Week 39, Race 37: Three Counties XC Race 4: Letchworth

Another XC race today, this time our home fixture at Standalone Farm. I've not done this course before so was pleased that I was able to run today. In true Lindsay style it was all a bit of a rush, my human alarm clocks failed me and I only just managed to make it to the farm in time to make sandwiches at 8am (after dropping into Morrisons to buy some cake for hungry runners at the end of the race). It was a mild morning and I enjoyed my 5.5 mile loop around the Hertfordshire countryside in the sun (it took me just under an hour).
It was the 3CXC league's 100th race and I started to wonder how many races I must have run. I don't keep a record of my runs but given I have been a member of NHRR since 1999 and most seasons I ran as many XCs as possible I suspect I have run at least 50 of those 100 races...scary!

Week 38, Race 36: Luton Wardown parkrun

After meaning to do a cross country at Shuttleworth but having to cancel due to not being able to be in more than one place at the same time I was back to Luton for my 6th visit to the Luton Wardown parkrun. Not much to say really that I haven't said before, it was a bit wet today and not particularly warm but I had some new shoes (my previous ones have been rubbing my achilles) and I also wore my orange dayglow Standalone 10k t-shirt which meant I was very easy to spot!
I was extremely happy to finish in 29:18, my best time in ages (4th fastest of 26 5kms I have run this year) and my new parkrun PB. Must be the new shoes :-)

Week 37, Race 35: First Saturday in the Month 5km - Santa Canta

Back to the First Saturday in the Month 5km this week for the first time in a few months and it was great to be back! This month's race was the Santa Canta and runners were encouraged to run dressed in a festive costume. Of course I forgot but there was a spare santa hat to keep my head warm on the way round. There were loads of runners this month and I was pleased to finish in 30:58.

Week 36, Race 34: Three Counties XC Race 3: Wing

I do love a good cross country race and this one was a goodun. Very windy (but not cold or wet), hilly, stream crossing, mud, it had it all! I was very pleased to finish in around 55 ish minutes but  times are not that important in cross country races!

Week 35, Race 33: Panshanger parkrun

On Saturday morning we woke up to snow. I'd had a rubbish week due to ill children and absent husband and I really wasn't keen on leaving the house but the lure of a bit of time to myself was too much so I set off down the A1 in the pouring rain and cold wind to Panshanger parkrun. I like this one which I have run 5 times now, it's a nice off road 1 lap course. Luckily it didn't rain during the race and I finished a pleasant run in 32:16.

Week 34, Race 32: Luton Wardown parkrun

Soggy support crew

Back in Luton again for the Wardown parkrun and the weather had finally become inclement, it was cold and wet!
Not much to say really, I've done this race 5 times now which, at 3.5 laps of the park per race, adds up 17.5 laps of Wardown Park this year...I had an OK run finishing in 31:30 and we all got a bit wet and cold!
I must have a look around for a few more races as a bit of variety would be good :-)

Week 33, Race 31: Three Counties XC Race 2: Wootton

I have always loved cross country races. Not sure why I like them so much, maybe it is because it isn't just about speed, it's about strength (mental and physical)...and I like getting muddy. This was my first XC for a couple of years and when my old shoes had rotted away after being left covered in mud in a bag I decided to treat myself to a pair of shiny new innov8 mudclaws...they even came with an inspirational quote. The race was in Northampton (hosted by Wootton Road Runners) and was a 4ish miles, 2 lap race around a country park. It wasn't the most exciting course I've ever done but it had a couple of interesting scrambles and enough mud to keep me entertained. I didn't run brilliantly and spent most of the second lap being overtaken but I was happy to finish 132nd female in a time of 43:30.

Week 32, Race 30: Luton Wardown parkrun

 

After a week off as it was half term holiday time this week I was back at Luton Wardown parkrun. Not much to say really, I finished in a slow 32:21. I'd love to blame the fact that Hannah ran some of it with me except I couldn't keep up with her!
3/4 of the way through my little challenge now and looking forward to some cross country races in the coming weeks!

