2024 already. How has that happened? It doesn’t seem like 2 minutes ago that we were celebrating the start of 2023, yet 12 months have passed in a blur and now we’ve got another 12 to look forward too!
Who knows what 2024 is going to have in store for us, that’s the beauty of life, every day is the opportunity for a new adventure, experience, or the chance to learn something new, it’s just up to us to grasp the opportunity with both hands and make the most of it. To that end, I’ve started 2024 as I mean to go on, with the now traditional Knacker Cracker (2021, 2023, 2022 didn’t happen due to the Covid kerfuffle). I’ll have said it before, but I Love the Knacker Cracker, it’s the most ridiculous run of the entire year, and for that reason it’s bloody brilliant. It’s only 10 Km, but it’s a brutal 10 Km with multiple ascents of Box Hill, the majority of which are too steep for us mere mortals to run. It’s always muddy, it’s always slippery, most people get dressed up in fancy dress, it’s got a brilliant atmosphere, it starts with a rendition of the National Anthem, there’s always loads of families with small kids out enjoying their new years day walk, all of whom love the fancy dress runners and offer brilliant support, it’s a run that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and there’s always a piper dressed in full regalia to encourage you along. I mean, let’s be honest, how can that not be brilliant? Due to being dressed up as a Minion I haven’t got any photos of the fun to share (who knew that Minions don’t have pockets?) but there are loads of pictures of the stupidity (and a video) on the Knacker Cracker Website if you’re interested. Being New Years day, it was a sensible 11:00 start, so I got the opportunity of being rudely awaken in my own bed at midnight while the world decided to re-enact the battle of the Somme outside, before getting up at a more sensible time for the short, traffic free journey down to the start. I think that in 2021 I stayed in the van the night before as I was coming back from somewhere else, and fireworks right outside your door when your asleep in the van are even less fun than they are when you’re at home I can tell you! Either way, I was ready and raring to go, along with multiple star wars characters, a couple of gangsters, some top gun pilots, a bee, a man with a goose on his head, a group coupled together as a steam train, a dinosaur and a dragon, for the signing of the National Anthem at bang on 11:00. See, I told you this was fun! From the start it’s across a muddy field and then straight up the side of Box Hill for the first time, following a muddy path that’s so steep it’s got steps all the way up. Puffing and panting my way up, I managed to overtake a clown at the first bend, catch and pass a pirate halfway up, and then get overtaken by a lady dressed as a bumble bee as we neared the top. From the top of the first ascent, it’s immediately straight back down the other side, which should be a chance to get your breath back, but isn’t, because it’s almost as hard to go down hill as it is up, and anyway, we all know that I’m rubbish at going downhill (see any previous blog post for my inadequacies in the downhill department). Luckily enough, the downhill is soon over, and it’s a quick spin around a traffic cone, and straight back up the way we’ve just come down. This time though there’s a steady stream of runners still coming down as I work my way up to admire, encourage and share a smile with. There’s Bill and Ben the flowerpot men, Spongebob’s looking good, the dinosaur is just ahead of the dragon, and the jockeys are being closely chased by a Christmas cracker. It's rather warm running in a all-in-one fleece Minion suit though, and by the time I reach the top for the second time, the sweats dripping off me and I’m blowing hard. Luckily it levels off for a bit as we make our way from one side of the hill to the other and I get the chance to get my breath back and cool off temporarily. Families walking off the Christmas excess shout their encouragement. Father Christmas chasing a Pumpkin and Banana along a muddy footpath, probably wasn’t what they were expecting to see on their New Years day walk, but everyone’s in good humour and were all enjoying the spectacle. Although a see a few bemused looking dogs, suspiciously eying a Viking and a Ballerina as we pass. Halfway, and it’s another trip down the side of the hill to come straight back up again. This time though it’s a long slog of a climb back up. Not steep enough to justify walking, but steep enough to have me on the limit as I run back up. Sweat drips from my brow and I can feel it trickling down my legs. Legs which are encased in that fleecy all in one suit, in which I’m starting to feel like a bake in the bag turkey. I lose a couple of places to more sensibly dressed runners on the way up. A bearded man dressed in a flowery summer dress comes past, soon followed by Forest Gump and a man in Bavarian dress, complete with shorts and hat, now why didn’t I think of any of those instead of this sweltering Minion suit? Hot or not, I’m still having a brilliant time. Once more over the top and back down the other side. It’s only one more ascent to take us back up past the Trig point where the Piper is busy squeezing the life out of his bagpipes and we once again get to see those behind as we round the Trig point and push on towards the finish. Hot, sweaty, but still smiling I cross the finish line in 1:01:32 which was good enough for 24th place from the 212 finishers, which gives you a pretty good idea of how hard a course this actually is. As far as I’m concerned the Knacker Cracker’s not about time’s or positions though, it’s about having a bloody good time with some like minded runners and seeing the New year in in the best possible way, and it certainly manages that every single time. It's not very often I wish the time away, but roll on 01 Jan 2025, or Knacker Cracker day as I like to refer to it as!
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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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