Fell Foot Park Night Run

Late afternoon on Saturday we headed over to the National Trust's Fell Foot Park to take part in their first ever night run. It had been an especially wet day and poor Andy and Sam got a soaking at parkrun (William nabbed an undercover volunteer position so we stayed dry!). Luckily by the time we arrived at Fell Foot the rain had stopped but there were still plenty of mud and puddles!

We met up with a friend and her son, registered and waited by the cafe for the other runners and for it to get dark as well! Sam was enjoying throwing leaves and stones into Lake Windermere and William was enjoying running about. Slowly over the next hour the light faded and we started getting our head torches on, pinning numbers and snapping our glow sticks! We also joined together 2 sets of Aldi running lights and strapped them round the boys' middles so we could see them better in the dark.

I liked this photo, which was posted into the Fell Foot Night Run event page on Facebook. You can just see Andy holding Sam upside down and then William in the centre with his running lights! 

There were two runs on that evening, the 7k Adventurer and the 3k Explorer. Due to their age the boys weren't allowed to do the longer run and obviously would need supervision so we all ran the Explorer run. Andy ran with Sam and I ran with William. After the pre-run briefing the Adventurer group set off and then shortly after we set off too!

We soon found out just how wet the ground was as we splashed through some very big puddles. I had to laugh when I heard William (age 6) say 'this is my worst nightmare' as he isn't fond of mud or getting his feet wet but he soon got over it and was running really well. Sam did an amazing job. He'd already had a brilliant parkrun in the morning (and was only 20 seconds off a PB) and he kept up a really good pace for this as well, averaging 7.30 minutes/km. He loves nothing better than running through mud and water so managed to get well ahead of William.

It was all over in less than half an hour. Sam came in 25th out of 38 and finished in 24.22 and William came in 31st finishing in 25.45. We all received a glow in the dark National Trust medal and a re-usable goody bag with a wrist band and water bottle.

It was well worth coming out on a damp night in November, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would definitely do this again next year.

Glow in the Park - Heaton Park

We had a double whammy of a running weekend! We ran Glow in the Park on Friday night and then the Zombie Run on Saturday morning (will write about this in another post!).

I signed us up for Glow in the Park back in May as soon as entries had opened as I thought the boys would get a real kick out of this, especially Sam as he'd be in sensory heaven with seeing all the fantastic lights outdoors. We even booked a family room at the Premier Inn across the road from Heaton Park so we wouldn't have to drive back late at night.

It should have taken us 1.5 hours to get to Heaton Park but to our great dismay when we went to get onto the M6 the traffic was at a stand still! We made a quick decision to try moving further south on the A6 instead, which was also terrible and it took us almost 3 hours to get to the motorway at Lancaster. I was panicking a bit at this point as the run was due to start at 7.45/8pm and it was already nearing 6pm! Luckily for us the traffic was flowing again on the motorway and we arrived at the hotel just before 7pm. A very quick change and walk over into the park and we arrived in time to join the registration queue where we picked up our numbers and neon headbands!

I met up briefly with a lovely lady whom I've known on facebook for years but had never met face to face with! We're hoping we can meet up again at a slightly quieter run sometime! The music was playing, the lights were flashing and we headed out onto the course with our headtorches and glow sticks!

The first 'tunnel' we came to seemed to spit out a kind of greeny slime at you from the sides. A quick dash through that one! The next tunnel was filled with UV lights and we stopped for a photo here.

We jogged on for a bit after that until we reached a section where a fan was shooting out foam. We spent a minute or two here and then had to pull Sam away as I'm pretty sure he could have spent all day playing in the bubbles.

We went through a little section where fire was shooting up at the sides every few seconds then headed toward the last tunnel, lit up by colourful stripes!

The course was two laps so we got to go round it all again after that before heading to the finish. No medal for this run but we got our headbands as souvenirs and a little pack of granola at the finish. The boys absolutely loved Glow in the Park and I'm pretty sure would have done another lap given half the chance!

We headed back to our family room at the Premier Inn after that and tried to get two exciteable boys to sleep. It was an interesting night but everyone managed a bit of sleep at least which was good as we had our next run in the morning.  