Week 30, Race 29: Luton Wardown parkrun

Getting a bit cooler now so not quite as tempting getting out of bed for a parkrun. Oh, and a terrible run of sleeping from young Matthew has meant I am less enthusastic than usual.
Back to Luton this week for the Wardown Park parkrun, I am in 2 minds about whether I like this one or not, it's a fairly pleasant park, not too far from home, easy to park and a nice park for my supporters but 3.5 laps around a lake is a bit wearing...
Not my best time (31:15), must do better next time!!

Week 29, Race 28: Wimpole Estate parkrun

It was a glorious day for a run and this week's parkrun was at Wimpole Estate. Probably one of my favourites (pretty, easy parking, nice café, fun things for small people to do) but somehow I've only run it once.
We met my parents who were staying nearby and Grandad did a great job babysitting. There were a lot of warnings about cows in the (never ending!) chat at the beginning of the race but thankfully I don't even remember seeing any cows. Phew.
My finishing time was 37:01, this was mainly as Hannah joined me for the first 1.5kms and the last few metres.

Week 27, Race 27: Hatfield 5km Series - Race 3

Another September 5km, this time the third in the Hatfield 5km series. Same drill as the previous 2 races, HQ in an office buiding so nice loos and sofas to sit on and a fast flat(ish) 2 and a bit lap course around an industrial estate.
I had a good run, finishing in 28:30 (not quite the fastest I have run this year but almost). For the first time in the race series I didn't stay for the presentation (blame the Standalone 10km, cake and the fact I have started work again in the last couple of weeks). But I should have done as, for the first time as an adult, I won something...3rd FV35 in the series!!! No idea if I actually won anything but that doesn't matter, rather pleased to be the only oldish lady who ran enough races to come 3rd :-)

Week 27, Race 26: Hitchin Town Centre Street Race (5km)

Thanks to Hitchin Running Club for the photo!

It was a foggy morning for the first ever Hitchin Town Centre 5km race. This is probably the closest race we'll ever get to our house so we felt we should do it (and thanks should go to our excellent babysitters too).
It was 1 small lap and 2 big laps around Hitchin town centre. I was worried it'd be windy with loads of corners but it wasn't although I had no idea Hitchin had so many hills (well it certainly felt like it on the 2nd lap!)
There was a great atmosphere, the race was well organised and I really enjoyed my run. I was pleased with my time too (28:27) and it was really lovely to see so many people I knew enjoying running :-) All in all a good running day!

Week 26, Race 25: One True Grit

25th race in my challenge and something a bit different this time, a 10km off road race with obstacles, One True Grit. This is heavily advertised locally and I've always fancied doing it but it's quite pricey and that put me off. However, thanks to a group rate from a friend and a lack of birthday present ideas for Gary I signed us both up and arranged for Grandma to babysit the mini-cooks.
We started at 11:45 and, for once, Gary ran with me as it wasn't a "serious" race. The race was completely off-road and included climbing over hay bales, sliding into and climbing out of ditches, scramble nets, crawling under nets in mud, crawling through tunnels full of water, swimming (!), jumping over flaming logs, a water slide with more swimming and some crazy climbing obstacles.#
All in all it was good fun (with plenty of running too), it took us almost 2 hours...I don't think I'll do such a slow 10km again!

Week 25, Race 24: Hatfield 5km Series - Race 2

2 weeks after the first 5km race was the second race in the Hatfield 5km series...it was pouring down when I left, it was horrible driving down the motorway to Hatfield...I wasn't feeling keen atall!
Luckily it stopped raining before we started...sadly not as fast as last time (29:42) but still under 30 minutes so I was fairly happy.

