Mob rule

Well, it's been a while since I wrote anything but fear not I have not been slacking off my running as well, in fact I have been out six times since my last post including one early morning run, twice whilst we were away for the weekend and once in the rain. But more of that later, first the ORR vs. PWR Mob Match contesting the 'Laces' (think 'Ashes' but on a slightly less charred theme) last Tuesday....

It was a warm summer's evening when around 90 runners, wearing an assortment of bright yellow and white shirts depending on affliation, gathered at the Rec in Petts Wood to register before heading into the woods en masse. A quick word about the course and we were off - I hope there were no dog walkers out on the narrow path at that point as they would definitely have been knocked down by the stampeding throng of runners. It didn't take too long for natural order to assert itself though as the fast runners disappeared into the distance and those of us at the back spread out into a colourful ribbon winding along the woodland paths. A lap and a bit of the woods and then we were directed out onto the roads as the daylight started to fade. For a small town Petts Wood seems to have a lot of long roads, but eventually we made it back to the Rec - the finish line was in sight but then some bright spark announced that actually you needed to do a lap of the field before you could stop! Got there in the end, checked my watch and discovered to my delight that I'd completed the 3.8 mile course in 33.5 minutes. Ok, so in the grand scheme of things I was about 2/3rds the way down the pecking order and nearly 10 minutes slower than the first runners but I was pleased and overall Orpington Road Runners retained the 'Laces'. A good evening's work by all and well deserving of a post-run drink in the pub with our neighbouring running club!