South of Thames 5 Mile XC + Running Club meal = Sore Head

I ran my first proper cross country this weekend. The race was the South of Thames 5 Miles at Sparrow's Den in West Wickham in Kent. It took forever to get there (tube, train, train, tram and train), but it was worth it, even if I did have to run in normal running running shoes.

Running cross country without spikes isn't easy. I had hoped to buy some shoes before the race, but to cut a long story short, I didn't get any. So I had to run in the mud, slipping about all over the place. Luckily I managed to not fall over once :-). Didn't quite win tho. LOL.

Then back home and out to the club formal. Lots of speeches and things. Lots of beer too:-) It was good fun, but Sunday was a washout. I ached like a fiend, legs and head. Ugh... My usual Sunday run was out of the question. And it rained too, so I stayed in bed.

Silver Comet Half Marathon - 13.1 miles of rain

Back to the USA, this time to run the Silver Comet Half Marathon in Mableton, Georgia. This was easily my wettest race yet, but without doubt, the best half marathon route I've run to date.

We arrived at the start area at the Mable House Cultural Arts Centre. We received our race numbers and waited. It was pretty to cold so, with over an hour until the start, we warmed up. Luckily the weather warmed up too as the race approached.

We were off! 1.5 miles to the Silver Comet Trail then the remaining 11.6 out and back. It should have been fairly straightforward. Then, the skies opened. From being a lovely autumn morning, the weather instantly turned, a hideous downpour drenching everyone. Nobody was about to give up at this early stage so we carried on.

Then we reached the trail. I'm not a huge fan of out-and-back races, but this was an exception. The trail was flat. A PB was not out of the question. It was pleasant too: tree-lined with autumn leaves colouring the scene, crossing over rivers and streams as we ran. And, the rain having stopped, it turned into a really enjoyable race.

I didn't quite manage a PB. However I finished with a time 1.43 and placed 188th out of about 1800 runners. A respectable result, helped by an enthusiastic crowd and encouraging fellow runners. All in all a lot of fun a great experience.

If you have the chance, run this race. Even with the rain it was a whole lots of fun.