Today is a momentous day, one to jot down in the old diary and shed a tear over in a few decades time. It was the last, and I do mean the very very last, ‘buggy run’. (Buggy run – small child, impossible to steer, three wheeled pushchair, trainers and a loud enough playlist to drown-out the “I want to get outs” and the “Can I have some more sweeties”).
I wish now that I had kept a running (haha, no pun intended) total of how many miles Small2 and I have covered over these last three-and-a-half-years. Actually forget 3-and-a-half-years, more like 21 years because Small2 has three brothers, two of which are considerably larger, older and heavier. I have been shoving kids in buggies around Bushy Park before Parkrun was a twinkle in Paul Sinton-Hewitt eye. And then we covered quite a lot of ground in the New Forest. After a bit of a breather and a new, even heavier buggy, I’ve run endless miles backwards and forwards along the coast path from Wiseman’s Bridge to Saundersfoot. Why backwards (not literary mind) and forwards, because it’s about the only 5 mile stretch of flat in Wales. Have you tried pushing a running buggy with a three-year-old in it up hill?
We’ve run in this:
And this:
And even attempted running in this
I’ve unravelled unfeasible plot lines, killed off heroines then brought them back to life on these runs. They’ve been both hideous (gales, ducking waves crashing over the path, Small2’s favourite kind of run) and glorious, nothing can beat the bluebell season in Pembrokeshire. We’ve met some amazing people, most of which I have no idea of their names, they’re just there, every week, same time, same day, same place, running walking or cycling the coast path. We’ve established a group of running mummies who meet somewhere along the path every Thursday, stopping for a coffee and natter afterwards. No one cares that we’re windswept and sweaty we’re on top of the world, even in the rain, because it’s just great being together and doing the odd bit of exercise. But come April 17th Small2 abandons me for the excitement of full time school, she can’t wait, I feel sick.
The running buggy will be moved on and my running routes will become a little more vertically adventurous.
So, I hear you asking, we’ve got the 'last' bit, thank you and well done, but what’s the first? Well it's almost ready, but not quite, so you'll just have to hang on a day or six....pop back (soon)and all will be revealed!