This week I was on tour with Ralph again and Orlando joined us too on a trip to Wormwood Scrubs. We found it with no problem, averting our gazes from the horror that is Westfield as we passed by. We also found the organisers with no problem and said hello, it’s the flags and stakes that give them away. They told us about the course (2 laps and a smidge) and seemed bizarrely proud to announce that ‘it’s about 100m long!’ E, why not just move the start or finish a bit then?! However once again we had issues with finding a loo! At one point we found a promising looking sign (a picture of a man!) but all that was there was a boarded up door and some wheelie bins. Oh dear.

We took our minds off it with a lame warm up of 5 minutes and joined the gathering throng (of about 30 people). There were the usual announcements and then we off, up a slight incline. Then we went down a bit, and then we got to the serious mud. Thankfully I had worn trail shoes but spikes would have been good here. Unfortunately Orlando was taking new trainers for their first run.

I was hopeful of a podium position in this small field. When I set off I counted 6 ladies ahead at the first corner. I got up to 4^th in the first mile but the other three were miles ahead and I had no chance of catching them. I tried quite hard but did not manage any pace starting with a seven today. I blame the mud. And the left corners, I’m used to turning right!My t shirt did not attract as much attention as it did at Gunnersbury, although i got one comment of ‘nice shirt’ at the end, and again someone said they were nearly blinded by the sun reflecting off the gold!

After the mud there was a flat bit where the ground was reasonably firm, and then we went round again. I think! I’m not very good at visualising the route afterwards. The very last bit was down a slope (too insignificant to be called a hill!). I finished in 23^rd which is my favourite number, and also my highest ever finish position at Bushy.

So we enjoyed the course, onto the important bit, coffee and cake! This was in the TVH clubhouse which is right next door to the park at the Linford Christie stadium. It was the cheapest post-parkrun coffee ever – a quid for a coffee and a homemade flapjack. Bargain!

On the way home we were discussing the various parkruns we’ve done. This led on to a discussion of the creation of a game of parkrun top trumps. We came up with numerous categories and their potential winners – muddiest (Reading), cheapest coffee (Wormwood Scrubs clearly), highest chance of being overtaken by a double buggy (Richmond), best post-run recovery (Iceland (sorry can’t spell the proper name)), highest chance of falling in a canal (Frimley), longest funnel/queue (Bushy), best chance of winning even if you’re a bit crap (has to be Greenwich!), most corners (Old Deer) best cafe (lots of possibles, maybe Richmond?), lowest chance of getting lost (Kingston), most likely to see a 250 top (Bushy) etc etc! I think it could be a big moneyspinner! (or maybe not!)

We did a little warm up around the duck pond and headed back to the start area in time for the announcements. A reasonable crowd had gathered by this point and we assembled at the start. If there is no handy tree, how do they know where the start is? This was just in the middle of a bit of grass.

We set off across the frosty grass and soon headed on to a tarmac path which was not in great condition but was not icy thankfully. The grass was very frosty and crunchy. The path went round the edge and we turned right now and then. I’m not too sure of the route really, the sun seemed to be in my eyes the whole time! After a mile or so a voice behind me said ‘are you Kirsty?’ I admitted this truth, and was then congratulated on my 250 parkruns and welcomed to Gunnersbury. It was very exciting to be recognised due to my parkrun fame!

After a mile I slowed down, and then just before halfway remembered I was supposed to not slow down til 1.1. Then there was a bit of downhill and I sped up anyway. The times were called out at halfway by a marshal, 12.19 for me. I was hopeful of maintaining that pace. Overall the event was extremely well marshaled, signposted and arrowed. I particularly liked the km markers chalked on the path.

The final push was uphill on grass back to the spot where we started. I struggled a bit with any kind of sprint finish but was really pleased to finish in 24.25, and a nice negative split. Even though my watch reckoned the course was a bit short.

After replacing several layers of clothes we headed to the cafe for tea and cake. The lady who had spoken to me on the way round came to say hello, she was Arlene, the race director at Gunnersbury. So we congratulated her on a successful event.

I was fifth lady and 45^th overall out of 136 runners.

I was standing in the wrong place at the start and had a lot of trouble hearing Ray’s announcements, but did give PSH a clap for joining the 100 club.

My mile splits were 7.45, 8.20 and 7.48, with a sprint finish at 6.38 pace. Making an overall time of 24.48 (or 24.47 on the official results which is unusual, it’s often a second slower than my timing). I think that’s the exact same time I did last week!

I wore my trail shoes as it was ever so muddy last week, but really didn’t need them. It wasn’t mud on the ground so much as bits of tree that had fallen off in the high winds last week. It was a bit windy along by the rabbit holes at the back, but nothing major.

There were four of us 250ers running Bushy today, but only two of us in our gold tops! Paul was wearing his, I know that cos I overtook him! Richard overtook me, he said he only wears his on his birthday. I saw John at the start and he was in long sleeves.

I got quite a few nice comments about my t-shirt/250 parkruns on the way round. Having starred in the parkrun newsletter and the Bushy parkrun news this week, and getting a mention on the parkrun show, I felt a little bit famous!

