A slow cycle to Bradford-on Avon and back

         

       I’ve been thinking about this challenge for ages. A few years back, I cycled from Southampton to Bath randomly and visited a friend. We got drunk and I got the train home with my bike. I had got a bit lost on the way to Bath and ended up doing 85 miles. It was such a great adventure though. It felt like a big personal feat.

So, the challenge? I wanted to run the route. At first I thought about doing it over three days. Salisbury 25 miles from mine, Warminster is 50 miles from mine and then day three would be the hilly bit to Bath. It was just an idea anyway…

 
       Lately, I’ve had a lot of free time in the week as I work part-time again now that the Xmas rush has passed. In fact, I am only working Mondays and Fridays. I get three days off in a row. I was thinking that I should be doing more things with this time. Visiting more places,people  and seeing more of the U.K at least.

 

Anyway, it was a bit last minute despite it being on my mind for a while. The day before this adventure was the day that I decided to do it. I was going to attempt to cycle to Bradford-on-Avon via the NCN 24/NCN 4. This would skirt around the edge of Bath without going into the busy city. I am not really a fan of Bath. I am not keen on any city to be fair. I always loved Bradford-on-Avon though.

 
        I once ran the canal path from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon the day after Chloe had put me on the wrong train home after running on the Cotswolds from Cheltenham. I got lost naturally and ran down a very busy road, but it was fun all the same.

 

The night before this bike ride, I had made a plan and I had checked the weather. The storms had passed and it looked dry for the Tuesday and Wednesday. After a bit of hesitation, I booked some accommodation and packed a rucksack. This was it, I had committed to this journey. In the back of my mind I did think that I could just not bother and lose the money I’d spent on the Shepherd’s hut where I would be staying.

 

The alarm went off at 6am. It was still dark of course as it’s still winter. Is this a good idea I wondered as I lay in my nice warm bed?

Breakfast and coffee ensued and I was ready. A bit of last minute map studying and I was ready. I didn’t leave until 7.30am but at least it was light out there now on this February morning.

Ok, it’s best to break the journey down. Let’s just aim for Romsey (5 miles) and then Salisbury (25 miles). I can get the train back from there maybe?

 
     I knew the route pretty much all the way to Warminster as I had cycled and ran it before. I didn’t do the running on the same occasion though. I got the train to Salisbury once and ran from there to Warminster.

I had the route all in my head. I would be following the NCN 24 for most of it anyway. Not always well signed but I knew it from being lost before. I cycled the 5 miles into Romsey, it was nice and quiet because of half term. No giant 4x4’s taking up all the road space as they normally do on my work commute. Bloody things! I still had a woolly hat and gloves on. It was a bit chilly but bearable. I did think it was a slightly mad idea to be cycling a long way in the winter in shorts with a small window of daylight. Fears kept creeping in that I had set myself an intangible goal. I couldn’t quite work out the distance on Google maps. 80-100 miles to Bradford-on-Avon?

 
       I left at 7.30 and it got dark about 5.30. Now, I am a very slow cyclist on my mountain bike. 10 hours didn’t seem long enough to me. I wanted to stop somewhere for lunch as well obviously and take a few photos on the way and chat to a few people to keep me sane. From Romsey to Belbins, Timsbury, Mottisfont and then the peaceful country lanes of Dunbridge, Lockerley, East Dean and West Dean. Cycling through East Grimstead I remembered getting a puncture here and having to fix it. Luckily again, I had brought my pump, a spare inner tube and my tyre levers.

 

A few thoughts of “Have you lost it Dean?” and “What are you doing this for?” came to mind. I told myself to stay in the moment and enjoy my surroundings. I knew I had that busy and fast Alderbury road to come into busy Salisbury and this was pushed to back of my mind.  

It was all good though. The climb out of Alderbury and the descent into Salisbury. Past the parkrun course and past the cathedral. I was too far away to see the Peregrine falcons that often nested up there. Keep cycling Dean. Into town and then head to the train station. I didn’t really like this part, back amongst people and traffic.

 

  I often stopped at the church in Bemerton and refilled my water bottles here. I didn’t need to today. I did stop though and eat a Vegan sausage roll in the sunshine. It was getting warmer now but the wind would pick up a bit from time to time. I thought ahead and worried a bit about the potential headwind on the Wylye valley. I soon brought myself back to the present and sat in the sun on the church wall. I was over a quarter of the way already.

 

On I went to Quidhampton and then the busy A36 to Wilton. It was soon quiet again though as I climbed up to Great Wishford and onto the Wylye valley. A lovely quiet route that runs parallel to the A36 and takes you all the way to Warminster. Very popular with cyclists in the summer but I didn’t see too many today. It can be very lonely and isolated up there. Miles of straight road. I was thinking to myself.. Would I really want to run this route on my own again? It would be really tough mentally and it was when I ran it before.

 

Lots of little villages on the 20 or so miles to Warminster. The Langfords (hanging, little and Steeple). Then I decided to play a game where I tried to remember the order of the villages. I got them all wrong of course.

The sky had darkened. It was now cloudy and the wind had really picked up, as I had forecast in my mind earlier. I had to stop cycling to put my raincoat on. The rain then poured down heavily upon me. This definitely wasn’t a good idea. I should have waited until the spring. Head down, I pedalled hard. I wasn’t moving fast in the first place but now I looked at my watch and was averaging about 3mph. Should I get off and walk? Shut up and pedal!

 

I was struggling but one positive was on my mind. The ginger piggery. The Ginger piggery had a café. It was in Boyton. It was cycle friendly and did very nice coffee and you could sit indoors in the dry. I hope it’s open, it had better be open!

