dale lane

On Saturday, I ran the Maverick Dark Castle: an 11km night time trail run around Corfe Castle.

I’d not done a night run before, and had never run a trail run (needing to buy my first pair of trail shoes for this event!) so take my uninformed opinions here with a pinch of salt.

Running in the dark

The run started a little after 8pm. It is November, so that means it was dark. Very dark. The route isn’t lit, so head torches were essential to see where you’re going.

An uprooted tree was the biggest obstacle. Most of what we had to navigate were branches and tree roots… oh, and mud. So much mud.

Photo of me (I’m underneath the “ic” in “Maverick”) close to the start of the run. I think I love this photo not just because of the arty light from the flare but because you can’t see whatever stupid face I’m probably pulling…

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Inspired by Grace’s running post, there are a couple of running-related things worth mentioning today.

My run at lunchtime today means that I ran over 59 miles in April.

To put this in context, it’s kinda a big deal for me. I’m pretty rubbish at running. If you need proof… that’s what the pictures above are for. Do I look like someone who enjoys running? 🙂

If you prefer context in numerical form, (ignoring whatever running I couldn’t avoid in school P.E. lessons) I’ve only ever run 330 miles.

I ran 152 miles in 2010.
I ran 62 miles in 2011.
I’ve run 115 miles so far this year, 59 of which this month.

So I’m starting to get more into running – running more often and for longer distances.

With that in mind, before I can come to my senses and change my mind, I’ve entered the Great South Run 2012. Want to come and run 10 miles with me?

It’s safe to say that I’ve been a stereotypical geek where sports are concerned. You know the sort – always picked last for sports at school, and came up with a variety of ways to avoid P.E. lessons wherever possible (helped by a secondary school that let me swap PE classes for additional academic classes).

Last February, a mate suggested that I join him to do the Great South Run – a ten mile run in Portsmouth. My initial reaction was that I could never do that. I’d never run a mile before, let alone ten. And I hadn’t done any running at all since school.

But then… the fact that I’d never done anything like it before also seemed like a good reason to do it. So, I signed up.

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