After the run I found a queue-busting registration man, so that speeded things up. I was in a bit of a hurry because after big hugs for the Rowes I had to warm down all the way to St Mary’s where I was booked in for a free massage.

It was only after I got home that I found out there were a record-breaking 1000 finishers this morning! Wow! To think it started with 12 or 13 of them…

Christmas time means extra parkruns and the timings worked out rather well for me. I did my 250^th run on NYE. This was a Saturday, also known as parkrunday. I felt that people may be less inclined to celebrate in the morning of NYD, so invited friends and family to join me for this run. Lots did, including several Ranelagh friends who don’t often grace the scene of Bushy parkrun! Some of us ran together, including PSH who was ‘papping’ me all the way round. The results were some truly hideous running pictures but a nice record of the event. Before the run Suzan presented me with a fantadtic gift to commemorate my 250 runs – a personalised parkrun calendar. She had collaborated behind my back with David to get enough photos! It’s fantastic and I was truly touched. After the run we celebrated with champagne and cake, followed by tea in the cafe. My nephew, who is looking forward to his first ever Junior parkrun next month when he turns 4, gave me a huge chocolate medal!

A very important person missing from the Saturday celebrations was Sharon who unfortunately had to be at work. So I thought the best plan was to celebrate twice! I only had to wait 24 hours for more. The start of the run on NYD was very exciting when Andy announced my achievement and Ray presented me with my beautiful shiny new shirt. (Which he’d adapted specially to fit me!). Of course I had to change it to it there and then! I had a a great run on Sunday, nearly 2 minutes faster than Saturday and under 25 minutes. Yay. Lots of lovely comments on the way round plus some sarcastic ones too, along the lines of whether all the gold was weighing me down…

After the run we had more cake and champagne, followed by another trip to the cafe. No triple for me, I decided 251 parkruns are enough. Until next week that is!

January 83 miles

I got the year off to a great start with the NYD triple – Bushy parkrun at 9am, Richmond parkrun at 10 am and the Henty relay at noon. I even managed to help my team finish third in the Henty. The following day I jogged round Bushy parkrun juniors with Jane’s Jacob, as she wasn’t feeling well. He was great and has knocked several minutes off his pb since then. I did some reasonable long runs, up to 10 miles or so and it was great to have Orlando back running with us. I made it to most Tuesday training and track sessions, just missing a couple when I was recovering from falling off my bike. Nothing serious, just a bit bashed! I took part in two xcs, doing rather badly at both of them. The Surrey league didn’t go well due to a badly timed breakfast threatening to reappear, and i had a cold for the Southerns at Parliament Hill. Not even Alan’s coffee with brandy could save us from the cold here – it was absolutely freezing.

February 64 miles

As usual a ridiculously busy month at work, but I managed not to be ill! Still couldn’t fit many miles in though. I completely forgot I’d entered the Brighton half marathon but enjoyed it very much as a long run with different scenery. Or maybe it was the thought of the fish and chips and dolphin derby that kept me going. Apart from that I only did one long run during which I greatly amused Heather by tripping over a tree root and falling flat on my face. Oops. I finished the month off with a mob match away at Hayes, which is a ridiculous course. 11 stiles and I ran a terrible time. Enjoyed it though!

March 110 miles

I did some really good, consistent training this month and also some proper long runs. Felt like an actual runner! I did a course pb at the Clutton Cup and finished fourth. I had my first run with Sharon for ever such a long time, which was great. I came second in the baker Cup for the second row in a year which was rather frustrating, but I was beaten by a lovely youngster again which made me feel a bit better about it (Amelie this time). I ran a 24.03 parkrun, my fastest time since 2009.

April 100 miles

There was some very hot weather this month and lots of holiday time to enjoy it. Plus two marathons. To watch of course! I had a lovely trip to the seaside with the Rowes to support David at the Brighton marathon. The race didn’t go quite to plan, but as it was so hot Sharon and I had to shelter from the sun in a bus stop, it’s hardly surprising. The London marathon was during the school holidays this year, so I went to the expo to hunt for freebies. Shockingly I didn’t win the poetry competition! The London marathon was an excellent day out with family and friends as usual, and I think I managed not to cry this year! Good celebrations with Ranelagh at the Wych Elm too. Due to the lovely weather, my road bike came out of hibernation! 15 miles in Bank Holiday sunshine seemed like hard work, but I thoroughly enjoyed a buntingly good bike ride to Black Park on Royal Wedding day with David and Danny for an extra parkrun. Lovely quiet roads, and still managed to catch the ceremony on David’s iphone. Perfect. I had a good run at Kingston parkrun for a mini Straggler/Ranelagh mob match. (I think the yellows won though).

May 104 miles

The highlight of this month was of course the Green Belt Relay, one thing I actually managed to blog about! I did some good training in the lead up, including a great run to the Sutton 10k using a map and not getting lost – a good sign. I marshalled at the Ranelagh half marathon with Kath, and a passer by asked me where they could buy a chicken. As you do. GBR was a fantastic weekend with far fewer disasters than last year. You can read all about it in my earlier blog. The following day I literally felt like I’d run a marathon, but taught rather a good maths lesson all about GBR! Acouple of weeks later, before I’d really recovered properly, I had the opportunity to pretend to be elite at the Bupa 10k. I also wrote about this earlier, it was very fun. And weird!

