On Sunday I was just about to walk up to the post box to get a letter off when I discovered it was the Stowmarket Half Marathon. There were dozens of runners, running down the footpath and heading past the bungalow just like last year. Last year they had horrible wet weather which was probably better for running than the lovely sunshine of this year.
This year a few guys were dressed as colouring crayons - long dress-like wear with pointy coloured hats. They looked a bit 'warm'. I was yet again surprised at the ages of some of the people - and all the different running styles.
It's organised by Stowmarket Striders running club but there were runners from all parts of Suffolk and on googling I discovered it costs the runner around £21 to enter if they are a running club member and up to £30 if not. There were around 270 runners who finished the race last year but there didn't seem as many going by this year.
As they go past my bungalow and up the lane they pass the 7 mile mark - so just over half way. Supposedly running is addictive - it's never been something I could do!
As I said last year - nothing much happens here so even a road race is exciting!
It's an addiction which, I am happy to say, I never acquired.
ReplyDeleteMe neither!
DeleteI love that bright green sign, now I am humming "Keep on the right side of life". I think I might have become a running addict if I hadn't damaged my knee and needed surgery. 🏃♀️🏃♂️🏃♀️🏃♂️🏃♀️🏃♂️
ReplyDeleteOuch!
DeleteIt looks like a lovely route. I quite enjoy running. Putting one foot in front of the other, with little else to think about, is one of the few things I can manage :)
ReplyDeleteMostly on back roads in the country, thank goodness, as there are too many cars
DeleteI have never been able to run and hated running at school. My daughter took up running during the pandemic, following the NHS 'Couch to 5K' program and now runs super marathons. She hated running at school too, so it's been quite a turn-around. I have no intention of joining her!
ReplyDeleteI was no good at running even back at age 11 and hurdling was hopeless!
DeleteI started couch to 5 k recently, I can't say I enjoy it yet!
ReplyDeleteWell Done, mind your knees!
DeleteI take it that is a photo from last year….it looks like a cold bleak winters day.
ReplyDeleteOne of our girls surprised us with her running a full marathon one year…..never again she said so stuck to halves. Except for the 5 years when she and three others took part as a team in the 100km/48hr Oxfam Trailwalker event!
This years photo but facing into the sun so it didn't come out well.
DeleteThe only time I have ever jogged regularly was when we lived on the farm in Oxfordshire, there I had fields and fields to run through and no one could see me. The dogs loved the exercise too. I think I will save my knees and never run again. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy knees have given up on me - so no chance of doing more than short walks now
DeleteI was better at sprinting, but when Asthma hit at 15 (with my periods), I couldn't run any more. I have the greatest admiration for those who can (Keith was a distance runner, and in the Army would run 10 miles in his lunch hour and ate just an Apple for lunch!
ReplyDeleteSome of the people running by were breathing heavy - others seemed to be fine. 10 miles in a lunch break is pretty good going!
DeleteRunning? Never appealed. But I enjoy watching the joggers as they pass by the window.
ReplyDeleteSome of my kids were successful runners in high school but I never did well at running.
ReplyDeleteI used to work with a marathon runner who routinely did ten miles at lunch and returned not even out of breath. Me, a nice walk does it.
ReplyDeleteIts so pretty around you - and always nice to see people getting outside!
ReplyDeleteCeci
My neighbors are runners. Her father still ran at 82.
ReplyDeleteNo running for me. Walking with my dog in the woodlands and gardening is perfect for me.
I have never been a runner. No desire to be a runner. Walking is enough for me.
ReplyDeleteRunning is not a hobby that ever appealed to me. Back in my 30s I used to go running with my neighbour but we really just bimbled along, chatting as we went. Catriona
ReplyDeleteAs my husband once dryly said to me ... you don't even run for a bus.
ReplyDeleteNope.
I have better things to do that gallop around looking and feeling sweaty and hot and rather uncomfortable!
I haven't taken up running or jogging for that matter. I did run in high school though many, many years ago.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I remembered something that fits here: "If you ever see me running, you better run too. Something's chasing me!"
ReplyDeleteWhat fun to see! I don't understand the fascination with running. I hated it when I had to do it in school and I certainly wouldn't do it now unless someone/something was chasing me!
ReplyDelete