Week 24, Race 23: First Saturday in the Month 5km

Another Saturday, another 5km. This time back to my 'home' 5km at Norton Common in Letchworth. It was pouring down as I sat and ate my breakfast and this was one of those days where if I hadn't set myself this daft challenge I might have stayed at home. But I didn't and I happily slipped around the 2 lap off road course in 30:59. I also enjoyed running with someone I haven't run with in ages :-) I finished off the excitement with a trip to the tip, life doesnt get any better than this...
 

Week 23, Race 22: Hatfield 5km Series - Race 1

Another 5km race (there will be a few in September!)...tonight was the first in a 3 race series of 5km races in Hatfield. Race HQ is at Affinity Water's offices so much posher than usual including a security guard to show you to the loos for your pre-race toilet trip :-)
The course itself is unexciting, 2 and a bit laps around an industrial estate but it's almost flat and pretty fast. I was very pleased to finish in 28:38 which is my fastest 5km in a very long time, almost 2 minutes faster than Saturday's parkrun and almost 10 minutes faster than my comeback 5km in January (ok, so both these races were off road but even so...)
All in all a very satisfying evening of running! 18 races to go...

Week 23, Race 21: Panshanger parkrun

Race 21 of my challenge and I was back at Panshanger parkrun. I like this run, especially at the moment as the course is very green and pretty. Unusually I was on my own and I enjoyed my 2 hours of freedom (it's amazing what lengths I go to to get some peace and quiet!!).
I finished in 31:29 (187th), nothing special but another race ticked off!

Week 22, Race 20: Stewart parkrun

After a few weeks off (due to a lovely holiday in France and a theatre date in London), I got going with my 40/40 challenge again this week.

We were visiting Gary's parents in Middlesbrough so we decided to go on our parkrun travels and did the Stewart Park parkrun.
First, the excuses! I had injured my toe in a waterslide-related incident on holiday and I really wasn't sure that I'd be able to run 5km. Added to that, we had driven up on Friday night and been caught in a long traffic jam on the A1 so didn't have as much sleep as we had hoped for! Plus 3 weeks off running hadn't done much for my fitness.
The course was 2 laps around a lovely park starting and finishing at the Captain Cook Birthplace museum, we even ran over "Cooks World" which made me smile.
I enjoyed the run but was a little disappointed with how I felt (knackered) and my time (30:35) but I enjoyed the run nonetheless. On a positive note, it was the first time in a long time Gary and I ran in the same race as we had some handy babysitters too. And we forced/encouraged Gary's cousin Julie to run too after not having run for a while :-)
Officially halfway in my challenge now...

Almost halfway and time for a break!

Wow, this challenge is going really well, so far I am week 17 and have done 19 races so well on track to manage 40 races in 52 weeks (injury permitting of course). It's time for my summer holidays and maybe also time to reflect on the past few months.

So, how has it been? It's been great and I've been really enjoying it. There have a been a few races where I would have wimped out if it wasn't for this daft challenge so it has, for the most part, been a positive thing. It's also been great to take the mini-Cooks out on a regular basis to play in a field, wood or park and watch people running. I'd like to think this will make them think that this is normal behaviour and, when they are old enough, want to take up running or at least enjoy the great outdoors as much as I do. And Gary has done some parkruns when I have been doing other stuff so it's good he is getting back into running a bit too.

At the almost halfway point I've managed just under 107 miles of racing including 1 marathon, 1 half marathon, 11 5 km races, 4 10km races and 2 random distances. Coming up are some more 5kms, some cross country races and maybe something a bit different...