June 101 miles

At the beginning of this month I was having a lot of trouble with some new running shoes that were giving me blisters. Nevertheless I did the Dorking 10 in an okish time, not really racing it though. June 14^th was an auspicious day … the official start of marathon training! Yes you read that right. I’d decided I was physically and emotionally ready to give it another go, and had entered Abingdon in October. My thinking was that an Autumn marathon would give me lots of training time in the summer holidays. The start of my marathon training went fine except for the day Heather and I got lost in Home Park… the flower show confused us! The longest parkrun was great fun but i used marathon training and the roasting weather as an excuse to only do three. Maybe next year I’ll do the whole thing… A hardcore group of runners ran the whole thing and cycled between them all. Much respect. It was also nice to meet some people from far away parkruns who joined in too.

July 67 miles

This drop in mileage was due to the end of term swiftly followed by Woddcraft camp, pretty much putting two weeks out of action for running. I struggled through a long run due to the intoxicating after effects of seeing Take That in concert the night before. It was like an alcohol-free hangover! The 20 ponds was in pouring rain this year, that was fun! I did two races badly – the Coad Cup and the Elmore 7. I just couldn’t seem to get a decent pace going. It poured with rain at Elmore too. The weather was lovely for camping but this did not involve any running, so not really relevant.

August 116 miles

The plan for August was to get some serious marathon training done, without the distraction of work. This sort of worked, until the end of the month…I did lots of different things this month, including a MABAC race, some buggy running with Meredith and Matthew, a long run home from Clapham and the Arethusa mile race in Bushy Park. Lots of fun training. I had an excellent day out with friends and family watching the test Olympic cycle race go right past my front door and then through Richmond Park. My long runs built up nicely to 15 miles, I got up to 6 consistently paced yassos, then things started to go wrong. On the way to the Burnham Beeches half marathon I was faking illness, just a joke but I didn’t really feel like racing. I did not run at all well, finishing nine minutes slower than scheduled. Then the next day I really didn’t feel well. Oh dear. The following week everything seemed to get back on track, when out of nowhere my left hip flexor started to hurt. I missed a run and went for a bike ride instead, which seemed to help a bit. I then attempted an 18 mile run but quit after 4 as it was hurting a bit. I then foolishly took part in the TT tri, thinking ah well, it’s only a short run. My leg really hurt after that. Obviously. Not during though! I think it was the third time this year I’d been swimming – I got overtaken three times in the first three lengths!

September 62 miles

The month began with some swimming and a trip to the physio. Thankfully there was nothing serious wrong and I was ok to run, but I decided to pull out of the marathon anyway. I’d missed too much training and didn’t want to carry on worrying about an injury. Also I wasn’t interested in running a slow time. I was disappointed of course but soon got over it. I gradually got back into training but it was naturally somewhat lacking in direction. I enjoyed a trip to the first Nonsuch parkrun.

October 77 miles

There was a mini heatwave at the beginning of the moth, with the hottest October temperatures on record. This made for a great Bushy parkrun 7^th anniversary (I ran with my mum) but a very strange xc experience at the Page Cup later that day. XC is supposed to be freezing, not boiling! I had a great run trying to win Old Deer parkrun (I didn’t but I came second), recording my fastest parkrun since 2008 and probably my best performance of the year. So the marathon training I’d done wasn’t wasted. There was an extra mob match in Epping Forest to celebrate Orion’s centenary and their new clubhouse. I had a great run and a great game of name that tune with Marie on the way home! I marshalled the Cabbage Patch 10 with Sharon on the day I should have been running my marathon. At the end of the month I went on a trip to Iceland to run their first parkrun with a whole group of runners. This was a really fun trip and a great experience.

November 62 miles

I really struggled to motivate myself in the cold and dark this month, and missed a few training sessions for spurious reasons. I motivated myself to run on Sundays by ending all the runs at the cafe at Orleans House which started doing great breakfasts. Having lots of lovely people to run with helped too. I went to a party to celebrate 30 years of Stragglers and was pleasantly surprised that they let me in. Ha ha. I enjoyed a mob match on Wimbledon Common, nearly as much as i enjoyed being serenaded by John Bryant and the Chastity belt song afterwards! This was less than ideal preparation for the Brighton 10k the following day.. lets just say the fish and chips were good! And the weather! The following week I caught a cold, which seemed to stay with me, developing a lovely cough too, the whole way through December.

December 81 miles

My motivation returned as soon as the holidays started and I really enjoyed running in the daylight. At the beginning of the month I was pretty rubbish. I had a great run at the Straggler/26.2 mob match and the Ranelagh Christmas Cracker relay was loads of fun. And a really hard workout too! I had a lovely evening at the Ranelagh Christmas Party. Christmas parkrun and Boxing Day CP4 were great as usual. I then rounded off the year by running my 250^th parkrun on New Year’s Eve. It was great to celebrate this achievement with so many friends and family in Bushy Park. I feel very proud to be the first lady in the 250 club and I’m looking forward to getting a new shiny t-shirt on NYD! (I then *accidentally* took part in the Henty, but the less said about that the better).