Beat the Reaper 10k and 1k Fun Run

Andy enjoyed Beat the Reaper so much last year that it was an easy decision to sign up again. It was made even more tempting by the addition of a children's 1k fun run this time so we signed both boys up too. So we drove the 2 hours once more to Croxteth Country Park where the race, organised by Pool Runnings, was held. We headed straight for the hall and collected Andy's running number. A rather ominous looking reaper was hanging about the registration desk, probably checking out which souls he'd like to scare on the course. I didn't even realise that William had even noticed him until I saw this photo posted after the run! The look on his face is brilliant (although I'm not sure it bodes well for our upcoming Zombie Run on Halloween)!

Photo taken by Anna Watkin

We headed over to the children's playground and let the boys play here and on the exercise equipment until it was time to head over to the start line.

The thing I like about this race as a spectator is that it's 2 laps and there are several places to view the runners from. So once we'd waved Andy off we dashed over near the playground again and spotted him shortly after, then dashed to another point to spot him again.

Then at 5km we were able to do it again. Or at least that was the idea. We went over to stand near the water station to watch Andy come round at the halfway point and after putting his costume on, William managed to get himself involved with handing out water to the runners! 'We need to go to see Daddy at the finish' I said. 'I'm a little too busy' was his reply! I gave him a few more minutes then managed to get him over to the finish line.

Andy's chip time was a fantastic 54.36, a whole 5 seconds faster than last year's time. He received a really cool medal and a bright orange technical shirt for his efforts.

After Andy finished we went round to the cafe and got ready for the fun run whilst having a coffee and hot chocolate. Sam's devil costume went on and so did the boys' running numbers. We then headed over to the start again to wait for the last of the 10k runners to come through and the start of the fun run. I think the boys were getting a bit excited!

Andy ran with Sam and William ran independently. I headed down the path a little way to get some photos of the boys coming through. I could hear the DJ getting the kids all excited, jogging on the spot etc. Then came the reapers, who really hammed it up for them. There was a bit of pantomime booing from the kids and the reapers told them they'd never beat them to the finish as they skulked away down the start line. There were huge smiles on the kids faces as they set off.

I did the same as I did for Andy's first km, once both boys had gone past I ran over to watch them come round the building. William did fantastic and I was worried I'd have to abandon seeing Sam come round so that I could get to the finish in time for William but the worry was for nothing as soon after Sam came speeding round the corner with Andy.

After cheering him past I ran over to the finish line in time for William coming through, followed shortly by Sam. William loved seeing a reaper fall to the floor just short of the finish, pretending that a child had tripped him up. These guys were really fantastic.

The boys received the same medal as Andy with an alternate fun run ribbon and a sweetie bag so were extremely happy. Once again, the trip all the way to Liverpool was well worth it for a fantastic morning of running. I am sure we will be back again next year!

Burnley Fire 10k and Fun Run

It was with great trepidation that I registered for the Burnley Fire 10k, mainly because it had the words 'undulating' and 'hilly' in the course description. But it offered a children's fun run and the opportunity to catch up with my parents who live nearby so I registered myself and the boys and we headed to Burnley on the 4th October.

We arrived at the Community Fire Station to pick up our race numbers just after 10am. Parking was in the college just behind the fire station and well marshaled. The fire fighters had an engine or two on display and both boys had the opportunity to sit inside, William even tried on a helmet!

Just before 11am I went with the crowd to the back of the station for the start. I'd had a good look at the elevation map for the course when I registered so I knew where the hills were. Luckily we started on a slight slope downwards and then flat for a bit before starting to climb the first hill. I managed to run up this one, only pausing quickly to tie a shoelace that had come undone. Then between 3 and 4km we had a lovely bit of downhill. Fantastic!

I reached a village and the marshal was pointing up a road that was obscured until you turned onto it. Oh my. And there it was. I knew there was supposed to be a hill here, but hadn't quite grasped the gradient. It was steep, and everyone I could see in front of me was walking. So I didn't feel too bad when I started walking up it too. Once you reached what you thought was the top there were more houses and a left hand turn which revealed more climbing! I managed this bit a little better though with a mixture of running and walking.

