Redbush Runner

I completed my 5th Sheffield 10K at the weekend and I admit that I was a bit disappointed in my time.  I finished in 58.02, which is my slowest time for this race (and, I think, possibly my slowest time for any 10K race I've ever done, apart from Bolton Abbey, which doesn't count due to its chaotic nature - long queues and closed gates etc.)  I had hoped that I might at least get close to what I got last year (54 minutes)  but it just didn't happen.  Part of the problem was me starting too far back.  It meant I had a very slow start and took ages before I could overtake some slower people and finally start to get a bit of pace going.  But that alone can't explain it.  Another factor was my new trainers giving me pain in my toes.  I can't work out why, but it MUST be these shoes as I don't experience it when I wear any other shoes.  It didn't stop me running but I was conscious of it all the time and it probably stopped me pushing it as much a...

 It's hard to believe that it's been 7 years since I laced up my rubbishy Primark trainers and hit the playing fields for my first Couch to 5K session.  I find it amazing that I'm still running and still enjoying it as much as ever.  With another anniversary dawning, I found myself rummaging through a couple of boxes of medals.  I've accumulated a great many of them over the years and the medal hanger only holds a select few, so there were plenty I had forgotten about.  It was actually great fun reminding myself of all the medals I have collected.  Many of them were for virtual runs (I did lots of virtual runs in the early days and of course also in lockdown) and some of these were from companies no longer trading.  It made me feel quite nostalgic as I looked at them all, remembering the thrill I had when I achieved a certain distance for the first time or when the medal contributed towards a charity close to my heart.  I picked out some of my fav...