So a few ups and downs but I think an ok running year over all. As for 2012 running targets, I’m not making any except the usual – just one pb? Please?!

I had a flick through the race instructions yesterday, noted that I’d done pretty much the opposite of all of ‘Mo’s top tips for race day’, and paid particular attention to the special instructions for championship runners!

I set off this morning with Heather, who had paid for her entry like a normal person and was running with the common or garden riffraff. I did not milk this at all of course! We met up with some ‘elite’ runners from Stragglers on the journey, most of whom also felt somewhat out of their league.

On The Mall we said goodbye to Heather and headed for our special championship area just behind the finish. On entering the building the first person I saw was Mo Farah… and the first place I went was the toilet! Disappointingly they were not gold-plated but very nice and clean and un-portaloo-like with Penhaligon toiletries!

I then went up to the changing room, good grief I have never felt so overweight in my life! Nor have I ever seen so many teeny shorts and crop tops in one room. Jo Pavey was doing some stretches on the other side of the room, however Paula was nowhere to be seen. (I think there was an even more special area for VIPs).

I went to the loo again (where there was a huge queue of…. two people) and outside for a warm up. I jogged up and down a bit but felt too intimidated to do any strides. We were then walked to the start, the pace was picked up to a jog and I could hardly keep up!

Arriving at the start was slightly intimidating to say the least. We approached from the opposite side to everyone else, and slotted in right at the front, like literally on the line! In a field of 10,000! There was a tape separating us from the rest of the field, I went right back to this tape and stood to the side. I was worried I might get trampled in the rush. The main contenders were announced and we commemorated Grete Waitz and Sammy Wanjiru, then we were off. I started my watch on the gun because I wanted to see how long it would take me to cross the line. 7 seconds! In a field of this size I would normally expect to take 10 -15 minutes!

I stuck to the kerb and managed not to get trampled, and was in a lovely clear space within a km and for the whole of the rest of the way. Foolishly I also set off as if I was in shape to race 10k, rather than still suffering from last week’s race! It was much hotter than I had anticipated and I was glad I’d made a last minute decision to put on sun cream and sun glasses. By 3km I was grateful for the water station and by halfway I was tired! I tried to stick to an 8 min mile pace but it was hard work. My breathing was not great and nor were my legs. However the course was great, I enjoyed taking in the sights of London and I loved all the drummers, I definitely went a little bit faster past them.

There was some great support out on the course and the good thing about 10k is it’s over relatively soon! I finished in the distinctly non-elite time of 52.10, I’ll call that a nice tempo pace I think. I crossed the line and had my chip removed, and was wandering through the finish when a lady said ‘championship runner? This way please’ and directed me straight back to the special area. I then embarrassed myself by asking about my goody bag, elite athletes aren’t supposed to care about such trivia! However I am happy to report I did get a goody bag, and it was very nice to have somewhere indoors to change after the race as well as before. And no stress re toilet queues, baggage etc. I enjoyed the elite experience very much but don’t think I’ll ever live up to it!

I spent Friday evening doing two very important pre-GBR jobs: 1. packing my stuff from two lists into two bags (I was determined everything was going to be on the right bus at the right time!) and making flapjacks.

I woke up on Saturday most unimpressed by the sunshine and clear blue skies – not what was required! However it was not nearly as hot as last year thankfully. Got to Hampton Court to find two buses, odd and even, and two teams, all was good. Could this be the year everything was going to go well?! The Golden Joggers were rather subdued this year in giant blonde wigs and fluorescent legwarmers, and there were a few running nuns about. All the usual GBR crew. My personal support team came to wish good luck, Sharon sprinted from Bushy Park to get there in time!

We went to watch the start and cheered Colin and Chris C off on the way to Staines. The even bus headed straight there as well to drop off Sue and Jar. Nearly the entire crew of the bus needed the loo all ready! Sue was feeling a little nervous but had a good run, as did Jar.

We didn’t have time to watch the start as we had some marshaling to do at Runnymede. We pooled our knowledge of the Magna Carta (poor) and I discovered the first thing I’d forgotten that I’d told people to bring – National Trust card. However Phil had listened to my advice and brought his so we saved ourselves £3 in the car park.

Our task was to get the runners across the very busy road and give them water. We were super- efficient – Sandra pointing the way, Tom and I stopping traffic, Phil and Mark handing out water and Iain collecting cups. All the drivers decided to be in a good mood so it went very well.

Next stop was Little Marlow, with a coffee and loo stop in Big Marlow on the way. There seemed to be plenty of time for this, and then suddenly there wasn’t and Mark and I, who were due to run next, started to get twitchy. So takeaways all round!

