Monday, 10 July 2023
I’ve had a couple of days away from writing although not from life itself. It’s pretty much impossible to avoid life while you’re breathing!
Saturday was spent getting over a self-induced hangover from the night before. When I eventually came round I spent the rest of the day sorting out my files for uni. Everything was in a mess, and I was spending more time looking for files than I was working on them. Something had to be done and after a couple of hours creating a new filing structure and moving files from one place to another so that I have a far more user friendly and logical system and I know where things are and will spend a lot less time looking for files.
Sunday I was up early to walk to my friends and a drive over to Wainstalls for the Stocks Lane Stinger 10k race. This is a 10k with a mixture of road and trail and the sting in the tail being the 1 mile climb up Stocks Lane out of Luddenden up to the edge of Wainstalls. The weather was perfect with clear blue skies and bright sunshine transforming the Calder Valley into the beautiful, magical valley it is.
There wasn’t many runners for the race, but it was still a great atmosphere as it is at many of these small events. It was great to catch up with old friends too and tell them all about my arthritic hip and how I’m starting up a new group at Calder Valley for runners who can’t run very far or very fast. I positioned myself at the corner of the main road and waited for the runners to come past so I could get some snaps of them as they began the descent into Luddenden Valley.
With all the runners started I walked along the trail that the runners start and finish on to the top of Stocks Lane to take some photos of them in pain at the top. On the trail I took some photos of Booth and Luddenden below me. I never tire of looking over this part of the Calder Valley and it brings a sense of welcoming calm to me when I am surrounded by its beauty. Today was even better as I noticed more and more of the valley below that I know so well and pieced together where lanes are, where woods are and where certain houses and mills are.
At the top of Stocks Lane, I chatted with some other supporters and waited for the runners to come up. I didn’t have to wait long and soon the first three males had passed me covered in sweat with a friend on mine from Calder Valley coming in first female followed by another Calder Valley lass claiming a one-two for Calder Valley for the females. I stayed and took a few more photos before heading back to the Crossroads Inn for the presentation.
After the presentation it was back home for dinner and then catching up on everything I had to do to prepare for the week ahead before doing some more uni work and spending the evening watching Harry Potter before bed. A good day.
The Autistic FellRunner 