	Date	Race	Time
1	28/03/2015	Panshanger parkrun	30:46
2	04/04/2015	FSOTM 5km	32:13
3	11/04/2015	Wimpole Estate parkrun	31:56
4	18/04/2015	Luton Wardown parkrun	29:48
5	26/04/2015	London Marathon	5:27:44
6	09/05/2015	Panshanger parkrun	30:07
7	13/05/2015	Luton Wardown parkrun	29:47
8	23/05/2015	Panshanger parkrun	30:57
9	04/06/2015	MWL St Albans	1:02:02
10	06/06/2015	FSOTM 5km	30:34
11	07/06/2015	Hitchin Relay Race
12	13/06/2015	Pretty Muddy 5km	33:00
13	18/06/2015	MWL Royston	1:02:29
14	20/06/2015	FSOTM 5km	31:45
15	28/06/2015	Hitchin Half Marathon	2:28:48
16	02/07/2015	MWL Trent Park/Barnet	54:13
17	04/07/2015	FSOTM 5km	32:37
18	12/07/2015	British 10km	1:00:01
19	16/07/2015	MWL Mobmatch WGC	1:02:22

Week 16, Race 19: Welwyn Garden City Midweek League

The final race of the Midweek League season was the mob match in Welwyn Garden City. I've done this 2 lap course loads of times and I always find it hard (especially as the current version of the course has us running past the old finish line which I find mentally challenging!). I had had a tough complicated day and wasn't expecting much of myself in the race. Amazingly I felt ok although my time of 1:02:22 was nothing to write home about.
Time for a little holiday from this challenge...see you again in August!

Week 16, race 18: British 10k London Run

This week's run was the Britsh 10k London Run, a 10km run based in central London. I hadn't planned on doing this but Julie B donated her unwanted number to me so I thought I may as well give it a go.
I had to get a train at 7:30 (and typically my beloved children chose today to have their yearly lie in so I didn't get to appreciate it), destination Picadilly Circus. There were around 20,000 entrants so understandably it took a while to get out of the tube station (15 mins!) and to walk down to the bag drop.
There was a HUGE toilet queue so I decded to follow the signs to the start instead of waiting. Turned out to be a good plan as there were more toilets with much shorter queues.
The start was quite a long walk away, it was a slightly weird experience as we were ushered along london roads, past the ritz, green park and further along Picadilly towards Wellington Arch. Turned out the pen system at the start was more of a first come first served system so if you arrived early you'd be in pen 1 and if you arrived late you'd be in pen 6. I am glad I wasn't too late to the start :-)

Took me 12 mins to get over the start line (and at this point there were at least as many people behind me yet to start). I spent a lot of the first few km weaving in and out of people walking (some in the first km!) while faster people weaved in out of the rest of us. It calmed down after a while so there was less dodging and plenty of room to run. The race route was up down and round various streets in central London including running past Westminster Abbey and Big Ben
The finish was on Whitehall near Downing St and I finished in 59:59 (my watch) or 1:00:01 (official chip time). I was really pleased with this, my best time all year (and probably for a good couple of years!).
I very much enjoyed the race, thanks Julie!
Almost halfway in the 40/40 challenge...amd I've just hit the 100 mile mark in miles raced!

Week 15, race 17: First Saturday in the Month 5km

Race 17 saw me back at the First Saturday in the Month 5km on Norton Common in Letchworth. The previous night there had been a mightily impressive thunder storm during the night and it rained a lot and on the way to the race there was evidence of there having been large puddles on the road and it was very humid indeed.
This all meant it was heavy underfoot and heavy the air so I finished in a slow 32:37.


More importantly my poor supporters were let down with a flooded park! I almost had a mutiny on my hands...



Oh no, look at the park!

Only 23 runs to go and loads of time to do them in!!! 

Week 14, race 16: Trent Park Midweek League

A gorgeous evening to be out running even it was a bit warm (luckily not as warm as earlier on this week!). This 2 lap course was around 8.5 km around Trent Park (just inside the M25). It was mainly off road and had plenty of hills to keep it 'interesting'. I've run this course quite a few times before and always enjoy it. I had an ok run finishing in 54:13 and as always it was lovely to catch up with the NHRR crowd.
I seem to be really getting through the races in my 40/40 challenge at the moment...good job as I will be in France for 2 weeks at the end of July and I have no races planned for that time (although I will have a look just in case!).

