When the forecast says showers and breeze in winter, it means gales , hail and icy cold rain. 43 kph westerly wind and 7C before the wind chill. JonathanP did warn me. We left the house in the dry but had only got as far as canoe lake (500m) when the heavens opened and everything below our waterproof jackets got absolutely drenched.. We persuaded UpTheStanley to return home to put dry clothes and his full walking waterproofs on (as he was recovering from a cold) and to return in the car. We carried on. Then the hail started. I asked @oldgirlruns if she still wanted to do it and it was a resounding yes. We had £110 sponsorship for the RNLI and it was her first race.
So after picking up T-shirts and race numbers from registration we headed for our fitness centre close by and left dry clothes in a locker and rearranged our antlers. The weather had reduced the numbers of families attending, which was a shame, but there were probably about 100 of us doing a warm up before our 5k started. As much as I would have liked to have run in my Reindeer T-shirt, I’m afraid the windproof and rainproof hi vis jacket stayed on over the top. When we set off we saw Mr and Mrs Coddfish had come down to support us (also in foul weather walking gear). What good friends they are. So with a jingle of our bells and a twitch of our antlers we left a rather muddy castle field , up the steep slope to the prom. Dodging the puddles was impossible and let’s face it, we couldn’t get any wetter.
Oldgirlruns is getting used to the wind along the seafront as it seems to be windy every time she does parkrun, but icy rain is something new. Another squall hit but luckily we still had the wind on our tails - it didn’t look very pleasant for those returning the other way. Once the Tailwalkers reached a certain point, the 10k race started. We turned around at an RNLI Volunteer wearing full yellow seagoing gear, complete with wellies. The last lady doing this was walking with crutches - well done to her; we heard from a fellow runner that this time last year she couldn’t walk. We were now fighting against the wind and when we met the 10k runners coming towards us, they were really supportive. Mr & Mrs Coddfish were in a shelter cheering us on with Stanley’s tambourine . We were running towards a rainbow , which was a welcome sight, and then Stanley appeared as we approached Southsea castle. When we got to the end we held hands and crossed over the finishing line together.
Oldgirlruns did brilliantly and in much worse conditions than my first Santa run last year. Mr Garmin says we did 5.27km in 52 minutes, but I forgot to switch it off immediately so it was probably better than that. Whatever, we did it and we had great fun. OldGirlRuns only started running in February and she should proud that she is now a runner with bling.
🦌🦌🏃♀️🏃♀️🏅🏅
Written by
Dexy5
Graduate10
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Oh Dexy5 it sounds horrendous! Huge congratulations on carrying on in such awful weather and brilliantly well done Oldgirlruns for your first race. I am so glad our horrible weather was yesterday.
Well, web-footed reindeer is a new one on me! Well done both of you for turning out and even more for keeping going. 🎉👏🏼🎉 You are total stars, as is everyone who ran or volunteered to make your event a success. No doubt it will become a legend in the Worst Event Conditions competition. 😄 And special congratulations to Oldgirlruns for her determination and first bling. 👏🏼💕
Thank you Granspeed, the wettest my feet have been while running. But it’s a bit like wearing a wetsuit so surprisingly my feet didn’t feel cold. The volunteers were great, and they were better dressed for the conditions.
Very much so but at least they got the entry fees for those that didn’t turn up. There are no dates on the medals and T-shirts so they will be able to use them at the next event.
Congratulations to you Dexy5 and Oldgirlruns on running that Santa Antler run in such horrible weather, that in itself a wonderful achievement, despite the conditions, both of you look so happy, especially in the third photo above at the finishing line, once again congratulations to both of you. 😊
Well done both of you, it was truly foul out there even as a spectator. I thought the return leg of Southsea parkrun was tough yesterday, but today’s conditions were a lot tougher. We were grateful to retreat into the warmth of Southsea Coffee afterwards.
You were both great at turning out to support us Coddfish . Thank you. We changed into dry jeans at the pyramids but I’d forgotten my change of footwear. Duh. 🤪
A quick dash to the farmer’s market and then into coffee no 1 where Oldgirlruns treated us to a hot drink to celebrate . My hot shower was most welcome.
Woohoo ladies very well done. 🦌🦌🦌You’re made of tough stuff that’s for sure! Bet you’re glad you persevered. The RNLI is magnificent and deserves every penny raised today. 👏 👏
Hope you’re toasty and dry now and maybe partaking of something nice? 🥂
Thanks cheeky , yes living by the sea, we couldn’t choose a better charity to run for. There were some great Christmas leggings out there, so I need to get some next year.
Stanley made a hot chocolate with rum to warm me up. 😋
Thanks Cheeky; yes the RNLI was close to my father’s heart as he spent his career in the RAF out doing search and rescues and he was full of admiration that while his crew were being paid to be out there, the RNLI crews were doing it voluntarily. A truly amazing bunch!
Very well done both. When I made that comment, I didn't expect it to be that bad ! For some reason, I think wet feet always seem worse than wet anything else....🌧
Lovely post Dexy - did I say I was planning to do Parkrun next Saturday? Just in case you wanted to take yourself off to somewhere more sheltered for the occasion!
Ah thanks Lexi6, I hope all is well with you in NZ. Sorry to hear such tragic news about the volcano eruption. Your country has suffered so much over recent years.
Thanks Dexy feeling much better, have been having a but of a wallow down under for a while now. Yes the news is just terrible. Its been an awful decade for us with the Christchurch earthquakes and the Muslim massacres. Just stunned still
Horizontal icy rain has to be the worst! Well done to you and Oldgirlruns for doing it - having sponsorship to run for certainly gives added impetus.
Our parkrun yesterday looked fairly similar to that shot of you running along the water’s edge (except we had Marshalls to stop us falling in) as the river had burst it’s banks again 🙄
Congratulations Dexy5 and Oldgirlruns on your challenge and braving the elements. Looks like the weather fairies 🧚♀️ only come out to help parkruns. 😀
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