Monday 4 January 2010

RETURN OF THE WHITE STUFF!





A trio enjoy a snowball fight on the hillside above Middleton Woods with views over to the Cow and calf Rocks of  Ilkley.


The decision to evacuate from the Lakes on Saturday certainly proved to be the right one as the weather deteriorated by late afternoon with a return of the dreaded white stuff. Those setting out early on Sunday (8 a.m. !) will have enjoyed fresh snow to run on but I rarely run on an empty stomach nowadays so by late morning when I started out, the gritted roads were turning to slush. Still I managed to get in a hilly 10 miles to bring up the total for week 1,  2010 to 50.  Nothing really pacy but included a good hill session; so a reasonable start all things considered.
    Considered going on the treadmill today but was lured back towards the Middleton side of town by the view of glorious late morning sunshine.  The temperature difference over there compared to the Ben Rhydding side is amazing.  Managed a flat 7, thinking all the while how much more difficult running will be for those venturing out tonight.  The 5 day weather indicates no real improvement; so looks like we will be enjoying excellent sledging conditions for the rest of the week. Great! If you've children; which I haven't. Take care!
    Tomorrow, I'll be reviewing the last decade and reflecting on how the fortunes of my peers have varied so much.  One runner I would have mentioned would have been Ken Moss (Northern Vets.) who has been on the Northern running scene for as long as I have I would say. He finished one place behind me in the London marathon 1983 in 2:25.41.  Whilst my times have declined, Ken maintained an incredible standard; running 17.05 and 35.29 at the age of 57.  He ran over 30 races in 2008 but only 2 in 2009, so presumably he had been ill last year. Sadly, he died over Christmas at his home in Cheshire.  He was a great character. Always friendly at events and always had time for people. He will be greatly missed.

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