Well, that went so much better than I expected! 5km run on sand, there and back along a big 2.5km curve! But just look at that view, isn’t it gorgeous? And not just the five people grouped together 😂. Those mountains! How can you not love those mountains in the background, the Snowdonia range all lined up waiting to be counted? It’s got to be one of the most amazing Parkrun views in the country. That faded high peak to the far left of Katnap running is Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa itself.
Hafan Pwllheli parkrun has not been going very long, we visited on it’s 23rd edition but then sometimes it’s called off because of the tide being too high or if the weather is particularly bad. We were very lucky as the tide wasn’t due at its highest until around 10.30am and the weather was sunny (ignore those clouds!) but humid.
Now, I know what you’re thinking - it’s sand, why would I, how could I, run on sand??? Well, we were all worried about that, but as Oldfloss (pink leggings to the left of the photo) says ‘Slow & steady does it’, and it does, particularly at the start. As you get used to it you can go a bit faster and then you find you’re running at almost your normal pace. It’s all about experiencing different surfaces and how you react to them. This morning, 24 hours afterwards, my family are all commenting on their calf muscles - they’ve taken a pounding that tarmac or other more stable surfaces don’t do, but they’re all glad they gave it a go.
Personally, I found dodging the divots caused by other runners feet the trickiest. I wore my trail shoes as they are flatter and have more grip than my usual runners. I’m not sure whether they made a huge difference and I may try my walking sandals next time (yes, there will be a next time!!) as they twist and flex more. If you get in a divot you have to twist your foot out again, and generally you’re dodging around them as best you can, so it just takes longer and needs more concentration than a normal run (the average time for Pwllheli is 4 minutes longer than our local, flat, tarmac parkrun).
The other thing about this run is purely psychological - you can see a long way into the distance, so the curve of the bay gives you the impression that your target is nearer than you think. Well, I found that looking down and concentrating on where my feet were going sorted that problem. Ok, it’s not the best running posture in the world and I wouldn’t like to always run like that but it worked on both psychological and physical levels.
And the end of the run? There were only 113 runners, so it had the shortest funnel I’ve ever seen! We all ran past the token giver and had to reverse back to collect them 😁 And because it was so humid, the sweat was pouring off us all, but what is next to sand? Sea!! Next time I’m bringing a change of clothes and a towel - loads of people went for a dip to cool down, it looked so inviting even for a non-swimmer like me!
Oldfloss has already given a wonderful account of the meet up back on the Bridge to 10k forum so I’m not going to attempt to repeat that, she is so poetic and descriptive there is no need. It was also wonderful to meetup with molly1973 and Floss’s friend and Pwllheli running partner, Steve. All I can say is that, if you feel you are ready to do a VRB meetup then do it! It does so much for your running confidence when you meet up with your fellow runners because they get ‘it’! When you’re a new runner those people can be as rare as hen’s teeth and they’re invaluable. You can natter away about shoes, clothes, routes, aches, pains & niggles, upcoming races, weight loss/gain, worries and triumphs and we all understand and can swap our stories. This forum is great for that but to do it in person makes it feel all the more real.
Happy running everyone and I hope you can really make the most of what is left of this wonderful summer 😍🤗🏃🏻♀️🏃🏽♂️🏃🏼♀️🏃🏾♀️🏃🏻♂️🏃🏿♂️👏👏
x
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