I was scared about this run, due to it being graded 10 out of 10 for difficulty. According to team captain Jo, I had specifically asked to run it, I don’t really remember that….! However I was well prepared with water, jelly babies… oh and I had done quite a lot of training too. Soon we were off and even sooner the entire field disappeared from sight before we’d made it to the first corner. All apart from a a lady from West 4. She ran along ahead of me but started to walk within the first two miles. We played hare and tortoise for a bit and then I got ahead on a hill and that was the last I saw of her. So this hill, it was very big and went up to Handy Cross. (at the top were my parents handing out water and support). It was also the first of many. I ran up all the hills on page one of the map, and walked them on page two. I even had to walk down one hill, it was so steep! The route was absolutely beautiful and so well marked that even someone stupid like me couldn’t possibly get lost. I went down country lanes (not to mention up them), through forests, past a National Trust property, along the motorway (well, next to it) and who knows where else. I felt like I’d been gone for days!

The last mile or so was hard work but overall I enjoyed the run and it wasn’t as hard as I feared. Moral of the story – face your fears! (And you too can jun the 10 club. Jo, Jar, Marie and I were thinking of getting tattoos. GBR 10. Not really).

Because I ran so incredibly slowly, the odd bus had already zoomed off to it’s hot date in St Albans, but all was well because Helen and Martin collected Mark and I in the car. (Mark had a great run and came 5^th). I realised the second thing I’d forgotten – wet wipes. Luckily Mark remembered them. We got to Stage 7 with seconds to spare to see the start, but we struggled to break into the required jog to get from the car park to the start in time to give Vicci and Kate a shout. I then missed the finish of stage 6 due to being selfishly more interested in getting changed and eating some food.(All of which was on the right bus!) Sorry stage 6 runners.

Next stop Dobbs Weir, which seemed to be the first time I’d actually stopped all day! We arrived with loads of time to spare so looked at the results, chatted and generally lolled around for a bit. Helen and Wiebke set off, and for the first time things went slightly wrong. Nothing drastic, but some major map/arrow/marshaling malfunctioning caused several runners to go astray, apparently running up to 6 extra miles in some cases. Ah well, it made me feel better about getting lost on this stage last year!

We picked up Phil and Tom who both ran well, headed to Toot Hill to drop off Jo and Andy, and then went straight off to find our marshaling spot. We had this down to a fine art by now – road, pointing, water, yellow bibs etc, and even added jelly babies into the mix. A Serpie man came zooming along at top speed, accompanied by Pete Kennedy on his bike. That’s nice we thought, he’s got a lead bike. The n we noticed Pete appeared to be maniacally throwing sawdust over his shoulder as he furiously cycled through the undergrowth trying to keep up with this elite athlete! It turned out that he was course marking, and this Serpie guy was so fast that Pete couldn’t keep ahead of him on his bike! We were also most impressed by the Frontrunner who grabbed three jelly babies at high speed and didn’t drop one!

Finally we were able to go to the pub for some much needed food, drinks and chats about the day. We were all knackered so it wasn’t too long before we headed for the B and B, an interesting journey that seemed to go from A to B via X, Y and Z. We eventually arrived to be greeted by not one but three big fat chavtastic weddings. However the noise did not infiltrate and most people had a decent sleep. Iain had an extra little journey down a country lane to accost a woman in a dressing gown, but that’s another story…

So, (if you’re still with me, well done), on to Sunday. Nice early start to discover it was absolutely pissing down with rain. However it soon blew over and the wind turned out to be a much bigger weather issue. I was on the even bus again so headed back to Blackmore, where we found Marie (cold) and Colin (full of cold). This was also the point that I noticed Iain’s Ranelagh vest was clearly a bit last minute just like his place in the team. On the back was written – display copy only – do not remove. Oops! We made some complicated lift arrangements with some Stragglers and some 26.2ers and Colin and Iain set off. Then it was marshaling time again. I don’t remember ever doing so much marshaling at GBR before – was there more than usual this year? I certainly appreciated them on my stages. This one was by the windmill in Mountnessing. All was well when the runners passed us, but later many of the leaders, including Colin, went horribly wrong and got rather lost.

Our next stop was Thames Chase where we found a very nice visitor centre with possibly the best cafe of the whole weekend. Jo and I had a lovely bowl of porridge, which was my 3^rd breakfast of five that morning. I was too busy eating it to see Kate and Mike finish. Sorry! I was up for eggs on toast for my next breakfast but time was ticking and we had to get to Lullingstone Park, where we found Jar. I was just glad to get out of the bus and away from Mike’s socks. Not such a good cafe so I just had a piece of toast. (Interestingly, Mark, who ran the same stage as me, consumed nothing all morning except for a bottle of lucozade. He finished 23 minutes ahead of me. Is there a lesson to be learned here?!)

We were marshaling again on this stage, can you believe it? And only two miles in so had to find it quickly. Unfortunately it was not easy to find. We followed a horse round and round the village of Shoreham, Mark did some fantastic 3 point turns and eventually we found our spot… sadly it was 10 minutes after all the runners had gone past. We felt really bad about it but thankfully it was not a danger point, and it wasn’t too hot so hopefully no one was too desperate for water after only two miles. Sorry stage 16 people. If that was the biggest thing to go wrong all weekend we decided we could live with it.

Next stop was Merstham where it started to rain again. I had a little snooze in the bus and waited for the rain to stop, which it did just before the start. Mark and I then got told off for not signing in early enough. Oops.