Week 14, race 15: Hitchin Hard Half Marathon

Louise and I at the end

This week's race was the very challenging Hitchin Hard Half Marathon. I feel I really should do this race, mainly because I live about a 5 minute walk from the start plus it was one of the first local races I did when I moved down here (over 15 years ago now!). Also, the route takes in a lot of the roads I train on so I know exactly what is to come...
This race is called the hard half for a reason, it is full of hills and really is hard going. I train on these roads but crucially I know how to avoid the worst hills. Sadly in a race that can't be done!
I set off with Louise and we ran more or less together until about 8 miles. It was a struggle for both of us in the final few miles, especially the last never ending uphill one so I was pretty pleased to finish in 2:28:48, pretty slow really but within the 2 and a half hour race limit and given my ongoing lack of sleep and not quite as much training I was happy.

Week 13, race 14: Letchworth Festival 5km

And she's off!

Races coming thick and fast at the moment, today it was one of my regular events, the First Saturday in the Month 5km. But it's not the first Saturday in the month I hear you say? Correct, it was a special Letchworth Festival version of the event.
It was a warm humid morning and I was still a bit tired from Thursday but I was pleased with my time of 31:45. Icould blame the fact I was running with Hannah for the last bit of the race (she's desperate to take part in races!) but she didn't slow me down at all...

Week 12, race 13: Royston (Therfield) Midweek League

Looooooong week due to ear infection (Matthew) and then the added bonus of James being sick all over the place the afternoon before the race and a bad case of trampoline toe (me, serves me right for tidying up) so not the ideal preparation for the second Midweek Leage race of the season.
This 10km course is based in Therfield near Royston and is a lovely one lap around the country lanes and up and down some undulations. It was a lovely evening for it and despite the poor preparations I was pleased with my time of 1:02:29, a bit slower than the last MWL 10km but only by a few seconds.
I seem to be getting though the races nice and quickly at the moment, good to have a few extra races in the bank for when I hit the miserable winter months...

Week 12, race 12: Pretty Muddy Race for Life 5km, Bedford

This weeks 40/40 challenge race was the Pretty Muddy Race for Life 5km in Bedford. Pretty Muddy is a new Race for Life event and it involves running, obstacles and mud.
It was a damp day too but that didn't really matter given we were planning on getting wet and muddy. The obstacles started off OK, climbing over some inflatables, getting squirted at by a large pistol, crawling through a tunnel and jumping through some tyres. Later on there was a cargo net with some mud to crawl in, a climbing frame (not done one of those since I was at school) and an inflatable slide into a pool of mud. That's what caused most of the muddy mess (you should see my shower!), maybe we should have gone for a swim in the lake like some of the other competitors?
All in all it was a fun experience (although it took me 33 minutes o it wasn't a full 5km)

Week 11, race 11: Hitchin Relays

Race 11 in my 40/40 challenge was a new one, the Hitchin Relay Race organised by Hitchin Running Club. The race was 12 1 km laps in a team of 2-4 people around a field at Hitchin Rugby Club.

Team Cook consisted of me, Gary and fellow NHRR Christine and we ran 4 laps each. Christine and I are on the...er...slower side which gave speedy Gary plenty of people to aim at when it was his turn.

No idea of my times but I  know we didn't finish last! And the post race food was yummy. And Gary and I did an extra lap running with Hannah and James in the children's 1km fun run.

It was glorious weather and a lovely time was had by all!

Week 11, race 10: First Saturday in the Month 5km

Post race relaxing

Back to the First Saturday in the Month 5km for race 10 in my 40/40 challenge. I love this race, especially on days like today. It's 2 laps around Norton Common in Letchworth which, especially on a sunny day like today, is very pretty indeed.
After running on Thursday, I was very pleased to finish in 30:34, my fastest time at this race this year and a minute and a half faster than 2 months ago. And after the race, we relaxed in the sun (and cool wind!) at the nearby paddling pool.
So I have done 10 races and I am a quarter of the way through my daft challenge, so far so good I think!

