I was looking forward to my run all day yesterday, and revised the route repeatedly through the day, gradually getting longer! When I finally escaped the office my plans were still fairly fluid, but were eight miles plus.
Heading south through the Chinese and gay quarters it was a gorgeous day and there were lots of folk sitting outside pubs and bars, several shouting, well let's say encouragement...
In next to no time I was crossing Edgbaston Road into Cannon Hill Park, beneath the new floodlights of the Warwickshire Cricket Ground. Near 'Fergal's Corner' I noticed a sign - '200 metres to go' I think it said. Very soon I noticed other signs and realised a race route had been marked out, and when I saw the Cancer Research UK logo on one, combined with pink plastic tape, it clicked that it must be Race4Life. That must be, it occurred to me, what the music's for! At first I thought they were getting ready for the weekend, but surely they wouldn't set up two days in advance? Then I noticed that there were a few dozen people gathered in the centre of the park and several more arriving from all directions, so it was clearly an evening run this year.
I've been involved in Race4Life a few times - not as a participant, obviously, it being a ladies-only event - but as a volunteer. Twice I've been one of the guys who hoist a big coloured flag to lead a group, Pied Piper style, to the start line. It's their equivalent of starting pens, with flags for quicker, medium and slower ladies. It can be quite scary when, on a cue from the event director, you raise your flag and several thousand women descend on you! It's a brilliant opportunity for a bit of banter, though, and the whole job is great fun from start to finish, but it can be quite hard work helping with the set-up and packing away afterwards. All that pink can be a bit much after a few hours - it's never been a favourite colour for me. Still, it's all in a good cause.
I ran on through the park, passing more ladies, then did a loop via Moor Lane, Highbury Park and Holders Lane back into Cannon Hill Park, passing more and more R4L runners. I did one loop of the main perimeter path, as in the parkrun, and left via Pebble Mill Fields again, by which time the path was packed with pink-clad ladies showing little if any consideration for other park users - not just me but the general public and cyclists (this on the national Cycle route, where cyclists should be given right of way). zig-zagging across the path looking for ways through the crowd even I accidentally cut up a cyclist coming up behind me. I apologised, of course, but he was fine about it, joking about being more concerned about his front wheel than about my legs. Actually, maybe he wasn't joking, but at least he was smiling, and went on to say that he'd have moved onto the grass were it not for his racing tires.
I ran on and up the hill on Dads Lane to the other entrance to Highbury Park and following a now fairly familiar route via Alcester Road to Moseley, then Wake Green Road and College Road home to Acocks Green. Another really enjoyable run, but again faster than I'd intended - a touch over 11 miles in a touch under 90 minutes, that's 8:03 pace, when I should have been averaging around 8:15, given the hills involved.
Looking forward to parkrun tomorrow, and I'll take a steady run home after, but I'll decide my route in the morning.
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