We set off up a hill, that made a change – not. However, I think I was not the only one with tired legs, as this time I could actually see other runners around me! There were two Dulwich Park Runners behind me at the start and I soon passed a West 4 lady, a nun and a few others, and caught up with a Golden Jogger. We ran together for a few miles, not only was he a fantastic pacer and map reader, but he also opened a gate for me that I could not figure out. So I felt a bit mean when I dropped him on the final hill, but by that point I just wanted to get to the end. It was a lovely run with great scenery and I ran up all the hills this time! The best thing about running from Merstham was that I missed out Tatsfield which was the scene of all the bad news last year. I had a fantastic reception from my fan club on Box Hill, who had had a bit of a nightmare getting runners and marshals to the right places at the right times. But had got it all sorted in the end.

Next on the list was Ripley, the end was nigh. But we could not relax yet as this was Vicci’s leg, and Vicci’s day two track record is not good! Andy was also running from here and decided flat coke was his pre-race nutrition of choice. We all agreed this was a good choice, recommended by ultra runners and doctors, but then he went to the shop unsupervised and came out with Irn – Bru. I don’t think anyone would recommend that!

Andy and Vicci set off on stage 21 and the odd bus headed for the finish. I don’t think I’ve ever got there so early before. But it wasn’t long before the runners started arriving, led by a Serpie man of course. Chris O and Chris C both finished strongly, and we heard that Andy and Vicci had both finished with all arms and legs still attached. We had done it – both teams safely round the entire course. I think that is a huge achievement regardless of finishing places or times. (Although I must mention that Marie won her stage on Saturday and set a vet course record both days). Most of the team, plus several supporters, gradually arrived and we had a quick drink but decided to save the celebrations for a future date. We were exhausted. Another fantastic GBR weekend was over. Kate summed it up beautifully I think, and I hope she doesn’t mind me misquoting her – who knew how much fun two really hard runs and two days in a minibus could be?!

I ran slowly at Bushy, chatting with Mike all the way. He let me beat him. We then jumped in the car with Michelle and headed for Richmond. (David and Danny ran there. Crazy fools, I mean hardcore athletes that they are.) We arrived in plenty of time due to the lack of traffic. There were several other ‘doublers’ in attendance. At the start I remembered something – I’m really not that keen on Richmond parkrun. I don’t know why, I love Richmond P ark and running in it, but there’s just something about the course that depresses me. It’s just me, loads of people love it and would name it as their favourite.

I ran slowly again. About ten seconds slower than Bushy. This time I let Mike beat me. The we headed to Pembroke Lodge where Sharon bought me tea and cake. It dawned on me that we were going to have to walk down the hill to register for the relay, only to walk straight back up it again. Boo! So off we went and signed in. I was hopeful, and fairly confident of getting one lap in the relay. But no! Not enough fast people had turned up and I had to do two laps! Potential disaster! I confessed to my team mates (Peter and Anne-Marie) about my extreme warm up, they didn’t seem too perturbed. It was a bit scary being in a team with Peter, he is the fastest runner out of everyone who turned up. We decided to stick to the traditional format of fast, medium, slow, fast, medium, fast. Some other teams mixed it up a bit.

The leg one runners set off and about 3 and a half seconds later Peter was back, sprinting up the hill in the lead just as I knew he would be. I got a lot of teasing from my clubmates about the pressure I was now under, and set off. The adrenaline kicked in and I actually didn’t feel too bad. I was trying to go reasonably hard, whilst holding something back for my other leg. I was hoping for around 10.30 and finished in 10.44, not too bad. Crispy and Jar overtook me. I handed over to Anne – Marie and it wasn’t that long until my turn came round again. This time it was really hard work! I was pushing as hard as I could the whole way. I set off in second place behind Crispy and I knew that in the final stage Peter wanted to get ahead of Crispy’s team mate Marc and win. I couldn’t get closer to him though. That pesky Jar overtook me again but no one else. I finished this one in 10.29, really pleased. As expected, Marc’s team won and we came second. Really pleased with that, the team with the fastest runner is not designed to do well! Sadly there were no tea and cakes back at the clubhouse, so after the results were announced I took my concrete legs home for a bath and food.

January – 73 miles

The year began with two Bushy parkruns in quick succession and then the Henty relay. Winterswim continued and in January I went swimming eight times! This enthusiasm did not quite continue all year but a good start nevertheless. I also went out on my road bike three times, this is usually unheard of in winter. However I never reconciled myself to cycling in the cold, it’s just unpleasant. I know that winter miles make summer smiles, but they are just too horrible at the time. I was however inspired to buy some new cycling gloves, waterproof trousers and neoprene overshoes! I did one of these bike rides as a brick session, which made it even more horrible! Heather and I continued with our new arrangement of her picking me up for Ranelagh each Tuesday. It makes me go and it makes her go too. Perfect. This has made a massive difference to my training consistency compared to last year. In the second week of January it snowed quite a lot. I enjoyed a couple of snowy runs in Bushy Park and a sledging session on Petersham Hill. Total carnage! In the middle of the month, I had some problems with my big toe, where I had a bursitis couple of years ago. It caused me a slight problem on and off all year, but nothing to get excited about. It’s just kind of ‘there’ some of the time. I did a couple of long (ish) runs this month of 8 miles or so, went to track most Thursday and did 5 parkruns. One of these was on tour to Black Park which was absolutely beautiful. The lovely surroundings inspired me to run my fastest parkrun for 6 months! The only ‘proper’ race I did this month was a challenging one – the Southern xc at Parliament Hill. I’d had a terrible run here the year before so was rather apprehensive, but I really enjoyed it and was pleased with my time.

