the 125th Abingdon parkrun . . 5 Larkers find friendship, sunshine, mud, coffee and cake . .

23 November

I've been back in Bristol for 13 months now, and in that time I've made Ashton Court parkrun my home. It's not the easiest run, and if you're wide awake there's that "what was I thinking" thought as you attack the hill. On the other hand, there's always the "weeeeeeeeee!" as you come back down again. As a general rule though, I find it best to still be half asleep when taking on the hill.

I've also made a lot of friends at Ashton Court, many of them being the Larkers I often write about. I'm very fortunate to know this group of runners, and when Monday comes I can't wait for the next weekend. Before I returned to Bristol my home parkrun was Abingdon, where again, I met some special people and made some good friends.

All parkruns are special, of course but Abingdon is one of those that has that intangible extra, so that it stands out from the ever-increasing crowd of parkruns.

I love running beside the River Thames, twice . . the boats on the canal . . the mud . . running around the meadow . . the tall trees standing guard over the river . . and then the walk into town over the bridge, looking to see if the Heron's at home in the Weeping Willow, before settling down at Java & Co for their great coffee and cake, nattering away with everyone and watching the town go by in the Market Square.

I've been back to Abingdon twice this year, and wanted to get back again before Christmas, so that's were I went yesterday. Although the 6.50 departure time put a few off, Paul and Vanessa came with me, Caroline was already in that part of the world, and Maggie stopped off to join us as she made her way from Brixton to Banbury. It had been frosty when we left Bristol, and watching the orange sun rise made the A420 more interesting than it usually is!

As soon as we arrived at Rye Meadow I started to see some old friends and it was great to be back. Once Sue had explained the intricacies of the posh loo in the car park to Vanessa, and Caroline and Maggie had joined us, we displayed our parking tickets, put on our best larking shoes, and made our way to the start.

Run director Caroline H banned me from the pre-run tourist and newcomer briefing, so I continued catching up with old friends whilst the Larkers learnt all about Abingdon parkrun. There was just time for Julian to take a photo of us before the run when at 9am, with the sun still shining, Caroline H got our parkrun started, and along with thousands of others in England and Wales we set off on our 5k adventure.

Runners of all shapes and sizes, of all ages and abilities, we ran beside the Thames, from firm towpath to uneven muddy footpath, then over the grass around the meadow before crossing the little bridge and hitting the proper mud, made worse by tractors during the week, and after 1500m or so I was still with Vanessa and a little ahead of Paul. Well that was new! They must be having a dreadful run! Or maybe it was me, over excited by the occasion and running too quickly?

Suddenly I was overcome by lethargy, lost all my energy, and slowed right down. I couldn't understand it and kept on running and enjoying my surroundings. As the parkrun unfolded I was passed by several people I've never been ahead of before. Probably went off too fast then! Runners kept on coming by and as we got back onto the road for the last time I could see Maggie up ahead, having already finished her run and warming down, running back towards me. Just then I was caught by John, who I knew had run his 100th parkrun the previous week, and we exchanged a few words as I congratulated him. Thing is, John's age group is 20 years older than mine. I hope I'm still running like that when I'm his age but right now I don't want to be beaten by him (again!). So just as Maggie reached me I found some energy from somewhere and hurried towards the finish. It was nice to have Maggie accompany me, just as it was nice to be cheered as I finished.

The Larkers had all finished and all were saying what a lovely run it was. Caroline H offered me a piece of gingerbread man as I queued to register, and once Julie had scanned my barcodes we put some warm clothes on and headed for the Market Place. Whilst we were queuing for our coffee the sunshine disappeared, replaced by gunmetal skies and November cold, but as tradition holds, we all sat outside and were kept warm by parkrun lurve.

It was good to be back, and I know the Larkers all enjoyed their morning in Abingdon. We'll return next year, there's no doubt. Thank you to everyone at Abingdon for making us so welcome, it was good to see you all and for me it was just like being back home!

Later in the day I found that I'd had a tummy bug for company all morning, which may explain my sudden energy loss during parkrun. It certainly explains why there's no Sunday race report as I've been sensible today and stayed at home. The Larkers were off to Brent Knoll, or orienteering across the Mendips, and I'd been due to run a 10k on the Castle Combe race circuit - tarmac all the way! Hope you all enjoyed your events . .

Many thanks to Lewis and Julian for their great photos.

45 Maggie 23.48 . . 2nd lady and 1st in her age category
59 Caroline 25.04 . . 2nd in age category
86 Paul 27.09 
95 Vanessa 27.38 
143 me 31.04 
185 finishers

next Larkin' blog - probably Sunday 1 December . . after a lark along
the Chew Valley with Vanessa and Paul . . depending on how long lunch takes . .