I cycled on occupying my mind with the village quiz game that I had invented. Was it Bapton and Corton or Wylye then Sherrington? Where was Stockton, before Boyton? Or was it Bapton, Boyton and Corton?

I got them wrong. The wind and the rain continued as I looked across the fields and over to the A36 down below in the distance. Looks pretty quiet over there I thought. There was the sound of my bike though. It had an annoying noise. I think it was the front disc braking rubbing. This had been a problem that often came and went on this bike. I tried to sort it out later on but it would stay with me and irritate me on the whole trip.

 

Eventually I got to Ginny’s café at the Ginger piggery. 40 miles of my journey had passed. I was wet already but the jacket did a great job of keeping my t-shirts dry. The only moisture was from the sweat on my back from the rucksack. I had made sure to put the extra clothes, phone charger, power bank into a carrier bag at least to keep everything dry.

 

Good news! The café was open. When I first came here, the only vegan thing they had was a cereal bar. I was pleased to know that now I could order a Vegan sausage Ciabatta and an oat milk latte. Always very friendly staff with a smile too. They are also happy to fill your water bottles for you as well. The café was quiet. I sat there staring out of the window at the rain pouring down as I cupped my nice warm latte while I waited for my food.

Another cyclist came in. He was from Amesbury. We chatted about cycling routes and places we had been. I am not a cyclist but know a lot of popular cycle routes and had studied a lot of maps in my time. There aren’t many places around here that I don’t know about I think.

I couldn’t sit here all day drinking lattes. I was tempted to buy another one. Nope, better get going. The other cyclist was encouraging. “The sun is due to come out soon” he smiled while looking up from his phone. I said goodbye to him and the staff.

 Not sure why I locked my bike? Who is going to steal a bike out here in Boyton? One thing I did know, I wasn’t that far from Warminster. 10 miles maybe? I would pass Sutton Veny and then cross the A36 but instead of going into Warminster this time I would follow the NCN24 into Longleat. The signs weren’t very clear and I wasn’t sure if I was going the right way sometimes. I was ok up until this point. It had been about six years since I did this part and I wasn’t sure if I’d gone the right way then. I was on the right road though and stopped outside Longleat for a photo. It was exactly 50 miles. I was halfway and least, hopefully.

Longleat is a weird experience as a cyclist, especially for the first time. I had flashbacks of my first time. You cycle in the main entrance of the park and go past the paying booths but you don’t stop and pay. This had confused me the first time around. This time I cycled through and the woman smiled and waved at me as I confidently cycled in free of charge. Now the sun was shining and the wind wasn’t as bad either. It’s a big long downhill towards the massive house, what I would call a mansion but they call it a house. Past the fountains and then you’re climbing again on the road towards the safari park. You probably cycle inside Longleat for about two or three miles. Last time I panicked a bit and thought I was actually cycling in the safari park. I quickly scanned the land for hungry lions and cycled faster. This time around, I was wiser and more knowledgeable though, the safari park was still half a mile away as I cycled on through a small gap next to a closed gate and it threw me out somewhere near Frome.

 

The NCN24 now splits. I was feeling adventurous and also remembered that massive hill by Frome train station. I decided to got the other way. It wasn’t long before I was lost and had to get my phone out for directions. Good news was that I managed to avoid going into Frome. Less traffic and fewer people, yay.

There were a few uncertainties but I continued and eventually rejoined the NCN. Maybe it was NCN4 now? I can’t remember.

 

Anyway, I was going the right way and heading towards Great Elm. I had a bad experience here and I think I got lost or it may have been that I didn’t want to skirt around to Radstock which seems to add on excess mileage. There is a good reason for this though as I discovered last time around. I headed up into Buckland Dinham last time and it was a very fast road with lots of traffic. It was dangerous. This time, I would take the correct route onto the Collier’s way. At least this would be flat right? A disused railway line? Well, it climbed and undulated to my surprise. I could see an old railway line to my right the whole time and yes it was flat. The concrete path they had made wasn’t though.

 
      I stopped on a hill and ate my second vegan sausage roll. I hadn’t planned to eat sausages all day but it seemed to be happening. I hope I wasn’t having Hot dogs in Bradford-on-Avon if I ever got there. I looked at my watch. Time was getting on. I would get into Radstock around 4pm. There I would stop at the Co-op and refuel once again. I was feeling a bit dizzy and light-headed to be honest. My ass was getting sore too. Then I remembered that I hadn’t done any sort of training for this and I only cycled 8 miles twice a week for work. Would I be able to cycle home again tomorrow?

      I ate pineapple chunks, and a falafel wrap. I was so grateful not to be eating sausages. These were washed down with a sugary drink. I felt so much better now. I looked at my route. It looked like it would be about 80 miles to my Shepherd’s hut. At this point though, I didn’t know I was staying in a Shepherd’s hut, I was under the impression from the email that I was staying in a Gypsy caravan! It sounded like an unusual experience either way.

 

I followed the route towards Bath, through places such as Shoscombe, Wellow, Twinhoe, Midford etc.. It was hillier here but the views were nice. Lots of quiet country lanes and scenery of greenery. I was to leave the NCN4 at Monkon combe. I was tempted briefly to do the two tunnels route to Bristol but saw the little sense I had. I would now cycle though the campus grounds of a school and head to Freshford.

 

I was on a busy road but found the Avon and Kennet canal path eventually. It was starting to get dark now but I was nearly there. Just as well as I hadn’t charged my front bike light and didn’t know how much life it had left in it. The back light was battery powered so would last about six months. These USB ones only last a week! Hard to find a decent battery powered front light nowadays.