February – 44 miles

This very low mileage was due to the month getting off to a very bad start – I had a really horrible virus, incorporating sinusitis and laryngitis, and did not train at all for 11 days. Which is quite a lot if a short month! Thankfully I was feeling better by half term, and enjoyed a session at Ranelagh up and down Nightingale Lane on pancake day, where we equated each rep with a pancake. I couldn’t eat as many as I ran! I went swimming four times and took my road bike out once; I really disliked every minute of this in the cold and decided enough was enough until the spring. I did one race, a mob match in Richmond Park, but I wasn’t racing at all, just participating. I did one long run that again was not very long. (8 miles or so). The most surprising news is that I only did one parkrun, and it was a new venue for me – Bedfont Lakes. I was very pleased to finish third lady!

March – 87 miles

This was a pretty consistent training month except for missing a couple of Tuesdays due to work reasons. We went on parkrun tour again, this time to Greenwich – the first event there. It was a very small field which would account for the fact that I was the first lady! I was very excited to win a parkrun and especially to set the course record! It may well have been the slowest course record in parkrun history, but I held on to it for two or three weeks. We also went on tour to Kingston parkrun where I was second lady and really pleased with my time. We followed this with a trip to a very strange cafe that claimed to have run out of teaspoons… I only went swimming once and also took my road bike out once, struggled to maintain the enthusiasm here. But keeping the running consistent was always my main target. I did a couple of long runs this month which were actually properly long ie over 10 miles! Really pleased with that. We had two handicap races at Ranelagh – the Clutton Cup and the Baker Cup. In the Clutton I somehow managed to be a minute faster than last year. The Baker Cup was the first time this year I really raced hard. I was thrilled to come second but slightly disappointed to miss out on the super lovely shininess of the Baker Cup itself. And by trying so hard, I ruined my handicap for the rest of the season!

April – 102 miles

My first 100 mile month since August 2008! I was really pleased to reach that particular milestone. This was a really good training month – the fact that I was on school holidays for the first two weeks obviously helped a lot. I did some really good long runs, getting over 12 miles a couple of times. Swimming was a bit lame again with only two trips, but my road bike had four outings this month, all of which I enjoyed. I do like cycling really, I just need a bit of warmer weather to convince me. I cycled to Virginia Water and Bedfont parkrun amongst other places. No races at all this month, generally over the year I cut down on the number of races I was doing in order to concentrate more on some focussed training. I did run four parkruns – 1 Bushy, 1 Richmond (which was a Stragglers/Ranelagh mob match – always a slightly awkward moment!), and two Bedfonts, I managed another podium finish at one of these (second lady). We entertained ourselves afterwards by watching people fall off their waterskis into Bedfont Lake. I watched the VlM with my family from a spot we always used to go to in Narrow Street. It was very pleasant to be in a less crowded place compared to the last couple of years.

May – 100 miles

The running highlight of May was the Green Belt Relay. I missed this for the past two years- 2008 deliberately as I fancied a break, 2009 by mistake as it clashed with a holiday to New York. So I was really looking forward to this one. Also it was my first ‘Ranelagh Road Trip’. Well the weekend certainly did not fail to deliver it’s fair share of thrills and spills. We were hindered in many ways by the very hot weather that seems to follow the GBR every year (except the times it rains of course…). Earlier in the month I went on a bike ride to Box Hill, I enjoyed it but struggled on the last 10 miles… and then came down with a nasty virus the next day. This month also saw my only foray into open water of the whole year – it just didn’t seem to come up. We went to Bedfont lakes and I did enjoy it even though the weather wasn’t very nice. There was no other swimming or cycling to be seen in May… The last day of the month was a Monday but it was half term and bank holiday. I wouldn’t normally run on a Monday but I sneaked one in to get to 100 miles for the month. This gave me the idea to try a mini running streak for the duration of half term. Three Bushy parkruns and one at Bedfont for their first anniversary.

June – 99 miles

I continued and completed my mini running streak for half term. I found it quite hard work – much respect to proper running streakers. My streak included a birthday run, a long run to Wimbledon Common where we got lost, and the Twickenham Stadium family fun day 5k, which was a complete shambles as we expected. My advice – if you know nothing about running, don’t organise a running event! The parkrun tour continued this month with visits to Crystal Palace and Frimley Lodge, both really nice events that I’d like to visit again. I ran two Bushy parkruns too. I also took part in The Longest parkrun, a tour of eight local parkruns on a really hot day. Some crazy fools ran all eight, but after suffering in the heat at the GBR I know my limits and just did three – Bushy (which we ran the old way round), Kingston and Wimbledon. I went swimming once when I remembered I entered the aquathlon later in the month! Clearly this paid off as I completed the swim section 4 seconds faster than last year! Despite a lot of hot sunny weather I did not get out on my road bike at all this month, not sure why.

