Here we go again then, the start of another year and the chance to wipe the slate clean and start all over again. Again! Being as we are starting again I suppose the first order of business needs to be wrapping up last year's achievements and whilst I will eventually get around to updating my reminiscing pages to reflect 2022’s happenings, it won't do any harm to just have a quick run through here will it. So in no particular order in 2022 I:
That's not all though, because:
And whilst doing that little lot I spent 57 nights away in the van, which I think fully justifies its expense, and a further 8 nights bivvying out (which is nowhere near enough). Personally, I think that’s pretty good going, especially as I’m not exactly in the prime of youth, and probably explains why I have difficulties keeping my eyes open in the evenings. To be honest, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to get anywhere near those numbers again, but we'll see how 2023 goes, and I’ve certainly got plenty of things in the pipeline, so I guess that we'll just see what happens as the year progresses and go from there. Right then, that’s enough about last year, life's all about looking forwards not back, so let's get on with 2023, and to that end there’s only one way to start a new year off and that’s with the Knacker Cracker! The Knacker Cracker’s become a bit of a New Year's Day tradition for me, although I missed last year due to the Covid Kerfuffle (and that’s missed in both senses of the word (didn’t attend and missed attending)). Missed opportunities aside, it’s a brilliant little run and by my normal standards it is little (10Km). But what it lacks in distance, it more than makes up for in stupidity. It’s always muddy, the majority of the route seems to be either vertical ascent or descent, much of which is so steep that the muddy paths have been replaced with uneven sized muddy steps, and most importantly there’s always a strong turnout of fancy dress. Now what’s not to like about that I ask you? And what a brilliant way to start a new year, muddy running stupidity. Brilliant! Having dug out my Minion costume and trail shoes from the depths of the wardrobe the night before, the late start time (11:00) left plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast and a relaxed drive down to the start. Not that I’d been partying on New Years Eve. I was actually in bed just after 10 having struggled to keep my eyes open that long. I suppose that's what spending the 4 previous days on your bike does for you! I’ve said it before and I’ll no doubt say it again, it’s a glamorous life I lead! Arriving in plenty of time, I picked up my number and joined the other runners milling around waiting for the off. But before we could depart there was the small matter of getting to the start. Previously the start point has been at the top of Box Hill, however the National trust which owns the land has since decided not to allow the use of their car park and as such alternative arrangements have been made, necessitating a short walk to the start. It’s not every day that you get to enjoy the sight of a couple of hundred runners proceeding up the edge of the A24 dressed as Nuns, Minions, Father Christmas’s, Pirates, Wizards and a hundred other silly things, so it’s certainly not the end of the world. Arriving at what should have been our departure point, a further detour was required to alternative start point B. I can think of no better way to explain the reason for this diversion than the words used by the organiser who announced that plan B was being put into action due to “The bridge to get to the start being testicle deep in water” which I think pretty much sums up the spirit of the whole day. Reaching the new start point, a quick briefing covered the alternative routing, ensuring we all knew where we were going (well, some people did), followed by a rousing rendition of the national anthem and we were on our way. On our way slowly, that is, as the first half mile or so took us from the bottom of Box Hilll to the top, up a steep narrow path. Wave to the camera drone on the way past, squeeze past the Nun and fall in for a few steps behind the mexican band, acknowledge the piper complete with kilt whos doing his best to squeeze the life out of his bagpipes (he’s really good really) and crest the hill. Straight over the road for a flatter section, where I gain a few places, passing a christmas present, a wizard complete with long flowing beard and staff, and then get passed myself by 2 top gun pilots. See I told you this was fun! And so it goes on for 10 Km along muddy, rutted tracks. Families out for their new years day walk offer words of encouragement as you pass, their children busy identifying their favorite characters from the multitude of fancy dress costumes, and fellow runners offer their own encouragement as you pass, or cross paths, on the multiple overlapping points. A return to the Piper, now at the lookout point atop the hill, signifies that the day's work is nearly done and offers superb views over Dorking and the surrounding countryside. Just once more down the hill and back up again and we're done. This ones a hard one though with uneven steps cut into the hillside all the way down and back up again. Legs tiring from the effort and with short sharp breaths, it’s a case of head down and climb those steps. Big step, little step, run a few feet, clamber over some tree roots and a few more uneven steps, I’m working my way back up the hill though and there’s not much further to go now. One final push and the ends in sight. Over the line in 58 minutes, a long way off the winning time of 41, but todays not about winning as far as I’m concerned, in fact it’s not even about trying, it's all about having fun and enjoying the day, and enjoy it I most certainly did. Roll on next year is all I’ve got to add, because the Knacker Cracker is certainly the best way to welcome in the new year as far as I’m concerned! In other news and I might have mentioned it a few times in the last couple of weeks, we seem to have had a bit of rain recently. I’ve obviously wittered on today about the bridge to the start at the Knacker Cracker being testicle deep in flood water, and you might have noticed that I mentioned getting wet a few times in my post about the The Full Fat Festive 500. But, even I didn’t realise quite how much rain we have had in the last couple of weeks until I noticed the bucket in the garden, which I know for a fact was empty (because I used it) on the 18th December, which has now got 5” of water in it, (that's 127mm for you metric fans), and it’s still raining as I sit here writing this today! I guess that after the long dry summer we undoubtedly need the rain to refill all the reservoirs etc, but 5” in 15 days, that’s quite a bit of rain!. Just before I go and just to prove that occasionally I do finish what I started and do occasionally do other stuff apart from “playing out” as “The Emma” refers to my running and cycling activities.
Over the Christmas period I’ve finally got around to slapping some paint on the shoe rack which I made back in September and personally, I think it’s turned out ok for the efforts of a talentless buffoon! As they say, you can't rush these things. Oh, and I can confirm that I still hate painting!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
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