 

The canal path was not how I remembered it. I had run it previously on a hot and hungover summer’s day. It was now dark and very muddy with lots of puddles for me to dodge. Smoke came from the barges parked at the side of the canal. It sure was getting colder now that the sun had gone to bed. I didn’t get lost at Avoncliffe but it was a bit confusing for me. You had to get from one side of the canal to the other via a bridge and then there were a few directions you could go. I tried them all until I went the correct way, just to make sure of course.

 

I continued along the muddy path dodging puddles and the bigger twigs from the storm that lay strewn along the way. I stopped again to type in the address of my Shepherd’s hut. Yippee! Less than a parkrun to go. My bum was so sore now though. I cycled to Bradford-on-Avon and then a short way off the canal path up to Widbrook farms where I was staying in Widbrook. I got there about 6.30ish. I had done 78.78 miles. I was tempted to make it up to 80 miles but then decided not to be an idiot.

 

I buzzed the intercom and was let into the compound. I was greeted by who I presume was Dick of the Dick and Jane duo. It was a family run bed and breakfast. I always try and stay in these rather than giving my money to “the man” and the chains. I also found that these places were so much more friendlier and had a lot more character… and I was right. This place was based on cartoons from the 1940’s and 1950’s. I would be staying in the “Billy Bunter” lodge or shepherd’s hut.

 

Dick showed me around and told me that he also owned and ran the bike hire shop in Bradford-on-Avon. He had the room already heated for me and put my bike inside. It was such a lovely place.

I don’t usually stay for breakfast at the places I stay. There are two reasons for this: I want to set off early when the sun comes up to maximise my cycling time and often there are no decent Vegan options either. However, Dick had talked me into staying for breakfast saying that they could do me a cooked vegan breakfast with Potato fritters, mushrooms, spinach, beans, tomatoes and toast. There was also fruit and cereal. Brilliant.

 

I took a shower and did some stretching before walking into town and getting some more food. I ate a lot and slept very little. My legs were very achy that night but didn’t feel too bad the next morning. I went for breakfast just after 8am. So glad I did too, it was lovely and I really enjoyed looking around at all the odd curios on the walls and shelves. Funny signs, antiques, etc.. This place had so much character, I was in love with it and promised myself a revisit sometime in the summer for another run along the canal paths.

 

I didn’t want to cycle the long way home and had already left ninety minutes later than the previous day. The weather looked a lot nicer today too. The sun was already shining. The plan was to cycle back onto the canal path and get to Trowbridge, through Westbury and back to Warminster to rejoin the Wylye valley.

   It was easy enough getting into Trowbridge. Memories came flooding back to me of the Trowbridge 10k race where I got a pb of 40.30 at the time. This would not appear on Runbritain or Power of 10 though as it was not a UKA licensed race. I cycled through the park where the finish line was and relived my victorious moment. I crossed the river heading for Westbury. I got a bit lost here but eventually found my way. I had a few choices to make. I knew these roads wouldn’t be pleasant anyway but today was about cutting down on mileage. After all, I still had the sore bum.

 

    I chose the A350 over the A36. I don’t think the A36 could have been worse than the A350. I was terrified. The traffic was constant and fast paced. I couldn’t wait to get to Westbury. But then I knew the traffic would continue until Warminster but I was making great progress and cutting out excess miles too. Now it was time for the A36 and this was horrible too. I decided to come off when I could and headed into old Dinton and around to Upper Scudamore. This was a much better route but again I had to rejoin the busy A36 into Warminster. Through the town this time and out the other side where I cycled through Bishopstrow and Boreham. I later discovered that this was a longer way around.  

 

Not long afterwards I was back to the familiar ground of Sutton Veny. Could I stop off at the Ginger Piggery again knowing I’d only done twenty one miles so far? Of course I could. And guess what.. I had another vegan sausage Ciabatta. Today the café was packed though. Such a contrast from the previous day. There were more cyclists. Bloody fair weather cyclists! And others just chatting to friends and family.

I knew it was only forty miles home from here and it wasn’t even midday yet. I worked out that I would have saved myself eighteen miles but never would I cycle that way again! Too perilous and very scary.

 

Not much to tell after this apart from that I realised I was on a slow descent on the way home. So if I ever ran from Bath or Bradford-on-Avon to my house it would be the preferable way to do it. I could attempt it in two days by running Forty miles a day. I wonder if the Ginger piggery have accommodation? Probably not, that would be the ideal place to stop for the end of day one. The café wouldn’t be open though and I wouldn’t have any food or water either..lol.

 

Back through Salisbury and then the slog to Romsey. I decided to go through Awbridge and Kent’s Oak instead of Mottisfont for the change of scenery. I knew the way anyway and I thought it would be lovely to stop at “World of Water” garden centre in Romsey for Vegan cake and more coffee. My hands were really cold now and it was just after 4pm. World of water was closed. I was so looking forward to the coffee and cake. I cycled home instead.

 

61.3 miles later I was outside my house. Do I cycle another mile to make it 100k for the day. Don’t be an idiot Dean!

Anyway, it was a total of 140 miles in two days on my mountain bike. I did no training whatsoever. My bike fitness was awful! Not to be confused with running fitness. The difference is so vast if you didn’t know. I remember my 1000 mile bike ride around the coast. I could cruise up any hill, yet struggled to run a 25 minute parkrun due to lack of running miles.

Anyway, this is where the journey ends. Here’s to more adventures this year. Feel free to join me on one of them, even if it’s just a walk, a little bike ride or a 50 mile jog. x

QECP parkrun meet up

      

       It was to be Vegan Runner Maria’s 50^th different parkrun location at Queen Elizabeth Country Park and she had organised an event on faceache for us Hampshire Vegan runners to attend. Luckily, I was able to get a lift there with another Hampshire Vegan runner named John, not to be confused with Hampshire Vegan runners Jon or Jhon though.

