First Big Sunday Social Run

I feel sorry for all you non runners who just won't get this, but running is a drug that can leave you feeling euphoric.  Best of all, it's free and is good for your health.  The only negative is that it requires effort.  To continue to be good at it and to get the benefits you have to be consistent with the amount of times you run each week, and this is hard work and requires commitment.  When first starting out, running is incredibly hard work.  I know this more than most because I've witnessed many clients go through those first stages of learning how to run.  The first few weeks are a long hard slog and many question whether they'll be able to run well.  Most start by only being able to run for a short time and then have to walk for a bit, then run a bit more and so on.  But little by little they start to run a little more each week.  Then one day they suddenly realise that they ran for half an hour continuously and it felt easy and good and a big smile spreads across their face.  From here on running becomes fun and it gets easier and easier to extend the distance that you can run.

I'm telling you this because this morning I met with six friends and I ran a total of 20.5 miles and it was the highlight of my week.  I've been feeling absolutely great all day as a result.  Of course the weather helped.  Yes, it was very cold at the start, but there wasn't a single cloud in the sky and hardly any wind.  It was a beautiful day for a run.

My six running companions are all training for Barcelona Marathon on 6th March, which means they're not quite as mad as me.  I was joined today by Jamsheed, our wise man from the East and one of the nicest people you could ever meet.  I first met Jamsheed when I was training for my first marathon back in 2004.  I couldn't get to a 20 mile training event because my car had just died.  Jamsheed offered me a lift via a mutual friend and we've been friends ever since.  There was also Jo and Shelley who are often in the lead group of females at local races.  Then Chris and Suzy, the running love birds.  Chris only started running because he fancied Suzy and thought it would increase his chances of getting a date.  His gamble paid off.  When he first started running with us he'd struggle along at the back of the pack and he'd be the person we'd need to wait for from time to time.  Today he was happy to set the pace up front.  And finally there was Andy, who as someone who works in press and public relations can often be relied upon for words of wisdom.  His first words to me today were, "What's this mad challenge you've set yourself?"

We all met at Magog Down, just south of Cambridge with a plan to run 16 miles, which would take us down a bridleway, that was once a Roman Road, to the village of Linton and back.  Because I wanted to run at least 20 miles, I got Ruth to drop me off so that I could then run the 4 miles at the end back to home.

We all stayed together at first, chatting in small groups of two or three people at a time that would constantly change with the miles.  Every now and again one small group would take the lead, but we'd always regroup at various points, all of which have become established over the years.  At all of these points I'd usually find myself with the lead group, but I'd then run back to the last person to keep them company to each meeting point.  This would only mean running an extra 200 to 300m each time, nothing huge, but it meant that when we got to our half way point I had an extra half mile on everyone else.  I know this because a few of us now have Garmins.  Suzy was just getting over an illness, so was often the last person in the group. 

Our destination was a water tower on top of a hill overlooking Linton village.  I say hill, anywhere else in the world it would be called a small mound.  But this being Cambridgeshire, it's a hill, and to most people in these parts, it's a bloody big hill.  Andy and I where at the back of the group at the start of the climb of the "hill".  Without saying a word we suddenly seemed to challenge each other to sprint up the "hill".  The others were rather bemused by this turn of events half way through a long run.  Anyway, we reached the top with me slightly in the lead.  I then immediately turned around and ran back to Suzy to keep her company to the top.  Once we were back by the water tower, the agreed destination of the run, we saw the others heading further along and down the ridge.  Suzy had had enough at this stage and decided to head back, giving me instructions to let Chris and the others know that she intended to make her way back at a slow pace for us to catch her up.

I caught up with the others at a view point over looking the village below, which was measured to be exactly 8 miles from the start point.  I told Chris that Suzy had started to make her way back to the cars, so he sprinted off to go and chase her once more.  As we made our way along the Roman Road, which is very undulating for this part of the world, we frequently got glimpses of Suzy disappearing over the brow of a climb, with Chris in hot pursuit a short distance behind.  Strangely, she now seemed to have found her speed and seemed to be teasing Chris by staying just a short distance ahead of him.  It probably took him a good five miles to catch up with her.  The rest of us all finally regrouped 2 miles after that so that we were all together again for the last mile back to the cars.

I then said goodbye to my friends for another week and set off on the last four miles back to my house.   I always miss out on mid-week runs with the gang due to my odd working hours.  Many of us will be back together for Cambridge Park Run next Saturday, and another long run on Sunday next week.

My legs felt surprisingly good on the last four miles to home.  My only complaint was feeling absolutely famished - nothing new there.  If my legs could feel this good at the end of all my long runs for the rest of the year I'd be a very happy man.  Somehow, I suspect that that is highly unlikely.  I'm sure the wheels will come off at some point and I'll develop a twinge or niggle or two.  I just hope that they never become severe enough to stop me from achieving my goal.  Time will tell.