MOVEMBER 2013

It is hard to think that a year ago I was cursing the organisers of Movember and @Mo_running after running the Greenwich 10K for the charity?

Me, Lizzie, Corky and Neil Movember 2012

The main reason was that, after 6 months of running the 2012 race really hurt. And it hurt because the race route included 2 legs up the steep hill in the middle of Greenwich Park. So you can imagine my joy, when I discovered that the route for 2013 had changed and the hill climbs had been removed and replaced with a more far-reaching stretches out to the extremities of the park. A park, I will hasten to add, having learnt this week, that the designer never saw, and didn’t know about the hills, so designed the park thinking it was flat. Which was it far from being .

This year it was pretty much the same, except I was missing my fellow runners from 2012 but what can you do?

I took the DLR right to Greenwich and boy was it cold. I decided to forego the bag drop and so didn’t bother with the extra layers of clothing that I would have taken normally. I also didn’t bother with a water bottle. That is something that changed back at the Great South Run and the Regents Park races of the late Summer. I no longer take water bottles to run with. I would run a FULL with a hydration pack, but nothing less. And so, other than armed with my iPod, new playlist, and false mustache I was ready.

A note on the mustache. I had intended to wear a comical Poirot. But lost it somewhere between here and there, so ended up using the spare Grandpa ‘tache.

And so to the race:

I had already decided to take it easy and to finish strong and well. After all, I had cancelled on 11 races this year and felt bad for not bothering to get up because I was tired, or it was cold. I was tired, and it was cold, but I forced myself to the start line an hour early, warmed up, enjoyed the atmosphere, and ran an easy run-walk-run that was a decent enough time for me. I could have taken 10 minutes off of it. I just didn’t see the need to kill myself.

Hills Removed

Obligatory Bling photo

The bling is taken from last years, where it was a disc with a mustache on it. This is just the mustache and I am hoping next year the medal will be a disc with the mustache hollowed out, kinda like the Polo mint and then the Polo mint holes idea. We shall see. it is small and unfortunately sits next to the two biggest medals of the haul, the Disney Wine and Dine Half and the Oktoberfest 10K.

And yes, I wore a Nike Running Sucks tee

5 seconds slower, but I walked so much knowing I plans for the rest of the day, that I am happy with that. 1:04:42 instead of 1:04:37. Next year I will really try. Promise!

2012 vintage, and the new medal for 2013. Anyone spot the theme?

I did not get a goodie bag. The queue for the bacon butties was so long that I actually ran to the station, got a train home, or to the stop before and ran from there, and got in and was showered by the time I would have got mine.

In summary, I always run the BUPA London 10K, and if around, will always run the Movember races, maybe next year I will run Battersea instead (no hills).