     I walked to Sainsburys in Lordshill at 7.30ish and got picked up along with Darren, Alice and David. A van full of happy Vegan runners on our way to another parkrun.... talking about parkrun. "What is you Wilson index?" Do you have a Wilson index or a floating Wilson?" What is your P Index?" "How many Hampshire parkruns do you have left to complete?" etc.. 

  I had done QECP parkrun twice before and knew it was bloody tough. In fact, it turns out to be the 9^th toughest parkrun apparently! Now I’m not sure if that is in the U.K or the world? You’ll have to do your own research on that one.

    Anyway, I got a PW (Personal worst) there. 

It seemed like a good idea… but a few years ago on NYD (New years day), I cycled 26 miles there and tried to run it in road shoes. I was so scared, I thought I was going to die on the downhill. A pair of skis would have been more beneficial that day. Think I got 33 minutes and then cycled 26 miles home in the cold wind and rain but I did get to see parkrun creator that day Paul Sinton-Hewitt. Anything for a bit of parkrun tourism!

The last time I ran QECP was on my birthday last year. It was my idea and I managed to drag along my friends Di and Helen. I had forgotten how hilly it was but at least I had trail shoes and it was nice and dry in September. Obviously, I set a new course pb (Personal best) of 20.57.

Fast forward to the 12/02/22 and we were back. We stood around by John’s van debating on clothing choices. The wind was so cold. I opted to put on a long sleeve shirt under my Vegan runner's t-shirt and put gloves on as well. Others chose hoodies and hats etc..  John was in his VR (vegan runners) vest! Great to see some now familiar faces to me there including Richard, Andy, Matt, Jon etc.. Also some Vegan lovely tourists including Carla and Dudley :)

 We walked to the start with a few more VR’s and then we took a group photo. I was juggling with the idea of running home after parkrun, so took my road shoes too. I’m pretty sure I knew the route as well. So, no warm up required, that would be the parkrun and then a gentle adventure home right? We got to the start on the hill and for some unknown reason, when we set off, it felt like I was racing.

We climbed the hill and turned right to a grassy/muddy downhill. I wasn’t crying but my eyes were streaming with water for some reason. It was difficult to foresee my foot placement at such a speed. (It was probably slower that it felt). I had to keep wiping my eyes for visibility. 

1^st mile in 6.44. (Sorry to all the kilometre runners out there)  😃

  I felt that I had to slow down a bit at the bottom of the hill as it was muddier, and I didn’t quite feel in control anymore! A right turn and then an undulating path back to the start and finish. Instead of taking the racing line on the inside, I went on the outside as it was an easier track to run with fewer muddy puddles. I had watched a few runners take the inside with unfortunate consequences. They were sliding and tripping over their own feet. 

Past the finish line where a group of marshals cheered us on and another right turn back up that big hill. I threw my running cap down on the grass and took my gloves off and put them in my pockets. This time, from the bottom of the hill we ran up again but no right turn halfway up. Just keep heading up. This is so brutal. My lungs were burning. I made the hill distance about 0.80^th of a mile. My slowest mile and probably the same for everyone else. Glad I didn’t walk it though, but I did think about it. 

2^nd mile in 7.32.

Another right turn as I thank the marshal and there just in front are 3 lads running that I have been chasing for a while. This downhill seems more runnable as I blast down. The group of 3 start to disperse as their paces change. I pass one of them and catch another at the bottom of this longer hill. We are now running back to the finish. It’s brutal though.

My lungs are burning, my breathing laboured, the wind is strong, and that last mile isn’t even flat either. There are a couple of noticeable undulations. Jesus! Where’s this finish. I eventually catch up with the other guy who was with the "pack of 3" (mates?)  but I just know that I can’t take him. Not that he looks strong, it’s just that we both seem to be running at our maximum speed at this moment in time. We exchange a few words and encourage each other to dig deep, all the while he is slightly ahead. We passed a few other runners who were slowing too.

  Can I beat my course pb of 20.57? Push dude, push! I am close to a sub 6 mile but not really with the 3^rd mile being a 6.04. I remember a similar thing happening last time. I just couldn’t get that sub 6 on the final mile.

The runner in front seemed to pull away as we sprinted to the finish. I knew I definitely couldn’t take him. I had no idea on positioning either. I crossed the line at 21.10 and took my token. 13 seconds out! Maybe if I looked at my watch near the end, I would have pushed harder? Saying that, this is the hardest I’ve run this year and it was so painful. My lungs were on fire. I squinted at my finish token and was surprised to get P5.

The guy who had beaten me by 1 second said that I had kept him going and I told him likewise. We really had pushed each other to the finish line. The beauty and the spirit of a parkrun.

  I walked back onto the course to hunt down the Green and black shirts and took a few photos of them running in. 15 Vegan runners were scanned in (so I was told) and then we went to the cafe for coffee and John’s amazing brownies that he had made. These even bought Andy out of the warm cafe and into the garden to where we were sat..lol.

I couldn’t stop stroking cute and cuddly jasper’s fur. Jasper is Jon’s dog. (Not to be confused with John or Jhon). Such an adorable dog, even for a cat person like myself.

Alice then told me that my official time was 21.15, so I was 18 seconds out which is a lot really. In my defence though, I think the conditions were tougher than back in September. Was I really going to attempt a 26 mile jog home after running a flat out 5k? Yeah, why not. I left my trail shoes in Matt’s car and put on my road shoes and said my goodbyes.

