Dartford parkrun 43 - so much time and so little to do

As time goes on there really seems like less and less to write about each weekend, but as I've written a blog for every single parkrun I've run at I can't really stop now.

So.. I met Adam and Richey for a short bodyweight workout before getting onto the course set-up. We only really had time to throw in some chin-ups, push-ups and some planking before we had to sort out the course.

about 200 metres into dp43 [photo: tessa]

I had brought a few sticks of chalk with me again and I marked the kilometre points on the course while we were setting up. I also added a few motivational messages which seemed to go down well.

I even found out that the chalk works on the big green box which is right on the first kilometre point so I marked that up as well. 

the first kilometre marker [photo: 7t]

About 20 minutes before the start of the run I was seriously considering giving it a miss and hanging around at DpHQ with the rest of the hi-vis gang.

I was feeling a little unmotivated. Also my knee issue has not really cleared up properly and I should probably be focusing more on a prolonged period of rest rather than continuing the 'run-a-little, rest-a-little' pattern which has been my ongoing theme since January.

one of my motivational messages [photo: 7t]

However, I find it really difficult to stop completely especially when my whole life seems to revolve around a constant stream of tempting training days and running events which I hate having to miss.

And although parkrun is a great thing, there is an addictive undercurrent to it and I always end up too tempted into running than to actually sit back and take a proper break. The knee never hurts so much that I can't run and never so little that I feel fine.

on the final stretch of tarmac [photo: gary]

So temptation got the better of me and I did run. At first I started at a fairly sedate pace before remembering that I was down on the roster as one of the barcode scanners so I pulled my thumb out and increased the pace a little to get back the DpHQ in just over 21 minutes.

This was a few minutes ahead of the bulk of the runners and gave me enough time to slip into my hi-vis jacket and grab the scanner before zapping away. The sunlight was bright and threw up a few issues but I only had one non-scanning barcode which was mostly to do with the printing quality rather than the sunlight.

tail runners [photo: 7t]

Dani and Matilda had swapped their usual volunteering role as marshals on Stones Corner to act as tail runners for the day. It was Dani's 19th overall parkrun and Matilda's 2nd, which sits alongside her 12 junior parkruns - She's actually gone off of the junior parkruns at the moment - every Sunday morning I ask her the same 'are we going to junior parkrun?' question and she simply replies with 'not today, daddy'.

Once the majority of the runners had made it through the finish line I headed out onto the course to collect a some of the course signage and then ran the final stretch with Matilda. which was nice. She had a few tough moments around the course but finished with a big smile on her face as she set a new 5k personal best time of 48.15.

me and terry back at dphq with the signs [photo: harley]

Then I met up with Terry and continued the signage collection while we relived the tales of our respective parkruns that morning. With that done we had a little volunteer photocall. This was followed up with a slice of '5,000th run at Dartford parkrun' cake which I understand Richey made while he was a little tipsy the evening beforehand.

Joydens Wood 5k Series 2015 - Race 1

The Joydens Wood 5k series is hosted by Dartford Road Runners with the races taking place on the last Wednesdays of May, June and July. The events are run over three different courses within the woods which means that each runner gets to look forward to being reduced to tears in three different ways.

welcome [photo: dani]

I first heard about these races in 2014. However, I only managed to catch the last race of the series. This year I was better prepared and had kept an eye out for the confirmed dates for all three races and noted them in my diary.

Most of the event details and venue history were covered in my post from July 2014 so please have a read if you need more information. I mentioned in that post that there is a great running community in Dartford and I can only reiterate that now - in fact, for me it feels even stronger than it did then.

the official slgr photographer and chief supporter (note the black and orange) [photo: 7t]

I had pre-registered for all three races and had already collected my bib (7) from the Dartford Road Runners chairman a few days earlier, so I arrived with my number pinned on and ready to run. I'd also brought my daughter and wife who took on the roles of official chief supporter and SLGR photographer for the evening [photo album].

We arrived, found a parking space and got ourselves over to the race HQ area with plenty of time to spare. There were plenty of familiar faces around already and everything was gearing up to be a great evening. The race had a limit of 150 runners and it looked like it could be close to a sell out.

always use double knots. always. [photo: dani]

I went and had a little warm-up and was pleased to find that there was absolutely no queue for the toilets (that's because there are no toilets, just lots and lots of trees - this is the woods after all!).

