Sweaty men: more is better! Or not?

I noticed some buzz in the school, last year, when the subscription to the Plymouth half marathon had opened. You couldn't walk a meter without bumping into a sweaty colleague on running shoes. And these times have returned...

Last year the fastest geographer (by far!) was Rob, but this year he can't join. The second fastest geographer was Will, and he is running this year as well, so he's got some expectations to live up to. He had heard of Pete and me running, and was interested in joining, which of course we welcomed. So this time we set of with the three of us.

With Will as the record holder with us I figured it would be a bit more die-hard than when only Pete and I, serene as we are, wrestle our way through the park. And these expectations combined with my new extra bouncy shoes made me take off at great speed. I had to come back from that.

We weren’t even in the park yet when Will already started asking eager questions, such as what the training plan was. Training plan? We just run the same route over and over again and are quite content with it. But not Will; he was thinking running more and more loops through the park, carrying bricks, and doing somersaults every 3 meters. Okay, these last two things I made up. But still, it shows why he was so fast!

In the park Will and Pete ended up discussing the mathematics of hydrology; a sure sign they had plenty of breath to spare. I don’t have much to say on that topic, so there my ignorance (or perhaps my marine preference, to make it sound better) gave me a marked advantage there.

And as the university is at higher elevation than the park the run ends uphill; a stretch Pete and I tend to do in a most resignated manner. But not Will! He accelerated to the point where most would have had a heart attack. With more stubbornness than breath I ran the last meters back to the office, glad to have survived.

During lunch afterwards Pete was complaining about Will and me being children having upset his whole calm running routine. But I think Will’s here to stay! And there will be moments when that’s not going to be easy, but in the end I think it’s not just good since he’s good company, but he may kick us to a higher level... stay tuned!



PS It looks as if I'm being punished for my indulgence. As I wrote in the "sports fanatic" post; I bought new shoes as I started to have ankle problems after running. But the evening after the run described above I took my clothes off only to discover my ankles were twice the size they normally are. Shit! Maybe they just can't cope with this running on asphalt business. That would be the end of this adventure...