Saturday 16 June 2018 – Wythenshawe parkrun Number 343

Damp but not muddy. Near perfect conditions and a leering Cromwell greeted today’s 313 runners.

Run Director for the day, Alan, behaved impeccably. Perhaps he felt he was being assessed by ‘HQ’!

Even the barking dogs were quiet (for once) during his briefing.

I volunteered as Tail Walker and enjoyed the amiable pace set by Victoria and Samantha, finishing in a smidging over an hour. The picture below shows the Tail Walker’s view from near the start.

Results are here. Curiously the ‘event history’ link shows me as ‘Unknown’, whereas the ‘latest results’ page has me recorded properly. No matter.

It was another long session in the Courtyard Tea Room. Today we were joined by a team from ‘HQ’, shown below with some of our Run Directors and random hangers-on. We hope they enjoyed their visit.

Meanwhile, Mick was busy trying to clock up as many steps as possible before an excuse sets in. (Here.)

Blue Moon and Flying Pigs Spotted over Belgium

Amongst his ‘Fitbit Friends’ Mick B. can appear to be the laziest of us all, generally providing the weaker participants the comfort of knowing that they will never be at the bottom of the pile.

Mick is in Belgium at present, accompanying Gayle on what appears to be a knitting trip*. It looks to me as if he has had to escape from the balls of wool and inadvertently clock a few steps. 113,225 over seven days, even!

Not even the usually prolific Sue B. has managed to keep up with Mick!

Was that a flying pig I just saw? No, it’s our swifts coming in laden with insects…Oh dear, I think I might be losing the plot here.

*Gayle’s Knitting Trip

“After my success with crocheting blankets and knitting socks, I wondered if I could knit a jumper. Feeling ridiculously chuffed not so much with the successful end result, but with the fact that I just managed to uncast-off half the cuff, drop four stitches down six rows and pick them back up to correct an error, thus saving me from having to rip it all the way back and reknit.”

With apologies to Mick and Gayle; Gayle’s stupendously fine blog can be found here. Or even here.

Happy Days in the Alps

Wednesday 19 July 2017, above Innergschloss.

A lovely day in the mountains, in the best of company, nearly a year ago. I wonder where we will be on 19 July this year? Perhaps somewhere that will remind us of this location?

This is all I can manage at present – apart from the usual towpath stuff – as I’m still in ‘recovery mode’ after being torn apart last Friday. I’m told the pain is ‘muscle pain’ not nerve pain, and I’m hoping it will subside after the staples that are currently helping to hold my guts in have been removed next Monday.

Saturday 9 June 2018 – Wythenshawe parkrun Number 342

I was fit enough to pop along to yesterday’s parkrun, where 341 participants graced the 342nd event at Wythenshawe. “Nearly but not quite”, says the resident symetrician, “but certainly in the top ten regarding participant numbers”.

The full results are here. I perched in a deck chair near the start, from where the following pictures were snapped before we adjourned for a very long coffee break.

    Early leaders

    Near the front

    Not far from the front

    A little further from the front

    Top 20?

    A bit further back

    A lot further back

   Near the very back

   Leaders on lap 2 – and which of those old timers was first to finish?

   The Courtyard Tea Room an hour and a half later