Clowne Half Marathon

Today we are in Clowne which is midway between Worksop and Chesterfield, all for a hoodie. This is the second time I have run the Clowne Half Marathon. The first time was in 2015 and they insured that I would probably never come back when they handed me the red race t-shirt with Santa and his Elves on it.

Well, would you believe it, the following year they scrapped the Christmas themed t-shirt idea and started handing out hoodies instead which were not red and didn’t Santa or his Elves on them. Various folk, you know who you are, have been flaunting these must have articles of clothing ever since.

So here I am. L, clearly not a hoodie chaser, isn’t joining me in the race.

The run itself is undulating, obviously, and is a jaunt through several local villages. It goes well and I record a 'ok' time of 1:45:48. Which I then compare with my time in 2015, which was on the back of doing 1:40:01 at Leicester but was 1:50:16. Hmmm. Today’s time is perhaps not as rubbish as I thought.

Again the injuries have stayed away but, I’m sure, the moment I enter my target race of April’s Manchester Marathon...

Coalville 10k

Today we participate in the Coalville 10k. This is another one done by those folk at Nice Work and it’s the seventh running of the race. L's done it before but keeps the details to herself until I’ve entered. Bascially it's two loops and mostly off road. Then she asks if I’m sure I’m not being forced into it. Of course I’m sure I am being forced into it.

She also doesn’t mention, or has forgotten about, the big off road hill that is impossible to get up in the current wet conditions without resorting to crawling on one’s hand and knees.

The race is held entirely within the grounds of Snibston Country Park and includes a lap around one their car parks, otherwise known as waste ground following the demolition of the Discovery Museum which once stood there.In fact I'm sure it hosted the start and finish when we were last here in 2013.

It’s fun, I suppose.

Shepshed 7

Today we do the Shepshed 7 only slightly hungover, mainly due to it’s leisurely 11am start. Totally hungover might have been preferable to be honest as this is far from being my favourite race. Two laps of off-road grit strewn paths and grass. What’s to like? Nothing really. In fact I was seriously worried about my ankles so I wasn’t all sure whether I should risk it at all.

However the event does though seem to have achieved some sort of iconic status with it’s non-standard seven mile distance, excellent organisation and post-race tea and cake. So here we are, again.

55:05. That's four minutes slower than when I was last here, two years ago. Just put me out of my misery now.