 
    Well done to everyone who ran and repped in the Green and Black and especially Maria who ran her 50^th different location! Sorry to have missed Penny. We’ll see you next time 😃 I haven’t included everyone here, maybe I didn’t get to chat to you or if I did, I forgot to ask you your name. Such a basic thing! Haha. Sorry. x

My running review of 2021

         My memory gets worse every year, and this year is no exception. What have I done this year? Luckily, I have all the photos on my phone and a catalogue of race events that I have done via the website “Runbritain”. Only the UKA races appear on Runbritain though, so the phone photos were useful to fill in the gaps of the other events.

    A strange start to the year as the pandemic continued. I was still ill from long covid from October of the previous year. My heart and lungs had enlarged and was causing me months of chest pain and breathing issues. My resting heart rate was as low as 30bpm which concerned myself and the heart specialist. I had to walk up and down the stairs to get my heart rate above 40 just so that I could get a blood pressure reading which was also all over the place. I spent days of exhaustion in bed. Work was such a drag. I couldn’t wait to get home and sleep. I had nausea every day. My head spinning and feeling sick while I tried to work. My lovely boss would often tell me to take five minutes out and sit down.

 Then there were the days on which I tried to run. It would be 16 degrees outside and my lungs would be burning in pain as if it was minus 5 degrees outside. I thought this was going to stay with me forever. Despite the pain and misery, I ran anyway. It was the only thing I had that I really enjoyed. And despite the illness, I would still push hard.. until my heart MRI anyway. The heart specialist phoned me and told me to cut back on running and the intensity until we got the results. He was telling me that it could be caused by the widening of an artery near the heart. I didn’t like the sound of this.

The swelling of my heart passed and so did the chest pains. I have a very healthy heart according to the specialists report after the MRI. Things were improving. And so they should as the long covid had lasted nearly 9 months. I’m not saying it has gone as I still get the odd day of fatigue and nausea but life is pretty much back to normal now.

Anyway, illness aside.. there hadn’t been any parkruns in the U.K since March of 2020. There were no race events happening either. It made me and most runners realise how precious our parkruns and race events were. Some pretty bleak times of just plodding the streets alone with no social aspects. But then, the sun began to shine…

 
         On Saturday May the 29th, a few of us got together to run one of my favourite, if not favourite events in the racing calendar. The Bratton Hilly. An 11.4K race where the first mile was pretty much uphill. But then, you could see miles of Wiltshire countryside in the summertime while running along country lanes and through colourful fields. Plenty of undulations and a few people to race. This race never really gets more than 100 runners and I was worried it would get too popular as it was now taken over by Red Fish events. Fair play to them, it was the same race and atmosphere as all the other years I had ran it. It was a great day and I managed to run myself a course pb. A time of 50.36. An 11.4k pb or 7.12 miles if you like the miles like me ;)

It was so good to be back amongst friends too. Josh Chivers, Kevin Willsher, Di and Mike Mattingly and Patrick and Angela too. Josh and Kev were miles ahead of me. Not sure Josh liked all the hills but Kev loved it and won his V40 age category in a rapid time of 44.15 and came 4^th over all. It took about 4 or 5 months for him to get his prize though! Haha. Josh came 10^th with a time of 46.28. 2nd Lordshiller home ;)

The Bratton hilly doesn’t start until 11pm so usually we would do Southwick parkrun first. Last time we did Melksham parkrun instead. But the parkruns were still not operational at this time.

          A month later, (27^th June) saw me in Exeter at the Exeter half marathon. I stayed there overnight and met Di and Mikey at the event. I was in pretty good shape and ran a time of 88.29. I only made the course around 12.7 miles though and I had run the wrong way. There were no water stations on the course and I took no gels either. This could have been a pb for me as I was only 14 seconds away, but I know I wouldn’t be happy with it. Just like the time I got a pb at the 4.7 mile Romsey 5 course.

         Forward another month and the weather conditions could not have been any different. On the 18^th of July, I was at Frome half with regular racing buddies Di and Mikey. It was about 30 degrees, unlike the grey and rainy day at Exeter. I had done Frome a few years previously and I knew it was a hilly course but I think I had forgotten how hilly. I told myself that I wasn’t going to race this because of the heat.

It was so hot that I had to use everything I had just to finish and get around. I felt pretty dizzy for a while as I sat on the grass under the shade of a tree cheering others in. I was over 10 minutes slower than my time at Exeter with a shocking 98.51. At least the course wasn’t short!

I can’t remember what date the parkruns returned. Maybe I didn’t rush back to them because of covid still spreading. The races I had done had staggered starts and lots of precautions. Anyway, on the 24^th of July, I cycled to Itchen Valley to do my first parkrun there. This parkrun started just before I moved to Wales, so I never got around to doing it. There were a few other Vegan runners there too. This made it even better as we sat and had coffee and vegan sausage rolls afterwards at the lovely cafe. I think we bought all the sausage rolls in there too.

It was a new revised course and quite technical to follow the instructions we were told. Anyway, you’re supposed to go left at the bridge but a lot of us went right and did the first mile in reverse to the confusion of the marshals and the other runners who were actually running in the right direction. It was comical. We still did the same distance though and it is a lovely course which requires trail shoes if you have some. There are some wonderful wooded areas and plenty of mud. 21.46 was my time and then a tired cycle home.

