Mum and Dad revisited the Carsluith phone box in September last year!
Good news about this phone box – it’s now serving a useful purpose as a book and seed exchange:
I’m really pleased about that as this phone box looked like it wasn’t long for this world when last visited in 2020.
More from Scotland next week.
I’m trying to do a new-to-me parkrun once per month in 2025 as that will get me to 50 different locations by the end of the year. This month’s visit was relatively local as we didn’t go away anywhere (a good thing after so much travel recently!).
I researched my first eight NENDYs (nearest events not done yet) and sent links to Geth so that he could choose one (this will be the strategy for all upcoming months where we don’t have a trip away). He selected Prudhoe Riverside, as we’d run along part of the course just a couple of days ago when doing our latest recce for our upcoming ultra.
The course is two laps around part of the Spetchells, which is basically a big manmade lump of chalk from WWII. It was fun running on a chalk trail, though I imagine it would be a bit more challenging after a lot of rain!
We took it easyish for around 30 minutes (this will be a theme until after the ultra) and generally enjoyed the springlike conditions.
We will most likely be back to more familiar environs next week for a special celebration (fingers crossed!).
Here’s one near Loch Ness that Mum and Dad found on their way back from Orkney.
(Coordinates 57°26’89.5″N, 4°39’54.4″W.)
This phone box has some interesting contents. In addition to retaining its phone, it also has a jar of pickled onions and a visitor’s book (which Dad signed).
After I did the Valentine Half Marathon last year, Geth was keen to do the couples’ relay, which is part of the same event. It’s a 10k relay so each partner runs 5k. We are absolutely not in 5k PB shape at the moment due to too many marathon and ultra training blocks back to back (plus, you know, winter), but were excited to give it a go.
It’s a Run Nation event, and Run Nation events are always a bit chaotic. It was very unclear from the pre-race and on-the-day communication whether the first leg relay runners (me in our case) were supposed to start with the main 10k wave or not (we finally had confirmation that we were about 10 seconds before the race started). During the whole of my leg, I had no idea whether I was supposed to run into the finish funnel at the end or back up to the start line. It turned out to be the latter, but it wasn’t clear what to do there either; Geth and I both ran over it sort-of-together in order to ‘pass the baton’, and I went over to the finish to grab my medal and goodies and then to wait by the funnel, counting relay numbers.
We both did well for our current running fitness – I did about 24 minutes, which I hadn’t expected to be close to, and Geth about 22:30 – so we were really happy. The results have been a bit bumpy, error-prone and delayed since Sunday, but at the moment it looks like we finished in 46:41 overall, 11th place out of 19. It was a fairly fast field so I’m pleased with that! Looking forward to finding out my individual split, hopefully later today.
It was a lovely morning out, with lots of other Benchies running in the event or supporting, and it was really nice to do something different and get a faster race done in the middle of all this slower long-distance stuff. Excited for my shorter races in the spring post-ultra now!
I had hoped to do a new-to-me parkrun this last weekend, but Geth and I had a bit too much on, so plumped for an easy trip to Rising Sun instead. Yet another Saturday taking it relatively easy in 30ish minutes, as we had a (short) race to do the following day!
I will definitely get round to that new-to-me parkrun next week, as one of my 2025 targets is to do a new one every month.
We’ve finally come to the last of the Orkney phone boxes from last September.
(Coordinates 58°78’91.7″N, 2°95’88.1″W.)
No phone in this one and it is a bit unloved, but there was a bonus cow!
Back to the mainland next week.
A slightly damp morning but the rain stayed off during parkrun and it was fairly still too. A good day for pacing 30 at Town Moor!
Kept a few people on target for the first couple of miles and they were all able to sprint off during the last bit. Really enjoy pacing 30 minutes as so many people are aiming for it.
Possibly a new-to-me location next week…
Here’s one that Mum and Dad found at the fossil museum in Orkney!
(Coordinates 58°85’82.1″N, 2°91’11.3″W.)
It’s in the yard of the museum, which perhaps makes it an exhibit!
One more from Orkney next week.
Another lovely parkrun morning. Clear and cold but not frosty, so the only slippery bits of Jesmond Dene course today were the muddy patches. Lots of friends there too as Town Moor was off!
Geth and I took it easy for 30ish minutes, which was the perfect start to a quiet weekend.
Probably back on the Moor next weekend but we’ll see!