Brislington Runners Group

Now I'm really excited about this. A new running group for women has been set up in Brislington. The ladies who set up Frenchay Runners have now set up Brislington Runners. I went along to their first meet on Saturday. It was a gloriously sunny morning and a number of ladies of all abilities turned up at the Arnos Vale Hotel - the starting point for the runs. There was an option to run a two mile, three mile or four mile run. I opted for the four mile run which took in a number of hills and three parks - Arnos Court Park, Perrets Park and Victoria Park. Many thanks to Liz and Jess for a great start to the day. I will definitely be attending again. Would be good to show them some of the more off-road routes around Bris.

Arnos Vale Community Run 5k

It was a rather damp, dull Bank Holiday Monday morning. But that didn't dampen the spirits of the 50 or more runners who took part in the first ever Arnos Vale Community Run. It was a shame it was so wet though, as I think more spectators would have turned up.

It was a great little route. It wasn't the easiest 5k I've ever done. In fact it was quite challenging, but lots of fun. After a warm-up with John from Yoga for Life, we set off from outside the Anglican Chapel, two laps round the one flat section of the cemetry and then we were directed uphill. There were a number of marshalls helping out, directing us up the rather steep Arnos Vale hill. I think we ran the hill three times over. Runners had to negotiate narrow paths, a good bit of mud and take in the views and beauty of the cemetry. After the run we finished up in the Atrium Cafe for a cuppa and listened to the local choir. Bliss. Well done everyone that took part, especially the team from Puddle Ducks!

There really can't be that many runs organised in a cemetry. One wonders if this is a first for the UK, or even the world! Anyway certainly a run I would like to do again and one to put in the diary for next year. Good for the community too.

PE lessons

Just came across this clip from the BBC regarding girls and sport - PE lessons put girls off sport. I was fortunate. I really liked sport at school but I did prefer the non-team sports like athletics. I dropped out of most sports during my senior school and got back into it again in my late teens with tennis and karate!!

Tribute to Micah True, creator of the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon

Sad news. Searchers have found the body of ultrarunner Micah True, who went missing last week after going on a 12-mile run in southwest New Mexico's Gila National Forest. Micah True, was the creator of the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon and dubbed 'Caballo Blanco' in Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run. Click here for the report.

Arnos Vale Community Run - 7th May

I met up with the team at Arnos Vale Cemetery last week to find out a bit more about the Arnos Vale Community Run being held on the 7th May Bank Holiday Monday. The organisers have mapped out two runs - a 2k and a 5k and are inviting runners of all abilities to come along and have a go. If you haven't been to Arnos Vale before it really is an amazing place to visit. So even if you don't do the run, try to come along and give your support for a great local community event.

I'm planning to do the 2k run with my nine year old daughter Jess. (She doesn't know that yet). The course will be quite challenging for her as it is quite hilly, but there are lots of narrow little paths to explore so it should be lots of fun. A good warm-up before we do the Race for Life together in Bristol in June.

Why would you want to run around a cemetery you may ask? Well, its different, unique, challenging and yes very atmospheric and if you are bored of running on roads this could be just the ticket. Its also a safe haven to bring your kids and an opportunity to do a bit of fund raising. There's also a cafe. So if you feel like watching some crazy runners or taking part maybe see you there.

Thanks Arnos Vale for a great idea.

Back to Arnos Cemetery for a run

As some of you know I like to run around Arnos Vale Cemetery with my running pals. I hadn't done this run for a while but last week I managed to drag out a mate to run around Arnos Court Park before venturing into the Cemetery. I'd had a particularly stressful week so the run was just what was needed. It was a beautiful sunny evening and as we ran further into the grounds of the Cemetery, leaving the noise of the city traffic behind, all my worries seemed to disappear.

A great 10k race on a sunny morning

I ran the Bath Skyline 10k yesterday in the glorious sunshine. I was a little nervous as I haven't run this distance for a while but once the race started it was more about enjoying the run and not falling over. It was an off-road 10k, part of a series of runs organised by Relish Running Races. See the route map below.