The race kicked off at 7.15pm sharp and 126 runners headed off on the same undulating/hilly five kilometre course through the ancient woodland that was used last July. Being in the woods, it's a trail race and is almost entirely stony and/or uneven underfoot. There's even a crazy downhill section on loose gravel which would please the thrill seekers amongst you.

assembling at the start line [photo: dani]

My running club, SLGR, had turned up in fairly good numbers (16 of us, which made us the most well represented club on the night) and I was part of a trio that were so evenly matched that we were in close-sight of each other the whole way around.

In fact I spent the first two kilometres watching one of my team mates ease off into the distance and the next two trying to claw back the lost ground.

the slgr trio [photo: dani]

The inclines were steep and uneven in places - sometimes gravelly, sometimes a little softer, but always tough. However, being able to take part in a race in the serenity of the woods made every agonising step worth it. The final incline, known as 'Mount Misery', which is around 800 metres in length, was just as brutal as it was last year.

The trio of top finishing SLGR runners that I had been part of for the entire race finished within an eleven second window in positions 13, 14 and 15. It's not very often (if ever) that we have three runners in the top 15 so it was a good evening for us. The full results are on-line and can be accessed via this page - Joydens Wood 5k - May 2015 Results.

the slgr trio approaching the finish [photo: dani]

My own performance was a whole minute slower than I had been last July, but I was in much better shape back then so that was no surprise to me. My full GPS readings including kilometre splits and the course profile can be found here - Strava: Joydens Wood 5k - May 2015.

It turned out to be a great evening spent in good company. The Dartford Road Runners were great hosts and they deserve much praise for their efforts. As a club they have also been incredibly supportive to us over at Dartford parkrun where I know that the rest of the core team are also very grateful.

#teamslgr [photo: dani]

The second race is scheduled to take place Wednesday 24 June with the final one set for Wednesday 29 July. It's a great venue for a race so if you're local and available it's definitely worth giving one (or both) a go.

Westminster Mile 2015

Now in its third year, the Westminster Mile encapsulates a series of 1 mile races throughout the day and takes place on the late May bank holiday weekend. The event is linked to the annual London 10,000 metre race, which is currently known as the Bupa London 10,000. I think it's important to note that this is more than just a 1 mile run around the outside of St James's Park - this is a full-on family day out.

The 1 mile and the 10k races share their main assembly areas and start-finish infrastructure. The first time the Westminster Mile races were held, they took place on the Sunday. However, in 2014 the mile was changed to the Saturday (I missed this event as I was travelling to Germany to run in the Tivoli Lauf Halb-Marathon). I was pleased when I heard that the 2015 races would return to their original Sunday slot. The 10k race took place on the bank holiday Monday.

westminster mile [photo: 7t]

The standard entry fee for the 2015 1 mile race was £8 for adults or £6 for juniors and registration was possible in advance only (no on-the-day entries). The race organisers sent out runners' race bibs, timing chips and map of the course and immediate area. via the post during the week before the race. Mine arrived with a few days to spare.

On the day, we arrived in Central London and headed towards Green Park, which was set aside as the main hub for the event. Here there was a race information tent, live music performances, a huge picnic area, changing areas, toilets, a children's area, various entertainers walking around, plus the Feel Great Britain Mind, Body and Soul zones which offered sessions on stretching, pilates, yoga and so on.

goddit? [photo: 7t]

I had entered the race via the Sweatshop Running Community (SRC) and had the luxury of being looked after in the SRC marquee complete with bag drop area, free t-shirts and a free post-run packed lunch. Not bad considering they also covered the entry fee for all of their runners.

I bumped into loads of people I know from various parts of the running community and as more and more runners and their families arrived the atmosphere grew and the vibe was great.

marks. set. [photo: dani]

SRC are famous for their bright yellow running shirts (which you get for free after you have collected five SRC stamps) and all of the runners were requested to wear their shirts for the event, of which I was happy to oblige. I was even lucky enough to pick up a junior-sized one for Matilda.

Once she had her shirt she was keen to try out the temporary running track which also featured some tuition on the best techniques for starting a track race. She also learned a little about how to start using a starting block. My wife and daughter then headed into the children's area where Matilda had her face painted and made a sign and a medal for me.

the balloon guy [photo: dani]

There were over thirty separate races over twenty different waves ranging from the 'Family Run/Walk' waves right through to the elite men, women and wheelchair athletes. The first wave of runners went out at 9.45am and the last was at around 3.30pm. There was also a special parkrun wave which I didn't enter because I was quite content with limiting my exercise to the one solitary mile.

