NYMAC relays

It's not very often that I'm pleased to be not running but this evenings NYMAC relays was held on a very warm evening. The relays is a very popular event nowadays with all places sold inside 45 minutes a few weeks ago. Teams of four running a leg each of a mile lap of Stewart park. I ran in the event last year and although a mile doesn't sound too difficult throw in the fact your trying to run your lap as fast as you have ever done, there are many spectators watching and of course the difficult uphill finish, you can see why the event is as popular as it is.
NYMAC were represented by 8 teams this year including 2 ladies teams which is great to see and when one of the men's teams is announced third place overall it's a very popular result with the spectators.

Sewerby Hall

Tuesday evening was Chris's last long run before his Taper week leading up to Liverpool marathon next weekend. As I seemed to have done plenty of his long runs with him I headed out on the last one. Chris had worked out a 5 mile loop which ended near his house, the plan was to do 3 laps. On a warm evening the first lap Went with no problems. On the second loop we passed most of our fellow NYMAC runners outside Stewart park. The third and final lap was tough and I struggled to complete the third lap, though I was overall pleased to get close to 14 miles.
After a few extra days rest after the long run I found myself heading to Sewerby hall Parkrun as we were staying in a local holiday park for a couple of nights. Set in the grounds of the hall  this parkrun was a mixture of everything. The start line is exactly outside the front door of the hall and the first 3km heads out of the grounds towards the cliff edge above the beach and back again, on a warm morning the breeze was most welcome at this point although I can't imagine its very nice in the winter! After a run around the local cricket pitch we headed back into the grounds through the courtyards where it suddenly became a trail run through woodlands, down and up steps into narrow paths before heading back to the hall for the finish. Highly recommend this parkrun if your ever staying locally especially on a good weather day.

Locke parkrun

After a long week the chosen parkrun of the weekend was Locke park, redcar. It's been a few months since I was last here and it's also the home of my all time parkrun PB. The organisers have very kindly changed the entire route since that day so it's basically a whole new parkrun, so much that the route is now the opposite way around. The plan is to take it steady and get used to the new course which is pretty much is what happened. Unfortunately the new course misses out all the little bridges above the lake which is a shame as I felt it added to the character of the course but the new course is probably faster so expect some good times there in the near future.
After last weeks  pressure of making sure the online NYMAC relay sales went ahead with no problems I'm now looking forward to the event next week as it's becoming an extremely popular event.

Hardwick park

A quiet return to Parkrun this week as a last minute decision meant I was the only member to run the Sedgefield parkrun at the lovely Hardwick park. I have ran here on two other occasions, the Serpentine trail race and last years Neptune relay event, but I've never joined in the parkrun.

After a short delay at the start due to parking issues with the latecomers we were sent on our way round the small ponds heading towards the large lake, i felt quite comfortable early on but soon as we hit the open paths a cold headwind soon hit and I soon slowed down. After a nice winding route amongst the waterways in the park a short uphill path appeared ahead which took me by surprise as I hadn't read the course description. Overall a nice two lap 5k and one I will do many times again, hopefully next time on a warmer morning!

Midweek update

Finally got running again this week after a long weekend off. Tuesday evening brought another long run with Chris. I joined Chris in the middle of his 18 mile run and almost immediately found ourselves running up Gypsy lane, not a great way to start but good practice for the fell races as most of them start with an early climb! I managed over 11 miles which had a tough uphill slog back to home for most of the last mile. Whilst out on the run we passed club member Jim Robson who was going well the opposite way.
Today I've been finalising the entry system for the clubs relay race which opens for entries at the weekend.the relay is a popular event with all running clubs and tends to fill really quick. I won't be running this time as a fast mile is not my strong point so will put my services to better use on the night.