          Only a week later, on the 31^st of July, we had another unofficial vegan runners meet up at Winchester parkrun as Mike Harper was leaving us Hampshire vegans and moving to became a North Devonshire vegan. Great to meet Jon Taylor and James Pittman on that day. Lovely to see Jhon Cosgrove, Matt Salisbury, Cece and of course Mr. Harper himself. My aim was to run a sub 20 on this course. I had tried a few times before and failed. I think my course pb was 20.11. I didn’t really feel confident as I ran around the course. I remember thinking.. I don’t think you’re on for the sub 20 but you MUST beat 20.11 for a new course pb. Push Dean, push! To my surprise I came in with a 19.53. It was painful but I did it. After this, I wanted to try and do more sub 20 parkruns. I had kind of set it in my head as a goal. We then got a group photo and we all laughed as the random lady taking the photo said “Everyone say cheese”. She’d realised what she’d said and changed it. “Everyone say vegan cheeeeese”. It was then time for another lovely cafe catch up.

          7^th of August saw Kev Willsher and myself heading to one of my favourite parkrun courses. Upton park parkrun. It’s a lovely compacted gravel trail course with a tough little hill in there. The course was slightly different this time around. I think this was because of needing a wider start and finish due to spread out the runners during these times of covid concern. I had a course pb of 19.43. It would be a tough one to beat. I raced it hard but only managed a 19.51. Still a great time for me and another sub 20. Kev told me that he went the wrong way on one of the turns but still came 5^th with an impressive time of 18.32.

          A bit of solo parkrun tourism on the 14^th of August as I caught the train to Lymington and did the Lymington Woodside parkrun. I managed to have a good warm up and a catch up with Alice Rudd and also chat to Rachel and James Brown at the end. I also had a chat with Kate Budd who had cycled there from Southampton.

A few people had told me that Lymington wasn’t a great course but I really enjoyed it and would love to go back again in 2022. Again, I just about managed the sub 20 with a time of 19.53. These sub 20’s were painful but at least they were getting consistent now.

          Ok, let’s try and get another sub 20. On the 28^th of August, I was planning to get the train to Fareham for the parkrun. I told Kev, Kev said he would drive us and then we invited legendary Neil Catchlove. Another V45 who is much quicker than me. Kev did one of those things where he says he isn’t racing and I knew that Neil always raced his parkruns. I also knew that Kev couldn’t help himself and often didn’t listen to his own advice. They went off chatting as I was behind them huffing and puffing away. They were leading and I was in 3^rd place! I wonder if we could hold this. Kev and Neil soon went out of my sight. Then I saw them on their way back. Kev was in front and Neil close behind. I swear I could hear someone on my shoulder but dare not look around. I kept on pushing. This was a lot more painful that usual. It felt as if time had stood still. The miles on my watch were taking ages to reach. I managed to hold 3^rd place with a time of 19.13. I was over the moon and has really surprised myself. Later as we sat in the sun drinking coffee at the Cams mill pub, I was thinking about how I might have had a P1 today. Haha. Why did I invite those dickheads? Just kidding, I probably wouldn’t have pushed so hard without the influences of Kev and Neil there. Cheers guys.

        I got up super early on the 4^th of September to return to Littlehampton parkrun. The aim was another sub 20. I knew it could be a pretty quick course depending on the wind. I randomly bumped into Lordshill legend Roger Bradley. I ran a 19.15 and got my first P2. P1 was way ahead though. Turns out Worthing 10k was the next day, so most people were taking it a bit easier. Roger and I had a lovely breakfast and a catch up afterwards too.

          It’s my birthday so we do what I want. On the 11^th of September. Di drove me to Queen Elizabeth country park for the parkrun. We met Helen Bonaer there too as arranged. Last time I did this course was on a New Year’s day. I had cycled 26 miles there, worn road shoes and got a parkrun PW of 33 minutes and then cycled home again in the cold wind and rain. I had been meaning to return for a while.

It was a lot drier but I had forgotten how hard the hills were on this course. It’s pretty brutal. I knew I wouldn’t sub 20 this one but was very happy with my 20.57. Another breakfast followed and then a jog up Butser hill for fun.

        I decided not to write about every parkrun as there were slower times and ones where I just jogged around chatting to Disgo Dan, Helen Bonaer, Rob Kelly, Josh Chivers etc.. The 19^th of September felt like a big deal. I felt a lot of pressure and expectation. The Lordshill 10k. Not the original course but this was my first 10k a decade ago. Josh and Kev would message me telling me I had a sub 40 in me. I wasn’t so sure. Was I fit enough? I had run a 40.25 at Goodwood in February of 2020.

Ever since I started running in 2011, I would dream about running a sub 40 for the 10k. It seemed to be a bench mark for being a proper runner back then. Most people I know are running mid to low 30’s now! I am 47 years old I guess though. No excuses Dean Jones.

       Anyway, I managed a time of 39.39. My first sub 40. I was so happy. It really was a life time goal of mine to achieve which some people used to laugh at when I told them. Maybe I wasn’t aiming high enough in life? I didn’t care as long as I was happy. It took a while to sink in that I had achieved it. I can happily look back and say that I ran a sub 40. Probably my biggest achievement of 2021.

       I did a few more sub 20 parkruns. Southampton and Portsmouth Lakeside and then back to Southampton parkrun on the 9^th of October. On that day I somehow ran my first sub 19 for the 5k. A time of 18.53. Probably the only time that I’ll beat Alan Graham at anything. It was brutal and then I had Paddy Connors jogging past me at the finish casually congratulating me as if he was almost walking..lol. Cheers Paddy.

           More tourism ensued. A very long train journey to Crawley on the 16^th of October saw me running around Tilgate parkrun. I was taking it easier as I had the Great South run the following day. This is a stunning parkrun around a lovely lake with a bit of a hill in there too. You know it’s going to be tough when you seem to be running downhill for quite a while! It would be my 59^th different parkrun location. I would definitely recommend doing Tilgate if you can.

