Tag: muddy

Lately things have changed….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 14 Comments

This was me a couple of years ago, all shiny and new:

I couldn't wait to be taken off the shelf and have someone take care of me, love me and be number one in their life. This happened. A lovely man came along, he looked at me, he tried me on and took me home. He welcomed me into his life; I was so happy. Our relationship blossomed. We went everywhere together: club training; loads of races; we sometimes even went shopping together. I was at the centre of his life; always left by the door ready to be slipped on.

I'd always known I wasn't the only one in his life, there was someone else. But it was me that he choose most of the time. Only when the weather was bad, rain and mud, was I left indoors. I was happy with the situation: I didn't want to get ruined. I was the special one. It was me that got him through Juneathon, it was me that got him PBs, it was me that never got thrown in THE cupboard.

But days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, months turned into years and eventually something changed; I was no longer number one. Someone new entered his life. I was now the one that came out when it was raining. I was the one that had to endure the mud at the woods. I was the one that was thrown in THE cupboard.

This is me now, dirty, smelly and knackered:

I know my place, and whilst I'm not entirely happy with it, I know I am still loved. With the help of Janathon, we are building that relationship again. With the help of lots of rain and mud we're together more often. I've heard him talk about chucking me out, but he hasn't yet. I know he can't live without me. So for now, thanks to Janathon, I'm loving life. Bring on the rain!

Total Janathon mileage = 6.03

 

Doesn’t Time Fly….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

It has been three weeks since my last blog. Not exactly sure why? The weeks seem to be whizzing by like an old granny on a souped-up mobility scooter trundling down Oxford Street on the last Saturday before Christmas.

So, what has happened in the intervening weeks? Well, at this point I could launch into an absolutely hilarious collection of anecdotes. Well I could. But actually, I really can't be bothered. So instead you get this….

Frightened Rabbit in Birmingham
Micky Flanagan in Nottingham
MoRunning....fabulous medal!
Endless muddy zombie runs...
The boy is getting on fabulously...

Cushty!

 

Zombie Evacuation

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 8 Comments

Today saw four brave souls, Dead Men Running, attempt to complete a zombie infested 5km run….

Great example of teamwork – one hold phone, one press button!

A ‘short’ walk to the Zombie Evacuation HQ on a very cold and windy morning was enough to bring us to the edge of collapse before we had even seen a zombie.

Liability waiver was signed and timing chip, belt and tags collected. The liability waiver did not help to ease our fears:

‘The risk of injury and/or death from the activities involved in the Zombie

Evacuation Race and the Event is significant’

But we are a simple group of blokes and after a coffee and a KitKat, the standard zombie runners breakfast, we were feeling more confident and ready to face the zombie hordes.

Our allotted evacuation wave time quickly approached and we were ready and in postion to begin. We jogged to an assembly point on the edge of the infected zone where team tactics were quickly discussed. It was decided that we would stay together at all costs and if necessary risk possible zombie infection for the good of the team. After a quick briefing from the head of operations we began to jog ahead in a surprisingly light-hearted mood. This was soon to end because within 30 seconds we were running for our life, amongst smoke and dead corpses, after a zombie attack. At this point it was clear it was every man for himself, Simon pushing other runners to the side, Dave violently pushing me into a ditch in an attempt to save himself.

Over the 5km course we encountered various obstacles (logs, fences, walls, barbed wire, forest, mud, mine fields, rope bridges), what seemed like 1000s of zombies, and managed to just about stay together as a team. Only on a few occasions did the pressure of virus-infected zombies cause any team issues:

  • Early on Neil lost his hat which I bravely went back for, despite the cries from Dave of “leave it – it’s just a hat”.
  • On a particularly muddy part, Simon was seen walking over Neil to reach the top of the ridge.
  • At a rope walking obstacle again Simon was seen disrupting Neil’s progress by excessive swinging on the rope, nearly causing a zombie to infect him.
  • Trees twanged back into team mates faces…
  • Lots of needless shoving and grabbing for reassurance (the zombies were actually really scary!)

 

As we approached the end of the course Dave was the only member of Dead Men Running not to be infected, due to some decidedly ‘gay’ hand wafting around his hips, and it was decided that we would do ANYTHING to get him home in one piece. To cries of, “We’ll get you back Dave!”, we faced the final horde of zombies. Final outcome: 3 infected, 1 survivor. Good job Dave!

Escaping zombies makes you happy!

Overall it was a great day, and despite the ‘screaming like a bunch of girls’ I was very proud of the boys! A well earned pint was the reward…..

Dave was keen to tell EVERYONE he knew that he was the only survivor!

Birthday Wishes and Muddy Running

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

Yesterday was my most favourite niece's 1st Birthday and to celebrate we made the trip to Kent to spend the day with her. Firstly, let me just say that since the birth of Grace my sister has gone slightly mad. And considering she is once again pregnant things are only going to get worse. On arrival we were forced given our own hand-made party hat to wear.

Jill had gone all out to make sure we had a great day: loads of food; birthday decorations; home-made cake; AND party games. Although I was slightly disappointed not to have won pass-the-parcel, amazingly Grace won it, what are the chances of that? Grace got some lovely presents, including her first doll named 'Baby Gracie' which she was very intrigued by. We all had a great day….

This morning the plan was to get very muddy with a run on the trails of Bourne Woods.

I had the iPhone for some pictures and had the Zombies, Run! app on the go. I had already decided on a pretty gentle run this morning and once I spotted how muddy the trails were a gentle run was the only option.

Pretty much covered most of the trails including the hilly ones, did loads of slipping and sliding, which actually reminded me of this ice-skating outing….

Billy Boy was with me this morning, so after about 4 miles we headed to the ponds so he could cool down and clean himself off a bit.

Overall a good run around the woods, loads of people out enjoying the morning, and I did indeed finish very muddy….

Same again tomorrow? Yes please!