled. Chilly is OK; combined with a cold northerly wind and the threat of rain it’s not OK. Instead of running I stayed home, began the new Richard Osman book, and learned the first dance for tomorrow’s wedding gig: I’m A Believer by The Monkees. That took all of five minutes (it’s not a challenging bass line) so I amused myself by learning I Wish by Stevie Wonder, which is a bit more tricky. Shame we’re unlikely to ever play it.
I’ll do a run tomorrow, although it won’t be 12 miles because at the last minute I’ve signed up for the Ness 10k on Sunday. The forecast is currently cool and dry, which is perfect; whether I’ll bother to turn up depends on how I feel after the gig, and whether I wake up in time. Cats will probably solve that problem.
The two Malton 10ks, less than two weeks ago, feel like ancient history. The Weather Gods taunted us by providing hot, still and sunny conditions either side of race day, which was cool, breezy and occasionally damp – running weather Matchgirl much prefers so she, at least, was happy with it.
Paul and me, ready for the first 10k
Iron Paul and I took on the first race – the 10k Sans Arret – with him well ahead of me over a course which featured town pavements, narrow country footpaths that stirred memories of the first section of the RTTS, a footbridge over the A64, a loop around a horse-training gallops, a trail through some woods, then back into town. A couple of hills were also involved. That left us enough time to change into dry shirts and join Matchgirl and Ex-triathlon Cathy for the second 10k: Le Classique.
Gathered for Le Classique
This began with a parade around the town square in which the runners, many in food-themed fancy dress, followed a band before crossing the start line. The route was the same, but unlike the first 10k everyone stopped after 1k to queue up for almost ten minutes to sample goodies at a baker’s stall (except Matchgirl, who instead grumbled that carnivores had taken all the vegetarian alternatives; my meaty sausage roll was very tasty). The pack stretched out after that, so there were no more queues.
The four of us stayed more or less together over the rest of the run, during which gin, wine, beef and Yorkshire pud, cheese and cake were among the offerings from local business. Time was not a concern. Back at the town square, we crossed the line 40mins slower than I’d expect to finish a 10k (in Paul’s case, 60mins slower), collected engraved glasses rather than medals, made a quick sweep of the stalls in the vicinity then found a cafe for shelter and refuelling.
Despite the weather, it was a good day. If I lived closer it might become a regular part of the running diary but the 746-mile round trip means other events may take precedence. The Airbnb at Amotherby was also excellent, and it’s always good to be back in God’s Own Country. I’ll be back again in three weeks, this time by train, for the Yorkshire 10 Mile, the week after Oxford.
Next year’s diary is taking shape. However, one race currently not included is the Great North Run because I didn’t get a place in the early ballot. I’ve another chance in January, by when a wedding might have dropped for that weekend. I’m not desperate to do it again, but six years after my only appearance in Newcastle it might be time.
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