A Royal Send Off: Here Potday, Gone to Soil

A cold and windy night couldn't deter people from coming. Had they known I was taking the group then they probably would have stayed away. People have told me I am very detering or alluring. I can't remember which. My aftershave says I am a boss.

Escaping storm Gareth, our trainer, Sarah was in Majorca, on a package holiday, drinking cocktails and watching reruns of Only Fools and Horses in bars.

Minh joined us for his first run with GoodGym. Give him a cheer. He had been cajoled in a pub to come along. And a drunken promise is a promise. On a separate note, if anyone wants to buy a pet snake from me, then email separately. (That was a very boozy night.)

This was the first group run since the Big Half and the afterglow (and some of the hangovers from Sunday) had not passed. It seems we've adopted the Big Half as our home run with so many involved. It was special day with so many people running or volunteering.

A special mention to:

Jenny P who completed her first half marathon. Jen was overheard later in the evening talking about next time. Mwah ha ha!!! There will be a next time.

Vic who missed her pb by a second. Grr. How frustrating! Here's some uncalled for advice, Vic: Make your wee, on the start line, quicker in future. ;-)

Pieter, Kat, and Mridula who were manning the water station at 8 miles, and gave everyone such a mental lift, and a bottle of water.

And Sara who was harnessed in a lorry. No further explanation offered.

Please give them all a cheer.

Tonight's task was going back to the Royal Hill Community Garden for the last time. :-( So, it definitely was with some mixed feelings. Daryl gave the group the background to the story. In short, the land has been reclaimed by the council, so the space has to be clear by the end of the month. We were there to move stuff (as we do it so well) and salvage as many plants/shrubs/trees as we could, so they might be redistributed elsewhere.

We split up into small teams, and armed with spades, forks and troughs went to work. There were little duels going on all over the garden. Ollie won his personal battle with a bush that was reluctant to leave. Hayley was particularly proud of conquering the beast (see photo). Life is but small victories. The beast had proven to be a real stick in the mud, and thorn in Hayley's side. However, enlisting Dan and Sara's help turned the tide. (I am sure Hayley will embellish the story in years to come as she regales the story of when she uprooted an oak tree with her bare hands!)

When we finished, the overall effect was the garden was looking a lot barer. It was sad to see. However, we took comfort in that we are likely to see many of these plants again, just in different settings. The beast never dies!!!

Given we were on Royal Hill, as the street name suggests it is quite a hilly area, so the group badgered me to do some hill sprints. We ran to Hyde Vale and did some fixed point repetitions up it. Hill work is speed work in disguise and great for improving your form.

Well done everyone. Thanks for coming out in the elements. Sarah will be back next week and with a tan! Don't give her a cheer!!!