The nice thing was that after 6km it was all downhill! I must have managed to pick up a good amount of speed to make up for the walking sections as I reached the finish in 1.05.30 so was extremely happy with that. Plus I earned another medal for the medal hanger!

Fifteen minutes after the 10k runners set off, the children's race started outside the park opposite the fire station. Sam ran with Andy and William took himself round. The distance ended up being about 2.7km. William ran really well, his first km was done in 6.09! I would have struggled to keep up I think. Sam ran really well too, averaging 7.33 minutes per km. Fantastic.

Photo from Pendleside Hospice Facebook page

 

The boys both received a medal and a certificate.

Both races were well organised and really well marshaled. In fact the marshals were the most cheery marshals I've seen at a race recently. After the run we headed over to the park for a picnic lunch and the boys had a play at the playground! Fantastic day!

Wirral Half Marathon

Well, I managed it. I ran my first half marathon on the 13th of September! As the BTR Liverpool's Wirral Half Marathon was 2 hours away and started at 9.30am we had the pleasure of getting up at 4.30am to ensure I got to the start line on time! Porridge was eaten en route thanks to a handy porridge pot and a flask of hot water!

We were due to meet up with our WWC friends at Morrisons in New Brighton for 8am and after getting lost once we managed to get there about 5 minutes early. The group split up there, with myself and friends C and C headed for the start and Andy and the boys headed off with J and grandchildren to get some breakfast!

It was lightly raining at this point so I made sure I took my cap and hoody, and once parked up near Birkenhead Park my friend pulled out some very trendy disposable ponchos to save us getting wet. We took a little wander round with a loo stop (there was a plentiful number of portaloos) then dropped our things off on the baggage bus which would be waiting at the finish. I chose to keep my cap on as it was still raining very lightly and I like to be able to see out of my glasses!

We headed to the start funnel and stood by the 2 hour 15 minute corral. My ultimate goal was 2 hours and 30 minutes but you never know! Once we were set off it took 2 minutes for me to get to the start and I was quickly moved along by the sheer number of people taking part. We spent the first part of the run inside Birkenhead Park before heading out towards New Brighton. I went out too fast as per usual, but soon steadied my pace. As we headed out of the park I realised it had stopped raining and the sun was shining down on us. By the time I got onto the prom I had to take my cap off as I was getting too hot.

I managed the first 5km in about 31 minutes which I was really pleased with although slightly worried that I needed to take it a little easier if I wanted to get to the finish! I really liked that section on the prom though as the crowds of runners started to disperse and it became more roomy. I passed a fantastic art piece of a pirate ship made out of driftwood on the beach and made a mental note to tell Andy about that when I finished... little did I know he and the boys had already been playing on it!

I started getting nearer the 10k mark and where the 10k runners would break off to their finish. I was starting to tire here a little, but I managed 10k in 1.04 so was quite pleased with that. I started scanning the people along the sides here to see if Andy and the boys had come out to watch me pass by and they had! Not only was I able to get rid of my cap but seeing them gave me a real boost and I felt myself moving a little faster again. After a few minutes I passed over the half way marker (1.07) and kept going.

Not too much further on and I ended up on a slightly narrower section of prom, but with lovely views still. The 2 hour and 20 minute pacer overtook me just at the 8 mile marker, singing 'We're off to see the Wizard' as he went past with his followers.

I ran the first 10 miles in 1 hour 47 minutes (the same as my time for the Prudent Riverside 10 miler at Lancaster). I was thrilled with that time as it meant I had 43 minutes to get the last 5km done. 3 of those minutes I allowed myself to walk a little but I mostly managed to keep running. My motivation increased when I got back onto the prom and could see the finish line in the distance. As I got nearer I realised I was going to beat my goal plus I saw Andy and the kids on the way to the finish. Got a high five from William on my way in and finished my first half marathon in 2.26.29!

I received my medal and goody bag and walked like a little old lady over to the t-shirt tent to collect my shirt. After that it seemed to take an age to get over to the group, mainly because I had to have a sit down partway there. It's amazing how you really don't feel it until you stop! I was so proud of myself, and proud of my lovely friend who completed her first 10k event.

What a wonderful day.