There was lots of mud, hills and narrow paths to negotiate and some great views of Bath too. Though I have to admit I didn't enjoy the views so much as I was concentrating on just trying to get round the course. The great thing with a more technical course is that the distance just seems to go by without realising as you are concentrating so much on the twists and turns of the paths and the slippy rocks. I loved this course. Loads of fun. Just my kind of thing. Thanks Susan for joining me.

The organisers mentioned they would be doing a Dyrham Park 10k in the summer and a route around Cheddar Gorge - possibly a half marathon or even a marathon. No doubt lots of Cheddar Gorge climbers could be interested in that challenge.

Scottish Inspiration

It's been a while since I've blogged about my running. Last week was Half Term and we had a fabulous trip to Pitlochry in Scotland. We managed to do some skiing - Scottish skiing has a rather unique feel, biking and a bit of running. Our accommodation The Atholl Palace backed onto some beautiful forests and it was wonderful to just slip on the running shoes and go exploring.

Glenshee Skiing

On my second run early one morning, I was running through the forests when this beautiful deer silently broke through the trees right by me, followed closely by a dog. The dog had obviously spooked the deer and made it run in my direction. I've never been that close to a deer before. As it ran by it just simply glanced at me, as if it was accepting me for who I was, a runner, and then continued past. The dog was teasingly close to the deer, but the deer was smart and was gracefully out maneuvering the stumbling hound. It was such a wonderful sight. A few moments later a rather stressed looking dog owner ran past looking for her dog. Then the forest fell quiet again with just the sound of my shoes running over the soft ground. Just me and my shoes. Sounds rather poetic.

Ashton Court Sunday morning Run

Over the last couple of months I've found it hard to get out running with my usual running pals. I did so well earlier in the years, getting out two or three times a week either early in the morning or at the weekend. My work pattern has shifted slightly and I'm only getting out at the weekend. I'm hoping this will change after Christmas. I do a regular 10k run around Ashton Court avoiding the concrete paths. I try to run all off road which is great fun squelching through the mud. The ground is so soft this time of year that my joints don't seem to mind this weekly torture.

As I pass dog walkers, mountain bikers and fellow runners, a simple acknowledgement or 'hello' is all that is required to keep the morale on a high. Its a great time to clear the head and think about the forth coming week. With my food and alcohol consumption due to increase over the next couple of weeks, a good weekly run is certainly essential for this time of year.

Local food fest and places to explore

I attended the Hengrove & Stockwood Food Festival over the weekend. It was a great little community gathering with delicious foodie treats, childrens crafts and music and information about local food growing projects. One of the main attractions was an apple press from The Bristol Apple Press Collective. In front of your eyes they made juice using apples from the rediscovered orchard on Stockwood Open Space nature reserve and it tasted gorgeous.

After looking at a giant map of the area it got me thinking that it would be great to do a run or bike from Brislington to Stockwood Open Space. Its a beautiful area full of wildlife yet just on the doorstep of BS4. No need to get the car out. As with so many green spaces in Bristol this is also another area under threat of development. So get over there and check it out.

Outdoor sporting legend Bill Smith dies

As a fan of off-road running and someone who would like to get into fell running I had to write a post about Bill Smith. A greatly respected fell runner and author of one of the sport's definitive works, Stud Marks on the Summits, Bill died last week. Check out the report in The Independent and the Fell Runners Association.

Thank goodness September is over

Firstly a huge apology for not posting for ages. September was a crazy month. I guess if I take a three week holiday in France in the summer holidays, I will undoubtedly pay for it the following month ie September. But it’s been an exciting month and now I am training for a half marathon. Read more here

Bristol Half Marathon

Good luck to everyone doing the Bristol Half Marathon on Sunday.

Local run before the holidays

Did a local early morning run the other morning with my two regular running buddies. Great to get this done before everyone sets off on their various hols. We did a shortened version of our usual 7k run. We  ran down and up Allison Road (a good hill), down into Eastwood Farm, along by the river, back up through Eastwood Farm, through the cut-through into the top fields behind Broomhill Junior school, down into Victory Park, exiting the park by the cemetry, through St Lukes Church and home.