Week 10, race 9: St Albans Midweek League

After having the weekend off (due to holidays and children's party), this week's race was the St Albans Midweek League Division 1 fixture, 10km starting at Highfield Park in St Albans. The first km was round a playing field, followed by around 4kms along the Alban Way cycle plath, a loop around the top and then back the way we came.
It was a warm evening and the course was lovely and shady but as a lot of the route was in a straight line it was a tad boring at times. But the course was fairly flat and pretty fast if you like that kind of thing. I was very pleased with my run and my official time of 1:02:02 (although by my watch I was around 30 seconds faster).

Week 9, race 8: Panshanger parkrun

The 8th race in my 40/40 challenge saw me return to Panshanger parkrun for the third time. Not much to say about this run, it had been a long, tiring and emotional week due to Matthew having a nasty bug and not sleeping (and then passing it on to me) and a load of driving to and from Preston. It was also a little humid.

That said, I still enjoyed my run but it wasn't my fastest, I finished in 30:57, 158th and 50th female.

Week 8, race 7: Luton Wardown parkrun

For the 7th race in my 40/40 challenge we returned to the parkrun at Wardown Park in Luton. Of the parkruns I've done recently this is probably the least interesting (3 and a bit times round a lake in the park with a little hill on each lap past the museum) but it is the closest to home, fairly simple to get to and park, there's tree trunks to climb on, a lovely park to play in after the race and my support team get to see me 3 times.

I can't keep up!

Hannah has been desperate to run with Mummy so after she got some new trainers we said she could join in for a bit of each lap.Gary thought she might slow me down (I wasn't convinced she actually would) so I ran hard for the bits where she wasn't with me. She loved joining in, running and chatting with a huge smile on her face and the third time round she ran off ahead of me!
I finished in 92nd place in 29:47 which was 1 second quicker than last time I ran this course so I don't think she slowed me down atall!

So far my silly challenge has been worth doing. Every Saturday we drag ourselves out of the house in a bit of a rush but then Hannah and James get to run around in the fresh air, climbing on tree trunks, running in the grass, playing in the park and seeing running as a completely normal thing to do (so much so they both want to run with me every chance they get).

Only 33 more races to go...

Week 7, race 6: Panshanger parkrun

After my marathon effort in week 5 of my 40/40 challange I gave myself last week off but I was itching to be back this week.
We decided to go to Panshanger parkrun again as it seems to be the easiest logistically and is a pleasant course. I was rewarded by some lovely bluebells in the woods which made the first half of the race very enjoyable despite it being a little busy until everyone had spread out. There were some other NHRRs there too and it was nice to have a quick chat before the race started.
I was pretty happy to finish in 30:07 which was 40 seconds faster than last time I ran this course and my legs still appear to work despite not having run for 2 weeks.
6 races done, 34 to go!!!

Week 5, race 5: London Marathon

Week 5 of my 40/40 challenge saw me taking part in the 2015 London Marathon! I had a North Herts Road Runners club place for the 2014 marathon but I had to defer it to this year as I broke my ankle and had a baby. I knew that getting round would be tricky so decided to start training in January when Matthew was 3 months old and gradually up my distance of my long runs and the number of times I ran in a week and see how I was looking in April.
It was logistically and physically challenging but I slowly managed to build up to 3 runs a week with my long run reaching around 3 and a half hours long. I did most of my training on my own and some of the shorter runs with Matthew in the pram as well as having to fit around Gary's availability to look after the crazy gang and having to time my departure for long runs around feeding time. I wouldn't say it was ideal marathon training but a couple of weeks ago I decided I had done enough and with the experience of having run before I thought I could probably manage to finish without embarassing myself too much.