As I was milling around I caught wind of a rumour that the SRC waves would be going out about 10-15 minutes earlier than advertised. If anything, this proves the point that it is wise to arrive quite a bit earlier than you might think is necessary. You can easily pass the time by soaking up the great atmosphere in Green Park. Even though the published wave start times are only estimates, I do think the organisers should have tried to stick the the guideline times. a wave starting 15 minutes early could easily catch people out.

src runners gathering at the start line [photo: 7t]

After a quick pit-stop in one of the many hundreds of portaloos, I found my way to the race start line about half-way along The Mall. I bumped into a few familiar faces here and slotted into a space near enough to the front to make a swift getaway.

Being a 1 mile race, I felt fairly comfortable for about the first two minutes and then it all began to hurt. After a few more minutes of agony, I turned the final corner and headed towards the finish line which is right outside Buckingham Palace.

the mall [photo: sweatshop]

Here's an interesting thing - as I crossed the line the official timer was definitely showing around 5.39, but my official result has been recorded as being 5.41. Exactly the same thing happened when I ran this race two years ago and I had a similar discrepancy. Most of the runners I've spoken to also have a similar story (discrepancies of between 2 - 9 seconds) so it's not just me.

Further investigation found that the official results page was showing gun times while the actual chip times could be found on the Run Britain Westminster Mile results page - official chip time was indeed 5.39! Then a few days later, the official results were finally updated to show everybody's individual chip times. Phew.

a small corner of the src group photo [photo: dani]

So with that done I waited at the finish line as the rest of the SRC runners streamed through - we congratulated each other and took plenty of selfies together. Then it was on to the timing chip removal points followed by the goody-bag / medal collection point. The goody bag contained some water, a small chocolate bar, some shampoo, toothpaste, a dairy-free banana milkshake and a packet of dried egg noodles. The medal was a good quality double-sided bespoke design and very nice.

With that all taken care of, I headed back over to the SRC tent where I picked up my free lunch, met my family and then sat down for a little picnic in the sun. I found out that my wife and daughter hadn't heard any announcements about the change of timings so they missed my race completely (and as they had the camera there are no action photos for the blog). We hooked up with the rest of the SRC crowd where there was a huge group photo taken before everyone started to make their way out of the park.

team7t [photo: kat]

We had a great day out in Green Park, the entertainment and the amazing vibe made it worth attending even for non-runners. I'd like to give a huge thanks to everyone from Sweatshop that worked hard to make the day a great success for all of the SRC runners. Same again next year?

Dartford parkrun 42 - the meaning of life, the universe and everything

I'm having a bit of trouble writing at the moment, so instead of going into loads of detail about event 42, I'm just going to make a few notes and add a few photos.

Matilda came over to help set up the course.

matilda placing one of the arrows on its stanchion [photo: 7t]

We took some chalk to decorate the course.

We used the chalk to welcome people to Dartford parkrun.

We also used it to mark some of the kilometre points.

setting up the course [photo: dani]

I was going to wear my parkrun 50 shirt for the run, but it felt pretty hot and I changed into my singlet.

I ran the entire event with Adam.

The run felt a lot harder than the time I ran suggests.

matching strides [photo: dani]

We were going to do a track workout afterwards, but none of us could face it so we postponed it.

I hate wearing my phone on my arm, however it is a necessary evil unless I buy a computer that is compatible with my Garmin.

me and adam were joined by john for a while [photo: brian page]

Thursday 28 May marks four years since my first parkrun so Saturday 23 May closed the four year loop. I've made a note of some stats from my first four years of parkrunning.

208 weeks since my first parkrun
201 parkruns
84 different run venues
212 volunteer tasks at 190 runs
6 different volunteer venues (that have been credited)
27 freedom runs

welcome to dartford parkrun [photo: 7t]

The things above are easy to report on because they are data which is quite cold and hard. The thing that can't be put onto paper are the amount of friends I have made in that time and the amount of great times I have had over this time. Anyway, here's to the next four years!

Sittingbourne Invicta 10k 2015

The Sittingbourne Invicta 10k had been selected as the second of my running club's Grand Prix races so with the lure of GP points I finally got around to entering it this year (2015).

The online registration process was handled by Runners World and I paid the £12 affiliated runner fee (unaffiliated runners would have paid £14). On-the-day entries were an extra £2 making it £14 and £16 respectively.

