Kerry Buckley What’s the simplest thing that could possibly go wrong?

Nights are drawing in, etc. Also, a bit hot, innit?

Despite having already cycled to work and back, I got talked into also riding to Felixstowe for the club training night on Tuesday. A fairly gentle 13mph with Neil on the way there, but joined by Dave for the return journey after an hour of running, which entailed an increase to 16mph to keep up.

I thought at one point this week that Casper had finally learned to use the cat flap, but no, turns out I’d just left a window open all day.

Back on the Friday 5s this week, with a very warm one at Bury St Edmunds. Nowhere near as warm as it was there three years ago, mind. I ended up finishing one second slower than last year, which I’ll take as consistency.

Ipswich parkrun finally returned (kind of) this week, after five months’ absence. It’s now permanently in Christchurch Park, with a new name and starting at event #1. Inevitably the return saw a lot of interest, with 696 finishers. The course isn’t as good as the old one (and is tougher, with a long uphill slog and short steep downhill rather that the other way round), but will probably grow on us. Especially if the temperature drops a bit!

We celebrated the event’s return with a visit to the Cricketers for breakfast, and – because drinking at 10.30am is almost mandatory in a Wetherspoon’s – three pints. I’m blaming Dave for the third.

On Sunday (still hot) Holly and I decided to run round the “Hop to It” hare art trail that arrived in town this weekend. I think we got them all, despite thinking there was one missing in the Buttermarket, possibly related to a cordoned-off section under a broken pane of roof glass. We eventually decided to revisit on our way back towards Christchurch Park, and asked in the event’s pop-up shop, only to discover that the missing one was actually right in front of our eyes in the shop. In fairness, it was a different shape to the others, and we’d assumed it wasn’t one of the main ones. Oh yeah, and we also accidentally turned up in matching vests again.

I had a friend’s son doing work experience with me this week, which meant not only that I had to try to keep him occupied and not bored out of his mind, but also that I had to go into the office on all five days like it was 2019 or something. And get there before 9am to boot. I think it went OK though, or else he was too polite to say otherwise.

Friday was Neil the Vicar’s birthday, and a break in the Friday 5s, so a few of celebrated by running (slowly) round the route of the Ipswich race that used to be in the series but stopped just before my time. Then on to ’Spoons, naturally.

Kesgrave parkrun again this week, for what could theoretically be the last time, with Ipswich having announced a long-awaited return next Saturday, with a new name and permanent venue and starting again from event one. We used to use Christchurch Park before the pandemic for a few months every winter to let Chantry recover, but it remains to be seen how well a popular town centre park copes with hundreds of runners in the summer months, particularly as the new course has reversed direction and features a headlong dash down the big hill through the middle of the park.

We did another social run round the old Chantry course on Sunday (no reports this week of anyone being told they shouldn’t be there because “parkrun was banned”, but that might just be because Neil wasn’t there to aggressively wish people good morning!). I’ve been neglecting long runs since the marathon, so forced myself to run there instead of cycling, and joined Holly for a few extra miles before coming home. Thanks to our amazing navigation skills and sense of direction, we managed to accidentally add nearly a mile by looping back on ourselves and suddenly realising that the path we’d emerged on looked very familiar!

On Monday we had the “A14 Track Challenge” at Northgate. This is an inter-club 5k challenge which formerly included Ipswich Jaffa, Stowmarket Striders and Bury Pacers, and was extended to include Felixstowe Road Runners this year (the name derives from the fact that those four places are all on the path of the A14). I was in the middle (17–22 minute) race, with tired legs from the Framlingham Friday 5, and managed 21:10. Then Dave, Robin, Neil and I decamped to the Cricketers for a few beers, as is traditional.

On Wednesday I arrived at work in plenty of time for my 9am call, then the following thoughts went through my mind:

• Oh, I’ve brought the wrong keys again.
• I’ll just wrap the lock round the top tube so it looks locked.
• Wait, that means I don’t have my locker key either, and my jeans are in there.
• I guess I can just wear my bike shorts all day.
• Oh no, my laptop’s in there too.
• Looks like I’m cycling home again.

Sudbury Friday 5 this week – 45s quicker than Fram, but half a minute slower than Kirton.

On Sunday I went out on my own for a bit of trail running, and I thought I’d check the condition of some of the paths from last year’s horrendous nettle run. The first bit wasn’t too bad, then heading over to the bit that had been on the return journey that day (I didn’t cross the A14 this time) I bumped into a man out walking, who told me it was completely overgrown. He wasn’t wrong, but I managed to bash my way through with a stick, then hop a fence and follow the field edge again. Emerging at the other end I met him again, and he was impressed that I’d found a way through!

On Sunday Dave and Sally invited a few of us round for dinner, which made a nice change and was a lovely evening.

A quiet week, so not sure why I’m posting so late.

Second Friday 5, this one on a warm evening in Framlingham, where I was about a minute slower than at Kirton last week. Then an easy parkrun, and on Sunday another of Robin’s freedom runs on the old Chantry Park parkrun course (also taken nice and slow). This one was notable for a mad dog walker telling Neil that we shouldn’t be running in the park because apparently “parkrun was banned”!

I’m sure something else must have happened, but it’s slipped my mind.