Cambourne 10k

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Cambridge Holi and Cambourne 10k

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Cambridge Holi Festival earlier in the month.

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The Holi is the  Hindu Festival of Colour and a celebration of the arrival of Spring. Cambridge students assemble on Queen’s backs and throw paint at each other. Great fun and enjoyable to watch. I was a bit worried about them breathing in the clouds of powder paint but this didn’t appear to be an issue. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t up to much but the rain just managed to hold off for most of the time.

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Last weekend, I did Cambridge parkrun on Saturday and Cambourne 10k on Sunday. Cambourne is a new town, 9 miles to the west of Cambridge and the race is part organised by Cambridge and Coleridge Athletics Club. And very nicely organised it was, too. The weather was perfect and the course was gently undulating (although some of the inclines did go on a bit). I was roughly 100 seconds slower than last year and I was happy with that.

It occurred to me (again) that I seem to know quite a lot of male runners with serious health problems, mainly in their 60s.Tumours, heart disease (heart attacks, heart block and arrythmias}and a spinal bleed. I’m also in this group and we’ve all got one thing in common. We are all still running! A couple of weeks ago I had a chat with a club runner from Newmarket. He’s currently waiting for a hip replacement and expecting to run again in a year’s time when he’ll be in the 85-89 age category for parkrun. Hip hip hooray!

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It’s all about me, again!

Cambourne 10k, a few miles out of Cambridge. Grass, soft paths, some hard surfaces but not much. Several long, gentle inclines and descents. Mainly countryside. I didn’t do it last year. Did do it in the previous two years. Today was 5 seconds slower than 2014 and 38 seconds slower than 2014. So I’m a failure and in bits? Hardly, it was a good run for me. The weather was sunny, temperature around 10c and warm enough for me not to have to wear a jacket and long tracksters. I enjoyed this race.

About 850 ran it and there were an awful lot of faces I knew or recognised from the club, parkrun and other races over the years.

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Here’s me munching on a post race goody bag snack and holding on to Lorna to make sure she doesn’t run away. Good friend Mike looks straight at the camera. He came in approximately 5 minutes faster than me! Surely he must be taking a performance enhancing drug? There were actually officials wearing hi viz bibs bearing the word ADJUDICATOR running in the race and one cruised effortlessly past me. What’s all that about? To pull over people running too fast, that’s what.

Watched a recorded BBC programme, How to Stay Young tonight. The second part is broadcast on BBC1 on Thursday, April 11th. Well worth watching despite being a little scary. There are now a number of tests and research findings which give a more accurate indication of future health and longevity. One was very simple. Crossing your legs and then sitting down on the floor without the use of your hands and then rising to your feet, again without the aid of your hands. You scored 10 if you could successfully do this as described and lost points if you used an elbow, hand or even wobbled excessively. I couldn’t do it. Not only did I go down with a thump and nearly injured my coccyx but I was nowhere near to getting up unaided. Oh dear! I wonder if performance enhancing drugs would help.