ERR 1 Hour Challenge report by Steve Hughes
I have recovered from my surprise at winning something and thought I had better fulfil my side of the bargain and write a report to justify my bottle of wine. I have thought long and hard (a little) about what I would say.
Should I do a minute by minute description of my hour, or alternatively a review of the beautiful countryside that I ran through (pretty standard for those of us that run the routes around Eynsham and Cassington). No I thought I would focus on what has been one of the highlights of running in the Covid era which is meeting other members of the Eynesham Roadrunners whilst you are out on your run. Obviously when meeting someone it has been only a socially distanced friendly wave and smile but as someone who enjoys (and is missing) an organised run where running as part of the team in a large group of runners has kept the competitive juices flowing. Just the acknowledgement of a club member whether on a Virtual Park Run, Ridgeway Relay, Motivation or 1 hour challenge has helped keep the spirits up during what has been a challenging time. OK down to the report focusing on who I met, first as I set off I passed Graham B on Cassington Road as he was probably warming up (flat out to me) to start his 1 hour challenge. I headed down to Eynsham Lock where I dropped my backpack in a handy bush as I usually try to finish my Sunday morning run with a swim. So 15 mins gone I headed off to Pinkhill Lock via Eynsham reckoning that by the time I got back to Eynsham Lock my hour would be up. All very uneventful until I was heading up the diversion in the Thames Path that bypass’s the Boat Yard. As I was puffing my way up the reasonable incline coming down were 2 Ladies from the club who bounded past with a hello and a cheery wave. I finished my run with a couple of laps around the field near Eynsham Lock as my timing wasn’t very good and then had my swim. As I jogged pretty slowly home I encountered 3 more Eynsham Roadrunners who whizzed past me with a smile and a wave the last of whom had on the same bright blue Chalgrove 10k 2019 top as me which I think is worth a bottle of wine in itself. As I puffed my way home the warm glow that always come from completing a good run was enhanced by the enjoyment of seeing so many other members of the club out enjoying the same thing.
