Long Sunday Run

I'd met up with Simon mid week and suggested we offer the Running Fource Sunday run out the red hot Aro boys. Against all the whinging about the early start someone we did not know actually turned up, young gun John was there on the dot.

We headed off to collect Kenny in a the allotted 8 mins and made it fine. He could hear us coming from half a mile away and my stage whisper about running past or speeding up only helped us wake up Cowper Road rather than fool Ken's bionic ear.

There were two schools of thought for the day, the A team (aka Simon and Dave) were gobbing off about a fast 20 miles in Hatfield but they both turned up at mine (in Harpenden) having decided to start with us and then push off.

By the time we had got to Kenny's everyone was trying to get beside or behind me as they all wanted to offer an discerning opinion on Niall's foot fall - mid sole, hey was that a heel strike? Not even one mile in and I was wondering how wise sticking all that on yesterday's blog was.

Just after the A team made a "We're going to run at a different pace now" move at the Childwickbury gates John drops out and decides to U turn for home - poor chap was suffering with shin splints and we left him stretching off on Harpenden road.

By this time the A team's fast twenty was looking seriously in jeopardy. The B team were closing the gap fast. In spite of clear directions on the correct footpath to take the A team missed it completely so the B team got to shout at them to turn as they went past.

This then took us through the pick your own, I wanted to go straight on (because that's the foot path) but Kenny and Paul insisted we follow the A team on their perimeter sortie.

We found a gate in the school grounds and then the A team went round the outer edge of the school and round the Batchwood woods. They found a footpath and went into the woods, but the woods were clear so the B team took the racing line and went straight in to the trees and crashed through the undergrowth and got to the path seconds after the A team. Through the woods took us out behind the golf course, much better than the than planned route across the course. We were back on familiar turf, now on the Batchwood/Childwickbury path. Stunning views here firstly over to Gorhambury estate and then the brilliant red sunrise with St. Alban's skyline silhouetted and dominated by the cathedral. Worth getting up just for that.

Just before the park Kenny nearly went flying. He tripped over a kerb that was covered in leaves, he was OK and the B team continued. However, Paul and I now announced each up coming kerb with a big shout.

A team took an odd route into the park and our direct route had them again only metres in front going around Verulam lake. They went up the side past the Londinium Gate and we headed back, with Kenny re-living his glory football days at Kings.

More new territory as we went past the Roman theatre and jumped the gate with the warning to keep out between 8am and 6pm. Lovely tree lined avenue to run along with a smooth road - Kenny helped me out here by holding my head up for 30 seconds just to re-set as I felt I was stooping. Suddenly, I had a second wind as it all seemed much easier running not in a slump.

Turned right down onto Colne-Lee Valley Walk with a lovely riverside section on a grassy path and quaint buildings to admire and even quainter bridges to traverse. Crossed the road and Kenny was getting jumpy and thinking about cutting short the loop to get home to avoid marital strife.

Now running across this footpath is an access road to a sewage treatment plant. When I've been here before, coming the opposite way I noticed it was very hard to see where the footpath came out. I had in my head it was just before the footpath sign about 10 feet to the left of the sign. I confidently annouced "This way boys!" ducked down, pushed the branches of a tree out the road and ran straight into a sticky ball seed tree and went flying. By this time Kenny and Paul went into over drive and I got the slagging I richly deserved. "Use the force, Niall" was one of the better ones. Of course, I had forgotten to invert the instructions I'd mentally noted going the other way. My left leg was covered in sticky seed balls and I tried to take one off to chuck at Kenny but it just stuck to my glove.

By now the pace was picking back up as the slagging died down. Paul decided to stay with me, but Kenny needed the short option so took Beesonend hill at a pace that gives you an insight into the Wrath of Susan. If only he'd had that kind of motivation at the Herts 10km last weekend.

Then there were two.

We went round behind the fishery and shooting platforms and I was sure there was another exit to the fields further along, which a later look at the OS map confirmed is there - but you needed to go up one more field to get to it. This section was ploughed right to the edge and the footpath was barely there in parts.

Long slog home up the Nicky line, feeling the effort. Paul kept me honest and nudged the pace back up the hill to the stated goal pace and we made it home in under two hours, which is was pretty much bang on 8 min mile pace as advertised.

Breaking news is that John survived and is up for next week. Now there are six of us.

Kenny clocked up 12 and Paul and I did 14.3 miles - well it is traditional to over shoot slightly! The A team massively undershot, but still clocked an impressive 16.5 miles and while we saw them lots on the way out, they were looking good with little injections of pace to counter the B team's advantage of knowing where they were going.