         The Nerves and apprehension crept back in as the Great South run arrived. Very overpriced but a great local race where you can just jump on the train and race in a great atmosphere. I met Josh Chivers on the train and we saw Dan Hunt when we got off the train. We walked and chatted our way to the start. Talking of times and conditions etc.. Even though I tried to take the racing line on the course, I always found it to be a bit over the distance. I remember being on for a PB one year and I would have got it if the course was actually 10 miles. According to my watch, I still had another half a mile to run.

I had this thought in my head today. It’s going to be a long course so you need to run a bit faster for a PB anyway. Where the course is so flat, you can pace each mile really well, apart from the wind on the last mile or two. And there was a strong wind this year. Anyway, I got my PB with a 10 mile time of 66.12. A PB over 30 seconds beating my Wimborne 10 time of 66.44.

Josh came in at an amazing 69^th and got a PB of 58.54. Dan Hunt came 47^th with a time of 56.48 which he thought was “Okay” and local hero Will Bryan came 5^th with a time of 49.05! Ridiculous.

          Netley, Brockenhurst and Soton parkruns followed as the Saturdays rolled by. My friend Helen has talked me into entering two races. The testway 50 and the Phoenix Skull runner. Not sure why I agreed but both were a challenge and great fun. 31^st of October saw Helen running her first ultra in a 7 hour timed event. The rain was torrential and it was windy on the Thames path. I didn’t want to get out of Helen’s warm car but she made me. The out and back route was about 3 miles or so. Helen wanted to quit at 29 miles but I said that wasn’t an ultra distance so we did another lap making up just over 32 miles where she destroyed me in a sprint finish and make me look crap. However, she said she was done. I kind of wanted to keep going but I was happy enough as I hadn’t done an ultra for a while. This was our training and “Reverse taper” for the Testway 50 on the 13^th of November.

         I love the testway and told Helen how well I knew most of the course. I had run about 35 miles of it on my own before. Or at least, I thought I had. It is a 50 miler or 52 miles as the race director told us at the start. It was a fantastic day with mild and dry weather. All the hills seemed to be near the start. We did a 10 mile loop and ended up back at the start which I didn’t realise as I didn’t read the email. Helen knew this though. I thought it was strange that we were heading to Berkshire rather than Hampshire! Oh yeah, I should have mentioned that we were running it from the Inkpen end and finishing at Rotten Totton.

  As if we hadn’t chatted enough about cats and food on the skull runner, the conversations continued effortlessly as the miles passed us by. The views were great and the terrain always changing. We did get lost though and ran through a private field and had to turn back. It’s nice that we took some other runners with us who decided to follow us.

        The aim was to reach the aid stations which were about every 10 miles. It made such a difference to have Andy Herman and the kids to support us. The marshals at the aid stations were amazing too. I loved eating and talking to them more than I liked the running. But every now and then we reminded ourselves that we had to leave and carry on. There wasn’t much of a Vegan option at the aid stations. I had a bit of banana here and there. I bought my own Nked bars and gels though. I was looking forward to seeing Andy and the kids again with my bag of Vegan ham and cheese sandwiches. I had been thinking about them for ages. We got to the White Lion pub in Wherwell but no Andy was to be seen.

  Helen phoned him only to discover that he was at the wrong checkpoint. I could have cried right there. I want my sandwiches Andy! I got my brain engaged and starting thinking. He was 10 miles away at Mottisfont. Maybe he could meet us at the pub on the corner in Stockbridge? Stockbridge must have been about 5 miles I imagined. What was the pub called? I had to google it. The White Hart.

 
       I think this actually worked out better for us as we now had the most mentally challenging part coming up.. The old dis-used railway line. Starting in Leckford it is just a very straight gravel path that goes on for about 5 or 6 miles. Stockbridge was about halfway in though. We were so happy to see the pub, Andy and the kids. I changed t-shirt, socks and ate my lovely sandwiches. Wow, what a difference this had made. A wonderful pit-stop. We carried back onto the railway line and turned off and headed uphill to Mottisfont where we saw another aid station and the amazing Andy again. Andy gave me a hug and I think it may have been one of the best hugs of my life. I felt a little bit tearful if I’m honest. 40 miles in and the emotions were high and tiredness was evident. Helen and I still chatted away though. We had now got our head torches. I would later discover at Romsey tide mill that I had forgot to change the batteries and had to run with the light on my phone. Squabb wood was interesting. Luckily both Helen and myself knew the route. A couple of people stayed with us for navigation. It was also very muddy and climbing stiles was getting tough. After I hid behind Helen, she managed to scare the cows off and onwards we went. Helen was struggling a bit mentally and said she may have to walk the rest of the way. I think we were at mile 43. It was a dark place for us both mentally and literally. We walked for a bit, not really saying much. The ground was now rutted and hard to run on.

