Thursday 16 May - post-run write up ... part 1
Well the good news is - we were well enough to do the run. And all the rest is also good news, since it was an amazing weekend all told. This is a slightly expanded write up, since the visit to Sunderland was more than just the run. It was my partner Paula's first proper return to the town which she left at the age of 10, so it was always going to be an emotional and moving visit.
The journey up from Lewes is around 340 miles or so - so we broke the journey in two stopping overnight just south of Doncaster, close by Tickhill where here parents live (and by pure coincidence, where my parents used to live in the 1960s and where my brother and older sister were born).
We had spotted that Clumber Park Parkrun was not far away, so that became our pre-run 5k warm up (as per the Asics plan) - and that turned out to be a wonderful one. This was the 300th outing - so there was a festive atmosphere. And the park itself is a huge former deer park of the Dukes of Newcastle, with the country house demolished in 1930s, leaving the array of brick outbuildings and church now National Trustified, with a vast serpentine lake. It boasts the longest double lime avenue in Europe with 1296 limes dating back to the 1840s.
The run starts and finishes by the cricket pitch with a wooden and thatched pavilion (and incidentally where I remember watching cricket as a four year old).
We were a little nervous since this would be first outing since being struck down with flu and I had spent most of Thursday in bed, working but feeling too tired to actually get up! Fortunately, with a cheer from the crowd for my shout of "Brighton!" when asked if anyone had travelled there, we set of in good spirits and ended in a comfortable 25 mins or so.
We then jumped in the car to head north - and within a couple of hours we were sitting down to coffee and cake with a very old friend of Paula's family in a village between Durham and Sunderland. Co-incidentally, she owns the Durham Brewery, a craft brewery which she set up in the 1990s and which one of her daughters now runs. We are already planning a return trip for August for their 25 anniversary celebrations ...
We were staying close by in an Airbnb cottage - so safely installed there, we headed off to recce Sunderland. The weather had turned from a week-ago forecast rain and wind into the most glorious May sunshine, and we walked along Roker beach and looked out to the Roker lighthouse in anticipation of the next days.
We then took in the two family homes which Paula had grown up in on the south side of Sunderland ... and got ready for our pre-race prep that evening, which now involved taking in Sunderland AFC's biggest game of the season - first leg of their league on play off semi final. The Stadium of Light occupies a lovely position above the Wear, across the iconic Wearmouth Bridge, and with swelling crowds we walked across the Bridge from the Ship Isis pub. Sitting in the heart of the Roker End stand as the action flowed and passions spilled was remarkable. A brilliant volleyed winner. An undeserved red card. Belief from the fans. Abuse of the away team. This had everything. All pre-run prep should be this exciting
Write up on the actual run follows!
Half a Marathon onward ...
