30th December Back to reality

So after over three weeks of following Mary, Joseph, the donkey and off course little baby Jesus on their posada, it's back to the real world and a little bit of a catch up. Over the past couple of weeks I have been out and about enjoying various running jollies. Well when I say ' enjoy' you know what I mean.

On 20th December alongside 40 or so suitably festively dressed runners from Hucknall Harriers I completed the world famous (well in Hucknall at least) Reindeer Run. This is a 4 mile jolly around the street of said town, which when completed had traced the outline of a reindeer. And the fun of course is trying to decide what part of the reindeers anatony one happends to be running at any one time!!

 

A couple of days later, I switched alliances and ran with just over a dozen or so Youlgrave Harriers on a 6 mile cross country (wet, muddy and claggy cross country) jolly from the Thornbridge brewery just outside Bakewell. Under leaden skies we managed to avoid the rain as we ran up towards the great view of Monsal Head, down through Ashford in the water, and across rolling fields back to the brewery.

On Boxing Day, it was my annual battle with the Totley Two Doves, a 5.5 mile up, up, up and then down, down, down fell race just south of Sheffield. Over the past few years it has been an opportunity to match my fitness against that of my running nemesis, 'Elizabeth', one that I have lost by larger and larger margins as the years have gone on.

This time however, Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen on the start line (I can only assume she was paralysed by fear). And despite feeling as if I had run like an unethusiastic sloth, amazingly on reaching the finish line, just before the sun set, I discovered I had actually ran quicker (just) than I had done last year. The Vatican is currently determining it is it a verified miracle.

And finally this morning, despite the threat of getting soaked to the bone, I ended my running year with a 4 mile run alongside members of Ravenshead Runners (plus dogs) through the grounds of Newstead Abbey. A lovely way to finish 2023 especially as it concluded with natter and nibbles during which I might well have managed to consume more calories eating miniature Stollen than I had lost over the past two weeks.