Day 11. From this to that! The post race snap of my new trail shoes doesn’t really do justice to the mud love-in that took place at Wimpole Estate 1st anniversary parkrun today. And, unbelievably, I didn’t win it, thanks to the 72 people that barged in front of me. To put it another way, if those 72 people had stayed in bed rather than get up for a 9 am start race, I would have been covered in glory as well as mud.

It was a glorious day. A blue sky, low, very bright sun ( I accept the sun is generally bright in a cloudless sky: it just seemed extra bright today) and a little too cold for me but manageable. 207 finished, the first coming in at 19 minutes 13 seconds and the last recorded at 55 minutes 28 seconds. That’s the thing about parkrun; it’s completely inclusive (with the proviso that you are able to run or walk). As for the conditions underfoot, we started off on a puddle and soil infested asphalt path and then transferred to marshland, swamp, morass, bog and finally quagmire in that order. However, I was impressed by the quality of the mud. It was runner friendly, forgiving, light hearted. It had a certain je ne sais quoi unlike the evil mud at Hinchingbrooke on New Years Day which tried to drown me.

Me running past Wimpole Hall and with my daughter Isobelle who also took part. My son Dan ran Valentine’s Park 5K and got a personal best on fast, flat paths. Lorna took some great photos and we met up with a load of friends. A very enjoyable morning. The only sour note? Their second hand bookshop (previously loved and treasured then abandoned books) was not open before 11 am and we left at 10.45. OK, I can deal with it.

I felt tired when I sat down in the afternoon and started to doze. The sun shone and the temperature had risen a little higher so I went for another run lasting around 45 minutes. Much more alert after I returned. Note to self : when exhausted run for an hour plus.