#teamslgr pre-run photo [photo: tony giles]

The race headquarters was at Westlands School, and upon arrival I was directed into the grounds where I found plenty of space to park. The race village was set up on the school playing fields - here there were various gazebos set up selling cakes, breakfast rolls etc..

Plus a local radio station (SFM) were broadcasting live from the race and provided plenty of chat and music while I chilled out on the grass.

number collection / chip collection marquees [photo: 7t]

Another couple of gazebos were in place to deal with the race number and timing chip collection. The number collection was in one gazebo and the chip collection next door in another.

I thought it a little strange because there was a risk that a runner could turn up, collect their number but not their timing chip. Fortunately I was prompted to go and collect mine.

course map [photo: 7t]

The rest of my running club started to arrive around this point and we found a nice spot to hang out and chat in the sun before starting our respective warm-ups.

Once warmed through, it was time to check out the toilet facilities which were inside the school - there was only a short queue and before I knew it I was back outside and stripping down to my club vest. I stored my excess bits and pieces in my car, but there was a bag drop area for anyone that required it.

during the early stages of the race [photo: brian page]

About ten minutes before the race start time, which had been set at 11am, I started to head towards the start area. It was pretty full but I managed to filter through to a spot quite near the front.

It was here that one of my team mates informed me that he didn't have a timing chip because he wasn't prompted to pick his up after collecting his race bib. So if there's any feedback for the organisers it would be to merge these two collection points to make the process easier for the runners in future (or maybe change to the timing chips that are embedded in the bib).

st peter and paul church, borden [photo: 7t]

Then at 11am sharp the horn was sounded and the race was underway. The race took place almost entirely on tarmac country lanes to the south-west of the centre of Sittingbourne.

The course, which was run anti-clockwise, undulated throughout but the general theme was that the first half featured more inclines and the second half brought you back down. With this knowledge to hand I decided to push fairly hard through the first half and hope that gravity would assist with getting me back to the finish during the second.

a typical stretch of the course [photo: 7t]

The first section was through residential streets and these quickly gave way to the country lanes where all I could see to each side were open crop fields.

Just after a mile into the race, the course passed through Borden where the lovely, grade 1 listed 'Saint Peter and Paul Parish Church' could be seen on the right - records say that it is at least 800 years old.

part of the 300 metre off-road section [photo: 7t]

It is worth noting that the roads remained open to traffic and there were a few cars around, with some drivers not particularly sympathetic to the runners.

The course continued to undulate (mostly gentle climbing) as it lead further south along the country lanes until it passed over the M2 motorway and then a marshal directed the runners through a tiny hole in a hedge for a 300 metre stretch on a slightly bumpy dirt path that runs along the edge of a crop field. The end of this section is roughly about half-way into the race.

around eight kilometres into the race [photo: brian page]

The course then turned to the north to head back across the M2 and back towards Sittingbourne - the water station was around this point. I had spent the entire run so far with an ever-changing selection of Sittingbourne Strider runners and this theme continued right until the end.

This is the still-undulating-but-generally-downhill half of the race. The funny thing is, that even though my GPS data confirms that this half was indeed generally downhill, it didn't feel like it during the race. All I can remember were more uphill sections and the occasional downhill.

finish line in sight [photo: tony giles]

Towards the end of the race the country lanes gave way to the residential streets which lead the runners back into the Westlands School, past the start line and up onto the grass playing fields for a final dash to the finish line, still with my Sittingbourne Striders race companions.

Once I had crossed the line, the timing chip was removed from my shoe and I was given a medal and a goody bag. As it was a fairly warm day my first thought was to rummage through it to look for the water; During the process I also found a banana, a peanut bar thingy and loads of paper things including a list of runners in this year's race - a nice touch, I thought.

some of teamslgr awaiting (and cheering) the rest of the team [photo: tony giles]

After a brief spot of recovering on the grass, I went and found a nice spot to cheer in the rest of the team, and as each runner finished they came over and joined in with the cheering. We'd all had a great time at the event and some of my team mates even headed home with new personal bests, as confirmed by the official results that were published on-line later the same afternoon.

mission accomplished [photo: brian page]

Looking through my GPS split times it looks like I ran the first 5k in just a shade over 21 minutes and the second half in about 19.50. For the record my official chip time was 40.56 giving me and age grading of 68.38% which translates into 69 points in the club GP competition. Overall it was another great morning out with #teamslgr and I can't wait until the next one. Lastly, I would just like to add a huge thanks to Tony Giles and Brian Page for the photos.

