Summer Evening Running

I love summer evenings.  It's light for hours after finishing work which means I can get a long run in without having to go five times round a two mile route with pavement and street lights.  Tonight conditions were just about perfect for running - mild and not too windy.

I started from Broadway Tower and headed off towards Willersey.  From there it was through Broadway then the long uphill to Snowshill and back to the Tower.  The profile of the route shows that it is downhill for the first five miles then uphill for the second five.

Route Profile

The Ordnance Survey map shows that the section down to Willersey is somewhere between a 1 in 5 and a 1 in 7 slope.  The first thought is it will be easy running downhill but in fact it's so steep you are braking all the way which puts a considerable strain on the legs.  

The hill from Broadway up to Snowshill isn't quite as steep but it goes on a long time.  Previously when I've run this route I've ended up walking a few hundred metres on the steepest section.  Not tonight.  Tonight I ran the whole way without stopping! :0)  In fact running tonight felt so good that I ran the last mile at the pace I usually reserve for 10km (6 mile) races.  Now I don't want you to think I can run fast, by Mo Farah's standards I'm as speedy as a slug on tranquillisers, but for me it was a decent pace to at which to finish a run.

There's been huge flocks of house martins and swallows gathering over the Cotswolds today.  They must be taking a last chance to feed up before starting their journey south for the winter.  Sad that summer is coming to an end but lovely to see them and happy that it looks like its been a good season for the birds raising their young. 138 miles seems like a long way to run but these little creatures, which weigh less than my running watch, are true ultra-distance athletes covering up to 200 miles a day at speeds of 17 to 22 miles per hour.  


Total distance:  10.07 miles
Elevation gained: 264 metres