Here is a pic of Milton Country Park which hosts Cambridge parkrun. 341 runners turned out despite the rain and giant puddles of unknown depths. I’m sure we would be regarded as heroes or stars by people whose love of exaggeration knows no bounds. The truth is we were just ordinary guys (now regarded as a universal term referring to all sexes) doing our duty and taking no regard of personal danger.

Here is a pic of Yeovil Montacute parkrun in South West England, hosted by the National Trust in the grounds of Montacute House, where 258 ran, including Lorna, who stayed near Glastonbury. Note the difference in the weather. Blue skies, unbroken sunshine and undoubtedly warm. They are simply runners, not heroes!

Here’s another picture to underline the intrinsic unfairness. These are very little puddles compared with deep troughs of water straddling the narrow trail paths and the deadly swamps which edge them. Boy, did we get super muddy unlike runners at other mollycoddling parkruns.

Still, it was a good run albeit on the sticky side. My new arch rival Eric beat me by 8 seconds but I’m catching up. Neither of us are as fast as last year although we are both slowly improving. Ex arch rivals Mike and Kerry have moved well beyond me (unless I seek out those popular illegal performance enhancing drugs. I’ll have a word with the Tesco pharmacist next time I do my shopping).

Photo by John Wilderspin

Here’s me, pursued by rabid dog, on the finishing straight. My mind is already on reading a copy of The Oracle that Lorna was bringing home from her sun drenched parkrun at Montacute.

Can’t wait to go back to Glastonbury with Lorna and climb the Tor again.

Tomorrow, I’m running the Cambourne 10k and, unlike today, the weather looks good.