Apart from nervously running past a gang of doberman dogs all went well. No shin-splint or leg pain. I finally feel like I have recovered from my injury and have a spring in my step when running. Now looking at booking some more events, possibly the Wye Valley half marathon in September and Ashton Court 10k in November.

Planning to do lots of running on holiday. Well I'm saying this now. I may well get there and just think blow this, it's far too hot.

Happy holidays everyone!

RunBristol Cross Country Series

Just heard that RunBristol are adding a weekend of off-road events to it’s portfolio of races - Bristol Half and Bristol 10k. Due to be held over the weekend of 12-13th November 2011 in Ashton Court, the off-road events include a Cancer Research UK 10k charity run and the McCain Bristol Cross Country Challenge.

A special guest at the event will be Olympian Tim Hutchings. Hutchings twice won a silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships  in 1984 and again in 1989.

The 10k sounds very appealing to me!

Sports Day - Victory Park

It was great to see all the kids at Holymead Junior School enjoying their sports day in Victory Park last week. The rain held off and the sun shone. Jessie came home complaining that her legs were aching so that's a good sign that she did lots of activities. Shame they didn't include a race for the mums and dads!

We did the Bristol Race for Life

So Jessie and I and her pals ran The Race for Life on Saturday. We ran in the afternoon in glorious sunshine. I have to admit I thought it was going to be a bit of a mud bath after the torrential rain we had in the morning. I felt for the morning runners doing the Race for Life 10k.

Anyway we got round the 5k route with a bit of a struggle. I joked in my last post that Jess might run bare foot if she didn't wear her trainers at least once before the race. (She had been refusing to wear them despite loving them when we bought them). But that's exactly what happened. Last year she flew round the course wearing basic kiddies trainers from Clarks. This year she was wearing new "clumpy" trainers,  if that's the word to use, from Clarks, but she struggled and moaned so much that I said, "right, take off the trainers and run bare foot!" and that's exactly what she did. In fact her mate did the same and all of a sudden they were racing ahead. They loved it and their feet felt so much better on the cool soft grass. They got lots of cheers from the crowd as they ran along in their muddy socks.

I think she should just wear her daps next time or just a very basic plimsoll/running shoe. Just goes to show these fancy trainers aren't all what they are cracked up to be. Does anyone have any tips on running shoes for kids? Obviously Jessie is only nine and wouldn't normally be running 5k, but it would be interesting to hear if any other parents have had similar problems with kiddies trainers.

We rounded off the run with a huge picnic and a game of rounders! Lots of fun.

Running & Volunteers

I was out running in my local park the other day and couldn’t help thinking about the importance of volunteers and the difference they make to running. For someone that prefers to run off-road through local parks and open spaces, it doesn’t seem like that many years ago that I didn’t feel comfortable running on my own around the local parks and always made a point of teaming up with someone. A number of the local parks had suffered from anti-social behaviour, the playgrounds were vandalised and falling apart and people generally were not using the parks that much.

Thankfully this has all changed due to local volunteers setting up park groups and getting things sorted especially in Victory Park, Nightingale Valley, Eastwood Farm, Arnos Court Park and Arnos Vale Cemetery.

Check out the rest of my post on Bristol Running Resource.

Race For Life on Saturday

Jessie and I are running the Race for Life on Saturday on The Downs with several thousand other women and young girls all dressed in pink. Last year Jessie completely surprised me with her speed so I am a little worried about keeping up with her. We've also done a bit of fundraising for Cancer Research UK.

Lets hope the rain stays away as traditionally we always have a huge picnic after the race. Yes you guessed it, cakes, chocolate, cakes, crisps and did I mention cakes........

Happy people in Eastwood Farm

Did a fab relaxed run this morning with my running buddy. We haven't been out together for ages and it was a real pleasure. Struggled, of course on the hills, but generally took it easy. Must mention that everyone we met this morning running through Eastwood Farm were so friendly. Lots of 'Good mornings', 'come on girls!' and other words of encouragement and smiles. It doesn't take much to be cheerful and it certainly helps struggling 'middle-aged women' like us get round their running course. Christ I hate that expression. So lots of thanks to you happy people.