Midsummer Eve Club Run!

Hello blog lovers!

Today I was really looking forward to our club run. Today is the day where we all join together and really look like a formidable running club.  It's our two 'drinks station stop, then Pimms at our Kit mans, MidSummers Eve', Run!

We have seven running groups in our club, group 1 being the 'Beginners Group' and group 7 being the fastest group! We combined together to make three for this evening, 7,6 and 5 will run as one group, 4 and 3 will run and 2 and 1 will run as another. We ran out together, all heading for one point in Chislehust, to the first drinks station, with, obviously, slightly varying routes and distances to keep it challenging for everyone (and so we can time ourselves to arrive at the same sort of time)

When we have our Midsummers Eve run (yes it really is midsummer!), it's not just your ordinary H2O that is on offer, oh no, we provide your squash as well, (thats undiluted orange juice to my USA readers) to flavour it up, I do believe there were two different flavours today, plus we had a choice of ....... beer or even a shandy! Perfect for running, I believe! It certainly kept me moving!

Our  group, today, were heading through the woods, which were still quite wet and muddy in places. I could hear all the girls in front and behind me squealing as they are trying to find the safest, less muddy, places to cross, as the boys just squelched through the middle of them, with the beer on their minds, no doubt!

Our route took us through 'Poo Ally', left along the railway tracks, and up to Botony Bay, a hill I have yet to conquer, with out stopping to walk! But today I did it! I ran and squelched and squealed non stop to the top of the first part, where we normally stop on our first official regroup. I made it to the top!

I didn't quite make it the rest of the way, to the first drinks station though, with me walking on a couple of parts of the hill and the road.  The drinks station wasn't that far to go.  After we all congregated there, the other groups drifted in.  It was soon time to run to the next drinks station.

Our Illustrious leader was trying to gather up her 'flock' of runners, so this where I introduced my infamous whistle! My whistle has stopped taxis in their tracks that have driven passed and missed our hailing, my whistle has brought my kids home from the woods when I needed them home for their dinner. And tonight, it got everyones attention. Our Illustrious leader was able to call in groups 1 and 2 without hardly raising her voice!

On to the next station. This was at Scadbury park. Again I seemed to have kept pace with the front runners, (a shandy is a good incentive to keep moving, it seems) I was impressing myself. Even Nagging Sister noticed that I had kept going! We were going through some more of the fantastic  woods that we have here. The path, which we took, runs parrallel to the road, so muh nicer to run through here than the road. It's a route we have taken in our group 1 before but when we popped out of the woods, onto the the road, instead of going right to head back to the meeting/start point, we turned left to go to Scadbury park.

Our Illistrious Leader held another regrouping here, (it also gave a little time for the drinks station to be organised at Scadbury park!) We were waiting for the sweeper to be popping out of the woods behind us.  "Just run up to the park" she said to us "And if you see the blue car then go on in to the park, if not just turn around start running back to us until we all catch up again" So, while our Illustrious leader waited with another runner for the sweeper and anyone else that was behind, we all headed to the next drink stop.

We arrived at the park and we could see that the blue car was there! "Fantastic, we don't have to run back", I thought to myself! We ran across the  long grassy path, towards the blue car and we saw.......hmm, , shall I name him? Yes I will!, we saw Jonathan! He was our sweeper!, and there he was busy pouring out drinks!

"How did you get here" we asked him "Oh I got a bit lost, we couldn't see where you went and we just kind of took a short cut" he said! "Oh but our Illustrious leader is waiting for you at the end of this road" we informed him as we pointed in the opposite direction of where he came from! Well guess what? I volunteered to run back to let her know that Jonathan was at the drinks station! I know, can you imagine me, doing extra bits of running, and after a fizzy shandy!

The next stop from here, though was our Kit mans lovely garden. By jove, I will name him too! He and his wife derserve recognition! His name is Mike. He and his wife have this amazing garden, just beautiful. He opens his garden once a year and collects donations for the Harris Hospice! Amazing! So a big huge thank you to these guys for letting us trample all over their amazing velvet lawn! I hope we didn't didn't do too much damage to your lawn.

Here in Mikes garden also, we held our prize giving. I had the privilege and the pleasure of presenting prizes for our  Pettswood Runners members only, 10k race, to six of our runners who were the fastest in their particular groups, with Nagging Sister helping me. (and Mr. S. heckling me! Did I go on then, Mr. S?)

I had fogotten to take my garmin this evening so no geeky stats, I think I was probably a little nervous and worried about what I will be talking about! Obviously I didn't wan't to be going on and on like I do in my blogs, after all they all had to get home some time this evening!

A great day, a great run and a fanastic time in Mikes garden, drinking Pimms.