Why are 'Flying Feet' such a big deal?

There are few things that brighten a runner's day more than a flying feet photo.  There's something about seeing yourself with both feet off the ground that makes you feel like a proper athlete.  No matter how slow it might have felt at the time, the photo seems to suggest that you were going great guns.  Yes, we all know that a flying feet photo is really just a matter of chance and, I suspect, as much about the photographer's skill as your own running prowess, but it's heartening for a few moments to bask in the glory of a decent race photo, because, let's face it, they are quite a rare thing.

After this weekend's York 10K I was impressed to find that I had over 40 photographs waiting for my perusal but of course it didn't take me long to realize that the vast majority of these were a tad unflattering, to say the least.  There's always at least one (and you're probably lucky if it's only one) where you look like a dug-up corpse, where your mouth hangs open and your face looks saggier than Hagrid's dog's.  So many race pictures are a horrifying mix of sweat, wrinkles, bulges and cellulite. It adds insult to injury when you manage to get snapped next to someone who looks buff and youthful, as is so often the case.  

Note to self - don't pour a bottle of water over your head if you want to look good for the cameras.  In my defence, it was warm out there.  It was cooler than we've been having to put up with for the last few weeks, thank goodness, but still sticky and humid and I was very mindful of my last two 10K races when I really struggled in the heat.  However, the wet, bedraggled hair definitely added to the whole 'knackered' look.  The photos of the earlier part of the race, before I started chucking water around, are not quite so bad. 

But I did achieve flying feet!  In not just one but several photos in fact, which helps to make up for the fact that this still wasn't what I would call a speedy race for me.  It's better than I've been doing lately.  I set myself a modest goal of getting round under the hour, which I managed quite comfortably, but it was still a long way from my course PB back in 2021.  I do wonder if those days have gone, if I just have to accept that I'm getting older now and my pace is bound to slow down, or is it just that this warm spell has been particularly challenging for me and that I just need to wait for the cooler weather to come?  We shall have to see. 

I've done the York 10K three times now.  It's a lovely route and the support from spectators en route is great (we even had a choir singing in the park this time!) but I'm not sure I will want to do it again.  It's a fair old drive for us (we set off at 7.15. a.m. for a 9.30 start) and the traffic is pretty slow as you near the race course. Then there's a bit of a walk from where you park to the race village.  You feel like you've been up forever, even before you've started running.  But the worst thing about Sunday was the queue for the Portaloos.  I've never seen anything like it.  We must have been standing in line for 40 minutes and there were plenty of other people behind us.  It's a huge race and I don't suppose it's ever going to be possible to provide enough toilets for the thousands of people, but it really did nothing for my stress levels to be waiting around as the clock was ticking.  There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to run 6.2 miles without first emptying my bladder and I'm sure a lot of people felt the same.  By the time I'd made it to the front of the queue and possibly achieved a new PB for the quickest pre-race wee, there was one minute to go.  We hurried to the start line and there was the usual scrambling around to find the way into the right starter pen. It's not often that the actual race is the easiest part of the experience.

On a more positive note, my daughter also ran the race and she achieved her first sub-60 10K, which was great.  She's doing so well.  Our paces are not far off each other these days and so we've already decided that next year we are going to tackle the Round Sheffield Run as a pair.  I'm looking forward to it already.