That is the question I asked myself when I looked out of the window on several grey damp Sunday mornings! The answer is, even though it can sometimes be muddy and wet, it is fun and there is a great team camaraderie!
Those of you that know me, will be aware that I am not a fast competitive runner. I am also not a quitter, and if I have made a commitment to run then I will be there, whatever the weather.
We usually meet at the Chineham Arms and car share to the events. On the way the chat is generally trying to remember what that particular course is like i.e. how ‘undulating’ it was, (we don’t use the word hilly ha ha!) and optimistically talk about the weather. At this point I will say that it did not rain for all the events.
On arrival, we park and set off to the meeting area where all the teams gather. We put up our flag and little pop up tent, which we use to put our dry stuff and bags in, keeping our layers on until the last possible minute. Val and I generally gravitate towards the back of the starting pack to avoid getting trampled on by the keen runners.
For at least the first half mile we gently try to tip toe around the big muddy puddles, but it's not long before we say what the heck and just go straight through them, laughing at ourselves. Last year we got chatty with runners from other clubs who ran at a similar pace to us. There was one lady in particular who was truly inspirational. She was from Farnham joggers and was in a wheelchair, and we thought if she can do this we have no excuse, she propelled herself up hills and along the tracks - absolutely incredible.
As we near the end of the run, one or two of our team mates generally come back to give us encouragement up the last hill - yes, there often seems to be a hill near the finish! It really is a team event, but we all do it for fun, and the points scored are a bonus.
On returning to the start area we compare muddy footwear! Then comes the fun part as Louise struggles to get the pop up tent back in the bag, whilst we all stand and watch making useful suggestions on how it should be done! But, after the first couple of events she was helping other teams with their tents - we should have received extra points for that!
We head for home feeling very satisfied with ourselves. The courses are all slightly different and it is great to be out on a Sunday morning in the beautiful countryside. So why not give it a go this year, I guarantee you will enjoy it, and if you are lucky I will bring Malteser Cake!!
Last year I was proud to have completed all of the events, this really is open to everyone and we would love to have some more runners joining us - if I can do this then anyone can!
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