         Things changed when we hit the road though. We knew we had another aid station in a couple of miles and our spirits seemed to ignite. We got to that aid station on Church lane and we were back to our chatty selves while all the marshals and spectators told us how amazing we were. A big feel good factor. We ran happily on in the remaining miles onto the lower test and across the boardwalks. A big cheer of supporters at the Salmon leap pub and then running through the park and into Totton. Seeing that finish line was such a great feeling. We both upped our pace for what we thought was a sprint finish. Everyone applauded and cheered. What a day! Memories that will last a lifetime. It was a very special day for me and I loved it. Thanks for the company and talking me into it Helen. Highlight of 2021? Probably…

 
          Anyway, some much needed recovery time was taken, especially at my age. I didn’t do much for a month until I headed for a reunion with my good friend Chloe Elliott. I forgot to mention that earlier in the summer I got the train to Wales and stayed in Abergavenny. Chloe picked me up and we attempted to run around the Brecon Beacons. Stupidly though, I forgot to tell Chloe that I was scared of heights and suffered with Vertigo. Turns out to be quite an important thing in the mountains! We did our 20 miles but I couldn’t do the big hills or the mountains. As soon as the torrential rain came in, the wind and the clouds started ruining my visibility, I felt unsafe as we were quite high up. I panicked and headed back down very quickly. I felt very bad for Chloe but it was still a great run and lovely to catch up with her. She later did it again on her own anyway. The photos looked stunning too. I was a bit annoyed with myself. Maybe I’ll try hypnotherapy next year.

       Forward to the 10^th of December and I met Chloe again but in Gloucester. We had made plans but had to adapt them due to Chloe not being able to find my hotel on time and the infrequency of the trains. In the end, we got the train from Gloucester to Stonehouse and would run from there to Cheltenham. We made a bit of a mess of the train tickets and got ourselves very confused. It’s a very long story….

I looked at my Cotswolds map where Chloe said we would run 18 miles, this later changed to 24 miles but when I looked, I made it about 32 miles? The original plan was to get off at Stroud but Chloe dragged us off the train at Stonehouse. “This is perfect” she said. “We just follow this path here”. Fair play to her, before we knew it, we were on the Cotswolds way. It was another lovely day with sunshine. Lots of hills. Hill after hill. We sure climbed a lot and my hamstrings weren’t so keen but the views were stunning and we had a very clear day. Another great catch up where we chatted away and really took in the experience. Another very memorable day. We didn’t get very lost either thanks to Chloe’s navigational skills.

The weird thing was that when we got into Cheltenham, things started to look familiar. Chloe didn’t think so but when we looked on Strava we had already run a couple of segments together before. Another adventure we did on the Cotswolds when Chloe lived in Cheltenham. Haha. Cheers Chloe.

She had got her 26.2 mile marathon distance but I had to run half a mile around the train station car park while she spoke to her mum on the phone. And then another train back to Gloucester for coffee.

 
      The next day I could barely walk but met up with some Vegan runners at Gloucester city parkrun. I wanted another sub 20. It seemed a bit ridiculous but I got it. My 60^th different parkrun location and a time of 19.59. It was a very fast course but I made it 3.2 miles when I finished. It should have been a 19.30 really ;) Still, another 3^rd place finish.

      A week later on the 18^th of December I ran Southampton parkrun. I couldn’t decide whether or not to race it. I had a 10k the next day but told myself I probably wouldn’t bother going at the trains were to be replaced by slow buses. Another PB came out of me from somewhere. Ian Bower asked me what time I was going for and I just said "Sub-Bower". Obviously, this was enough to get him racing and he beat me of course but 18.42 was my time. Wow, I was in shock. I had also been putting on weight and getting "a bit of a tummy" due to my poor eating habits of late. What a great finish to the year. I also thought that I had beaten my old coach Rob Kelly’s parkrun PB but turns out that I equalled it! Doh.

          I still did the Scrooge 10k the following day. I was originally entered for the marathon but decided it wouldn’t be good training for my 10k race in January. I was being sensible! Another shock to the system. I wanted around 40 minutes. Good training for Stubbington I thought.

Kev gave me a lift there and was telling me how perfect the running conditions were and how there didn’t look like much competition “Apart from the guy in the vaporflys” he said. Anyway, the guy in the cheating shoes did beat me (by nearly 5 minutes) but I still came in second place after going the wrong way and coming into the finish from the wrong side. I said I wasn’t going for a PB as I knew it wasn’t a UKA registered race but did a time of 39.51 and covered 6.27 miles. My average pace was quicker than my PB at Lordshill too. Another sub 40! I couldn’t believe it. What a year of racing for me. In the car after the race, I asked Kev if he thought I could have done better if I hadn’t ran a hard 5k at parkrun the day before. “No, you still would have come second mate”. This still makes me laugh. Not really what I meant..lol.  

           It’s been a super good one despite the covid crap. A PB on the parkrun, 10k and the 10 miler. I reckon I could have got a PB at Maidenhead half again if Purple patch hadn’t moved it to Dorney lake. I didn’t go to Dorney lake and got a refund. We’ll see what happens next year. I also have an easy marathon PB to chase in 2022 at Newport marathon. Sadly I have put on a few pounds lately so need to sort the healthy eating out for the coming year.

            I think giving up alcohol 14 months ago has been the best thing I ever did. Going vegan too. 26 months Vegan now. Love the Vegan runners UK running club. Great support and always lovely to meet new people repping the “Green and Black”. I even managed to volunteer a couple of times at parkrun in December. Once marshalling at Netley and telling runners to stay to the right instead of the left and photographer at Bartley park on Xmas day. I really enjoyed both roles and really should volunteer more.

             Bouldering has been amazing too. I think I only discovered bouldering 2 years ago and now I couldn’t be without it. It’s my cross-training activity. Because I’m always reading that just running isn’t enough and I find the gym so boring. It helps with my core and upper body strength. I love the challenges and problem solving of it. The lovely people who you engage with too. My sports therapist used to say that I ate too many carbs and only ran. That’s why I ended up with quads like a rugby player. Thanks to Natasha at Muscle magic for all those massages, advice and wisdom. Thanks to Kev and Josh for bullying me into bettering myself and believing in me.

Thanks for reading if you got this far. See you in the new year. X

                                       Go Vegan, stop the animal suffering.