It has been, from a running point of view at least, a disastrous summer. My carefully planned race season, designed to give me lots of hills, trails and company, has been completely written off. I didn’t run the Jim Braben Memorial 10k, or the Surrey Badger Half Marathon. I missed the Cheddar Gorge Half Marathon and the Arundel 10k. And then on Sunday, I also missed the Bacchus Marathon.
But, whereas my numbers for the first four races languished unloved and unwanted, and never even crossed the starting line, my race number for the Bacchus Marathon crossed the line in 12th place in an impressive (chip) time of 3:27:20 after taking full advantage of the red, white, rose and sparkling wines at the aid stations. I had resigned myself to another complete write off, but a chance conversation at parkrun on Saturday (“mutter, mutter, mutter, missed races, mutter, mutter, Bacchus marathon, mutter, mutter, transfers allowed but who wants to run a marathon tomorrow?”) linked me up with a runner who had been planning to run a marathon this weekend but who had been frustrated by a vanishing boarding pass and an intransigent airline.
A few text messages to sort out the details, a simple exchange of information at the Bacchus marathon registration desk, and he walked away with a race number while I walked away with a rather posh box of chocolates.
And my race number got the ride of its life.
abradypus 
Were you with Dean after the race, I was sitting opposite him while eating my hog roast?
No – I stuck around long enough to watch the marathoners set off and then pootled down to the seaside for lunch.
Well done for setting a fellow runners legs free to roam. Good on you.
Arrgh so many of my favourite races too! The Surrey Badger and the Arundel 10k are just lovely (though I have a scar from one). Here’s hoping you get better, and the karma points that you have earned come back quickly to you.
My mind is boggled. Bitten by a badger or pelted with cannonballs at the castle?
I like thinking about race numbers enjoying the ride it makes me smile. So gutted for you though hon.- any halfs in October you want to get rid of???
No halfs, just an inaugural ultra 😦
If it makes you feel better, when I ran the Baachus Half in the inaugeral year, I found a broken ironman who said it was harder than an ironman, my foot swelled to twice the usual size due to blisters, my trainer was full of blood, there were two annoying ladies who said I shouldn’t have run it when I was new to running (I did beat them on the final sprint, ha) and it was about 9 miles of climb and the marshalls lied.
You missed hell, basically!