July- 86 miles

July is usually a poor month for me training-wise due to it being incredibly busy at work, so I was really pleased to equal the mileage I’d done in 2008, which was more than I’d done in 2007! There was one entirely random trip to the swimming pool ,and another bike ride to Bedfont parkrun (where I was second lady again. It’s really quite sad that making the parkrun podium never fails to please me, no matter how few runners there are or what crap time I finish in!). My long runs were going a bit free form again, but I pulled it back with a decent ten miler while supporting the Elmbridge 10k. I did three Bushy parkruns plus the one at Bedfont. The Coad Cup at the beginning of the month went better than I had expected, as did the Wedding Day Race at the end of the month. Although I was slightly annoyed to be outsprinted by two clubmates in the final straight! As ever the picnic afterwards with family and friends was very enjoyable.

August – 79miles

There should be no excuses for August as I’m off work for the entire month. However I was at Woodcraft camp for a week which does not include time for running. Very energetic though! I went cycling at Hillingdon Cycling Track a couple of times which was fun. One day I cycled there with my dad following a route he devised. I swam a couple of times at Hampton Pool in preparation for the Turbot triathlon at the end of the month. I think I could have done a bit more swimming though considering I was on holiday. I began the month with great intentions of reintroducing a Wednesday run into my schedule, sadly this soon tailed off again. Four times a week is so much more manageable than five. There was not much in the way of long runs this month, although I started with a great one along the river to Hammersmith. One Bedfont parkrun, two at Bushy, two of them in a reasonable time. I had a really enjoyable run with Kath at the Burnham Beeches half marathon – we ran a lap in the opposite direction. Always more fun than running the race. I did three races this month but none of them were a bog-standard running race. One orienteering/trail race, the Ratchford relay and the Turbot tri. All fun in different ways. The triathlon was particularly notable for the fact that I didn’t get in a fight with any fellow competitors in the swimming pool for a change!

September – 73 miles

Nothing much to report on this month (thank goodness for that I hear you say). No races but fairly consistent training all month. I did three parkruns all at Bushy. I had a weekend off from running when I went to support at the Vitruvian half-ironman triathlon at Rutland Water. I id not make it to the pool once and my road bike went into hibernation!

October – 104 miles

My biggest monthly mileage of the year! This was helped along by my doing another half term mini running streak. The xc season got off to a great start with a steady run in the Page Cup, the Surrey League on a tricky course at the Kingston end of Richmond Park, and the first mob match of the season, also in RP. I did well with long runs this month, fitting in four, three of them over 10 miles. I went on parkrun tour again to Old Deer Park, and was second lady again. I only fitted in one other parkrun, at Bushy, due to all the xc. I ran a km at school with my class one day, in order to demonstarte the relative distance of 1km compared to the distance from the Earth to the sun (150 000 000 if you’re interested). The track was shut at this time, first for the pope’s visit and then because it was being resurfaced. We still ran on Thursdays but perhaps with slightly less focus than track sessions! I went swimming twice purely because winterswim has started again.

November – 83 miles

Track still closed, xc season continued, blah blah blah… but the important thing was the Brighton 10k, my target race for the year. The weather, which is often a feature of this race could not have been better. Not too cold, dry and no wind at all which is virtually unheard of. I had a great race and was really pleased. Usual fun and games on the pier afterwards too! Later in the month the track reopened and we were treated to a special training session led by Mick Woods, Steph Twell’s coach. It was a bit scary but we really enjoyed it and worked extremely hard. I had one trip to the pool. Towards the end of the month the weather got very cold, icy, frosty and a bit snowy. Just a taster really…

December – 77 miles

This month started much as November ended – with ice, frost, snow and freezing (actually well below freezing) temperatures. Did a lot of very slow runs due to the weather conditions, but it was certainly different. After a few weeks of it I was sick of the sight of my trail shoes though! Did a very muddy mob match in Epping Forest followed by a lovely evening at the Ranelagh Christmas party. Which in turn was followed the next day by a Straggler/Ranelagh mob match. I kept up with winterswim with three trips to the pool. We had a really fun pre-Christmas session at Ranelagh with the long-awaited return of the Christmas cracker relay. Christmas came and brought with it a lot of running as usual – but it made a festive change to be doing this running in the snow and ice. In the last few days of the year I was very pleased to run my 1000^th mile of the year.

So overall a much better year of running (swimming and cycling marginally better too). Unfortunately I was unable to achieve my goal for the year which was to run a pb! I did not manage a single one again. Maybe next year… Speaking of next year, I’m starting it with three races in one day tomorrow!

Windsor Park was chosen for a change of scenery, and very pleasant it was too, except for the fact that it was still very icy. I am so sick of running in my trail shoes! We slid about on a route that went the opposite way to the one we’d intended, and was nearly 5 and a half miles instead of 4! Then we went to the wavy-roofed cafe for some delicious tea and cake.

We followed this with a stroll round Savill Gardens, usual cost £6 for adults, free in December. I have nothing to say about it except I am very glad I didn’y pay £6, or even 6p, for the , er, privilege!