Why I Run

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

In today’s Y10 lesson, with only two weeks until their English Language exam, we were revising ‘writing to explain’. I was going over the best way to plan and structure the piece of writing, including answering the who, what, where, when, why and how. Then we developed this early planning into a structured answer. We looked at the following rather boring question:

‘What is your hobby? Explain why you enjoy this hobby.’

To engage the class and try to inject some comedy into the classroom I modelled the task by explaining to the class that my hobby was Latin dancing. We went through the planning process and as a class we created a really engaging and interesting piece of informative writing.

This task then got me thinking. Whilst running round the woods late this afternoon I decided to write a blog post about one of my hobbies: running. Recently my blog entries have been a bit heavy or even slightly boring. Partly because of monthly projects I have been completing. So I thought a slightly more light-hearted piece of writing, in an explain style, is just what we need.

Running

I have a number of activities and interests: I like listening to music, attending gigs, blogging and I even play the ukulele, but the hobby that takes up most of my time is running. I am a member of the local running club: Bourne Town Harriers, a small friendly running club that encourages runners of all abilities. I run around three or four times a week, sometimes on my own, sometimes with others and sometimes with the dog.

Late this afternoon, was a nice gentle run around Bourne Woods with the dog, or should I say dogs. We are currently looking after the mother-in-law’s dog while she recovers from a heart bypass operation. Her dog is the one on the right, the divvy looking one with the gormless expression, a lump of a dog, incredibly clumsy with some kind of dog psychological disorder.

There are a number of reasons why I run, especially with the dog. Firstly, the obvious one, to keep fit. It is an easy activity to do, requires very little ‘special’ kit and I can do it whenever I want. I’m not tied to gym opening hours or paying a ridiculous charge for the pleasure. Secondly, the dog needs walking, so I might as well kill two birds with one stone and go for a run with the boy. Thirdly, running gives me a chance to listen to some music. I always run with my iPod, today was no different, and with the new ‘Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly’ album on its way I took the opportunity to listen to one of the older albums in preparation. Lastly, running allows me to clear my mind and relax, or do some thinking. I often plan lessons in my head, go over the days lessons in my head or think about what I have to do over the next few weeks. Today was no different, it was the thinking about today’s lessons that have lead to this blog post.

As you’re probably well aware, until recently we have had bucket loads of rain, therefore the woods have been pretty muddy. However, I quite like running in the mud, it brings a whole new series of challenges. One of which is actually remaining upright. I had a couple of close shaves, one due to a particularly muddy part, and one due to the divvy dog deciding to stop right in front of me. The advantage of running round the woods is that you can decide the sort of terrain you want to run on, from thick mud and grass to solid tracks and even Tarmac paths.

What with all the recent rain there are lots of deep water puddles around, and the dogs, for some unknown reason, actually like jumping in them and rolling around. Now this is ok if the puddles are reasonably clean, but does become a problem when they are of the black smelly variety. So any run around the woods with the dogs usually takes in the ponds at some stage so the dogs can have a swim and wash down. The ponds at Bourne Woods are around 1 1/2 miles from the entrance, so the dogs get plenty of time to dry off before going home.

We did have one incident as a result of the dogs going in the ponds. As we were nearing the end of the run we came across a couple sitting on a bench. At this point the divvy dog decided to go say hello, he approached the couple and just as they lent over to stroke him he began shaking excess water from his coat. Unsurprising the fella wasn’t particularly happy, I smiled, apologised, and continued running…..fast!

By the time we had finished the run it was early evening, the weather had been great, sunny and reasonably warm. It had been a really nice gentle run, just over 5 miles in about 50 mins, including some stops for photos and swimming dogs. Can’t wait until Juneathon starts!

Unencountered – Part 4

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

May’s Project reaches Part 4, so still on track, although it does seem to be getting more difficult. I think because I’ve actually got no idea where the story is going. Today’s episode took quite a while to write, mainly because I was trying to keep up to date with the football results, I don’t think I’ll make it as a professional writer. Enjoy……

Unencountered – Part 4

The next thing I know I’m in the pub. Again. Only this time everything seems clearer, not only am I in the pub, but I feel as though I’m in the pub. John is sitting at the bar and as I approach him he turns and greats me in his usual way, “Hello fella, how you doing?”

“John you wouldn’t believe how glad I am to see you.”

After chatting for a couple of minutes we made our way to a table on the far side of the pub. Then I saw it. Well actually, I felt it before I saw it. “Look John,” I shouted pointing out of the window, “there it is!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” He was staring at me, eyes wide, like I was from another planet. “Are you ok? You’ve gone as white as a sheet!”

This was my chance to prove to John that I wasn’t going mad. A chance to prove to myself that I wasn’t going mad. I ran out the door and into the street. I suddenly felt free, empowered and I wanted to put an end to the months of darkness. I sprinted across the road just in time to see ‘it’ disappear down an alley. I followed and entered the alley. On either side were dustbins, overflowing with rubbish, I grabbed a piece of wood that was laying on the ground and slowly moved into the alley, scanning the shadows for any movement.

I could hear a hum, and began following it, as I walked further and further into the alley the hum began to get louder and louder. It seemed to be coming from all around me. It was so loud I was holding my hands to my ears, I dropped to the floor on my knees, screaming with pain. It felt like my head was about to explode. The pressure was immense, I was writhing on the floor in agony, the pain was too much to handle, I could feel the end. Images of my life flashed across my eyes: family holidays, previous pets, friends, places, parties, funerals. Images of the past, mixed with images of the future. The darkness was rising. Shadows began to surround me, I was enclosed. As much as I tried to move, I couldn’t. Then I heard the voices, the same voices I heard in my nightmares. They grew louder and louder…….and just as quickly as they started…..they stopped.