Dartford parkrun 41 - Grandad Slug (tuː ˈhʌn.dɹəd)

16 May 2015 saw the return of Dartford parkrun following a one week break in order for the set-up of the Trevithick Steam Festival to take place. After my run at Cassiobury parkrun event 11 that morning, I headed over to Central Park, in Dartford to check out the fair.

It was the third year on the trot that I had been there and it was just as good as it always is. If you are local and missed it, I would thoroughly recommend popping over next time it is on.

the parkrun200 banana

Back to 16 May and this event marked a personal landmark run for me, although it is not officially recognised as one. It was my double century, or in Roman Numerals, CC, or just simply known as my 200th parkrun.

I decided that it would be right to mark it in some way so I ran through a number of ideas of things I could do, but in the end settled on the plain and simple parkrun staple that is.... cake ...

just after the one kilometre mark [photo: richey]

... but not just any old cake. You see, I have a bit of a reputation as a prolific banana eater, so we (I say we, it was Dani) baked a couple of banana cakes the night before to share with the rest of the post-parkrun gang.

The idea that I scrapped at the last minute was to bring enough bananas for all of the runners. However, all was not lost as fellow core volunteer, Adam, spent some time creating a beautifully decorated 200th parkrun banana for me - that was pretty awesome of him (thanks, Adam).

mick jagger's leg [photo: dani]

I was also very pleased to be able to welcome some parkrunning friends who had planned their parkrun touring visits to coincide with this event. Firstly Graeme from Riddlesdown parkrun [my course description blog] (he now has a course best time identical to mine), we've run countless parkruns at Riddlesdown together as well as plenty of races, so it was really nice to have him over to try out our course.

Then there was James, Teresa and Lisa from Maidstone parkrun [my Maidstone parkrun blog] - James kindly looked after me when I visited his home venue in January 2014 - we've also run quite a few local races together. And of course there was Nicola, who was the most experienced parkrunner present on the day with 220 parkruns to her name. Her home venue is Roundshaw parkrun [I've run there twice, my blog posts are here]. We did quite a few volunteering stints together at Bushy Junior parkrun during 2013.

mick jagger selfie [photo: james]

After the run we all went over to see the Mick Jagger statue and James even grabbed a selfie of us all while we were there. All in all, it was a fantastic morning and the running part, while important, only felt like a tiny part of the day. Thank you for all coming over to visit Dartford parkrun.

Talking about the running, I had intended to run at around 4.12 per kilometre pace and finish in around 21 minutes. However, I started off with Tony and when we hit the 1km mark in 3.58, I decided that it made sense to just stick with that pace and aim to finish in just under 20 minutes, which I did.

me with graeme and terry [photo: dani]

Some statistics from my first 200 parkruns (mostly for my own information..)

200 official runs
207 weeks since my first parkrun (3 years, 11 months, and 19 days)

29 freedom runs

209 credited volunteer roles

84 different venues

17 inaugurals

10 buggy runs

5 first finishes

110 runs combined total for Riddlesdown [71] and Dartford [39] (55% of my total runs)

63 sub-20 runs

16 sub-19 runs

2 interviews on the parkrun show

And I'm happy to report that I have never forgotten my barcode.

Beckenham Team Relay 2015

With the warmer months and lighter evenings rapidly approaching, it was time to start looking for some midweek relay races to enter with my SLGR team mates. The first of the 2015 season that we liked the sound of was the Beckenham Team Relay Race, which is hosted by Beckenham Runners.

#teamslgr [photo: dani]

In the weeks leading up to the race we managed to gather enough runners to form five teams which was much better than we had managed the last time we tried to get some relay teams together. As expected, there were some changes in team line ups at the last minute, but thankfully it all went roughly to plan and there were no major problems.

Relay races come in lots of different shapes and forms, and this one was an undulating 3 x 2.6 mile race. Underfoot was tarmac, paving stones or gravel so road shoes were the way to go. I assigned myself a place in team SLGR 2 and secured the services of Richey and Adam by using the lure of vegan waggon wheels as a bribe. We decided to run the legs in order of expected pace with us getting progressively faster after each changeover. The three of us in SLGR 2 wore bibs displaying number 79, but Richey had an 'A' prefix, Adam 'B' and I had 'C' to indicate which legs we would be running.

i do love a chalk start line [photo: dani]

On paper, we were the fastest SLGR team present on the night which you might imagine would take the SLGR 1 moniker. However as the original idea to run this race came from my team mate Kat, I thought it only right to allocate the coveted number 1 to her team. The five teams were made up of 2 male teams, 2 female teams and 1 mixed team.