Race day itself was a bit cold and damp to begin with but once we were going it was perfect marathon weather as it was dry and cool. I was at the blue start in pen 9 (right at the back) and it took a very long 16 minutes to cross the start line! 5:27:44. I was very pleased with this time, not the worst of my 14 marathons and given I didn't run for 11 months and had to start from scratch with a small baby in January I couldn't really ask for more :-)
The first half went well, I felt good but was trying to be careful not to run too fast and I found myself with the 5:00 pacers and made sure I didn't go any faster than them as I wasn't in sub 5:00 shape atall. I ran the first half in 2:27 and managed to get to around 15 and a half miles before needing to stop and walk. I kept myself going fairly well until the last few miles where it became a bit of a struggle of mind over body and I eventually managed to get over the finish line in

Week 4, race 4 - Luton Wardown parkrun

My support crew

Another week, another run in my 40/40 challenge...this week it was the turn of the inaugural Luton Wardown parkrun. To be honest when I woke up this morning after around 2 hours broken sleep (and this has been going on for a couple of weeks now), the last thing I felt like doing was running but I really shouldn't miss any opportunities to do a race so I dragged myself (and my support crew) out of the house. 

On the plus side it was a lovely sunny morning in Luton. The course is 3 and a bit laps of Wardown Park. I had my doubts about how this would work in practice but it seemed to work ok and I only got lapped by a few leaders. I dragged myself round in a time of 29:48 (first time under 30 minutes this year!) and my support crew had much fun playing in the park. This is my closest race so I am sure I'll be back...36 runs to go!

Week 3, race 3 - Wimpole Estate parkrun

After the run

Week 3 of my 40/40 challenge took me to the Wimpole Estate Parkrun. Despite a complete lack of sleep the night before, an incident which involved me tripping over a (luckily empty) potty and stubbing my toe and the worrying discovery that we were very close to running out of petrol, we made it just in time, phew!
This is a one lap off road 5km with a steep hill at 2km. Really enjoyed the run (despite the menacing cows) but I've never experienced a run with so many barking dogs (not sure I liked that!). It was unexpectedly damp and chilly at the end so we also enjoyed retiring to the NT café for a coffee and a sausage roll.
I finished in 31:56 (faster than last week's 5km on a hillier course).
Only 37 runs to go!! My support team still seem interested at the moment but can I afford the chocolate bribery?

Week 2, race 2: First Saturday in the Month 5km

Race 2 in my 40/40 challenge was North Herts Road Runner's First Saturday in the Month 5km. I try to do this race most months as it's a lovely race as well as being organised by a top club (although I am biased!). It's 2 off-road laps of Norton Common in Letchworth with usually 60-80 finishers.

This month I didn't have the best preparation after ceilidh dancing until past my bedtime in inappropriate shoes the night before so I was very pleased to finish in 32:13, 41 seconds quicker than last month (and in slippier conditions) and 5 minutes quicker than in January!

2 down, 38 to go!

Week 1, race 1: Panshanger parkrun

The only way to be able to do enough races to complete my 40/40 challenge without driving all over the country is to start doing some local parkruns. At the moment there are 6 (soon to be 7) parkruns within 45 mins drive of Hitchin.
So for race 1 in my challenge I chose Panshanger Parkrun, a 25 minute drive from Hitchin. It's a 1 lap off road 5km which is slightly undulating. I finished in 30:46 (despite the last 50m or so being uphill and Hannah and James joining me). A good start, 39 races to go!



Almost there...

I had some friends to help me get over the finish line

A little challenge...

Finishing the First Saturday in the Month 5km on 7 March 2015

Hello I'm Lindsay and on 25 March 2015 I turned 40. To celebrate this I decided to set myself a little challenge...40 races in a year. (and for this challenge parkruns count as races although I understand they aren't officially...it's my challenge so my rules!!).

I have done a fair bit of running in the last 20 years (including 13 marathons) and I'm a member of North Herts Road Runners but I also have 3 small children and in the last 5 or 6 years I have got out of the running habit. Moreover, these days running is physically and logistically challenging...

Let's see how I get on, wish me luck!