The  saying ‘it’s a funny ole game’ is often associated with a game for heathen’s and the uneducated but every now and again I find myself applying it to the sport of the gods. Let me elaborate. Through out my running years I have been lucky enough to see wonderful magical things, stuff that, had I been sat on me ar$e at home I would never have believed existed or indeed could have possibly occurred. Take for example on a recent run  I was lucky enough to witness the beautiful silent flight of a snowy owl, ghosting away into the night as quick as it had appeared  (and repost enough to those who believe that to run at night one needs Plymouth lighthouse  stuck to their foreheads – hey but that’s another subject). But just when you think that you have witnessed and experienced as much as is possible and feel certain that whatever running may throw at you, yet again the great running gods strike down with much vengeance and make sure that whatever the run, whatever the distance, whatever the speed they will make sure you are always on a running learning curve, never to be complacent and so it was a couple of weeks ago I found myself on the wrong end of the gods big pokey stick. So if you are sitting comfortably……

One thing I always try to do in my running is to complete whatever it is I am doing. I don’t care if this leads to major un-comfort , crawling on my knees or grovelling around in the dust (all of which dear reader, I have done in the past – and at one particular marathon with eyes like space ships I have done the whole darn lot ) my goal is always to complete, regardless,  and as I mentioned before this has led me to encounter the whole gamete of running nasties ( and goodies of course)– or so I thought. The event I was taking part in was a multi lap thing (a lap being 6.5 mls) – see how far you could flog yourself over 24 hours – and I was 4 laps, and 4hrs,  in to the run but I was ready to quit, in fact I was so ready to quit I had planned my excuses to the race organiser. It had all come out of completely no- where one minute happy hippy, skippiddy skipping along the next Mr Miserable moping about with lead wellies attached to me ankles I even confessed my miserableness to the poor bloke on a water station – when he asked after my health. And so what had caused this sudden on set I hear you ask - injury? Nope. Tiredness? – nope. Sh!tty weather – nope? A culmination of all three? No. The reason, I was missing Nik and the boys, for the first time ever I was terribly homesick, the running gods had been leafing  through my personal  handbook, found a weakness and struck me down. And boy had they struck hard. I was half way round a lap and I felt sure come the end of it I was off. I got to the start finish area and once again I was asked after my well being and unlike me I confessed that all was not well in my world the chap asked what was wrong and I told him I was missing Nik terribly, he sympathized  but unfortunately he was unable to help with that one ,anything else, not a problem. I mumbled something about perhaps having a cuddle from him  and got out of there – tears were imminent. I walked to my car, opened the boot and scanned the food I had laid out, I stood, starred  and then did a couple of things that was to help me get through this crisis firstly I cried, big meaty tears, snotty nose n’all. I then stuffed the biggest handful of haribo into my mouth – I figured my sugars needed a boost. I closed the boot, slipped on the shades from on top of my head and trudged off to start another lap.  Gradually, my load lightened, and by the time the end of lap 5 was in sight, my resolve had stiffened (along with my bottom lip) and I was prodding the running gods back with their own stick. I had a run to finish.

I love running, I really do – it puts my body and soul  into places and situations that I have to sort out, no-one else, just me and when I do, I always find it has made me a better person. Now that’s an achievement. – Love and Peace Comrades  –Ole Hairy