Race HQ was at the Beckenham Cricket Club and that's where we all met and registered our teams. The cost was £10.50 per team (£3.50 per person). Our five teams and supporters then headed over to the start-finish area which was within the grounds of Beckenham Place Park. It took about 10 minutes to walk over and our five first leg runners only just made it into the start funnel in time. Note: don't hang around in the race HQ taking team photos immediately before the race! (my fault, sorry)

the mass start (leg a) [photo: dani]

With the leg 'A' runners sent off around the course, it was time for the leg 'B' runners to warm up and then head towards the changeover area to await the return of their team mates. It was at this point that I realised exactly how many teams were in attendance. The race had reached its race licence limit of 100 teams and it was pretty packed in there!

Richey had soon completed his leg of the race and was now free to spend the rest of the evening cheering, which is actually one of the great things about relay races. Having only a few runners out on the course at a time means that there's always a great atmosphere and support for all the runners at the changeover area.

richey handing the virtual baton over to adam [photo: dani]

With Adam now out on the course I knew I better start getting properly warmed up for my leg and after a bit of running and some dynamic stretches I got myself into the changeover area, which was pretty packed with anxious looking runners awaiting their respective team mates.

Then, in the distance, I spotted Adam and moved into position to await his arrival. A quick tag and I was off. The course started at one of the high points of the course and first section was downhill along a private road which weaved through Beckenham Place Golf Course where I managed to gain two places for the team. At the end of the road the route left the park and went out onto the streets, where I caught and overtook another runner.

my turn to take the virtual baton [photo: dani]

The first incline started about 1 kilometre into the lap and went on for about 600 metres; at its steepest it reached a grade of 8%, during the ascent I managed to grab another two places. Once at the peak of the hill, the course turned to the left and the descent started.

This lead the runners back into the park where I overtook another runner as I ran along the slightly gravelly meandering path adjacent to the Ravensbourne River (this section also forms part of the Beckenham Trail 10k race which I ran in 2013). Once at the other side of the park, the runners venture out onto Beckenham Hill Road for a short 100 metre stretch along the pavement.

part of the last 700 incline through the park [photo: 7t]

Upon re-entering the park it was time for the second uphill slog. I spotted another runner in front of me and set my sights on catching him. This incline was around 700 metres in length and took the runners all the way to the finish line. With an average grade of 4%, it was not as steep as the first incline but, as it came right at the end, it felt just as hard.

I caught and overtook my opponent about half way up the hill, and then I became the prey! After working hard to take the position, the last thing I wanted to do was hand it back, so I put everything I had left into the last couple of hundred metres and even finished with a decent sprint, eventually crossing the finish line two seconds ahead of my rival to the excited cheers of my awaiting team mates and supporters.

the course hill profile [image: my strava gps data]

Before the race, I had looked at previous years' results and it was pretty clear that none of our teams would be anywhere near challenging for one of the top spots, but that really didn't matter because what we took away from the evening was a fantastic team experience on a lovely early summer's evening.

The official results were available early the next morning, which was pretty good going considering that the whole event was timed manually. I'm guessing someone had to sit up pretty late in order to get it all processed - great commitment and it was the icing on the cake of a very enjoyable and well organised event.

slgr 2 race complete [photo: clive penny]

Our teams' results were as follows;

SLGR 2 - Richey 18:25 / Adam 17:30 / Steven S 16:30 (total time: 52:25) (40th)
SLGR 3 - Terry 20:06 / Alex 20:45 / Steven B 18:29 (total time: 59:20) (72nd)
SLGR 5 - Renee 22:52 / Dawn 20:53 / Chris 19:56 (total time: 1.03:41) (81st)
SLGR 4 - Carla 24:46 / Michelle 21:55 / Caroline 20:00 (total time: 1.06:41) (90th)
SLGR 1 - Kat 28:39 / Carol 29:03 / Lynne 22:58 (total time: 1.20:40) (99th)

go #teamslgr (heart) [photo: dani]

We had a small but great team of supporters with us which was fantastic, so thank you to you all. A special thanks must go to Dani and Clive who, despite the light conditions being tricky, managed to get a really nice selection of photos between them, some of which I have used here. As always, I recorded my run using Strava so if you want to check out the course in more detail you can click to view my GPS data.

#teamslgr