I’m back in Ambleside for the fifth time this year, and the second time doing the Rothay Parkrun. The course is not a favourite of mine. It includes numerous 90o+ turns, narrow gates, thin sections of path, and an alley where runners pass both ways making jams a weekly occurrence. It is also three laps, compounding all the previous into a run of luck.
At the start line they give the first timers briefing as most runners each week are visitors. However, this time they neglected to give a run down of the course, just saying to follow people. This isn’t very useful information, especially for those wanting to run quickly. I quickly briefed a man beside me who had come up from Kent that morning on the course, but only got halfway through my explanation before the run began.
We set off. The start at Rothay Park is on a field, with a wide group like an XC race sprint to get to the front and thin the pack. I ran beside the guy I’d tried to brief, wordlessly acting as a guide around the tight bends. I didn’t feel like I was running too quickly, but looking back did the first kilometre in 3:30. I soon felt this in my legs, and after the first lap was left to slowly fall behind. This then became a mental battle to keep going. I hadn’t had a drink that morning and the sun was out in full force. Drenched in sweat with 3km to go I was struggling.
I had no-one to use as a pacer as 1st and 2nd increased their gap. Around the sports centre’s field and the larger football field within the park, I would look back to see 4th and 5th, fortunately staying a steady distance behind me. Sweat dripped into my left eye, burning and leading to frantic attempts to dry it out with an already drenched t-shirt.
I crossed the line in 3rd, with a time of 20:17. My slowest parkrun this year, but given my and the weather’s conditions, I’m pretty happy with that.