ERR Virtual Motavation No. 3 Report, by Kathryn Dally
Virtual Motavation Number 3 (25 June 2020) Report – Kathryn Dally
Taking part in the Motavation series has been a slightly surreal experience for me. I joined ERR in April 2019 and just missed the deadline for entering the 2019 Motavation races, so 2020 has been my first year of competing. It means I haven’t a clue what any of the real-life courses actually look like, but running the series virtually has still been great fun. When running solo, knowing that other clubmates are running the same distance on the same day, you’re definitely spurred on to run a bit faster than you would normally.
Race number 3 coincided with a mini-heatwave so I faced a dilemma. Should I run at 7pm, when the forecast temperature was 28 degrees or, before work, early in the morning? As a natural night owl (who struggles to get out of bed any time before 8am), the morning option wasn’t appealing. But, inspired by the recent super-early runs on Strava of clubmates Marina and Liz, I set the alarm early and was on the road by 6.55am. I don’t think my chosen route (running on the country road from Cumnor to Besselsleigh and then back to Cumnor via the A420) was much like the actual Motavation Combe course but, as fellow Cumnor runners can testify, running up the A420 is at least up a (seemingly never-ending) hill. And it felt great to have the run done and dusted by 7.30am when it was already getting hot.
Well done to everyone who ran that day, especially if you were running in the evening heat. And many thanks to the committee for organising this virtual series (and for the very welcome wine)! Running and keeping in touch with clubmates is helping so many of us cope with the strangeness of lockdown
Maybe it’s time for me to try more early-morning running (but, Liz, running at 5.15am may be a stretch too far)!
