The second week of the Easter holidays we were booked in to a lovely cottage (once we found it!) called Heartsease near Brecon. We’d brought our bikes but I’d managed to forget the Trailgator for towing Duncan. Rather than cycling up to the waterfalls above Talybont as planned, we drove up, went for a walk, and then Christine and Emma cycled down to the dam where Duncan and I met them again (Duncan having practiced his cycling back and forth on the dam.)
The next day we repeated the walk we did two years ago up Pen y Fan. The main difference this time was that Duncan had to use his own leg power to get up to the summit! Both children were very good and it was only towards the very end of the walk that they both started to grumble a bit as they got tired.
On the third day of the holiday we were joined by Christine’s parents (in the nearby Pencelli Castle campsite) and they took the children to Dan-yr-Ogof caves leaving Christine and I to do another ascent of Pen y Fan, this time walking from near our cottage and taking in Fan y Big and Cribyn as well. The following day we all headed over to Cardiff and had a lovely time with Christine’s brother and family.
Then the serious business started – the JK. The Friday was a sprint race around Swansea University. I had a reasonable run finishing 8th on M35 in what was not a particularly tricky area whilst Christine picked up a Silver medal on her course. After a quick trip to the fun fair we then rushed back to the cottage to cook a big dinner with Christine’s cousin and family having arrived to stay in the cottage next door.
Saturday’s event was on Merthyr Common. It’s not my sort of area as I can neither run nor navigate fast in that terrain. I was therefore pleased with a 6th place in what would have looked like a respectable time if Duncan Archer hadn’t come and beaten the rest of the field by 10 minutes! On Sunday we returned to the same assembly area but the weather which, until this point had been very kind to us, had turned. I not only carried the mandatory cagoule but wore it all the way round my course! I finished 7th in a similar time to the previous day which brought me up to 5th over the two days. Christine failed to make it three second places in a row and dropped down to 4th.
We had to move out of our cottage by this point and went to stay with Christine’s parents in Monmouth. This meant we could leave the children there on the Monday whilst Christine and I went to the (sunny once more) relays at Pwll Du. I ran the last leg in the JK Trophy bringing the SOC team home in a respectable 17th place. Christine managed another 2nd (on first leg in W120+) although her team ended up 5th. Now we just needed a holiday to recover!
There was just time to wash off the mud before heading to their local where we were joined by friends, family, neighbours and fellow runners for food and drink. There was a skittles alley laid out down the middle of the room but this remained largely the domain of the children (even when there were other people standing on it!). Following the cutting of the cake (baked by Christine and decorated with the aid of myself and Sarah) Gerry was rendered speechless, although hard to say whether this was due to emotion or Sue stepping in very quickly! Anyway, here’s to the next 10!
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