The not-the-manchester-marathon edition…

So it has been another bizarre week as we try to get our heads around the new normal and what this means from a running perspective.    How far from home….?  How remote….?  How to stay motivated…? How to avoid all of the people…..?   Whilst there has been a discernible dip in running and racing, the GDH collective has still been busy…..

• We have learnt a new running dance manoeuvre which seems to involve runners (or maybe just Guy) piling into the bushes when anyone looks like they don’t know how big 2m is (it is equivalent to the wingspan of a turkey vulture in case that helps),
• We have worked out how to open gates with our elbows/ feet/ knees and have mastered hands-free style climbing,  
• I suspect, many of us have spent more time running on roads (and in the roads) than we usually would,
• We have welcomed a virtual Paul Skuse into our homes to help us draw better faces,
• A lot of us have spent more time cleaning than running this weekend,
• We have meditated together over the internet,
• We have worked out that some of us are very, very good at virtual pub quizzes,
• We have channelled our inner Jeroen and taken ourselves off for solitary pyramid sessions,
• We have contemplated running marathons (or further)  in our back gardens and/ or climbing mountains up our stairs,
• We have continued to buy kit with the added justification of trying to keep our much-loved purveyors of running stuff in business through these difficult times,
• We have wondered whether Dan is really actually going to let his kids cut his hair as an alternative, stay-at-home birthday treat,
• We have marvelled at how much racing and driving between races we are going to be doing in September and October – Chris Jackson will mainly be in the lands of the north and Lucy Wasinski will be mainly running around Wales. Marie Willamson will be running a marathon a day for all of October,
• We have tried to guess when and where race photos were taken,
• We have learnt that some of the GDH hounds have some really impressive names (and some weird and wonderful nicknames),
• We have played ‘guess the vest’ thanks to the imagination and artistic skills of Team Crutchley,
• One of us has used the word ‘discombobulated’ and lots of us have learnt what it actually means.

Running Stuff

There has still been some running which is reassuring given that this is what we do best:

GDH has entered a sizeable team into the virtual national road running relay championships which will give next week’s report writer some racing to write about.

And, in the Strava league, Paul Peters is at the top of this week’s leader board in terms of distance having covered 101 km and Will Mather is up there this week in terms of elevation with a lofty 3,631m.

Thinking Stuff

As this goes to press, the next edition of The Covid Arms pub quiz is in full swing with Mr Skuse as this week’s quiz master.  Rumour has it that there will be another quiz this week dedicated to the specialist subject of our very own Herod Farm Fell Race – check out Sikobe’s post on FB for more info.

Whilst lots of things are very very different and whilst the races that would normally be written about at length in these reports have vanished from our calendars, the theme of Harriers supporting Harriers is stronger and more visible than ever.  Stay safe and stay strong Team GDH!