I was left in a world like no other.

[To be continued]

 

Unencountered – Part 3

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

May’s Project of writing a short story over the course of the month reaches its third episode. A few people have asked if I know the ending to the story. Let me just clarify that I’m far from a professional writer and this story evolves as I write it. Feel free to have a look at previous posts to read the whole story so far. Please note the following extract includes a violent scene that may leave some distressed. So without further ado….

Unencountered – Part 3

As the notes got more and more sinister I realised that I should tell someone about what has been going on, in the hope of getting some advice and support. A didn’t know who to turn to. A friend? My brother? A work colleague? A counsellor? In the end I decided to call John, a good friend, who I thought might be able to help. I didn’t tell him too much over the phone, I didn’t want to freak him out before we even met.

Although I wasn’t entirely happy at having to leave the house we decided to meet up later that evening at the local pub. It was over four hours until we had arranged to meet. This would turn out to be a very, very long four hours.

First, the now familiar feeling began to hover over me. As the sun set the darkness rose. I paced around the room afraid to lift my head in case I saw ‘it’. As the hours passed the trepidation of what I was about to do was sinking in. Somehow the darkness was speaking to me. I couldn’t hear what ‘it’ was saying, but i could feel something, something that didn’t feel right. Was ‘it’ warning me? By telling John was I about to put his life in danger? After the relief of finally having decided to talk to someone, I felt like I was back at square one, unsure of whether this was the best thing to do. I twice began to ring John, only to hang up before he answered. The darkness was getting to me…

I finally found the strength to push the doubt from my mind and left to meet John.

I walked into the fresh night air and suddenly felt a freedom I hadn’t felt for months. The ominous feeling was gone, I wasn’t looking over my shoulder as I walked down the street, like I had been doing recently. I was confused, I had been living with this feeling for months, and now it had gone, just like that.

The next thing I know I’m in the pub, sitting at the bar, waiting for John. Although something is wrong, it’s not the pub as I remember it. It is similar to what I remember only different. It’s difficult to describe, it’s like looking at old photos, or through frosted glass.

It was then that I heard the familiar greeting, the greeting I had heard thousands of times, “Hello fella, how you doing?”. I turned to see John standing there. That’s when I picked up the glass and slammed it into his face.

John fell to the floor clutching his face. That didn’t stop me. I kicked him in his ribs, hard. As he clutched his chest, I kicked him in the face, blood splattered across the floor. John was screaming, shouting for help. I wasn’t listening. I leant down, grabbed him by his hair, and smashed his head repeatedly on the floor. John was now silent. I stood up wiped my blood stained hands on my trousers and left the pub.

[To be continued]

Unencountered – Part 2

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

May’s Project continues, please feel free to read Part 1 before reading the next extract……

Unencountered – Part 2

I began having these vivid nightmares. Nightmares that seemed so real that I was having trouble telling the difference between the dreamworld and reality. That is when the notes started. I’d wake in the morning and find these strange notes next to my bed. The first one just read:

‘You‘

I didn’t recognise the handwriting. I lived alone, in fact for the past two weeks I had barely been out of the house. That first note really freaked me out. I had seen plenty of horror films and my imagination was running away with me. I couldn’t understand what was happening. Was I writing in my sleep? Was I possessed? But all the time the notes continued appearing:

‘You did it‘

‘It was you‘

The notes all had the same naive, scrawled script and always accused me of doing something. Then it happened, the moment that would change my life. I woke in the night to find the pen in my hand. I wasn’t just holding it, I was grasping it so tight that as much as I tried to let go, I couldn’t.

I was writing myself notes?

I began refusing sleep. No matter how loud my body was screaming at me, I refused. The sleepless days became waking nightmares. My mind was in turmoil. I didn’t know if it was day or night. And all the time the notes continued to materialise, only they began to take on a more sinister feel:

‘You did it – you killed her – it was you – so much blood‘

[To be continued]

 

Unencountered – Part 1

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

After much consideration, May’s Project has finally been decided. The plan is to write a short story over the month of May. A blog post every few days should keep me occupied. But also in an attempt to make it a more interactive experience for the couple hundreds of people that read this, please feel free to comment or tweet suggestions for ideas or inclusions to add to the story. Enough said, here we go…..

Unencountered – Part 1

That’s when I saw it. The only problem was, I wasn’t entirely sure what ‘it’ was….

It had begun some time in the summer I think, not a sighting, just a feeling. The feeling of being watched, the feeling of something not quite right, a very, very strange feeling. I couldn’t even place exactly when and where it had first started. It was just there. It seemed to have been with me for months, but it was only over the space of the last couple of weeks that the feeling had become so much more intense.

Everywhere I went I felt as though I was being followed. I’d go to the shop, and there it was. I’d go to work, and there it was. I’d take the dog for a walk, and there it was. The dog could sense it too, I could tell. A look here, ears pricked there, at times he would just stare at one spot.

But the last couple of weeks had been different. The darkness was rising, I felt a definite presence, an evil presence that was beginning to rule my life. The dog’s staring was now accompanied by a deep growl. A growl so deep that at times it sounded like the voice of a demon.

Then I began to lose control. At first I didn’t even realise that I was doing it….

[To be continued]