Quick volunteer slot this morning before catching the train.
I was marshalling at the top of the hill today, which is a spot I’ve not done before. There are about fifteen marshal points on the Jesmond Dene course and I’m still trying to collect them all! I was quite genuinely surprised by how many of the runners – even the faster ones – were walking up the hill. When I’m running the course, I always shufflerun up that hill as a point of principle (don’t need to walk hills on a 5k!) and see a lot of people walking it, but I’m generally towards the back of the field so I assumed it was just a slower folk thing. Maybe not.
Back to Town Moor next week for another run.
I’ve got another outdoor Duran Duran gig to attend this weekend so I’m off down to London tomorrow (timing could have been better, looks like it’s going to be impossibly hot down there) while Geth holds the fort at home. This will be the very last of my pandemic-postponed events (not counting the two that never got rescheduled – I’m still holding out hope for them but it’s looking unlikely now!).
Once I was finally able to break free of the endless news-watching trap in which I had become entangled due to this week’s events, I had a really good go at Bravely Default II yesterday. I got the game when it came out in February 2021 and have been playing it on and off for over a year, but hadn’t actually opened it up since last October – I’ve been far too busy with other things since then! Hopefully this summer I will actually finish it.
Mum and Dad have been travelling in Scotland again and have found me a few more phone boxes. Here’s one in Catlodge.
(Coordinates 57°00’73.2″N, 4°25’18.8″W.)
Some very tatty paintwork (a theme for the next few weeks) and no phone inside. Looks like the greenery is also encroaching into the interior!
Update September 2024: still tatty!
It’s been a while since my last trip round the Moor! But it’s so familiar it felt like I’d never been away this morning.
I was in my new-ish (tried them out on a one-miler and a two-miler the last couple of weeks) tempo shoes (Saucony Endorphin Speed). I’ve never used tempo shoes before these, only super-cushioned stability shoes. They took two minutes off my time. I had set a new post-pandemic PB of 34:13 at Tøyen a fortnight ago; I ran Town Moor in 32:20 today. The magic is real.
I wouldn’t wear them for long runs, I don’t think, as they’re not built for comfort. But they’re going to be great for intervals and so on when I get back into those.
Geth managed to lose his barcode in the finish funnel this morning. Some kind soul handed it in to the team so we (or I at least) will be back in a fortnight’s time to collect it!