Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Best Feet Forward

by Russell Turner - 14:33 on 18 March 2022

The London Landmarks Half Marathon draws ever closer – just 16 days away – and my hurty heel continues to improve, although an occasional twinge is a reminder that there’s still some way to go. I don’t know whether daily brisk walks of around 30mins is wise or otherwise but it feels better than lounging around doing nothing. I wouldn’t want all my athleticism to fade away.

Yesterday I completed the final travel-related admin, buying train tickets between Gatwick and Victoria, the rail station a few minutes from where we’ll be staying. The Gatwick Express, which has been out of action for Covid reasons, is about to resume services. Unfortunately, they resume on April 3, the day of the race, so we can return on it but the outward journey will have to be via the much-criticised Southern Railway. Hopefully they’ll get us there.

Another sign that race day is almost upon us is that the official LLHM app has been updated and is now available. If you wish to pursue my digital footsteps around the course follow bib number 7933. Even more exciting is that at 7pm tonight, with a fanfare of trumpets, this year’s finisher T-shirt will be unveiled on social media. How they’ll top that for the big reveal of the race medal, presumably sometime next week, remains to be seen.

More runners have reported catching Covid, although most continue to train. Ex-triathlon Cathy, who gave me strong advice against overdoing it when I had my bout, will not be impressed. It’s fair to assume that there’ll be quite a few participants, knowingly or not, puffing out the bug around London.

Scottish cases are high too, so all I can do is hope I stay clear before race day. A wedding gig last night and a private function and another wedding next week are the most visible infection risks before then. I’m sure the Running Gods will protect me.

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