After volunteering at parkrun, I rushed over to Westcliff Rugby Club which was the base for the relay and started to set things up. I registered the team after a few last minute swaps and changea and picked up our tshirts (very nice tech tees) and goody bags then went the briefing. All sounded good, there would be arrows on the ground/rocks to show directions and tape on fences, between trees etc.. which we should keep on our right. Apart from when it was on the left .... This confused me at the time but made perfect sense when actually running the course. Mostly.
(Which way??)
Keith started the running for our team doing 2 laps in seemingly no time at all, my sister took the children to the park and then it was my turn for 2 laps.
All started off well ... It was was a very strange experience running somewhere I had never run before, knowing there were loads of others running the same route but barely seeing anybody. I think I saw 2 people per lap. The course was marked out well, with arrows on the floor, and rocks :
Yet maybe a mile and a half in, I got lost. There was a small track we needed to cross which had a "Caution, Runners" sign somewhere near it. Approaching the track I could see exactly which way to go, yet the caution sign had been blown down/moved from wherever it originally was and was laying in the middle of the road. I picked it up, moved it to the edge of the track .... And promptly ran down the wrong path. After about 300 metres I could tell it wasn't right so backtracked and ended up doing an extra loop, passing bits I had already run past. In hindsight, I should have stopped and thought about it instead of panicking and keep running!
The rest of that lap passed in a bit of a blur to be honest. I was aware of it being really beautiful and a great course but was just so stressed I wasn't taking anything in, I was so desperate to make it back without getting lost again.
I made it back! I had intended to not stop but ended up taking a few minutes to have a little cry, a hug with Tracy and pull myself together a bit.
The next lap, I didn't get lost and I really enjoyed. It was a bit windy, but a beautiful day, ideal for running really but the sections deep inside the woods were very humid, although the shade was very welcome.
After joking with some friends that I should be careful to not fall in a ditch, I really laughed when I came across this sign:
Luckily, I didn't fall in! A little further, I rounded a sharp corner and actually screamed when I found this:
I hate bridges. All of them. Especially slippery, wobbly looking ones.
I didn't get lost and did really enjoy that second lap :-)
I'd write about who did what laps when, except it was a little chaotic and I can't quite remember! Will put the totals at the end.
My sister brought the children back, the boys were picked up for the night then I took Olivia to my Mum's where she was spending the night, stopping to buy a beautiful new tent for me on the way!
I headed back and Scotty was finally able to get out and use his head torch, something he had been dying to do!
About 9:30 Sam and I headed out together. I was a bit worried about us running in the dark on our own anyway but after having got lost and seen the woods it seemed even less of a good idea. Only one lap would count towards our team total but keeping safe was more important!
It was a very strange experience, both mine and Sam's first night run and although it was a bit scarey, we're going to do it again sometime.
After we made it back, I think a few others did some laps but couldn't really tell you! Of course team 1 had Alex's precision organised spreadsheet so carried on!
Edited highlights of Saturday night:
Wine
Beer
Cider
Carry on parkrun
Gazebo
Toilet paper
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